So my youngest kid (sophomore in college) and I are going on a quick whirlwind trip to NYC and Boston in the second week of January. The original plan was to go catch a college basketball game at MSG and then help out my kid’s cousin move into BU. But the cousin is studying in London this upcoming semester so that isn’t needed anymore. We both know the greater NYC area well, been to a lot of the tourist places, but in the past we’ve been more either in Brooklyn or Queens area.
We are staying just on the other side of the N.Y.-Conn border at my older kid’s house, and we have a rental car and an EZ-Pass transponder. Thanks to United consolidating everything in EWR, the airport is pretty inconvenient to where we are wanting to go. Flying in Friday afternoon, leaving Tuesday afternoon.
So there are two fixed activities that are already set in stone - Saturday noontime basketball game at MSG and a Monday night basketball game at TD Boston Garden. If it’s too inconvenient, we could stay at a hotel, but at this point Boston is a day trip on Monday.
Wanted to fit these activities in:
Statue of Liberty (pedestal only, no need to tour either island). This could be left out if not enough time, or replaced with a Staten Island ferry excursion, which is not as preferable.
101 Observatory - haven’t been there before in its current form. Day or night is ok.
Yankee Stadium tour - Never been there - takes about an hour. Daytime activity.
Rucker Park. Never been there. Hopefully my kid can get in a game. Daytime activity.
Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. Probably Monday morning.
visit Fenway Park and NEU where my D goes to school - optional, only if we have time.
My main questions relate to if it was reasonable to fit in a quick Statue of Liberty tour before or after the MSG game. I would love to be able to take the Saturday 9am slot, but not sure if that is enough time to come back to MSG In time for the 12pm game. Also, trying to weigh the pros and cons of driving into Manhattan on Saturday and the time savings and cost of parking versus taking the train in, and going around via subway/taxi/Uber.
Also if there are any must visits anywhere, let me know. Parameters (all set by my kid)- no shows, no college campus tours (been to all of them), no fancy restaurants, no famous house/building visits, no drive-by visits. A tour of ESPN would be super - if only there was a tour available or if we knew someone there, but alas I don’t.
Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield will be a full day trip by the time you drive there, tour the place, and drive back to wherever you are staying in CT/NY. It’s not on the way to Boston at all. I would omit this.
If you want to do the BB hall of Fame, then maybe drive there…tour, spend the night, and proceed to Boston the next day for your Boston stuff.
So go to Springfield MA on Sunday…do the tour, stay at a hotel there, then drive to Boston on Monday for the Fenway tour. Then maybe walk some of the Freedom Trail or go to Quincy Market, and then go to your game in Boston.
I would fly home from BOS on Tuesday, not EWR. It will be a 2-3 hour drive to CT after the night game and then another 2-3 hour drive from CT to EWR on Tuesday.
I agree with @bouders - the drive back to CT after the game is going to be rough. If there is a way to leave from Logan, your trip will be far more pleasant.
I disagree with thumper1. We live not too far from the CT/NY border and going to Boston vis Springfield only adds 15 minutes to the total driving time. If you leave early you can have a day in Springfield on your way to Boston. Springfield is probably about a two hour drive from NY/CT and then another hour to Boston. I wouldn’t drive back to where you are staying, but instead either spend the night in Springfield or Boston. I can’t imagine trying to do Boston as a day trip.
As to the question of whether to drive into Manhatten or not. We veer between one and the other. I would never go by car on a weekday, and would generally go by car on a Sunday. Saturday is iffy. Definitely use an app to reserve a space in a parking garage. (Spot Hero? Park Whiz?) DH can never remember which one he actually likes. I haven’t been to the Statue of Liberty in ages, so no advice there.
That is exactly what I suggested…that they go to Springfield and proceed to Boston from there.
It would be a day trip if they were JUST going to the BB Hall of Fame from where you are. A 2 plus hour drive there, a few hours at the museum, then a 2 plus hour drive back to CT/NY. That’s a waste of time.
Better to do the Springfield trip on the way to Boston…even if it’s a bit out of the way.
@thumper1 I think it’s just semantics, but Springfield is totally on the way to Boston, just a longer drive than either of us would want to do for a day trip. I have learned though that other people think nothing of driving for 8-10 hours a day, which I have done only a few times and hated.
I must be a slow driver. I commuted from Amherst to Boston for years, and that trip was 2 hours at best. Maybe Springfield is 1.5 hours? Definitely less expensive hotels.
@ProfessorPlum168 you will have to probably make your absolute driving plans based on the weather when you are here. The long range weather forecasters are calling for a snowstorm in that time period.
yeah @thumper1 I hope it doesn’t snow, that would pretty much force me to skip the Hall of Fame and probably need to take Acela to Boston and give me a headache as to how to get back on Tuesday. Or maybe just eat the cost of the Celtics tickets. I am not looking forward to that possibility. I was planning on leaving Boston after the game and get back to Connecticut 3 hours later, assuming no snow. And yes @mathmom I’m one of those guys that an 8 hour drive is nothing - I’ve done the San Jose to Las Vegas 531 mile drive multiple times with my kid in less than 8 hours with two or three 5 minute bathroom stops and/or gas fillups in between. Now if I’m with the wife though…
Unfortunately it seems as if the pedestal access to the Statue of Liberty is all sold out for the times that I wanted. It’s literally been 30 years since I last was on the grounds. However, I guess if I just got the plain ol’ regular reserve tickets, I could easily board at 8:45am-ish and get back by 11am. Either that, or find some tour that’s triple the price but has pedestal access.
it doesn’t sound like this trip will involve much time on 95 which is the big traffic mess.
@mathmom would have the directions…but the basketball hall is off of 91, and they would then take the Mass Pike to Boston. The trip back could be a variety of ways…but probably mass pike to 84 to 684…(@mathmom, is that what you would suggest?).
Just an FYI…there is some construction in Waterbury on 84/8 intersection but I don’t think it affects traffic on 84 which is really nice and widened through there now. But there could be some slowdowns.
It’s all about timing. At night after the Celtics game, it should not be an issue.
We usually go to Boston via 684 and 84, it’s usually very close to the same time as 95 and a pleasanter drive for the most part. Construction of course can make one option better than the other.
I think it’s a crazy plan. Too much you want to do with no seeming consideration for traffic and weather or distances. Or parking.
“Boston is a day trip on Monday.” What’s that mean? One day back to the NY area? No, EWR doesnt make sense. How much $ does it save?
Something has to give. To me, the main challenge isnt 95. It’s time of day. Plus, when snow threatens, traffic jam timing shifts.
We get excited about travel threads. But you need to be more analytical re: a mid winter trip to an area that manages snow poorly (Boston) and where public transportation can come to a grinding halt. And usually uncomfortably cold, but there you are, trying to cover a lot of geography in minimal time.
If one kiddo is in college in Boston, why not save the BB HOF for another trip?
Vague familiarity with Jersey City (but nothing on the NY side), and some general travel planning.
My personal preference would be to avoid the Liberty pedestal. Get too close to the Statue, and the meaning is lost, not to mention a lot of wasted time. The statue is beautiful, symbolic, and quite awe inspiring just to be near. Just get to the island for a quick DIY tour.
Seems like you could park at Liberty Park on the Jersey side, ferry to Liberty Island, then ferry to Manhattan instead of back to Jersey.
Head up to MSG, then to One World Trade afterward.
To get back to your car, unfortunately, the PATH train station at WTC is closed on weekends, but you could catch a different PATH at 14th st that takes you back near Liberty Park via Hoboken and Jersey City.
Yankee Stadium and Rucker Park on Sunday.
Could basketball HOF be done Tuesday morning with your flight time (assuming overnight Boston/Springfield stay)? Driving, Fenway, and Celtics game seems like a full day on Monday.
Are you suggesting they go to Boston for all the Boston things Monday, then drive to Springfield (about 1 1/2 hour drive) on Tuesday morning…and then drive somewhere for their flight home Tuesday?
If so, the nearest airport to the BB Hall of Fame is Bradley in Windsor Locks CT.
I think it’s a bit much to drive to Springfield on Tuesday, then drive to EWR even back to Logan for a flight later Tuesday.
Plus, they have a rental car which I guess they will be getting at EWR. Cost to drop that off elsewhere at the end of the trip should be checked too.
My opinion, OP is trying to do too much in too short a time. I live in the suburbs north of NYC and my kid goes to school in Boston, so I am very familiar with the trip. Whether you take 684/84/90 or I 95 - not a fun drive. Always traffic in Waterbury, Hartford (84/91 interchange is particularly bad), Bridgeport, and New Haven. Mass Pike usually has traffic as well. Lots of trucks and crazy drivers. Unless you’re renting a helicopter, popping up to Boston via Springfield for a day trip to the TD Garden is very ambitious. FWIW, drive b/t Westchester/Fairfield County and EWK is no fun either.
@thumper1
My assumption is the departure from EWR on Tuesday afternoon is set in stone. So, maybe travel to Springfield on Monday night after the game, hit the basketball HOF first thing Tuesday morning, then to EWR.
Or, since Sunday is a little light, overnight Sunday in Springfield, basketball HOF first thing Monday morning, then on to Fenway and Celtics game. But this option would require 2 nights in a hotel since I would be hesitant to travel all the way back to NY after the Celtics game.
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Hmmm. Basketball HOF doesn’t open until 10am. 8:30 or 9:00 would have been ideal.
This is nothing like driving N Ca highways. Look at the wish list. After the bb games, in 2 different cities, 5 hours apart (at best,) there’s too much left that’s time consuming. My family is, I joke, expert at short trips. But we pare and pare. If there’s, eg, one must-see exhibit, that’s the sole focus at that venue. No stopping for guided tours or long wait lines. You have to be brutal about it. Get your background info at home, online or a tour book. If, eg,ntime is constrained. no idle stop at the World Trade Center. You can see it from.the sidewalk. Parking will.be a huge time robber, too. As is a newbie navigating subways.
Generally, Bradley is a more expensive flight. I like EWR, but driving from there, over the bridge, through the City, to family, traffic will surprise you.
Then rushing up to Boston. The Acela makes sense, but is pricey. BUT then you want Springfield?
You’re cutting this too tight, with too much listed as priority and lengthy things (tours or excursions, playing a game, etc.) Just getting across /down Manhattan is nuts, even in a taxi. There’s a joke that nothing “takes an hour.”
So revisit what’s a must. You cam always add back.om something, later. Remember the snow.
I have learned though that other people think nothing of driving for 8-10 hours a day, which I have done only a few times and hated.