Best transportation between PHL and ROC?
June 30, 2013 4:27 PM Subscribe
During the last year, my long-distance boyfriend and I have gotten used to making the trip between NYC and Rochester, NY for weekend visits. Now I'm moving to Philadelphia, and we need a new plan. What's the fastest, least painful, least expensive way to get between Philadelphia and Rochester?
When I was in NYC, our trip took about 2-3 hours and cost around $150 (flight + NYC public transit), so this is the gold standard. The flights to Philadelphia seem a fair amount more expensive. The Amtrak trip is a little bit cheaper, but painfully long at 9 hours each way. My boyfriend has a car, but the 11 hour round-trip drive is really exhausting for a weekend. So we're wondering:
What's the optimal trip for least time/lowest cost/least pain?
Any bus company recommendations?
Any unusual combinations? (Train to/from Newark and then flying from there, flying to/from Buffalo instead of Rochester, train to some place along the way and driving to/from Rochester, something really clever that I haven't thought of...)
If the answer is flying, is there a best airline/mode of purchasing tickets/day or time to fly for the weekend?
If the answer is flying or train, what's the best/cheapest/easiest way to get between the airport or train station and Center City?
When I was in NYC, our trip took about 2-3 hours and cost around $150 (flight + NYC public transit), so this is the gold standard. The flights to Philadelphia seem a fair amount more expensive. The Amtrak trip is a little bit cheaper, but painfully long at 9 hours each way. My boyfriend has a car, but the 11 hour round-trip drive is really exhausting for a weekend. So we're wondering:
What's the optimal trip for least time/lowest cost/least pain?
Any bus company recommendations?
Any unusual combinations? (Train to/from Newark and then flying from there, flying to/from Buffalo instead of Rochester, train to some place along the way and driving to/from Rochester, something really clever that I haven't thought of...)
If the answer is flying, is there a best airline/mode of purchasing tickets/day or time to fly for the weekend?
If the answer is flying or train, what's the best/cheapest/easiest way to get between the airport or train station and Center City?
what's the best/cheapest/easiest way to get between the airport or train station and Center City?
Septa Regional Rail - the Airport Line, 30th Street Station is right on the edge of Center City (you can take an R train, a cab, or walk).
posted by wrok at 4:45 PM on June 30, 2013
Septa Regional Rail - the Airport Line, 30th Street Station is right on the edge of Center City (you can take an R train, a cab, or walk).
posted by wrok at 4:45 PM on June 30, 2013
Agree that SEPTA to the airport is super-easy, but you can also get the train from Suburban Station (17th & Market) or Market East (11th and Market), and it's also the extension of the same train that runs by Temple. Also, the "R" trains aren't called that anymore.
Depending on schedules and such, Lady Liberty and other shuttles run $10 from Center City to the airport.
Additionally, it may not be quick, but megabus and Bolt Bus regularly leave to NY from right behind 30th Street Station (and can be had for very cheap if purchased in advance), which could work with your previous setup.
Good luck! And welcome to Philly!
posted by zachxman at 5:00 PM on June 30, 2013
Depending on schedules and such, Lady Liberty and other shuttles run $10 from Center City to the airport.
Additionally, it may not be quick, but megabus and Bolt Bus regularly leave to NY from right behind 30th Street Station (and can be had for very cheap if purchased in advance), which could work with your previous setup.
Good luck! And welcome to Philly!
posted by zachxman at 5:00 PM on June 30, 2013
I did this between the same two cities every other weekend for two years. I started with Amtrak, but it's always late, it's slow, and I grew tired of wasting almost a day of visiting time with traveling.
I ended up flying most of the time. Usually, I'd fly to Newark and then take an NJ Transit train from there to Trenton and then transfer to SEPTA to get to Philadelphia, and sometimes I'd fly to JFK and then take a cab into the city to do the same from Penn Station. Once I flew into Newark and then took Amtrak directly into Philadelphia, but that was more expensive.
It's really convenient to take the train from Newark airport because the Amtrak stop is right there. JFK is kind of a pain but it's definitely doable. I did LaGuardia once as well.
When I could afford it, which was not always, I flew US Airways directly from ROC to PHL. That was super convenient, and it's very easy to get the SEPTA Regional Rail R7 train from PHL to Center City. Flights from ROC-PHL weren't too expensive but their on-time performance was not super awesome. I often tried to leave Thursday after classes and return Monday morning, but that's a little risky if you have things you need to do early on Monday.
If you do the NJ Transit > SEPTA route, do check what time the last trains depart Trenton. It's not the kind of place that you want to spend the night, though I am a small woman and never really felt unsafe there late at night.
You can memail me if you have other questions.
P.S. I flew from Buffalo once and the savings were not really worth it at all.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 10:03 PM on June 30, 2013
I ended up flying most of the time. Usually, I'd fly to Newark and then take an NJ Transit train from there to Trenton and then transfer to SEPTA to get to Philadelphia, and sometimes I'd fly to JFK and then take a cab into the city to do the same from Penn Station. Once I flew into Newark and then took Amtrak directly into Philadelphia, but that was more expensive.
It's really convenient to take the train from Newark airport because the Amtrak stop is right there. JFK is kind of a pain but it's definitely doable. I did LaGuardia once as well.
When I could afford it, which was not always, I flew US Airways directly from ROC to PHL. That was super convenient, and it's very easy to get the SEPTA Regional Rail R7 train from PHL to Center City. Flights from ROC-PHL weren't too expensive but their on-time performance was not super awesome. I often tried to leave Thursday after classes and return Monday morning, but that's a little risky if you have things you need to do early on Monday.
If you do the NJ Transit > SEPTA route, do check what time the last trains depart Trenton. It's not the kind of place that you want to spend the night, though I am a small woman and never really felt unsafe there late at night.
You can memail me if you have other questions.
P.S. I flew from Buffalo once and the savings were not really worth it at all.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 10:03 PM on June 30, 2013
USAirways is going to have the most flights.
Sign up for their esaver. It will give you "last-minute" or fare specials. They send out a weekly email and the route you're talking about will be on it more likely than not.
I do hate the Philly airport but the bonus is the pretzels are amazing!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:30 AM on July 1, 2013
Sign up for their esaver. It will give you "last-minute" or fare specials. They send out a weekly email and the route you're talking about will be on it more likely than not.
I do hate the Philly airport but the bonus is the pretzels are amazing!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:30 AM on July 1, 2013
I do this exact trip every three weeks or so. Live in Philly, go to Roc for work. Flying is the most convenient option, but unfortunately not very economical. If you plan well enough ahead of time and don't really care what time of day the flight is, you can probably get round trip for about $250, but you'll likely stop in JFK, IAD, EWR, or worst case Detroit, which is a real time waste. When flying from Philly, security lines are MUCH slower and total travel time could easily be more than the 5.5 or 6 hours it takes to drive.
There are some direct flights, but they're oddly popular and sell out/ get expensive very quick. There's a 7:30ish AM direct flight operated by USAir that seems almost impossible to get on recently.
If you choose to drive and are coming from Center City, make sure not to leave anywhere near rush hour. The only real way to go is up 76 to 476, and this 15 miles will take well over an hour.
The only creative way I could think of would be JFK-ROC, using Bolt Bus to get to NYC. Bolt Bus is about 15 bucks and stops at Penn Station, from there you can get the LIRR or the Subway to Jamaica, then AirTrain to JFK. JetBlue runs several flights a day to ROC, I think some of them go under $99 one way.
Hope this info helps, sorry I don't have a better answer for you.
posted by azathoth at 12:36 PM on July 1, 2013
There are some direct flights, but they're oddly popular and sell out/ get expensive very quick. There's a 7:30ish AM direct flight operated by USAir that seems almost impossible to get on recently.
If you choose to drive and are coming from Center City, make sure not to leave anywhere near rush hour. The only real way to go is up 76 to 476, and this 15 miles will take well over an hour.
The only creative way I could think of would be JFK-ROC, using Bolt Bus to get to NYC. Bolt Bus is about 15 bucks and stops at Penn Station, from there you can get the LIRR or the Subway to Jamaica, then AirTrain to JFK. JetBlue runs several flights a day to ROC, I think some of them go under $99 one way.
Hope this info helps, sorry I don't have a better answer for you.
posted by azathoth at 12:36 PM on July 1, 2013
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posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 4:33 PM on June 30, 2013