NYC travel challenge: LaGuardia to Weekhawken this Saturday afternoon
May 16, 2013 6:28 AM Subscribe
My wife is traveling to New York City for work this weekend, so we're making a family trip out of it (including a 5 and 1 year-old). Their first time - yay! Unfortunately, we're flying into LaGuardia and the person organizing her travel just changed the hotel reservation to the Sheraton Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken. We've only visited NYC a handful of times, but enough to know that's a difficult jaunt with no direct route. Getting a car service is an option, but it's almost $200 and we'd like to find more frugal option using public transportation if at all possible. Is our best bet an airport bus to the Port Authority, then transfer to something going into Weehawken (bus or bus/ferry combo)?
Probably the bus to Weehawken from Port Authority, yeah. JFK also has fair access to the A/C subway, which stops at Port Authority terminal - you can get on to a bus there.
Or, you can look into the A/C to 34th Street, and connect to Penn Station there - and see if New Jersey Transit has a train that would get you to Weehawken. But the bus from Port Authority may be better, as you would have access to more bus routes IN Weehawken (so you have better odds of the bus getting you near the hotel as opposed to "halfway across town".
The Port Authority-to-Weehawken leg is short, if it helps.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:32 AM on May 16, 2013
Or, you can look into the A/C to 34th Street, and connect to Penn Station there - and see if New Jersey Transit has a train that would get you to Weehawken. But the bus from Port Authority may be better, as you would have access to more bus routes IN Weehawken (so you have better odds of the bus getting you near the hotel as opposed to "halfway across town".
The Port Authority-to-Weehawken leg is short, if it helps.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:32 AM on May 16, 2013
If you have a 5 and a 1 year old, a car service is your best option. Don't even think about a combination.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:33 AM on May 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:33 AM on May 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yeah, upon reflection...the subways would be a bad idea if you've got child wrangling as part of your burdens. That would be a LONG subway ride.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:34 AM on May 16, 2013
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:34 AM on May 16, 2013
I would call around for a few car services, there's no way $200 is the best price you'll get.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:37 AM on May 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:37 AM on May 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
EmpressCallipygos: "JFK also has fair access to the A/C subway, which stops at Port Authority terminal - you can get on to a bus there."
Which would be useful if they were flying into JFK.
OP: "Unfortunately, we're flying into LaGuardia"
LGA to Manhattan is a PITA without luggage and/or kids. I'd definitely take a car. But $200 is too much... just taking a taxi will be less than $200, unless you happen to be arriving during rush hour and get stuck in traffic for 2hrs or something.
Best bet might be to take a car service to the Port Authority or a Ferry Terminal in Manhattan (depending on where in Weehawken your hotel is), which should be $55-65, then take the bus/ferry to Weehawken.
posted by Grither at 6:41 AM on May 16, 2013
Which would be useful if they were flying into JFK.
OP: "Unfortunately, we're flying into LaGuardia"
LGA to Manhattan is a PITA without luggage and/or kids. I'd definitely take a car. But $200 is too much... just taking a taxi will be less than $200, unless you happen to be arriving during rush hour and get stuck in traffic for 2hrs or something.
Best bet might be to take a car service to the Port Authority or a Ferry Terminal in Manhattan (depending on where in Weehawken your hotel is), which should be $55-65, then take the bus/ferry to Weehawken.
posted by Grither at 6:41 AM on May 16, 2013
A cab from Newark to my neighborhood in Brooklyn is 18 miles and about $75 plus tolls, you should definitely be able to take a yellow cab from LaGuardia to Weehawken for cheaper--it's only 12 miles.
posted by benbenson at 6:44 AM on May 16, 2013
posted by benbenson at 6:44 AM on May 16, 2013
So it looks like the hotel is right at the ferry terminal. So you might want to take a cab to the 39th St Ferry Terminal and get on the ferry to Lincoln Harbor: $9 per adult, children 5 and under are free.
posted by Grither at 6:47 AM on May 16, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by Grither at 6:47 AM on May 16, 2013 [4 favorites]
I second the ferry - a cab from LaGuardia to the ferry should be in the neighborhood of $40-$50 (wild guess) - then the ferry will be $18. But going onto Weehawken shouldn't be much more in a cab, so for convenience I'd take the cab all the way to the hotel but make sure to ride the ferry just for fun at some point during your trip. But perhaps you're reserving the car service because it's the only way to get car seats for young children? I've never taken a taxi with a kid that required a car seat, and don't know the rules on that front, or whether you can get a cab at the airport with the required kids' gear. I'm mainly excited about the ferry because it's fun - great views of the west side, and the kids I've taken on it have loved the experience.
posted by traveltheworld at 6:57 AM on May 16, 2013
posted by traveltheworld at 6:57 AM on May 16, 2013
Yeah, on second thought, the ferry terminal in manhattan isn't so much closer than actually driving to weehawken.
Call a car service and ask about their prices: Carmel, Dial7
Though...were you quoting $200 as the total price to and from the airport as being too high? Because that actually isn't TOO far off. I'd guess closer to $150.
Maybe something like the supershuttle would be more what you're looking for?
posted by Grither at 6:58 AM on May 16, 2013
Call a car service and ask about their prices: Carmel, Dial7
Though...were you quoting $200 as the total price to and from the airport as being too high? Because that actually isn't TOO far off. I'd guess closer to $150.
Maybe something like the supershuttle would be more what you're looking for?
posted by Grither at 6:58 AM on May 16, 2013
Hold up. This is for work? Why isn't your wife's office comping her travel expenses? Even just the $100 it would cost for a one-person cab would significantly lessen the cost of the car service, no?
posted by AmandaA at 7:03 AM on May 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by AmandaA at 7:03 AM on May 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
Yeah, all four of you can fit into one car service car. It will cost exactly the same to get the whole family to the hotel by car as it would cost for your wife to take a car to the hotel.
I've traveled plenty for work and never been required to take public transit from the airport to the hotel. The only situation when I wasn't allowed to expense a cab was when there was a free shuttle, which I doubt in this scenario.
posted by telegraph at 7:20 AM on May 16, 2013
I've traveled plenty for work and never been required to take public transit from the airport to the hotel. The only situation when I wasn't allowed to expense a cab was when there was a free shuttle, which I doubt in this scenario.
posted by telegraph at 7:20 AM on May 16, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I should clarify that it's for work, but my wife works for a very small company where these kinds of expenses are non-trivial, so minimizing the travel cost is a way for her to make sure trips like this can keep happening in the future. Just being able to go to the conference took some convincing.
It sounds like a cab to the ferry terminal or straight to the hotel is our best bet though!
posted by brozek at 7:25 AM on May 16, 2013
It sounds like a cab to the ferry terminal or straight to the hotel is our best bet though!
posted by brozek at 7:25 AM on May 16, 2013
Keep in mind that cabs are not supposed to accept car-seat aged kids who are not in a carseat, though sometimes rogue drivers will. Might be a good idea to take the little one's seat with you to NYC, but maybe you already are since you've investigated a car service.
posted by citygirl at 8:29 AM on May 16, 2013
posted by citygirl at 8:29 AM on May 16, 2013
NYC Airporter is a bus service between the airports and the train stations and bus stations. (I.e. It goes from LGA to Penn Station and to Port Authority.) It's about $13 per adult. I have one child, and I use this service because I like not having to bring a car seat. My kid gets to wiggle around freely and look out the windows, which makes him a much better traveler. We'd never make it to/from the airport in a taxi or car service without some serious puking. I've always found these buses to be clean and well-organized. The trip takes the same length of time as in a taxi, but with no weaving around lanes.
posted by xo at 9:12 AM on May 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by xo at 9:12 AM on May 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I take a cab regularly from LGA to approximately the place where the Lincoln Tunnel starts. The price varies depending on time of day and traffic, but it's almost always in the $32-45 range. If you continue on to Weehawken, you'll pay the extra toll for the Lincoln Tunnel and then the extra to get you to your destination, but it shouldn't be more than $80.
posted by yellowcandy at 10:20 AM on May 16, 2013
posted by yellowcandy at 10:20 AM on May 16, 2013
To correct some misinformation - taxis and car services are considered public transportation and do not require car seats.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#9
That's not to say you shouldn't use them.
posted by valeries at 6:19 AM on May 25, 2013
http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#9
That's not to say you shouldn't use them.
posted by valeries at 6:19 AM on May 25, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by bleep at 6:32 AM on May 16, 2013