Tips for Trips: OT's Travel Guide

[The Yankee]

Inspired by my own planning and also a recent post in the Member Photos thread over what to do in a city on a trip, this thread shall be for those that will be spending time elsewhere and want some tips on what to do, where to go, and even how to get there.

Surely we have plenty of people that either live in or have been to many places, so we could draw upon the vast experiences and knowledge of OT.

As for myself, I've been exploring the possibility of taking my girlfriend out of the city for a short time while she's here next month. I think I've started to favor going to Philadelphia, as either a day trip or a one-night stay. Thing is, never been there. So, I'm looking for:

-The best way to get there (no vehicle, so it'd have to be some kind of mass transit option).
-Where to go (luckily, Google Earth has shown me plenty of landmarks that are within a compact area downtown, but all suggestions welcome, even if I might not have enough money for it).
-Where to stay if we do indeed decide to just stay the night (and how to get there).
-Pretty much the same thing as the first item, but the best way to get back to New York.

So come on peoples, post your upcoming or possible destinations and let the rest of us tell you what's good there.

 

[Portugal]

Please don't come to Portugal, we want our beaches back.

 

[ohcrapitsnico]

I heard the airport in philadelphia is terrible, maybe train???

Of course all the airports in your region are very slow.

 

[raen]

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=185678

 

[The Yankee]

I heard the airport in philadelphia is terrible, maybe train???

Of course all the airports in your region are very slow.

I looked and it's $260 for two people to go from New York to Philadelphia, round trip non-stop (the ones where we'd have to change in DC or DC and Pittsburgh are even more expensive. No thanks. Given that security will eat up time as well as getting from the airport to the city, Amtrak is much faster (and cheaper) and from Penn Station instead of having to spend a strange mass transit ride to the airports.

But I've heard that NJ Transit could be used to get there...since I've never used it, I'd be wary of going that route unless it were ridiculously easy.

 

[The Yankee]

Please don't come to Portugal, we want our beaches back.

Trans-Atlantic travel is much too pricey for myself. We'll just have to pillage your beaches another year......or decade.

 

[Japanrocks12]

fly over to San Diego once in a while. Especially during winter time, it'll be a welcome break from your freezing NY weather. If you're interested, I can provide you with more detailed travel info.

EDIT: or, if you're really hardcore, ride a bus across the country and come here

 

[The Yankee]

fly over to San Diego once in a while. Especially during winter time, it'll be a welcome break from your freezing NY weather. If you're interested, I can provide you with more detailed travel info.

EDIT: or, if you're really hardcore, ride a bus across the country and come here

We should trade. I'll get to be in a place where the weatherman only has to say one word, "Nice." And you'll come here to check out the array of Christmas and other winter/holiday extravaganzas plus the sales of the year!

I actually rather like New York around Christmas, but back in 2005 during one particular cold snap, I was wishing to be elsewhere. Normally winters aren't that bad here.

 

[cthom]

going to Kos in a fortnight. which brings to mind the old, wise saying, "don't forget your towel"

 

[Perfection]

Les Stroud always brings his harmonica and multitool. I suggest you do the same.

 

[The Yankee]

Les Stroud always brings his harmonica and multitool. I suggest you do the same.

Too risky. If I took a harmonica, I'd either get free money or get stabbed on the 2 train to Penn Station.

 

[Perfection]

You can defend yourself with the multitool!

 

[Ansar]

I don't remember what airport it is, but there is this airport in France where the people are all completely useless and will hate you because you don't speak French. You tell them that you don't speak French and would like to talk to someone in English for directions and they laugh at you!

So, if traveling in Europe, don't land in France or have connections with France.

 

[raen]

I don't remember what airport it is, but there is this airport in France where the people are all completely useless and will hate you because you don't speak French. You tell them that you don't speak French and would like to talk to someone in English for directions and they laugh at you!

So, if traveling in Europe, don't land in France or have connections with France.

Try other countries like slovakia and you have to talk by gestures this cant be a barrier, if you want and have to go to one place you have always a way to communicate, maybe its harder, but we manage arround.

 

[Tomoyo]

The Amtrak train from Penn to Somephillystation is probably your best bet. I've taken it through Philly and beyond a few times, and though I don't remember it that well, the rides were nice, and it's cheaper than flying, of course. Money-wise, the only thing that might be able to compete would be NJ transit, but I don't know anything about that other than that it can take you to Six Flags at a really great price.

 

[Merkinball]

Trans-Atlantic travel is much too pricey for myself. We'll just have to pillage your beaches another year......or decade.

It depends on how flexible you can be. I'm planning a trip to Europe right now depending on when I go back to Djibouti for work, and there are some good deals out there with Northwest, Delta, Air France, Allitalia, and to a lesser extent, British Airways.

For myself, I don't consider $500 too bad, it cost $390 to get to Denver (from Rochester).

 

[The Yankee]

The Amtrak train from Penn to Somephillystation is probably your best bet. I've taken it through Philly and beyond a few times, and though I don't remember it that well, the rides were nice, and it's cheaper than flying, of course. Money-wise, the only thing that might be able to compete would be NJ transit, but I don't know anything about that other than that it can take you to Six Flags at a really great price.

30th and Market, I think it was. I can get a round trip for two for about $160. If I did that, I'd have to stay a night since there seem to be no nighttime trains going back to Penn Station.

I think NJ Transit can get me to Trenton and I'd have to find my way from there. But that sounds like a ridiculously long trip (adding on an hour plus just to get to Penn Station from Southeast Brooklyn).

 

[The Yankee]

It depends on how flexible you can be. I'm planning a trip to Europe right now depending on when I go back to Djibouti for work, and there are some good deals out there with Northwest, Delta, Air France, Allitalia, and to a lesser extent, British Airways.

For myself, I don't consider $500 too bad, it cost $390 to get to Denver (from Rochester).

Northwest...that's how my girlfriend is getting to JFK.

Seems like a strange time for flights, as a one-way trip to New York from Greensboro on September 1st was going to run me around $300. Going to Newark was only $180, but then I'd have to get a cab and pay all the tolls. So I'm shoving myself onto a Business Class seat on Amtrak for 11 hours for only around $120.

As for Europe, I'll have to tuck away those options until next year at the earliest. Five hundred bucks would rip apart my meager budget at this point. Not to mention how much the dollar has fallen lately. But it could be a good call in a year or two.

Where are you planning on heading? If time allows.

 

[Merkinball]

Be warry of Northworst, they are really horrible. Especially out of Detroit. (It takes me longer to taxi in Detroit than fly to Buffalo/Rochester.) They're a last resort airline for me these days.

Where do I want to go? Either Germany, Benelux, Switzerland and Italy. Or Italy, France (just to pass through), Spain and Portugal. I'll get Eurorail passes and hostel it. I don't want to spend more than $2500 on the total trip, and I plan to be gone at least a few weeks.

I was gonna go to Naples, Venice, and Rome in June, but the I really got screwed over on my leave, and it would have been too risky and not worth it to go for two weeks. It was really frustrating too because I had an APARTMENT lined up in Rome and Naples for $500 a week with a travel partner. Oh well.

My other trip that I need to get done before I make my concerted effort at getting Miss Merkinball into the states is Baku to Istanbul. And then maybe Cairo to Sana'a Yemen.

 

[Red Door]

Yankee, the train is a good way to get Philadelphia. Take an Amtrack train south, like to DC and just get off at Philadelphia. Same way to get home, except go North, not South.

I'd also contact El Justo if you ever seen him, I know he goes around the area a lot.