I’m headed to New York City this weekend, just in time to escape the allegedly two-footer snowstorm that’s coming into DC. I thought I’d share how I usually make the trip.
The best way to get to New York City from D.C. is by train. The Acela Express takes you from Union Station to Penn Station in less than three hours. (The less expensive regional Amtrak train makes more stops so it takes about 45 minutes longer.) You’ve got all the legroom you want, electric outlets for that dying laptop battery and no stress from going through security-check lines at the airport. Your hair doesn’t even have time to get ruffled! This is how I traveled once I got a job after grad school.
“No more Chinatown bus,” I told myself, “I’ve got money!”
Alas, that luxurious lifestyle was short-lived and in an effort to save a ton of money for the future, I’ve had to scale far back and return to the bus. Although Amtrak currently has a $49 one way offer on their regional trains with a 2-week advanced purchase, the usual cost is between $64-$224 each way. (It makes no difference if you get a round trip ticket.) The bus costs between $1-$35 one way but takes about 4 to 5 hours to get from city to city.
Luckily for me, tons of different bus companies have sprung up in the last few years and they don’t just run between the two Chinatowns. Lots of them even include free wifi service.
The most popular bus company these days is BoltBus, which advertises $1 fares (although I’m not quite sure how to get them, the prices listed on their site usually go from $16 to $23 each way). It offers wifi and more leg room and travels between DC’s Chinatown or Union Station and Penn Station. It’s the same thing with Megabus.
There are several other bus companies that also offer wifi and leave from Union Station, Dupont Circle and Chinatown but I think most of them have a fixed price of $20-$25 each way, slightly more expensive than the above two I mentioned. No-frills Chinatown buses that go between Chinatowns are the cheapest at $35 round trip.
But sometimes convenience is something you might want to pay for. Vamoose Bus costs $30 each way but it stops at Rosslyn, close to where I live, so I can walk right home after I get off the bus. On a crazy work day, I can rush home, pick up my stuff and run for the bus. The only catch is that on the return trip from New York, it stops in Bethesda, Maryland, before going to Rosslyn, which significantly lengthens the journey. That’s why I’m just going with BoltBus this time. Hopefully I won’t have to sit next to a crazy person. Sigh, I miss the train!
Image courtesy of stock.xchng
