Getting to NYC from Prov

Submitted by TheGreyVicinity t3_yu55yu in RhodeIsland

I haven’t lived here long and I’ve never used public transportation (i’m from Dallas), so I’m not familiar with it at all.

I’m leaving for NYC next Wednesday and the plan is to drive into CT and then stop and ride the train into NY.

Issue 1: where do I stop? I’ve looked at a few stations but I’m not sure which is the best. Preferably somewhere safe, we stopped in CT when I moved and my trailer was broken into so my experience with CT hasn’t been great so far 🙃

Issue 2: do I need to buy tickets online? Or do it there?

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Double_Farmer_2662 t1_iw7jngp wrote

There’s really two options. You can take Amtrak/Acela train all the way from Providence to NYC. It’s the more comfy train, outlets, reclining seats, etc. it makes stops all the way through RI and CT. It’s more expensive, but depending on the time of day it can be faster. It typically has less frequent travel times.

Other option is Shoreline East Rail which starts in New London CT, and is basically a commuter rail to NYC. It’s much cheaper, but can take longer since it makes more stops. It honestly depends on how much you want to drive, but I’ve left cars in New London (garage parking $), Old Saybrook (free parking at station), New Haven (parking in lots $, will have to walk a couple blocks to station).

You could also Amtrak to a CT stop and then switch to the commuter rail.

For Amtrak, buy online, prices are usually cheap weeks before, more expensive the close you are to the day, and then will drop again day off.

My recommendation, drive at least to New London, and get on shore line East there. You usually won’t have to switch train, except maybe once in new haven. You can buy tickets online or day of, I think they even have like a round trip off hours pass.
Or take Amtrak straight to NYC. It’s comfy, WiFi, can nap, or read, they have a cafe car with food and drinks. My husband and I did it to DC and are planning to do it again

Edit: Make sure you factor in traffic if your driving. It’s only an hour to New London, very little traffic, another 20 minutes to Old Saybrook, also low traffic, both easy drives. Going to New Haven and farther you risk a much high chance of traffic, along with driving through the cities to get to the station.

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BlackbirdDesignRI t1_iw7m2o7 wrote

Having tried the commuter rail from Stamford and Amtrak from Providence, I second taking the Amtrak/Acela straight to NYC. There are a lot of stops on the Amtrak Northeast Regional route, but it takes you right into Penn Station’s new Moynihan Train Hall in Midtown.

Have a great trip, whichever option you choose!

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_hanShan_ t1_iw872k2 wrote

So expensive though

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SeanRobertsFerngully t1_iw9jxjm wrote

I'm going this weekend, got round trip tix for 55 bucks. If you buy at the right time they're not bad!

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_hanShan_ t1_iw9ngk8 wrote

Yeah that’s not bad I saw 207 one way the other day

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laterbacon t1_iwc0ph3 wrote

Prices automatically increase based on how full the train is. When you search for trains it shows how sold it is at that point. When it gets over 50%, it ramps up a lot. If you can buy at least 2 or 3 weeks ahead of traveling, you can get NE Regional round trip to NYC for under $60

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Double_Farmer_2662 t1_iw7jssh wrote

If you message me I will be glad to help you! I’m from CT, and take the trains down all the time to visit my family!

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Distinct-Ad5751 t1_iw81dwx wrote

Amtrak all the way is the most comfortable way to go. It’s a pain to drive to New Haven and get on the commuter rail and the seats are hard.

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Babelette t1_iw7yyzf wrote

If you're driving all the way down to new London I suggest checking if the same train leaves from mystic, it's one stop north, has free parking and is a safer place to leave your car.

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Double_Farmer_2662 t1_iw80ead wrote

Shoreline East doesn’t run to Mystic, it’s last stop is New London. Old Saybrook is probably safest for cars, but New London would rank next along the track. It only gets worse the close you get to NYC.

I’ve parked in New London many times for nights, or over nights and never had a problem. But it’s one of those things where one person will never have a bad experience, but then someone else will get their car broken into in the 10 minutes they left it alone.

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Artistic-Passenger-9 t1_iw9fo6u wrote

Amtrak Northeast Regional. Cheap, not as fast as Acela but the time difference is negligible; and you get where you need to go safely.

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kyden t1_iw7m8vr wrote

It’s not glamorous, but i’ve never had issues using the peter pan buses to nyc. I just like not having to worry about leaving my car somewhere.

I’ve also taken amtrak from kingston. That’s fine too.

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februarytide- t1_iw8g82o wrote

Definitely also like doing the Peter Pan bus for ease with parking.

Train is more comfortable so I’ve done that a few times as well; I’d drive to New London personally but only because I grew up near there and know the area and know parking is probably easy.

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_Shush t1_iw96ywg wrote

Man I've had the opposite. Last time I booked a Peter Pan bus was August in front of The Dunk. Never showed up. Been taking the train ever since.

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FunnyFilmFan t1_iw89d7h wrote

If by “next Wednesday” you mean the day before Thanksgiving, expect a rough trip no matter what.

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SausageSmuggler21 t1_iw7k4h2 wrote

New haven is the easiest place, but may not be the cheapest parking. If it's not during commute times, I used to drive down to Greenwich.

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radioflea t1_iw815k0 wrote

If you have the budget for it then I would suggest Amtrak from Providence.

Peter Pan buses are also a cheaper alternative and in my experience was much quicker than Amtrak.

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stand-up-tragedy t1_iw7z2ec wrote

Just take the Amtrak from PVD. I have done this trip 1000 times.

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Upuser t1_iw8i3pu wrote

I do this all the time

West Haven metro north station, big parking lot and parking is $6/day, free on weekends

One way trip from west haven to grand central is $17

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Hobbes-ish t1_iw9kk4z wrote

This is what my wife and I always did as well when we visited friends in New York. It’s an easy drive and parking was fine for long weekends.

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Status_Silver_5114 t1_iw7u5i1 wrote

I think driving to ct and then having to park and then take the train is a PITA - just take the train from pvd.

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fuckyeahcaricci t1_iw94aru wrote

New Haven. Take Metro North. We just did it Friday. Super easy. You can buy a ticket that is also a loaded Metrocard for the subway. You buy tickets from a machine at the station.

I live in the Providence area now, but have lived and worked in NYC, but you can be a complete NY novice and do this with confidence.

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Billiam201 t1_iw8f1ih wrote

If you get them early enough (like 2 months), you can get to NYC from Providence for $27 on the regional and $56 on the Acela.

Those prices rise fast so if you're looking for something closer than that the commuter rail is cheaper, but slower, harder seats, etc.

There's no shortage of ways to go, it's just a question of how soon and how fast.

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milespeeingyourpants t1_iw7ib7d wrote

Stamford

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RoniPizzaExtraCheese t1_iw7imf5 wrote

Might as well just drive all the way to NY. OP, I’ve parked at the New Haven station before.

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_hanShan_ t1_iw878ce wrote

Ticket from Stamford is cheaper than city parking.

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audiojeff t1_iw9gt51 wrote

Another vote for Stamford, though I'm not so sure about parking for a trailer. The big advantage is how many trains you have the option to take. No need to make a reservation. And its super cheap, typically $10-$14 bucks.

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MadLove1348 t1_iw7lx3t wrote

I like driving to Fairfield and taking the train in from there as it’s super easy. New Haven would be my second option. If you don’t mind driving, Stamford is the best bet.

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Nevvermind183 t1_iw7rwt1 wrote

I go to NYC a lot for work. I drive to North White Plains and take the train to Grand Central

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orm518 t1_iw8l8p7 wrote

Seems like the worst of both worlds.

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Nevvermind183 t1_iw96bg3 wrote

I know you can pick up the commuter rail sooner, but I would rather drive listening to my stereo than on a train longer than needed.

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tilario t1_iw9kej3 wrote

my dad used to drive to new haven and take metro north in from there. if you do this, try to time it so you're taking an express and not a local.

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bbpr120 t1_iw7tqdl wrote

If you use the Shoreliner East (closest free lot is in Old Saybrook, exit 68 off 95. CT is does NOT use mile based exit on 95 yet), you have to change trains New Haven to the Metro North system. That will get you into NYC at Grand Central Station and from there you can access the Subway system or catch an uber/lyft/taxi to your end destination. Use the Trip Planner to remove the pain of figuring out which train you need to get on when the transfer happens for both outbound and inbound trips.

If you're using Amtrak- it'll drop you at Penn Central Station, which also has easy access to the subway but is nowhere near Grand Central. The earlier you get your tickets/closer to NYC- the cheaper they'll be.

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saucyB52 t1_iw8w7la wrote

hop on the amtrac at the train station next to the providence place mall, ride to nyc, do the things enjoy

wen don hop the train back to provi, walk or bycycle back in glory

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UnluckyReader t1_iwa6f0n wrote

I just take the NE regional or Acela. It’s such a civilized way to travel, very relaxing and easy. You can take it from Providence or from Kingston. Parking is cheaper in Kingston but the Acela doesn’t stop there.

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SoftwareDev401 t1_iw83yk9 wrote

We usually drive to New Haven (parking $$ but it's a garage) or Westport (street parking) and take Metro-North RR to Grand Central

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SoftwareDev401 t1_iw84h6o wrote

Also there is Greyhound, Peter Pan, and FlixBus from Providence if you want to go on the cheap. (I really miss MegaBus, they were awesome)

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_hanShan_ t1_iw870va wrote

I drive to Stamford

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Affectionate-While71 t1_iw94vnb wrote

Me too … Stamford … I found it’s the easiest and cheapest option under most circumstances.

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PatinaAquaman t1_iw879zk wrote

Take the Amtrak from the station downtown

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Davecasa t1_iw8jn1i wrote

Drive to New Haven or Stamford, park there, and take the commuter to Grand Central. Parking is $10/day, and the train is $11 from Stamford and about $14 from New Haven. Runs every 15-30 minutes so you don't need to plan exactly, just show up.

Amtrak is a pleasant ride but expensive AF and not much faster than driving.

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MT_Photos t1_iw8pqho wrote

Fairfield or Bridgeport are my best suggestions. Local train - past new haven and before all the craziness in So Connecticut

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mcsteam98 t1_iw8r964 wrote

You can take either the Northeast Regional or the Acela straight from Providence, or if you’re willing to cheap out a little, you can drive out to Kingston (near URI) and get the Regional from there.

Or if you’re that much a penny pincher with train fares, take the Shore Line East out of either New London or Old Saybrook, then transfer to Metro-North at New Haven Union.

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vgwicker1 t1_iw90pk0 wrote

Drive to New Haven and take the commuter rail to NYC grand central

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n0i t1_iw91mij wrote

This doesn’t help you now but in the future if you book far enough ahead you can get Acela tickets for 56 or Regional train tickets for 27.

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thetaoofroth t1_iw9g6dv wrote

I'd either just take Acela or egional pvd to Penn station. If you want to end up at grand central, I personally would take shore line east from old saybrook to New Haven and then transfer to metro north to continue to grand central. It's very straightforward but may take a little longer. Flights from pvd to NYC are kind of cheap but parking is not free, the airport is nowhere near Providence, (though you can get there by rail). And NYC airports are not really in NYC either. The flight itself is like 40 minutes though

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penny_stinks t1_iw9xy79 wrote

I'm a Dallasite in RI too, and i do this all the time. I like using the station in Westport, CT. It's a big parking lot, and my girlfriend's family is from there and consider it safe. Have done this at least 25 times and never had a problem (but I drive a shitty old Ford Focus so maybe that's why nobody messes with it).

The train from there is about an hour and a half to GCT. You can buy tickets ahead of time using the Metro North app or at the machines on the platform when you get there... I'm not positive you can do it on the train (i never have), but I've always believed you could.

Good luck and Let's Go Mavs!

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Emmafabb t1_iwae0k6 wrote

I like driving to Rye and taking commuter in from there.

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RoyalOilRoy t1_iwccnez wrote

If you’re driving to a train just to avoid parking, recommend going all the way to Stamford and parking there.

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N8710 t1_iw7y42z wrote

I would personally recommend just driving into NYC if that’s an option for you, it’s only about 3-4 hours (traffic dependent). Wake up really early, less traffic and cheaper parking.

If you do some research and pre purchase parking online, you can find some reasonable day rates. Then you have the added benefit of having your car to get around the city if you want to go somewhere further.

Pro tip, turn on avoid tolls on your GPS before you leave the house. Even if it’s like 20-30 minutes longer, some of the bridge tolls into Manhattan are extortionate.

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mdurg68 t1_iwadulk wrote

The downvotes you’re getting are unfair. This is a good option if one doesn’t mind driving in the city and if you have several people going.

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N8710 t1_iwae1yq wrote

Agreed, especially considering the sub. It’s probably safer then driving in RI these days.

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