Transportation from Valhalla, NY to Philadelphia

[riversoul]

Hi all,

I will have interviews at NYMC and Drexel during the same week, with 1 day in between interviews. NYMC will be the 1st interview. For those of you who live in that area of the country (I'm a Cali resident btw), what's the cheapest, fastest, and safest way to get from Valhalla, NY to Philadelphia?

 

[maestro1625]

look up "chinatown bus"

cheapest anway...

 

[pennquaker08]

Metropark won't do you much good...it's smack in the middle of New Jersey. First, take the Metro-North Railroad from Valhalla to NY Grand Central Terminal. Then, you can take a taxi from Grand Central to NY Penn Station. At Penn, catch the NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Line to Trenton. At Trenton, transfer to the SEPTA R7 Chestnut Hill East, which will take you to Suburban Station in Center City Philadelphia. At Suburban, you can take a taxi to your hotel or the medical school or whatever.At Suburban, you can take a taxi to your hotel or the medical school or whatever. You could also take Amtrak from Penn Station straight to Philadelphia 30th Street Station, and then take a taxi from there, but it's more expensive.

I wouldn't recommend the Chinatown bus because (1) it's relatively unreliable and (2) you have to go into Manhattan to get it anyway, so you may as well just take the train which (at least NJ Transit + SEPTA) is comparably priced, more comfortable, and more dependable.

 

[trinitee501]

I would say go with Penn Quaker's advice but instead of taking a cab from Grand Central to Penn Station, just take the S, I think.It's like one or two stops and definitely easier to navigate.

 

[premeddick]

Does anyone have the easiest public transportation way to get from JFK to NYMC? Sorry to hijack and thanks for you help.

 

[Lshapley]

Do not, I repeat, do not take the NJTransit to Septa route outlined earlier. I commute at least once a week from Philly to NYC and the problem is that the Septa line is unreliable. Plus, if you are traveling too late, they will stop running. Septa is underfunded and just terrible (this is from a Philly guy!)

Honestly, the best thing to do is to either take the Amtrak if you can afford it or take the Greyhound if you can't. I know the Greyhound is dirty, but if you travel during a peak time your fellow passengers are commuters and generally cleaner and more considerate.

If you can spare the extra bucks, spend the $45 for that Amtrak ticket since it is by far the best option. NYMC will be able to tell you what train to take to get to Penn Station for the Amtrak. Good luck on your interviews.

 

[prettymonkey]

look up "chinatown bus"

cheapest anway...

i heard that is no more. they got sued or something.

 

[riversoul]

thanks for the help everyone!

Lshapely, does the Amtrak go directly from Penn Station to Center City Philadelphia? $45 doesn't sound bad for a reliable route.

 

[MDMAMA]

Amtrak station in Philadelphia is at Drexel. You couldn't get closer!

 

[kronickm]

NJ Transit/Septa route is much cheaper ($15-20) each way from Grand Central. It is not the most reliable but I will certainly get you there, although it takes a little over 2 hours.

Amtrak is by far and away the easiest and fastest although you pay $45 for it.

If you don't mind paying go Amtrak.

 

[167649]

Amtrak - If you are paying all that money to go from Cali to the east and back you might as well pay $45 more bucks for the best route (only about 1/2 an application fee, anyways!).

 

[Funky]

Does anyone have the easiest public transportation way to get from JFK to NYMC? Sorry to hijack and thanks for you help.

Take the airtrain to Jamaica station and take the LIRR to penn station. Take the 1,2,3 to 42nd street and transfer to either the S or 7 train and take that to grand central station. Once there, take metro north to Valhalla.

Here's a tip, save money by buying your ticket before boarding the trains.

 

[premeddick]

Take the airtrain to Jamaica station and take the LIRR to penn station. Take the 1,2,3 to 42nd street and transfer to either the S or 7 train and take that to grand central station. Once there, take metro north to Valhalla.

Here's a tip, save money by buying your ticket before boarding the trains.

Great. Thanks a lot. Do you know about how long this takes? Is it easy?

 

[Lshapley]

Ummm...Drexel's medical school campus is not where the university campus is. You need to take the R5 (I think) to the Queen's Lane campus once the Amtrak gets in Philly. Alternatively, just take a cab there. That will be a bit less stressful.

 

[Funky]

Great. Thanks a lot. Do you know about how long this takes? Is it easy?

not sure how fast the airtrain takes since i've never taken it
but jamaica to penn station is like 15 minutes and then the 2 subways take like another 10 mins
And i'm not sure how long the metro north takes but I would guess 30 mins
So youre looking at a 1 hour - 1 hr 15 minute ride

 

[xxbruinxx]

i just found my self in the exact same situation. I'm traveling from CA on 10/24 for an interview at NYMC....I have scheduled an interview at Drexel on 10/31

What's the consensus on the best/cheapest/reliable way of getting from Manhattan to Drexel?

thanks a bunch!

 

[riversoul]

i just found my self in the exact same situation. I'm traveling from CA on 10/24 for an interview at NYMC....I have scheduled an interview at Drexel on 10/31

What's the consensus on the best/cheapest/reliable way of getting from Manhattan to Drexel?

thanks a bunch!

are you spending a week on the east coast? if so, hehe, that's what i'm doing too, except my interviews are approx a week later.

based on what i've read, i'm planning to go from nymc to grand central to penn station, and then take the amtrak to the 30th street station in philly. then i'm spending a night at a hotel in center city, and will use the next day to explore philly.

 

[chespirido]

i heard that is no more. they got sued or something.

I thought it still runs but they dont have passenger insurance....something about it is shady. But I cant imagine it being less safe then any other bus.

 

[WinterLights]

I hear Thor is gives rides from Valhalla to anywhere, U.S.

 

[ssquared]

Amtrak station in Philadelphia is at Drexel. You couldn't get closer!

The 30th street station is at the undergrad Drexel campus. The medical school is up at Queen Lane. That would be a rather fatal mistake to make!

Personally, I'd take Amtrak from NYC to Phila, then take a cab to Queen Lane. It'll cost you about $70 total: $45 for the train, and about $25 for the cab (depends on how badly the driver wants to rip you off).

 

[riversoul]

The 30th street station is at the undergrad Drexel campus. The medical school is up at Queen Lane. That would be a rather fatal mistake to make!

Personally, I'd take Amtrak from NYC to Phila, then take a cab to Queen Lane. It'll cost you about $70 total: $45 for the train, and about $25 for the cab (depends on how badly the driver wants to rip you off).

Yea, the day after I explore philly, I'll be taking the R6 line from the 30th st station to get to the East Falls Station which, according to my student host and looking on google maps, is pretty close to the med school.

 

[becool5]

Yea, the day after I explore philly, I'll be taking the R6 line from the 30th st station to get to the East Falls Station which, according to my student host and looking on google maps, is pretty close to the med school.

Not to make things more confusing for you, but there is a shuttle that runs between the Medical school campus and the Hospital campus which is located near Suburban Station. If you are hotel is near there that might be another option. The shuttle is limited to folks with a Drexel ID, but maybe you can talk to the school and they can arrange for you to show something to the driver (sometimes they don't check anyway).

http://www.drexel.edu/facilities/queen_lane.htm

 

[xxbruinxx]

ok so if I'm coming from Manhattan (financial district), and don't want to do Amtrak since it's a bit too $$ ($45 each way), can someone help w/ a good set of "turn - by - turn" directions?

thx