Every day we are asked for advice about travelling in foreign countries. As experienced travel agents we often know the answers to our customers question. If we don’t know the answer we make it our job to find out. This is a question we were asked today.
Question
I’ve booked a holiday to the USA with you. Can you tell me what’s the best way to get from New York City to Washington ?
Answer
There are several options that you might want to consider. This route is one of the most popular because, of course, these are two very important cities. The distance between the two cities is 206 miles.
Flying between New York and Washington DC
Flying is an option and it takes about 1hr 10 mins and costs on average $60, although it is possible to get promotional fares of around $49 each way. There are frequent flights between these two cities and flights operate roughly every hour.You can fly from JFK, La Guardia (LGA) and Newark (EWR) and you could fly to Washington National (DCA), Dulles International (IAD) or Baltimore-Washington International (BWI).
Trains between New York City and Washington DC
There are frequent trains in both directions between New York and Washington. Trains run hourly. The journey takes about 3 hours 30 minutes although there is an express train that takes just less than 3 hours. The cost of a train ticket from New York to Washington is about $75 each way and over double this for the express train.
Buses between New York and Washington DC
National Greyhound Lines is the best known service between the two cities and takes at least 4 hours 30 minutes. Buses run every hour. It’s cheaper to buy your ticket on the internet. The cost of a ticket online is $24 and about $40 if you buy your ticket at the bus station.
Driving between New York City and Washington DC
A few years ago I picked up a car in New York City and drove out to the end of Long Island. I can claim that I have driven a car in New York City and I bet many people can’t claim to have done that !
The problem with driving from New York to Washington is that there are lots of tolls so in addition to your fuel costs you can expect to pay about $30 in tolls. Also, the drive is very boring as there is not much to look at. Once you reach your destination parking is a problem so in my opinion the driving option should be your last choice.
A note about Grand Central Station in New York
Grand Central Terminal (GCT) — often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central — is a train station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger trains, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms. Even if you don’t intend to catch a train from Grand Central it is worth a visit just for the architecture and the famous “Oyster Bar”.
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