Traveling for Dummies: NYC on the Cheap

As I plan and go on trips, I tend to think a lot about my travel philosophy. I would consider myself an expert at travel, except that I haven’t logged my requisite 10,000 hours (I’m still slightly obsessed with that idea). But I have been to quite a few places, and I waxed philosophical about travel a couple of days ago:

I was talking to a friend about Budapest, and he said, “Wow, that’s not a place people go a lot!”

I said I considered it a Level 2 destination. It was an idea I came up with on the spot. A Level 1 destination is a place like France or Italy. Everybody goes there. Hungary’s a good Level 2 because it’s well-traveled, but not usually the first place people think to go. Level 3 is your China, your India, etc. More exotic, fewer English speakers, yadda yadda yadda.

So I decided that since apparently I have a lot to say, and that the point of a blog is to blab incessantly and no one has to listen unless they want to, that it might be fun to do a series of travel-related entries.

So here we go… Issue #1: New York on the Cheap

As a DC-er, I’ve been to New York many times. New York is to DCers what Vegas is to Utahns: a super famous place that people from all over the country carefully plan their vacation time and save up to go to, but which you can do in a weekend. This definitely has its advantages: you don’t have to plans months in advance, it’s easier to cancel if there’s a weather problem, etc.

DC-ers erroneously presume that the bus is always the cheapest way to get to NYC. It’s true, the scary Chinatown bus costs about $35 round-trip, and Greyhound is not that much more. (Tangent: I don’t know why people bother with the Chinatown buses now when Greyhound is often the same price, and when you’ve got companies like Bolt Bus and Megabus). The bus is the cheapest way if one of the following is true:
• You are staying in Manhattan at a friend’s house
• You are traveling alone
• You are a Manhattan snob who insists on staying in a Manhattan hotel despite their ridiculous prices (but if that’s the case, what are you doing on the bus?)

There’s a delicious little place called New Jersey, and that’s where I stay when I go to NYC. Its disadvantages:
• Not Manhattan

Its advantages:
• A 15-minute bus ride away from Manhattan
• Much cheaper hotels
• Free parking!
• A nice part of the world

Staying in New Jersey makes it SO much cheaper to get to NYC. Let’s look at the math:

According to fuelcostcalculator.com, using my car Roxanne as an example, gas at today’s prices will run $21.46 each way. Tolls are $19.2 on the way there and $14.20 on the way back. That’s $76.32, approximately $6 more than two Chinatown bus tickets.

So, once you have two people traveling, it costs about the same. As soon as you add a third person, it becomes much cheaper to drive. And you have the freedom of coming and going when you want.

When I’m with one other person and staying in Manhattan, I’ll take the bus. When I’m with one other person and staying in New Jersey, I drive. Then we can hit Chick-Fil-A on the way.

Plus, there are some tricks. First, if you take I-695 around Baltimore during rush hour, you miss out on a lot of traffic.

There’s a great way to get around the Delaware toll road. This saves you $4 each way. That drops the total trip price to $68.32, cheaper than two bus tickets!

I've also had friends tell me they've been able to find free street parking in Manhattan, but I've never tried it myself. I do know where there's a relatively cheap and very convenient parking garage, but I'm not going to tell you. It only becomes cost-effective if you have three people traveling, but it came in handy the last time I was there and there was major NJ Transit bus drama.

Alright, tune in next time to listen to me rag on people who stand REALLY REALLY still.