I would like to visit Dartmouth and Brown. Does anyone know the best way to travel around that area if I am taking the bus from Virginia?
You’re taking a bus up there from Virginia to tour?? Seems kind of crazy.
Anyway, I guess if you make it up there, I would recommend Uber. Easy, relatively cheap, and safe.
You may want to consider Amtrack. There is a station in Vermont 5 minutes from Dartmouth.
Of course a stop in Providence as well.
Bus travel is very slow. You will hit enormous amounts of traffic in the DC area, around NYC and painful traffic on 95 up to New Haven.
As always, do you have a 4.0/2400 SAT or close and have a fabulous talent? If not, make sure to find matches and safeties first!!!
Providence train statin is close to Brown as well–a short cab ride.
Couldn’t you rent a car cheaper?
Never mind I just realized you probably have to be 25 to rent a car.
you only have to be 18 to be a zip car member…
How will this student get from Brown to Dartmouth? Another bus?
I think this trip plan needs to be rethought. Dartmouth is not near any train station. I seriously doubt you will find an uber driver to get you from Hanover to White River Junction…where the train is.
I would suggest you travel with a parent. I would suggest getting to Providence. Go see Brown which you can do without renting anything. Then rent a car and drive to Dartmouth…see that school…drive back to Providence and take the bus home.
Perhaps are there any other colleges you could see between Providence and Hanover?
My mother will be taking me on the tours. I was just hoping someone could give us guidance on how to get around once we get there. I would like to visit a few other colleges when we are there but do not know if we will have the time or additional money to stay longer. Thank you for all the information and suggestions. We are also trying to find the most economical way to get there.
Once you get to Providence, you can walk to Brown from the Amtrak station area and from the closer parts of downtown. Uber in Providence is cheaper than other cities where I have used it.
To get to Dartmouth from Providence, you can take a commuter train (from that same Amtrak station) to South Station in Boston, where you can pick up a bus called Dartmouth Coach to Hanover. http://dartmouthcoach.com/
Another way to do it would be to stay in Boston/Cambridge and look at several colleges there, including a day trip to Brown (the train takes about 45 min) and a day trip to Dartmouth (bus is 2.5 hours).
Amtrak has a special discount for college visit trips:
http://www.amtrak.com/buy-one-get-one-50-off-with-college-campus-visit
Does your mom have a car? That would ultimately be the cheapest and most efficient way to go.
A car would really be the most sensible way. Is there a reason that you aren’t planning to drive?
it probably won’t help this student, but Enterprise rents to persons age 21 or older, but with an extra charge. Many other companies are limited to older drivers.
I would not recommend that a young or inexperienced driver take on the I-95 corridor (and possibly the DC Beltway). After 30 years of driving, I still try to find alternate routes to many segments of it.
I’d also suggest Amtrak for most of the trip. It is a much more pleasant way to travel than a bus, with roomy seats in most cases. The rates are usually cheaper if you buy the tickets at least a month in advance. The cost of Amtrak tickets vary with demand for the seats - so the costs may be twice as high for a train leaving at certain times of the day as other times of the same day. There is a 10% discount for AAA members and a higher discount if buy a student advantage (right name?) membership.
When passing through congested metro areas, Amtrak can be faster than driving.
A person could take Amtrak most of the way and then have a rental car reserved for a drive to Dartmouth.
Providence (Brown) to Boston: http://peterpanbus.com/bus_travel_destinations/boston-logan-airport-bus/
Boston to Hanover (Dartmouth): http://www.dartmouthcoach.com/
Good luck!
I took Amtrak from Virginia to New Haven and back. Trip was pleasant (way better than driving or flying). It was expensive since it was the holiday time, and on the way back my train was delayed over an hour, but I would take Amtrak again.
I don’t know how familiar you are with the Northern VA to Baltimore corridor, but I would agree that I95 and the Beltway are very stressful roads and there is a potential for a lot of traffic depending on when you’re going and the weather situation- there are constantly accidents on the beltway in particular.
The Amtrack stop is 4.5 miles from Dartmouth and the school will send someone to get you.
The problem is the train from Providence is terrible.