<p>for current penn undergrads:</p>
<p>whats the easiest way to get to DC and NYC from penn for a weekend or something really abbreviated? or, since phili is so cool (so i hear) do lots of kids just stay put?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>chinatown bus for either city, or septa regional rail (r7 train) to trenton, transfer to nj transit train to nyc</p>
<p>Easiest/Most Convenient Way: Amtrak (relatively expensive) - Can go to both DC & NYC
Convenient/Reasonably-Priced: Regional Rail to NYC (no DC option)
Cheapest/Inconvenient: Chinatown can go to both (cheap yet poor service, inconvenient pickup/dropoff points, the buses smell, and it can take a while with traffic)</p>
<p>i'm not a penn undergrad.. but...</p>
<p>chinatown bus. 11th and arch.</p>
<p>most likely you'll stay put in philly though.</p>
<p>Chinatown isn't that great if you think about it:</p>
<p>you're paying an ~ $10 cab (trust me on this one I take cabs practically every day in philly) to get to the 11th and arch station (each way), then a $20 round trip ticket, then a $3 metro in new york to get to your destination (each way). So from penn to your destination and back you're paying a total of approx. $46...to ride in a smelly bus that's crowded, drops you off in the middle of chinatown, and with traffic can sometimes take up to 3 hrs. </p>
<p>For regional rail you can walk to 30th st station (10 min walk)...then take a then train $17.50 (each way) and a $3 metro in new york to and from the station. So you are paying a total of $41 for the trip...if you take the express (even the local) you get there quicker than with chinatown (especially if chinatown has traffic) and it drops you off in the heart of manhattan...so you get to your destination quicker. </p>
<p>my preference is amtrak though.</p>
<p>EDIT: btw when i wrote cheapest for chinatown in my previous post i mean that cheapest roundtrip without figuring in other factors like cab, metro...</p>
<p>Commit a crime in DC but get caught in Philly.</p>
<p>And bern, you are a bad person who has way too much money, and is too lazy to walk to 11th and arch (or even just septa it). YOu are truly a discredit to america, but a credit to obesity.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>11th and arch is a 20 minute walk from campus...normally when you want to go on a trip you want to leave say early friday afternoon so say you have a class and need to get to the station on time...you normally don't have the 20-25 minutes to walk while a 6-10 minute walk to 30th street is manageable...you could septa it and save a few bucks...I just don't really like septa (terrible service...unlike MTA in nyc). </p></li>
<li><p>i'm not an american so I really can't be a discredit to America</p></li>
<li><p>I don't know how shelling out a few bucks to save time is a credit to obesity (i guess I could run to 11th and arch as I do run a 5:10 mile which would be pretty quick but then i'd be all sweaty when I arrived :) ).</p></li>
<li><p>just so you hate me even more I normally don't take regular amtrak...I take the Acela. :) lol</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Ah, another rich international. At least you're bolstering my theory.</p>