Thanks, that eases my mind a bit. We are also in the 3 flight group, which makes traveling fun. In the future we might not bring him home for Thanksgiving, but this year I think it is a must. We learned when my first one went to college that it is a long time from August to Christmas. I’m looking to not repeat that mistake with this one. Thanks for all the help!
There is train service between Syracuse and NYC, isn’t there?
I’m not sure how applicable it is, but for my son, we found Megabus had rides from about a half hour from our house to a few miles from his campus (not Cornell, but in NY). You can check their website just in case - prices were great ($30 - $50 one way).
The best bet is to call the college about any of their shuttles. The more interest they have, the less likely they are to cancel. Also it is very good to have backup plans to stay locally just in case the weather snags, instead of not planning to go at all.
We are at the same page with @Renomamma. Thanksgiving is such a short time to come home from Cornell to SoCal. My daughter can get direct flight from Newark/JFK/La Guardia but that requires 5 to 6 hours from Cornell. Last Thanksgiving she went to Long Island with her best friend. It took them 10 hours from Cornell with all the snow and traffic. So even if you’re flying out of NYC, it’s still risky.
First time we visited Cornel, April of 2014 after daughter was admitted. The first few days, it was sunny and in the 70’s. On our last day, it snowed. Our flight from Syracuse was delayed and then cancelled because of the snow (which is not that much). We ended up getting a late flight to Philadelphia that night but all the flights to our home had gone. They booked us to a very early flight but not direct (All the direct flights are full). We have to catch the connecting flight in Phoenix. We ended up staying in the airport because we only have about 4 hours till our flight. Well, our flight to Phoenix got delayed because they have to de-ice the plane. Needless to say, we missed our flight again in Phoenix.
Based on that experience, we agreed not to bring her home on a 4-day weekend.
D has had unplanned adventures every time she has flown home or back to school, regardless of whether she went to Rochester, Ithaca, or Syracuse.
- Watch flightaware & the airline site – be proactive at monitoring the connection
- If the kid is gonna miss a connection, be proactive & ask the airline to change the flight plan while your student is still in the air – this tactic got my D home last Thanksgiving when other students on her flight didn’t make it. D knew another airline had a later flight to Denver available so he got her transferred to the other airline before she ever landed.
- Consider flying home into a nearby hub rather than your own smaller airport – there are more flights from hub to hub.
- Remind the student to pack some snacks in a carry-on in the event of a delay
- Flight crew availability has been a bigger problem than weather, so the larger airports have more resources to fix this.
Flying to/fro Rochester has not been convenient. The Greyhound is a 2+ hour ride, then must transfer to a taxi to get to the airport. She had to wait over an hour once for a taxi and would’ve missed her flight if not for a kind lady at the bus station who personally took kids to the airport when the taxis failed to arrive.
D1’s best friend was from Seattle. She always went home for Thanksgiving and would go for a week. She could often leave the weekend before (or Mon/Tue) and come back the following Mon. The wouldn’t buy her ticket until she got closer to the holiday to make sure there is no prelim or quiz that week. She would also know how strict her professors were about attendance. I think many professors are flexible. My kids also often came home for more than just 4 days.
This year freshman D is coming home for Thanksgiving via Ithaca-Detroit-Chicago, but next year we are probably going to rent a VRBO in Ithaca for Thanksgiving. Found some nice places on the lake. My H and I are more flexible with our time so the travel/time crunch isn’t as much of an issue for us as for the students. Might be a fun adventure!
There some nice homes on the lake for rental. We are renting one for D2’s graduation. It’s on the lake with a beautiful view.
@oldfort how much in advance of the graduation do you do that? Also, approx how pricey (if you don’t mind my asking)?
May I ask where you live? If you live in/near Chicagoland, you might want to look into Amtrak from Syracuse. The night train is about 13 hours, SYR to CHI. Sleep the entire way. Very inexpensive, too. Could be worth it even if you have to drive an hour or two to get her at Union Station. It also has stops in Indiana and Ohio.
@brantly, yes we live in Chicagoland. I have already purchased her Amtrak ticket for Christmas. And you are correct,it it is very inexpensive. Thanksgiving just seems too short a time to take the train, so we bit the bullet on the flight. 
For graduation you will need to book 1 year ahead for most places, that includes Statler and other hotels in Ithaca.
@TiggyB62 Ah, yes, I get it. Next time keep in mind that it’s a night train, so if she’s the type who can sleep on the train, she’s not losing a day to travel. Another option is train home, fly back.
There is a document on Cornell website - You have to dig around…I have copied the contents below but still had questions - since timings don’t seem that valid for me. There is that Ithaca limo that I talked about in earlier post - that seems to be reliable per answers here.
Airline will not transfer passengers to nearby alternate airports. So, your child will need to arrange for that himself / herself. Again, I think thanksgiving should be ok since there is no snow at that time. For cornell bus, we will have to wait till october to see details and that is not as reliable as per comments from here.
Get Around Guide
Travel resources for breaks, holidays,
or a weekend shopping trip.
COMMERCIAL COACH SERVICES
ShortLine Bus Company 1-800-631-8405 www.shortlinebus.com
ShortLine offers eight trips daily from Ithaca to destinations like Binghamton, New York City, Long Island, Queens, Monticello, Paramus, Ridgewood, and Woodbury Commons. Ask about student fares.
Greyhound Bus Lines 607-272-7930 www.greyhound.com
Greyhound offers service to Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, and locations around the country.
CORNELL’S EXPRESS NEW YORK CITY SERVICE
Campus–to–Campus 607-254-TRIP www.c2cbus.com
Express transportation between the Ithaca and New York City campuses of Cornell University.
BREAK & VACATION CHARTER BUS SERVICE
ShortLine Bus Company 1-800-631-8405 www.shortlinebus.com
Chartered Bus Rides from Cornell to New Jersey
, Westchester, New York City, and Long Island
Swarthout Tours 607-257-2660 www.goswarthout.com
Chartered Bus Rides from Cornell to New Jersey
, Queens, and Long Island
Cornell-Bethesda Bus cbbus@hotmail.com www.cbbus.com
Chartered Bus Rides between Cornell and Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, MD
Cornell-Boston-Ludlow 607.272.2000 (Student Agencies) www.studentagencies.com
CSS and CoachUSA
offer special charter bus service to Ludlow and Boston for most Cornell breaks.
AIRPORTS
Ithaca Airport 1-800-525-0280 www.flyithaca.com
Hancock Int’l Airport 315-454-4330 www.syrairport.org
GROUND SERVICE TO SYRACUSE AIRPORT and AMTRAK STATIONIthaca Airline Limousine 607-273-3030 or 1-800-273-9197 www.transportationsithaca.com Service between Ithaca and Hancock International Airport and the Regional Transportation Center in Syracuse.
TRAIN SERVICE
AMTRAK 1-800-872-7245 www.amtrak.com
The nearest AMTRAK station is located in Syracuse at 131 Alliance Bank Parkway, Regional Transportation Center.
STUDENT RIDEBOARD
Zimride www.zimride.com/cornell
A collection of resources for fellow travelers looking for one-time trips, or for commuters looking for carpools.
“I think thanksgiving should be ok since there is no snow at that time”. Not in Florida. Yes in upstate NY.
I live near Ithaca, and it’s pretty rare for there to be enough snow to shut down flights in Ithaca at Thanksgiving. Not saying it couldn’t happen…it’s just not very likely. Syracuse could possibly be chancier, if a steady north wind sets up lake effect snow.
But by the time Christmas rolls around, the chances for snow are higher. And all bets are off in January and February. March could be dicey too…it doesn’t always snow in March, but when it does, it can be a whopper!
Thank you @mdcmom , you said it much better what I wanted to say :-)… I don’t live near Ithaca but that’s what I would say based on my experience of living in snowy climates.
The flight may not be cancelled but it could get delayed. So far All my daughter’s flight from Syracuse and Ithaca had been delayed. With snow the chances are greater.
I had heard about all these delays people frequently experience. D traveled back and forth to the west last year with no major problems. She stayed in NY for Thanksgiving, though. Maybe she just got lucky. We try to schedule flights with plenty of time in between just in case. It makes for a longer trip, but ultimately less stressful.
@Renomamma
Yes, maybe my daughter just got unlucky. We always have have 3 or more hours in between flight based on past experiences. Sometimes even that is not enough as was the case when she came home in May. Fortunately there was a later flight that wasn’t full. Also I was very proactive. When I knew that she was not gonna make her next flight from Newark I was about to call the airline but they already put her to the next flight. Spring and maybe December is OK as the flights are not full but Thanksgiving most flights are full so if you don’t make your connecting flight, you’re SOL.
@2018dad- shhh! I was trying to calm the nerves of new freshman parents 
but, really, from the stories I’ve heard, I think my D got lucky. Also, I have resigned to the fact that I won’t see my angel for 4 Thanksgivings. It’s just too much travel.