TWW,

The girlfriend gets me tickets to a MLB game every summer for my birthday. This year, we are going to go see the A's play in NYC against the Yankees the last weekend of July.

Another couple or two are coming with us.

What we are unsure about is whether we should fly or ride. Last summer we drove to Baltimore and had a good time but we were thinking about flying this summer to NYC.

Which is cheaper -- Driving or Flying?

Where to stay -- safe, etc...?

Thanks

5/26/2009 12:18:42 PM

I haven't checked flight rates from RDU to one of the tri-state airports but its only an 8 hour drive if you do it at the right time and gas isn't too expensive these days. If you're going with other people it will most assuredly be cheaper to drive on a per person basis.

As far as accommodations, it depends on what you want. You could stay in Manhattan for a pretty penny or you could stay in New Jersey or Southern CT and get a straight shot right to Manhattan and even the new stadium (Metro-North JUST opened up a station right across from NYS so a trip in from Stamford or Norwalk would be cheap and very convenient -- where as previously you needed to switch off of Metro-North and get a subway at 125th street).

And pretty much anywhere in Manhattan is safe in midtown or downtown...

[Edited on May 26, 2009 at 12:24 PM. Reason : x]

5/26/2009 12:24:10 PM

fly. tolls will screw you. i always end up finding a flight for <150 round trip.

5/26/2009 12:39:20 PM

If you're curious what costs more the answer is obviously driving. HOWEVER, if you're staying for a while I'm not sure how much it would cost to park your car in a deck.

Cheap flights can be found, but you usually have to go either on weird days or just get plain lucky. $150-200 is a good price. Southwest just started doing service to LGA so look into their prices, could be low.

If there are two of you and you're driving you're cutting the price in half, whereas if you fly you're talking about $300-400. Driving with tolls is around $150 (for a car that gets decent gas mileage). Driving will take 8-9 hours if you can plan around traffic in DC, Baltimore, and around NYC.

Flying is the best option if you go up for 2-3 days. If you're going longer and want to save money I'd always suggest driving. I'm making my next trip up there (driving) in two months. Can't wait!

I just looked on http://www.kayak.com and the cheapest flight that weekend right now is $169 via USAirways (who suck). Southwest's best price is $228 at the moment. That's for the 24-26th, and not taking time of day into consideration

[Edited on May 26, 2009 at 1:30 PM. Reason : driving is waaaaay cheaper, but how much is your time worth to you?]

[Edited on May 26, 2009 at 1:31 PM. Reason : k]

5/26/2009 1:25:07 PM

you will more than likely get stuck in some nasty traffic from idiots who cant drive
just driving through VA and DC is enough to make me fly

5/26/2009 2:30:40 PM

there are tons of nyc threads that are still current that the people that live up there frequent...search

5/26/2009 10:54:51 PM