trip to boston in july, trains??? (Attleboro: rental, credit card, to buy)

[eastontracks]

Hello,

I'll be planning one wicked trip this summer. I'm from Texas, and will be visiting NYC first. My question is, do they run trains from nyc up to boston? I've heard people talk about trains before, but I was curious as to if there's still this sort of transportation in that area. From Boston, we'll be trying to get to Providence either through bus or train, if possible, to catch a flight to California.

If there are any other ideas, let me know. I'm alsotrying not to spend a lot of money as far as transportation is concerned. Bus seems like another route. Getting a rental seems a little too expensive. Thanks.

[ctrres]

You're in luck. For 15.00 one way, do as the locals do: the "Fung Wah" bus from Canal @ Bowery (where the Manhattan Bridge is), every half hour or so, direct to Boston. Their competitor, "Lucky Star," operates from a few blocks north on Chrystie St. The trip is 4 hours.

(If you want to be more proper and likely pay more, there's always Greyhound or Peter Pan from the Port Authority bus terminal. If you want to pay more than that, you can take the Amtrak intercity from Penn Station. If you want to pay a lot more, you can take the Acela high-speed train (but this being the Northeast Corridor, it only gets up to 150 mph for a few miles). Those trains' trips are both still over 3 hours.)

All of the above take you to South Station, Bos.

From Boston to Providence, you can take the MBTA's "Providence line" commuter rail directly into that city. (Make sure the schedule from South Station says "Providence" and not just "Attleboro.")

From there: the RIPTA buses #14 or #20, 1.50, one way, to Providence T. F. Green airport.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by ctrres

You're in luck. For 15.00 one way, do as the locals do: the "Fung Wah" bus from Canal @ Bowery (where the Manhattan Bridge is), every half hour or so, direct to Boston. Their competitor, "Lucky Star," operates from a few blocks north on Chrystie St. The trip is 4 hours.

(If you want to be more proper and likely pay more, there's always Greyhound or Peter Pan from the Port Authority bus terminal. If you want to pay more than that, you can take the Amtrak intercity from Penn Station. If you want to pay a lot more, you can take the Acela high-speed train (but this being the Northeast Corridor, it only gets up to 150 mph for a few miles). Those trains' trips are both still over 3 hours.)

All of the above take you to South Station, Bos.

One time around Christmas I took Fung Wah to Boston and they charged me $20, told me it was due to gas prices. But coming back it was still only $15. ??

You can actually get the Greyhound/Peter Pan tickets for about the same as the Fung Wah tickets online with a credit card. Go to Greyhound Home, click on deals and discounts, and there is a choice that says something about $13 e-fares. You click on that one and a list comes down. NYC-Boston and Boston-NYC are on there. It's $38 round trip, $20 one way, with a $3 convenience fee added. You can print e-tickets but you'll need to show ID, or you can pick them up at the station. This is often pretty easy in Boston but the lines at Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York are usually bad, so e-tickets are better.

Note: if more than one person traveling, it's better to buy separately since they charge $25 extra if the person on the credit card is not the one traveling.

The train is WAY more expensive but much more comfortable. I paid $117 once for a last-minute one-way ticket.

[ctrres]

I believe it. Still later I got a 15.00 one way to Bos. a few weeks ago, and now I think Greyhound e-fare is 20.

I just can't forget how Greyhound was making out before Fung Wah arrived on the scene, so they have my loyalty.

Originally Posted by holden125

The train is WAY more expensive but much more comfortable.

Except they don't occasionally stop at McDonalds.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by ctrres

I believe it. Still later I got a 15.00 one way to Bos. a few weeks ago, and now I think Greyhound e-fare is 20.

I just can't forget how Greyhound was making out before Fung Wah arrived on the scene, so they have my loyalty.

Yes. These days I take Greyhound more since Port Authority is much more accessible from where I work and live, but it's pretty crazy. If you don't follow the steps I listed, you'll pay $62 roundtrip on their website instead of $38 or $41. Sneaky...

Originally Posted by ctrres

Except they don't occasionally stop at McDonalds.

They do have a food car, not quite McDonalds but you can pick up a beer.

[Luke9686]

Take the Fung Wah. Amtrak is too expensive. I like to support the locals over Greyhound also...

[eastontracks]

yeah i was looking at amtrak and their prices are ridiculous. i'll definitely look into fung wah. thanks guys.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by eastontracks

yeah i was looking at amtrak and their prices are ridiculous. i'll definitely look into fung wah. thanks guys.

Peter Pan Bus is not nationally famous, but they are big in the Boston-NYC corridor. See: Peter Pan Bus Lines.

Fung Wah (See: https://www.fungwahbus.com/ ) is a newer company that got its start serving the Asian communities in each city (Here's an interesting article about them: http://www.economist.com/world/na/di...ry_id=10024825 Fung Wah has also been in the news for questions about safety. Google it.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by professorsenator

Peter Pan Bus is not nationally famous, but they are big in the Boston-NYC corridor. See: Peter Pan Bus Lines.

Peter Pan merged their Boston/NYC service with Greyhound, so you buy the same ticket and ride whichever company's bus happens to be running the route at the hour you choose. The buses are about the same but Peter Pan (listed on Greyhound schedules as PPI or something as opposed to GLI) has TV monitors and sometimes shows movies. Usually lousy movies, occasionally pretty good movies.