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We are to see a show at St. George's Theater and we were wondering what is the best way to get to the theater from our hotel in Linden, NJ? We have priced out Uber and Lift but were curious if there is a better, less $$ way to make this commute. If we decide to take our own car, is it a safe drive for someone that is not used to driving in or around NYC? Or, is it worth us looking into taking a bus and is this even an option? We did research using the subway/Staten Island Ferry but this seems like a time sucker and kind of complicated. Would anyone have some advice for us?
It is a local ride but anytime you go into NYC which includes Staten Island the toll going over the bridge is about $15 or so round trip. No toll coming back the other way. Otherwise it would be just like driving one or two towns over most anywhere.
We are to see a show at St. George's Theater and we were wondering what is the best way to get to the theater from our hotel in Linden, NJ? We have priced out Uber and Lift but were curious if there is a better, less $$ way to make this commute. If we decide to take our own car, is it a safe drive for someone that is not used to driving in or around NYC? Or, is it worth us looking into taking a bus and is this even an option? We did research using the subway/Staten Island Ferry but this seems like a time sucker and kind of complicated. Would anyone have some advice for us?
Kind regards
I commute to Staten Island through Linden from Cranford NJ nearby. It's a very easy ride, sometimes can take a little while with traffic and construction but it's simple. Do NOT take public transportation - I don't even think there is a way to get there by bus and the train/subway/ferry thing is insane. You go way out of your way and it takes so long.
Just take route 1 and 9 north from Linden to 278 east and follow signs for Staten Island via the Goethals. The other "exits" would be the Turnpike, don't do that. Stay in the left lane on 278 and it will bring you straight to the bridge. Then follow that highway once over the bridge, the SI Expressway. I checked the map, it seems you can take Victory Boulevard to Montgomery Avenue then make a couple more turns down smaller streets to get to the theater. Victory Boulevard is exit 8. You can also easily access Victory Blvd via exit 13 if you want to stay on the highway more and get more into the island. There may be better ways to get there, though, I'm just going off what I know best about the island. Victory is often congested - well the whole island is - but definitely consider time, despite the close proximity of Linden to SI, because it could seriously take up to an hour or more depending on the time of day and other factors like weather and construction.
AS previous poster stated- drive is pretty easy- you kid of get dumped right onto entrance ramp for the bridge. Just be forewarned depending on time of day traffic can be very heavy. If you get off on Victory Blvd exit you can take that pretty much the whole way there then a handful of turns to get you to the theatre- it's a beautiful place. Parking should be in the lot across the street. While you will deal with traffic, POTHOLES, and crazy drivers on the rock, the driving is nothing like classic "NYC driving" in Manhattan at all.
I would also recommend grabbing a bite to eat there as some great places to eat are nearby. Enoteca Maria is an Italian place to eat (shocking on SI) pretty much next door. The hook is the food is cooked by old Italian grandmas and very authentic. There is also Beso which is a Spanish place a cpl blocks down which is excellent, same chef has a cajun place Bayou a few blocks down. Pier 76 on Bay St has great pizza and salads as well as a good beer list.
Just be aware this area isn't the greatest on SI- other then Enoteca you should prob drive to the other places- but on a night with a show the police should be out in force keeping things safe.
I'm much more interested in what show at the St. George you came to town to see that led to you stay in Linden?
If you're here to see a show you should have stayed on Staten Island. If you're here for anything else, why go to Staten Island to see a show? It's like one has nothing to do with the other, but it sounds like they do.
I'm much more interested in what show at the St. George you came to town to see that led to you stay in Linden?
If you're here to see a show you should have stayed on Staten Island. If you're here for anything else, why go to Staten Island to see a show? It's like one has nothing to do with the other, but it sounds like they do.
good point- missed the hotel part...very curious- must have been a better rate than any of the SI hotels? Although gas and tolls might change that a bit. St George Theatre gets some big acts btw and it's a beuatiful place to see a show.
I used to work in Staten I and when various vendors came over to stay any hotels they wanted to avoid staying in Staten I for many reasons including various quality of life issues.
Its only a drive across the bridge from America anyway. I don't fault anyone who doesn't want to stay in an SI hotel.
you will want to drive it. driving on staten island isnt like driving in manhattan, easy peasy. there isnt much parking in that area so you will probably want to put it in a lot. there is one right around that corner that should work perfectly. enjoy some entertainment!
even though staten island isnt the nicest borough, there must be places worth staying at over linden. there are more decent areas (not in the vicinity of the theater). but if you are going to spend more time in nj, then you wouldnt want to stay on staten island.
Wow, thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions! The closest I've driven to NYC is Hoboken, NJ, but have driven in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Pittsburgh...it's a little intimidating not knowing what kinda traffic patterns could arise so we were entertaining all of our options, and not being from the area it's a little intimidating.
As far as our hotel goes, most of the familiar hotel chains on SI are sold out. We looked at pricing in Manhattan and it was too $$$ so we priced hotels off I95 that would be easy to get in and out of. Even with the toll (which we did not know about), it will still be cheaper to stay in NJ off I95 than Manhattan.
Again, thank you all for the feedback, you have been a huge help!
Oh, Metsfan53 - thank you for the restaurant recommendations!
We'll be sure to check them out.
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