[Stylo]

Originally Posted by NewHavensFinest

It takes no more than 30 minutes..

Travel to airport, check-in, security, wait, exit airport, transportation to destination. WAY more than 30 minutes.

[missionhill]

To New York you have lots of train options, as you can tell from the answers you've gotten. Amtrak goes down and back several times a day right from Hartford with stops at Meriden and Wallingford, south of Hartford. The Metro North Commuter RR is a state-subsidized railroad mainly for getting people back and forth to work in NYC. Fares are considerably lower than Amtrak although Amtrak isn't bad on the Hartford to New York run. Metro North has service along the shore line from New Haven west and on several other lines. All Amtrak trains go to Penn Station, a busy, utilitarian place. The Metro North trains go into Grand Central which is very grand and surely a more impressive way to enter NYC for a first-time visitor. There is no useful train service from Hartford to Boston so your choices are to take the bus or drive. As someone suggested you can drive to the Riverside T station and take the T (in this case, a scenic trolley car ride) into Boston. Or drive to the Alewife red line station off Route 2 in Cambridge, which is also pretty easy to reach coming from Hartford. The T ride in from Alewife is quicker but nearly all underground.

[NY Annie]

I'm amazed at all the responses giving directions to drive. The OP clearly states "(short of driving)" - meaning he doesn't want to or cannot drive.

Then, he mentions from Hartford to NYC and from Hartford to Boston - not from NYC to Boston.

OP, you've been given the best information about buses and trains from Hartford and from Hartford to New Haven as a transfer stop. Find out what works for you farewise and schedule compatibility and plan your daytrips accordingly. Enjoy. You might also consider a daytrip to Providence, RI.

[KEVIN_224]

Doing Amtrak from Hartford to New York City, you'd stop at the following:

Berlin, CT (technically serves nearby New Britain) - I use this station the most.
Meriden, CT
Wallingford, CT
New Haven, CT - the first southbound train of the day is straight through. Other schedules have you change here.
Bridgeport, CT
Stamford, CT
New Rochelle, NY


To correct a previous poster who said "I-678"...I think he meant I-91 South to I-95 South to I-278 West. I-278 starts as the Bruckner Expressway at I-95's Exit 6B in the Bronx. A few miles down I-278 West, you can access I-87 North (Major Deegan Expressway) or the RFK Bridge into either Queens or the Harlem area of Manhattan.

Some Peter Pan and Greyhound schedules out of Hartford service New Britain and/or New Haven en route to New York City's Port Authority.

[NewHavensFinest]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Travel to airport, check-in, security, wait, exit airport, transportation to destination. WAY more than 30 minutes.

From the parking lot to the landing strip of your destination yes. But its worth the wait going through the checkpoint especially if you have no bags.


The last 6 checkpoints I went through werent even that bad, especially the one at Logan Airport in Boston.


Theres also TSA Pre Check,

"The TSA Pre✓â„¢ application program is a DHS Trusted Traveler program. TSA began accepting taking TSA Pre✓â„¢ applications on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013. TSA Pre✓â„¢ allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers the opportunity to apply for expedited screening at participating U.S. airports."

TSA Pre

[LRPct]

Originally Posted by NewHavensFinest

From the parking lot to the landing strip of your destination yes. But its worth the wait going through the checkpoint especially if you have no bags.


The last 6 checkpoints I went through werent even that bad, especially the one at Logan Airport in Boston.


Theres also TSA Pre Check,

"The TSA Pre✓â„¢ application program is a DHS Trusted Traveler program. TSA began accepting taking TSA Pre✓â„¢ applications on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013. TSA Pre✓â„¢ allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers the opportunity to apply for expedited screening at participating U.S. airports."

TSA Pre

Which only works about half the time. You should see how many pissed off people there are at security when they find out that precheck is not a guarantee of less/preferred screening and a quicker time through.

One could roundtrip the whole thing in a car in the time to fly one way when figuring doorstep to doorstep times.