Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You could do 4 days in NYC and take the 90 minute trip on Amtrak over to Philly where the "must sees" (Independence Hall, Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross House) can be covered in a day since they're in the compact historic district near one another. DC is nearly a full five day trip on it's own and would save that for a standalone.
You could do 4 days in NYC and take the 90 minute trip on Amtrak over to Philly where the "must sees" (Independence Hall, Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross House) can be covered in a day. DC is a full five day trip on it's own and would save that for a standalone.
This sounds like a good idea because I really wanted to take the Acela Express to compare it to the surfliner out here.
What are your interests? Probably all five in New York. You're going to wish you spent more time no matter how long you go. I spent three days there recently and missed out on 75% of what I planned to do because of time. There's just so much to see. Philly is cool, but not nearly as impressive (sorry).
Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
3,530 posts, read 4,175,298 times
Reputation: 2925
3 days in NYC, 2 in Philly. Or alternatively, 3 days in NYC, 2 in DC. To get all three, 3 days in NYC, 1 in Philly and 1 in DC. You absolutely need at least 3 days to see NYC, since there's a ton to see (not just Manhattan), and you will be wasting lots of time in lines and getting to where you need to go (but it's worth it). Philly and DC also have tons to see, but you can reduce Philly to a day in Center City and DC to a day on the National Mall to get a decent tourist experience. Obviously, Philly and DC have a ton of other things to see and do, but those tend to be in the outerlying neighborhoods and off the beaten path (the same can also be said of NYC, but less so. There's more justification to travel to Fishtown in Philadelphia than Jamaica, Queens imo.)
What are your interests? Probably all five in New York. You're going to wish you spent more time no matter how long you go. I spent three days there recently and missed out on 75% of what I planned to do because of time. There's just so much to see. Philly is cool, but not nearly as impressive (sorry).
Film, art, live comedy, food, coffee, architecture, so yeah, sounds like NYC I guess. I'm thinking my motivation to go to Philly was borne mostly out of taking an east coast amtrak ride.
3 days in NYC, 2 in Philly. Or alternatively, 3 days in NYC, 2 in DC. To get all three, 3 days in NYC, 1 in Philly and 1 in DC. You absolutely need at least 3 days to see NYC, since there's a ton to see (not just Manhattan), and you will be wasting lots of time in lines and getting to where you need to go (but it's worth it). Philly and DC also have tons to see, but you can reduce Philly to a day in Center City and DC to a day on the National Mall to get a decent tourist experience. Obviously, Philly and DC have a ton of other things to see and do, but those tend to be in the outerlying neighborhoods and off the beaten path (the same can also be said of NYC, but less so. There's more justification to travel to Fishtown in Philadelphia than Jamaica, Queens imo.)
I'm thinking take the train to Philly on the last morning and fly out from there in the evening. Three places that get hyped endlessly that I still can't muster the motivation to actually go to are Chicago, D.C., and Boston. I'm thinking D.C. will get the snub on this trip. I went to Mexico City in 2012 for five days and wasted most of the trip trying to figure basic stuff out. Won't make that mistake this time, I'm making a schedule down to the hour.
I would do 5 days in NYC. Honestly, not that the other cities aren't worth visiting, and not that they are redundant, but simply because NYC needs 5 days and it would be my top choice. I'm not a big fan of spending too much time traveling during a trip, so if anything I would tack on Philly rather than DC simply for the shorter travel time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Losfrisco
Won't make that mistake this time, I'm making a schedule down to the hour.
Lol i don't think you need to do that. If you do that's great cause it will help you be informed and organized, but I would definitely suggest being flexible and willing to stray from that rigid schedule.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
