Boston to New York by bus or train

amtrak is a major american system, and greyhound is a major bus line

i'm sure the locals could give you other advice

You gonna travel???????

Ooooh, boy, wonderful, if so.

I await replies from the locals..
(I took the Greyhound bus once, years ago, and I'm very sure there are trains.)

It's been a while since I was in the Boston area.

I think the local bus line was Peter Pan. Their online ticketing is down right now.

Googling "bus from Boston to NY " gave me sunshine bus company with $15 tickets.

Not me travelling, sadly.

A friend is heading that way and asked the question.

Thanks for your help, a2k'ers!

Amtrak Acela leaves fromSouth Station, it's about as pricey as a plane. Buses also leave from South Station. Greyhound (Peter Pan) leaves more or less hourly, much more than Amtrak, and goes to the Port Authority Terminal on the West Side, 42nd St. and 8th or 9th Avenue, you can connect to the subways from there. All kinds of "Chinatown Buses" also leave from S. Station, and cost around $15 to $30 one way. They arrive on the street in Chinatown. I know people who swear by them. My niece used to commute from DC to my sister's in Manhattan by the Chinatown buses, and liked them a lot. Fung Wah was the first and biggest, but they've had four or five strange accidents, which kind of put people off them. Bolt bus is new, sort of in between the two tiers. Someone I know, can't remember who, was going to try it but I haven't heard any reports.

My other sister took the Acela from NY to Bos and thought it was great, lots of room , probably more than planes, which have gotten pretty much like buses just a little higher up.

You spend more time on the road in buses, but when you consider the early check ins, the security checks, the waits on the runway, the stack up to land and then debark, and the wait for luggage, then the trip into the city from the airport, total time isn't than much different than the bus.

Google"buses from Boston to New York" and you should get all the options.

Buses ofthen stop once at a rest stop on the interstate, for relief and refreshment. Pack a lunch, pack some water or fruit juice, bring an inflatable travel pillow and a microfiber travel blanket, load an MP3 player with your favorite music (pack an extra battery if you have one, just in case), the constant white noise of the engine puts you to sleep, travel in the evening when it's dark, listen to the music or not, it can be pretty comfortable.

Oh yeah, Greyhound/Peter Pan seems to have cheaper fares online than you can get in the terminal/

When I was doing research on NYC trips from DC I had a lot of hits for charter buses from Boston to NYC. Your friend should not have to pay more than $50.00 for round trip. Concidering things like road tolls, gas and parking, it's sooooo worth it.

T
K
O

Thanks, team

I have passed on your advice. I also Googled the topic myself - and found a whole lot of Chinese buses. What's with all the Chinese Buses?

Interestingly, my friend, who is Chinese, but lives here (that's in Oz - for those who don't know) said - NO CHINESE BUSES.

She's toured a fair bit in China, and had her comfort level challenged a couple of times. Currently she's leaning towards trains.

The Chinatown busses are awesome. Super cheap and they aren't dirty or anything (some people assume). They usually pick people up in a Chinatown, and drop people off in a Chinatown.

T
K
O

The Chinese buses are either those ones that are like 2/3 the size of a regular bus or a regular bus--the only difference being the graphics on the side--they're not like the ones that look like beatup school buses that they run in a lot of developing countries. (They started out as cheap transportation for Chinese restaurant workers bbetween Eastern seacosat towns with large Chinese populations--Boston, NY, DC--then everybody else discovered them).

If your friend wants more room, is willing to pay several times more, and doesn't mind infrequent service, then the train is probably best. Otherwise I'd go bus.

The Fung Wah and the Bolt are really cheap buses. For Bolt, I believe, the earlier you book, the better.

There's also the question of where your friend is going, both in Boston and in NY.

If she's (I'm assuming she's a she) going to midtown Manhattan, I'd go with the train, as it gets you to 34th Street and 7th Avenue (Penn Station), or the Greyhound/Peter Pan bus which goes to 42nd Street and 8th Avenue (Grand Central Station). They both leave from Boston's South Station and the train also departs from Back Bay Station in Boston and a Route 128 stop in the Dedham area which is outside the city of Boston.

The Fung Wah and Bolt buses leave from our Chinatown (Beach Street area) and go to their Chinatown (Lower Manhattan near Canal Street).

This is not to say that further transportation could not be obtained in either city. Both cities have excellent public transportation systems (both bus and subway/trolley) plus of course there are cabs. But there are some differences in terms of departure/arrival locations so they might need to be considered. By the way, if your friend is going to Queens, it might turn out to be best to fly.

I've taken the Amtrak Acela many times, and I love it. I will never take the regular Amtrak again unless I'm going to a stop that the Acela doesn't service. Acela is pricier but faster and a lot more comfortable. It's a few hundred each way, though. As for buses, they can be pretty good. It's been a long time since I took a bus so can't comment much on amenities.

A flight is 1 hour but you have checkin and baggage claim, plus you land in Queens so if you are going to Manhattan you've also bought yourself an hour or so of ground transport to get to Manhattan. The Acela is about 3, 3 1/2 hours. Regular Amtrak and buses both take around 5 hours.

If you are looking cheap -
There is a China town bus service that goes from Boston Chinatown to NYC Chinatown for something like $12 - but you risk your life taking this bus. I don't know the company off the top of my head - but it is first come first serve and you pay cash as you board. It could be fung wah - but they have had lots of accidents.

There is also a $1 one way bus service called Lucky Star with very limited seats (not sure how it works) but I believe their other fares are cheap. I've also seen Megabus, Sunshine bus that advertises low fares as well.

For regular known bus service there is also Peter Pan.

The Amtrak leaves from South Station - it is more expensive, but much more comfortable - there is also a high speed train from Boston to NY.

Oh and you should just be able to look up the companies I listed to get fares/schedules.

I know nothing of buses, but the address you give (42nd St and 8th Avenue) is the Port Authority Terminal, not Grand Central - that's on Park and 42nd. And those Chinese buses are usually in the news once a month or so - one of them overturned, or caught fire, or otherwise broke down and passengers had to wait in the rain for hours until another bus could be dispatched; they're cheap for a reason.

Amtrak does the trip in 3.5-4.5 hours, for $120-$140 one way. (See Amtrak website) New York Penn Station and Boston South Station are both very central places in their respective towns.

Greyhound does the trip in 4.5-5.5 hours, for around $40 one way. (See Greyhound website.) I don't know where in town the Greyhound stops are, and how much extra time your friend would have to schedule to get to the actual destination.

Oops, I meant the Port Authority.

And Linkat -- I forgot about Lucky Star. They are $1 if you book pretty far in advance and get more expensive the later you book.

http://www.megabus.com/us/schedules/newyork_boston.php


a sample trip quote

BOLT BUS all the way!

Same price as the China town bus, plus you can secure a seat for $2 (those who have this board first). FREE WI FI, fun young crowd, none of the shadiness that comes with the Fungwah or Lucky Star....and, well, free wifi.

Plus it stops on 32nd Street rather than in China town in New York - a better location for me.

Again, thanks all for your input.

I have passed all on to my friend, Sue. At present she's thinking Amtrak - but it has to go to committee.

I think fun young crowd is not too relevant - envisage 4-5 middle aged Chinese women - who have just spent the last 2 weeks on a bus tour of your area - and are now going to NY to join yet another tour (we are describing margo nightmare here!)

I spent a week with her last year - in Tasmania. It's a pretty serious business - not a lot of laughs! When I was talking to her yesterday, I asked how she could stand travelling with 4 other women - and she said it was a great way to travel.

Not my style at all. Mind you - I love trains - so would like to try Amtrak at some stage.