Travel questions -- WWYD?

Minnie_me

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 19, 2007
My DD is auditioning at colleges for next Fall, and I told her to book a few in similar locations over February break. Well, she booked auditions in Boston, NJ and NYC, but boy did she spread them out! Now, I'm not sure we can/should do it all in one trip, or if we should come home in between at some point. My travel agent is in the hospital with the flu, so I thought I'd put the situation out to all of you. I'm trying to figure out if we should drive, fly, train, etc. I'm trying to figure out if we stay in hotels, and/or stay at my brother's in CT. Money is tight, but I have 3 credit cards with very low balances, and I can use them.

So, amateur travel agents, here's the situation:

We live in Rochester, NY. When we travel to NYC, NJ or Boston, we absolutely always drive. But I am nervous about driving in NYC (we usually stay at my brother's house in Connecticut and take the 45-minute train ride into the city). So we may consider taking the train at some point.

Here are the dates:
Saturday, Feb 17 - audition in NJ
Monday, Feb 19 - audition in Boston
Thursday, Feb 22 - performance in NYC (11pm!)
Sunday, Feb 25 - audition in NYC

So the biggest issue, in my opinion, is whether or not to return home after the Boston audition, and then go back on Thursday. It would save 3 nights in a hotel, but it's so much driving!

Any advice/suggestions appreciated!
 
What kind of auditions? I did the same thing when looking for colleges. I went into music, so I had to visit a bunch of schools and audition. Went to PA, NY, MA, TN, and FL. We drove to all of them. If it was me and I had my instrument (not sure if it is that kind of audition?) I personally wouldn't take my instrument on the train but otherwise I would be fine with it. And I definitely wouldn't stay in a hotel for 3 nights of I could drive home, even if it was a bit of a drive.
 
I would probably plan on going home but also keep an eye on the weather. Is it possible to stay with your brother for a few days?

I wouldn't drive into Manhattan. We live in NJ and always take the train. Between tolls and parking it isn't much of a savings.

You might want to consider a hotel room in Manhattan Thursday night.

Just an fyi, maybe next time sit with your daughter and help her with thr scheduling so things aren't so spread out.
 


What kind of auditions? I did the same thing when looking for colleges. I went into music, so I had to visit a bunch of schools and audition. Went to PA, NY, MA, TN, and FL. We drove to all of them. If it was me and I had my instrument (not sure if it is that kind of audition?) I personally wouldn't take my instrument on the train but otherwise I would be fine with it. And I definitely wouldn't stay in a hotel for 3 nights of I could drive home, even if it was a bit of a drive.

Musical Theatre auditions, so no instrument needed. :goodvibes

Just an fyi, maybe next time sit with your daughter and help her with thr scheduling so things aren't so spread out.

Hindsight, huh? :scratchin
 
Where in NJ? I live in NJ, I’d drive to the NJ audition, find a hotel with free or park and stay parking, amtrack to Boston, amtrack to Manhattan, either stay in NYC or NJ (a friend from Texas is flying into Newark in March to see a concert in Manhattan, plus rent a car to visit many east coast colleges, I recommended the Hilton at Penn Station Newark for her concert night, but you can check out discount hotel bidding sites for Manhattan since there are only 2 of you). No gas, tolls, and parking fees, which ar3 around $50 a night

I just came back from a fam8ky dinner with my 4 teens plus dd21 and her boyfriend. She moved out for good junior year since she lives in a house by her university year round, just finished her undergrad a semester early and is starting her masters program this week. Take this time to have an awesome week with her, this could very well be it. I think dd has slept her maybe one week total in the past couple of years. Thank goodness she is only 45 mi utes away!
 
Where in NJ? I live in NJ, I’d drive to the NJ audition, find a hotel with free or park and stay parking, amtrack to Boston, amtrack to Manhattan, either stay in NYC or NJ (a friend from Texas is flying into Newark in March to see a concert in Manhattan, plus rent a car to visit many east coast colleges, I recommended the Hilton at Penn Station Newark for her concert night, but you can check out discount hotel bidding sites for Manhattan since there are only 2 of you). No gas, tolls, and parking fees, which ar3 around $50 a night

I just came back from a fam8ky dinner with my 4 teens plus dd21 and her boyfriend. She moved out for good junior year since she lives in a house by her university year round, just finished her undergrad a semester early and is starting her masters program this week. Take this time to have an awesome week with her, this could very well be it. I think dd has slept her maybe one week total in the past couple of years. Thank goodness she is only 45 mi utes away!

Great advice --- thank you! The NJ audition is in Montclair. Is there Amtrak nearby? I'll have to work on that......
 


Great advice --- thank you! The NJ audition is in Montclair. Is there Amtrak nearby? I'll have to work on that......
There’s an NJ Transit station at the Montclair campus, if you need to train to there.

The Amtrak stations would be Edison’s Metropark, Newark Penn or NYC Penn.
 
What kind of auditions? I did the same thing when looking for colleges. I went into music, so I had to visit a bunch of schools and audition. Went to PA, NY, MA, TN, and FL. We drove to all of them. If it was me and I had my instrument (not sure if it is that kind of audition?) I personally wouldn't take my instrument on the train but otherwise I would be fine with it. And I definitely wouldn't stay in a hotel for 3 nights of I could drive home, even if it was a bit of a drive.
The drive between each leg is like 6 hours, without traffic. A few nights at a hotel to save dozens of hours of winter driving, plus having a couple of days exploring Boston and NYC sounds like a nicer week.
 
Great advice --- thank you! The NJ audition is in Montclair. Is there Amtrak nearby? I'll have to work on that......
Montclair State, just drove by there on our way home from dinner! You would take amtrack from Penn Station Newark, I wonder if they have a bus directly there, it’s about 10 miles away. The Hilton I referenced is right above it. Montclair is a great commuter town, buses and trains. Their music program is really up and coming! I’d be surprised if there weren’t direct buses to Manhattan from the campus (you can also take amtrack from NY Penn Station to Boston, it’s the next stop after Newark).

ETA, MSU has its own train station! Hop on a train to Penn Station, get on an amtrack train, and off you go.
 
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