I mostly post on the Model Railroader forums, but I figured this would be the perfect place to ask this. My fiancee and I are planning a honeymoon in the United States, in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. One of my main concerns at the moment is getting around - we’re not planning to hire a car in any of these locations, given the paperwork involved in getting an international licence and that you lot drive on the wrong side of the road [:D]. We’re planning to rely mostly on public transport and feet to get around, and I was wondering if this was a realistic option?
Congratulations in advance, and the best of luck to both of you. All three cities have comprehensive transit and commuter systems. Information, schedules, etc. can be found by googleing or binging or however you search on line. I am very conversant in the NYC area as I do plan and escort railfan trips in Metropolitan NY and Philadelphia. Even so, websites for www.mta.com will show you NYC’s subway system as well as the Long Island and Metro North Railroads with maps and schedules. www.njt.com will help in New Jersey. www.Amtrak.com of course for Amtrak. I am sure Chicago and L.A. have similar accesses.
You made the right choice. A car is not needed in any of the three cities. Do plan on using transit mostly outside rush hours. Transit conditions during rush hours in Chicago and New York are just like the London Underground. Still, better than siting still in traffic jams.
A man and his wife were walking down the street in Manhattan when suddenly the man threw himself down spread eagle in the road by the curb. He yelled: “Martha; I found a parking space. Quick, go buy a car.”
Many people who live in NYC don’t even own cars. They rent on the rare occasions when one is needed. Have you ever seen street pictures of Manhattan? Notice that 90% of the cars are yellow (Taxis)?
Urban transit (bus and heavy rail) operator in Chicago is the CTA; their website is www.transitchicago.com
Gives fares, schedules, maps and other useful info. A good ride to see the CTA and experience the character of the system is the Brown Line.
Commuter rail in the Chicago/NE Illinois region is operated by Metra. Their website is www.metrarail.com
Similarly, provides the info you need to navigate the system. Metra Electric provides good access to the Museum of Science & Industry (a few blocks east of the 55th-56th-57th station). BNSF line to Aurora offers a good mix of passenger and freight.
Public transportation is doable in all three cities. New York is the easiest. Underneath your feet is the greatest public transit in the world. You can get anywhere in the city with minimal difficulty and expense. Keep in mind that schedules might be significantly reduced late night and on weekends. Here is an excellent website that I use even though I am familiar with he system. You just enter where you are and where you want to go. It will provide the subways and/or buses to get you there. You can even specify how much walking you are willing to do.
Chicago is pretty easy also. You will likely rely more on buses than trains.
In either New York or Chicago, taxis are plentiful and in many cases might provide the most convenient choice.
Los Angeles is the most challenging. Public transit is not as well developed as the others. The other issue in L.A. is that the distances are much greater. It is the destination where I would most consider renting a car. I have not heard of anyone needing an international driver’s license in many years. Check with the big car rental companies. Don’t worry. If you insist on driving on the wrong side of the street, you will just be in step with about half of the people that live here.
Congrats and Happy Honeymoon! If you’re visiting New York City consider actually staying in New Jersey. The hotels in Jersey City, Hoboken, and the towns on the Jersey side are a bit less money and just as comfortable - really. All North Jersey communities are connected to NYC by New Jersey Transit rail and bus lines, and there are cross-river ferries from Weehawken, Hoboken, and Jersey City (these three cities also connect to each other by light rail). Then there’s the PATH - Port Authority Trans Hudson - or Tube trains. These run from Newark through Jersey City and Hoboken into New York City via under river tubes to mid-town (Herald Square) and downtown (World Trade Center). Suggestion: stay at the Hilton directly across the street from Newark Penn Station. If you fly into Newark-Liberty International Airport you can take the monorail from the terminal to the airport Amtrak/NJ Transit rail station, then a train directly into Newark Penn Station. To go into New York just board a PATH at Newark Penn Station. Newark also has a light rail system, the City Subway.
It is just on a year since my wife and I used just that method to explore the three cities you mention.as well as SanFrancisco and Washington DC.The only taxi we used was from JFK to our hotel- we did land just after midnight, and he soured our opinion of taxis in USA. NY has its subway which got us into the city and to Amtraks Penn station. Hardest thing to get used to for this Aussie couple was the number of similarly named stations owned by different operators and only in the same general neighbourhood. It took us three hits to find the right Penn station. We found Chicagos el before we found our hotel, it was raining and we were on foot, the road we had to follow was a hole in the ground but we did see a lot of city before we knew where we were. LA busses were pretty good but riding in them it still spooked me to have the driver on the wrong side of the bus.
The straight answer, yes, it is a very frealistic option, and we have obviously got a few more years behind us than you.
As an ex-New Yorker born in 1932 and left in 1996 (with spots in-between in the Army, Massachusetts, Illinois), I would second the recommendation for a New Jersey hotel. Great idea.
The PATH train to Manhattan from Newark’s Penn Station is fast, convenient, and inexpensive.
I agree with most everyone. NY and Chicago are very doable without a car. In fact a car is a liability. LA, not so much. The places most people want to go visit around LA and are scattered around a pretty wide area and they are not well connected by rail transit. It’s geared mostly toward commuters, not tourists. You might be able to figure out how to get about on the RTA buses and use some taxis.
The better California city to visit is San Francisco. Lots to do there and it’s very easy to get around by transit. In fact, some of the transit is geared directly toward tourists. You can even take a one day train/bus excursion to Yosemite National Park.
The only other US cities I can think of that have tourist friendly rail transit are Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and, to some extent, Seattle, Portland Oregon and Baltimore.
I lived in New York City for eight years. I did not have a car, but I was able to get around nicely on public transport. I have also used public transport in Chicago and LA. All three cities have good public transport. I have also used public transport in Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. In fact, I used public transort in Dallas for more than 33 years to get to and from work. So I am familiar with how public transport in the U.S. works.
Whilst I lived in Melbourne, Victoria, I rode public transit every day. Again, I did not have a car because I did not need one, although I did have a motorbike to get around on the weekends. I also used the public transit systems in Adelaide, Sydney, and Brisbane.
There is one cautionary note to observe when using public transit in the U.S. , especially at night. Be careful! Although the big city transit systems have a small army of transit police, they cannot be everywhere. Also, there are neighborhoods in the U.S. that one simply should not venture into. In New York, for example, be careful where you go in northern Manhattan as well as the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens.
I go back to New York at least once a year. Having lived in Bay Ridge for more than six years, I like to visit some of my old haunts. I have no qualms about taking the train from Manhattan to Bay Ridge. But at night I always sit in the same car as the motorman or conductor. Just in case. The train passes through (under) some pretty bad neighborhoods to get to Bay Ridge. And the bad guys can get on and off them with ease.
As was mentioned, LA is going to be the worst of the 3. Not because their transit is under developed, it’s that the city is so spread out that it is very very hard for Rail transit to get you everywhere, but all is not lost.
First determine where you want to stay in the city. There are some locations that will make this easier than others. For instance, if you stay in South Orange County, Say San Clemente or San Jaun Capistrano, the Metrolink/Amtrak Pacific Surfliner will be right there. This will get you to Disneyland and Union Station and San Diego quite easily. The transit network can then get you to some other tourist sites, but be prepared to ride buses to get around.
If you’re a railfan, how can you go to LA and not want to at least hire a car to visit Tehachapi pass? - I did on our honeymoon [:)]
If you don’t want to tackle driving in LA (I can understand that) take the bus to Bakersfield and hire a car there - once you’ve got to Tehachapi you won’t want to leave…
Owlsroost: he will be on his honeymoon and I think that is the position from which he asked the question. Flying in from Austrailia he will be without transportation; being a railfan he understands public transportation. But knowing how far behind the rest of the world our country is when it comes to public transportation and the bad rap a lot of US public transportation and inner city life gets, he has shown genuine concern and thus his quetion. Only he really knows if he will be on his honeymoon or an overseas railfan adventure! Either way, we should welcome him and his bride and offer the best help we can in seeing that they get around to see what they want to see the best way possible and wish the couple the best of luck!
My comments were intended to be light-hearted (hence the smiley) and written from the perspective of a foreign visitor to the US (I live in the UK).
I’ve explored Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, LA, Portland (OR) and Miami by bus, subway, light rail, heavy rail and on foot over the years. My first experience of driving a car in the US was in LA - and I wouldn’t wish driving in six lanes of nose-to-tail freeway traffic in the pouring rain on anyone…but if you do want to visit places like Tehachapi pass I think a car is the only easy way to do it.
I actually think that public transport in the big cities of the US is much better than some Americans think it is - LA is harder to get around (but possible) mostly because it’s such a huge urban sprawl that’s very car-oriented.
I’d also recommend trying to find a bit of ‘small town’ America if you have the time - it’s a different (and usually much nicer) experience to contrast with the big-city hustle and bustle.
Thank-you to everyone who provided advice and links. It is going to come in very useful, and I will be referring to this thread a few times as I plan our honeymoon. My future wife and I both really appreciate this.
The only ‘railfanning’ I’ll be able to do this time around will be the Southwest Chief between Los Angeles and Chicago. We are considering another trip to the US in a few years, though, and will probably do a great deal more railfanning then - especially the former D&RGW narrow gauge.
Thanks again, everyone. We’re looking forward to coming over there.
For Chicago, Metra has 12 train routes going in and out of the city. not all routes run on weekends (the North central District and Heritage Corridir only run on weekdays) There is the CTA in the city and bordering suburbs, and it goes to both Midway and O-Hare airports. CTA bussesare around in the city as well. all CTA is under $5, but Metra ticket price depends on the length of the trip. Bikes are allowed on Metra and CTA, but only on off peak trains for Metra (9:00AM-4:00PM and past 8PM)