Travel to NY for Thanksgiving

[Anonymous]

We are considering travelling to NYC for Thanksgiving. I know that the traffic will be bad but how bad is it? When is the best time to leave here (MoCo)? We can't go Tuesday because of school.

[Anonymous]

It is bad. I've been doing it for years, family in Connecticut. It's so bad I no longer drive, I take the train. It fills up early. Also, is this NYC? It's fun but it's a madhouse!

[Anonymous]

Oops didn't catch the NYC in your post. The parade is fun but get there at 6 AM - 7 AM or you risk being closed out in the next hour, the police close off sections when the route gets too crowded. This happened to us last year.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback. We actually probably wouldn't go into the city- we would stay with family in Westchester. So are there no good times to travel?

[Anonymous]

We have done this trip for a lot of years since moving here from NY.

1) You can leave Wed morning, if you leave no later than 10:00 am

2) Make sure you have a smart tag or ez pass. It will help a lot.

3) have food and drink so you don't have to stop. It takes a good 30-45 minutes, is crowded and expensive.

4) know ways around the choke points. If the nj turnpike backs up badly, take 295 especially at the merge at 7A.

5) For westchester, you can get off at the Garden State parkway and take that up to the thruway to the tappan zee. If in lower westchester, take the lower level of the GW Bridge and than the Henry Hudson parkway. do not take the Deegan.

6) Come back Friday Morning also no later than 10 am.

We have done it this way for years and it has worked well.

[Anonymous]

From my experience driving to Connecticut, leaving early, like 5 AM, on the day before any holiday has worked best.

I build in time for stops. Not clear on anyone can go 4 - 6 hours without using a bathroom! Plus it's bad for your legs not to get out and move. Yes it adds time but that's travel by car.

Just do not drive back on Sunday!

[Anonymous]

we go 4 hours without stopping unless someone has to go to the bathroom. we only drink water so that makes it easier than drinking juice or soda in the car. When the kids were little this was harder but now that they are older, really not a big deal. Also lots of movies and gum helps too!

[Anonymous]

That's great that you can manage that, but I could never!

[Anonymous]

We do it every year. If you can handle a night drive, leaving DC around 8 p.m. Wednesday night has worked well for us. Second best would be leaving Wednesday morning or Thursday morning before 10 a.m. Don't even bother getting on the road Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Also, we always come back Saturday evening and that works great. If you're going to the NYC area, plan on it taking 5 hours, hope for 4, and be ready for the possibility of 6. The rest stops will be a nightmare so pack sandwiches rather than wasting half an hour waiting in line for fast food.

[Anonymous]

Do not even consider driving without ezpass.

[Anonymous]

I drove back and forth to law school in NY for 3 years. I left at 4am Wed and was in DC by 9am. I usually came back on Monday.

[Anonymous]

We have many years of experience driving to NJ for T-day, and, honestly, it's not so bad. Definitely get EZPass and pack sandwiches, snacks and water. Also, audiobooks, DVDs, ipods, etc. For the sake of safety and sanity, plan to stop every couple of hours to stretch and switch drivers. We usually leave Weds. morning after rush hour and arrive by late afternoon (4-6 hours). We don't take the Turnpike since we're usually going to Princeton, and can go through Philadelphia. For Westchester, though, I think the best route might actually be to take the Turnpike, and I definitely agree with the PP who suggested taking the GSPkway to the Tappan Zee Bridge, rather than GW Bridge. We come back on Saturday a.m. after breakfast and haven't found traffic too bad -- even on the Turnpike. Oh, one other option to avoid the Turnpike going up is to take 270 and continue north through MD and PA, then you can get on 80 going east through NJ and 280 to the Tappan Zee. This is longer as the crow flies, for sure, but we did it one year when we were going to Connecticut for T-day and there was much less traffic.

[Anonymous]

Leave by 6:00 am Wednesday. I found even 10:00 too late.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback. We can leave before 10 but not at 6 am. Is it going to be awful if we leave at 8 or 8:30 Wednesday am?

[Anonymous]

No we do this. you may hit some regular morning traffic but you will be okay.

we tried thurs morning 2 years ago and it was awful. much worse than wed am.

Also-have a full tank of gas. NJ is attendant only pumping so getting gas on the turnpike can take a long time.