My in-laws live in NJ about 45 min from Manhattan. We drive up on a Thursday/Friday after school and come back Sunday or Monday morning several times a year. It’s an easy drive.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe just send your DH and kids. You seem like the type who will make it miserable for everyone

This.

I’ve even done this drive and back in one day from DC. Stay in a nice hotel and enjoy yourselves!

Anonymous wrote:As others have pointed out it's not 400 miles, it's about 250. And 4 hours is nothing. Even taking the train would take longer than that by the time you get to the train station. I drove to NYC for a dinner event a couple of months ago. Stayed one night. I am driving to North NJ for a day/night later this week.

Be aware that NYC is putting in a $15 congestion toll for midtown starting in mid-June. And parking is expensive. Have you looked at the bus? Lots of direct busses from various points in the area.

Depends where you start and end from. I do WAS to NYP a lot for work. For me, taking the train is faster than driving roughly 99 percent of the time. Over hundreds of trips once there was so little traffic we did well under 4 hours by car and once Amtrak had a major delay. But most of the time the train is fast and good.

I have driven up to NY and back in a single day for a meal!

Anonymous wrote:You’re weird OP. This is a totally normal trip.

If you don’t want to go, maybe see if DH will go alone and take kids.

I’m not sure driving is all that cheaper tho. And it’s so much more stressful than taking the train. With tolls, gas, and 45 to 75 dollars per night parking, driving to nyc isn’t cheap

The train will cost at least $150-200 per person (600-800 estimated total cost of train trip for family of 4) round trip, depending which weekend you’re going. If gas is about $3.50 a gallon, the cost of gas for this trip should be under $70 round trip. Tolls should be about $80 round trip. You can find parking for about $50 a day/night but this will vary depending where you’re staying so let’s round up and say $200 total for parking for the weekend (you can also find cheaper parking than that too, again depends on where exactly you are parking and how often you are willing to move your car) so let’s just say the total cost of driving will likely be about $350 (though it could definitely be done cheaper w cheaper parking).

So driving DC-NYC roughly $350
Amtrak for 4 roughly $700

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not even a road trip and not even 400 miles.

Sorry!! This isn't even worth debating.

A road trip would be more like driving to Florida or New Orleans or Chicago.

I don’t consider it a road trip either, but it seems like a lot of driving for not a lot of time, but I guess I’m crazy!

I am looking forward to the trip, I just didn’t know if the time was worth the reward. I guess I need convincing on that.

It routinely takes me an hour to get somewhere within the DMV. Why would you be triggered by a few hours of driving?

Tell me your kids don’t play travel sports without saying your kids don’t play travel sports.

NYC is a common overnight trip.

Four hours isn’t a road trip.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s weird to park in nj and take public transportation to nyc. It’s not hard to drive in the city. Sure, parking isn’t cheap, but it’s convenient to not have to use public transportation. Just pay for a garage…like a grown up.

What a weird flex. I also think it’s good to stay in NY but I don’t think paying for a NYC garage over NJ has anything to do with being or acting like a grownup.

I’ve heard so many people say they are “afraid” to drive or park in NYC.

That’s weird.

No clue why anyone would opt to park in NJ and navigate the inconvenience of extra travel steps/hurdles.

Not a “flex” — just facts.

Anonymous wrote:People do it all the time, OP. One of our kids had a music competition there years ago, and we drove up the night before and left the following day.

However, it's not my idea of a relaxing vacation, so you have to pipe up if you wanted something else.

NYC will never be a relaxing vacation. That’s the draw of it. OP just clearly doesn’t want to go. I hope her DH leaves her boring a$$ home and takes the kids and has a wonderful time.

I flew to Athens, Greece for a weekend. From Newark (I live in Virginia). A weekend trip to NY is a nothing burger.

I know plenty of people to go to NYC as a day trip or an overnight. 3 days is super manageable. Take the bus or the train - it will be totally worth it and will be much more fun and relaxing for the whole family. You will have a great time. NYC can be very expensive, but there area also TONS of very inexpensive fun things to do with the family. Have fun!

DC to Boston is 400 miles btw. I agree that is aggressive for 3 nights. But that isn't what is being suggested. Ms. Bad Attitude is also not so smart.

Anonymous wrote:400 miles will not be 4 hours

Of course not. But OP is a melodramatic shrew so she is just giving false numbers to support her negativity.

400 miles will not be 4 hours