Warren, New Jersey; Newark, NJ; New York City, NY- Multiple questions about travel experiences

[Paddy55]

It's been a while, quite a while, but I lived in Somerset NJ - 15 miles from where you're going and I have travelled a lot around NJ.

Suggestions:

• I'd try to fly into EWR not JFK - not as congested and I think fewer delays, etc.
• Having said that, flying right through to JFK on QF, at a good price, might give you better service and attention than US Carriers who seem to generally be overcrowded 'buses of the sky'.
• You might find limos are the usual way of getting from either of these airports to NJ. I don't think I'd pick up a cab from EWR and I certainly wouldn't get one from JFK especially if there are 4 of you plus luggage. No, not a cab from JFK!
• If at all possible I'd rent a car at the airport of arrival. It will set you free to travel anywhere and everywhere in NJ, and I think they're pretty reasonably priced.

Hope that helps a little

 

[rainbowgirl]

Ouch, those accommodation prices are high. Any AirBNB superhosts in the area?

That was my reaction when I saw the prices. My brother said he'd seen quotes for under $300 per night but he was only checking for 2 adults, not the family rooms.

I found a 2 star hotel
Howard Johnson by Wyndham North Plainfield
where the accommodation would be around AUD$700 for 5 nights but some of the reviews were unhappy with the cleanliness and the reception service.

What's the difference between 2 star and 3 star accommodation?

I wouldn't feel comfortable in an AirBNB situation.

I'm doing a bit more digging into accommodation in the area with the help of Google. According to Google there aren't many other accommodation venues near the Stonehouse Restaurant. Are there any better ways to find out this information? I've been using various booking sites and the actual hotel booking sites however these sites tend to crash my web browser so it's a bit of a slow process.

 

[rainbowgirl]

Warren is a town, so the area is very distinct from metro Newark as a city. You must be from VIC, so dare I compare it to Sunbury? No, it's nothing like Sunbury but the distance and separation might equate somewhat, although Sunbury is closer to Tullamarine distance-wise. Actually wasn't VIC's number plate slogan 'The Garden State' at one stage? (prior to VIC - on the move *to another state* ). Well NJ is the real Garden State. Although some say that's because they couldn't think of a better slogan or actually anything to really distinguish NJ for.

I've spent a reasonable amount of time in NJ. Quite a big State, and you have low mountains and bears in the NW and some (sort-of-decent) beaches on the Shores, even a bit of surf-culture. Drive around for a while and you'll discover lots of different towns, some of course relatively boringly suburban and others with a lot of historical charm.

With regard hotel bookings, I'm not completely across this but my wife seems to assure me that Booking.com has some sort of 'genius' level membership (free to join) where if you sign up you can find a larger selection of hotels with no cancellation charges or cost penalties (ie where the no refund rate is the same as the cancellation-option rate). We've recently been putting together six weeks in Europe and it seems to check out - I have a preference for Agoda but haven't been able to beat her booking.com deals on cost that seem to offer more flex. Maybe look into it.

Okay. I think the comparison works. A town near the city but not part of it. When I was a child, Sunbury was the place you ended up if you forgot to take the turn off to the Airport. My great uncle was always missing the Airport exit and having to turn the car around once they got off the freeway. One day he actually wanted to go to Sunbury and went to the airport by mistake. Sometimes he'd take us to the airport or the viewing area beyond it just to watch the planes.

I loved the Garden State number plates, both the idea and the Green writing. I'd love to see the garden atmosphere in New Jersey.

 

[rainbowgirl]

It's been a while, quite a while, but I lived in Somerset NJ - 15 miles from where you're going and I have travelled a lot around NJ.

Suggestions:

• I'd try to fly into EWR not JFK - not as congested and I think fewer delays, etc.
• Having said that, flying right through to JFK on QF, at a good price, might give you better service and attention than US Carriers who seem to generally be overcrowded 'buses of the sky'.
• You might find limos are the usual way of getting from either of these airports to NJ. I don't think I'd pick up a cab from EWR and I certainly wouldn't get one from JFK especially if there are 4 of you plus luggage. No, not a cab from JFK!
• If at all possible I'd rent a car at the airport of arrival. It will set you free to travel anywhere and everywhere in NJ, and I think they're pretty reasonably priced.

Hope that helps a little

Yes, it helps a lot. It's given me plenty of things to look at.

I found Somerset on one of the Google maps. There seems to be a huge cluster of hotels in the northern part of Somerset with prices ranging from AUD $150 to over AUD $300 per night. I'm about to investigate a Best Western Westfield Inn but the next accommodation I'd research is that cluster in Somerset. It's a viable distance from the wedding venue and some of the prices are within our budget. I'm guessing there must be some sort of major attraction there if there is such a large number of hotels.

How much is the price of a limo compared to the taxi price. I'd love to travel in a limo but I've never been in one. I thought the price would have been prohibited. Actually the Mercedes we had for the wedding might have been a limo. The rest of the bridal party had a limo as their car was bigger than ours. I've seen other members refer to a set price taxi from the airport. How exactly does this system work? I'm worried about 4 people and luggage as well so I'm wondering if there is such a thing as a MaxiTaxi in the US.

There are all sorts of things about rental cars which I'm not comfortable about. There have been so many horror stories on this forum I'd probably have an anxiety attack at pick up and drop off checking all the things out that we're supposed to and taking photo after photo of all the features of the car and the condition at both ends. I'm not sure how Mr Rainbow would feel about driving on the right side of the road. He's a great driver but I think he'd prefer someone else to do the driving on this trip. I'm going to feel strange just being a passenger in a car on the other side of the road.

 

[rainbowgirl]

Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences. Every little bit helps me to see things in a different way.

 

[rainbowgirl]

Best Western Westfield Inn sounds like a suitable place for us. It's a 3 star hotel and the reviews suggest it is family friendly and has 24 hour reception which is one thing I want in a hotel. I'll do some more research soon on it. It would be about a 20 minute drive to the wedding venue. With a bit of luck we might be able to find some other wedding guests who will be passing by the area and carpool with them. Is it true most people have big cars in the US? The accommodation for 5 nights for our family would be somewhere between AUD$900 and AUD$1000 which is much better than AUD $1800 odd quoted by the Hilton Suites, where some of the other guest will most likely stay.

 

[get me outta here]

Just to clarify, the taxi fare from JFK to Manhattan is a fixed rate so whether you sit in traffic or not you will only pay USD$53 for a regular taxi that will hold 4 pax (without excess baggage), plus $6 bridge or tunnel toll if they use it, plus a tip for the driver - 20% is the usual. Total will be $70. It’s $75 in afternoon rush hour (1600-2000). As you are not taking this route, the pricing will not apply.

Be aware that AirBnB and most holiday apartments are Illegal in New York, not sure about nearby destinations eg NJ. It would be a really good idea to have the destination experts on Tripadvisor tell you if one that is under consideration is a legal one or not. I had dinner with a bunch of them the other night in NYC (and then on a warm evening we did a walking tour around NOLITA to get gelato). The discussion on Airbnb leagity always comes up. Anyhoo, I can ask questions of them once decisions are ready to be made. As you are considering a hotel this probably better and safer for you.

I think it is good to be cautious about driving in built up areas on the wrong side of the road as all sorts of confusions pop-up at intersections and the odd rules, regs and signs they have there. Out on the highways and less built up areas it’s easier.

Re costs at hotels, factor in the price of an included breakfast, or going out for 4 people. Also, for your girls, getting a room with a kitchen could be a bit calmer. And taking yr fav breaky cereal etc.

 

[rainbowgirl]

Just to clarify, the taxi fare from JFK to Manhattan is a fixed rate so whether you sit in traffic or not you will only pay USD$53 for a regular taxi that will hold 4 pax (without excess baggage), plus $6 bridge or tunnel toll if they use it, plus a tip for the driver - 20% is the usual. Total will be $70. It’s $75 in afternoon rush hour (1600-2000). As you are not taking this route, the pricing will not apply.

Be aware that AirBnB and most holiday apartments are Illegal in New York, not sure about nearby destinations eg NJ. It would be a really good idea to have the destination experts on Tripadvisor tell you if one that is under consideration is a legal one or not. I had dinner with a bunch of them the other night in NYC (and then on a warm evening we did a walking tour around NOLITA to get gelato). The discussion on Airbnb leagity always comes up. Anyhoo, I can ask questions of them once decisions are ready to be made. As you are considering a hotel this probably better and safer for you.

I think it is good to be cautious about driving in built up areas on the wrong side of the road as all sorts of confusions pop-up at intersections and the odd rules, regs and signs they have there. Out on the highways and less built up areas it’s easier.

Thanks for the clarifications. Are your taxi figures AUD or USD?

 

[get me outta here]

That’s in USD. I did put that in the total USD but then dropped that in the rest of the figures. Also, do note that the fixed rate only applies to JFK to Manhattan.

I also added a couple of paragraphs after I first posted.

Thanks for the clarifications. Are your taxi figures AUD or USD?

 

[get me outta here]

NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission - RATE OF FARE
This link explains taxi charges a lot more detail than anyone might like to see. But, is quite useful.

 

[Ausbt]

I've always found driving in the States (and specifically NJ) quite easy. The Interstates are obviously simple, although the sheer volume of police cars pulling people over is often a surprise, given you rarely see cops on Oz freeways given our preference for camera enforcement). Also four-way stops at T intersections, yeah ...nah squirt the gas and hope. Had one incident where an Uber sideswiped me while I was parked and in the car. I got out and politely asked for their licence to be met with silence. My demands became increasingly strident until I was actually yelling at the guy. Then, after consulting the rental car co, they clued me in that US (well, this particular NJ county) peeps don't exchange licence and insurance, you simply dial 911 and the cops sort it out. Geeze, our Oz police don't turn up at accidents anymore unless someone is hurt.

Hire car makes sense for this trip along with good insurance coverage, I'm sure it will be cheaper and allow easy side-trips to some places to see.

 

[RB]

Maybe it is worth a look at a few bed and breakfast sites as distinct from AirBNB. There seems to be a few listings

 

[rainbowgirl]

Maybe it is worth a look at a few bed and breakfast sites as distinct from AirBNB. There seems to be a few listings

I've just discovered on one of my Google maps that there is at least one Bed and Breakfast nearby. I'll do some research on that. This type of accommodation might be suitable for our family.

 

[Paddy55]

Yes, it helps a lot. It's given me plenty of things to look at.

I found Somerset on one of the Google maps. There seems to be a huge cluster of hotels in the northern part of Somerset with prices ranging from AUD $150 to over AUD $300 per night. I'm about to investigate a Best Western Westfield Inn but the next accommodation I'd research is that cluster in Somerset. It's a viable distance from the wedding venue and some of the prices are within our budget. I'm guessing there must be some sort of major attraction there if there is such a large number of hotels.

How much is the price of a limo compared to the taxi price. I'd love to travel in a limo but I've never been in one. I thought the price would have been prohibited. Actually the Mercedes we had for the wedding might have been a limo. The rest of the bridal party had a limo as their car was bigger than ours. I've seen other members refer to a set price taxi from the airport. How exactly does this system work? I'm worried about 4 people and luggage as well so I'm wondering if there is such a thing as a MaxiTaxi in the US.

There are all sorts of things about rental cars which I'm not comfortable about. There have been so many horror stories on this forum I'd probably have an anxiety attack at pick up and drop off checking all the things out that we're supposed to and taking photo after photo of all the features of the car and the condition at both ends. I'm not sure how Mr Rainbow would feel about driving on the right side of the road. He's a great driver but I think he'd prefer someone else to do the driving on this trip. I'm going to feel strange just being a passenger in a car on the other side of the road.

A couple of things:

• $150 to $300 per night sounds about right. Please don't stay in a Howard Johnsons - the negative reviews are there for a reason, sadly. Best Western is a good, economical chain often.
• I think you have quite an area to look at for accomodation - a lot within 30min drive - and head a little west towards PA - it gets a little less crowded, and personally I would stay anywhere near Newark
• Try Dial7.com for limos - had them recommended to me a while ago and used them a couple of times. They have a range of vehicles, including vans which might suit you.
• Don't be too concerned about driving on the wrong side of the road - a lot of the driving is on freeways and so you've just got to get pointed in the right direction! It's part of the fun renting a car over there, but I'd use a good reputable company like Avis and other majors.

Paddy

 

[rainbowgirl]

A couple of things:

• $150 to $300 per night sounds about right. Please don't stay in a Howard Johnsons - the negative reviews are there for a reason, sadly. Best Western is a good, economical chain often.
• I think you have quite an area to look at for accomodation - a lot within 30min drive - and head a little west towards PA - it gets a little less crowded, and personally I would stay anywhere near Newark
• Try Dial7.com for limos - had them recommended to me a while ago and used them a couple of times. They have a range of vehicles, including vans which might suit you.
• Don't be too concerned about driving on the wrong side of the road - a lot of the driving is on freeways and so you've just got to get pointed in the right direction! It's part of the fun renting a car over there, but I'd use a good reputable company like Avis and other majors.

Paddy

Thanks Paddy.
I'll look up the limo company when we get closer to working out the local transport logistics. I think I'll rule out the Howard Johnsons. I liked the prices and description of the Best Western. I'm leaning more towards flying into Newark on United now as for some reason these prices are coming up lower than the JFK ones and I'm not sure about travelling through the built up New York area.

 

[rainbowgirl]

I've been playing with Google flights again.

One of the sayings I've seen on AFF is "why fly direct when you can connect". There are several flight options for Melbourne to Newark which have 2 stopovers instead of one and they are cheaper than the options which have one stopover. All of the options I've looked at have LAX as a stopover but one option adds a stop in Nadi and the other is a stop in Denver. I guess you're paying less for an inconvenient flight. I have no idea. The times weren't very family friendly however so I think I'd prefer a flight with just the one stopover in LAX.

Options for Newark with United are now turning up cheaper than Qantas to JFK. I guess it will be a bit of swings and roundabouts until we actually decide to bite.

 

[get me outta here]

The inconvenient flights are really quite tiring. You may find that say the return flight has 4 or maybe more hours sitting in an airport, and without status you would not get into a lounge. The reason frequent flyers say to not fly direct is so that they do build up status for all those flights and then will qualify for lounge acces and other things.

A stopover is more than 24 hours at that place. You will be doing transits as they are fewer that 23 hours and 59 minutes.

So, you’d be wise to pick the flights that you can afford with the fewist transits.

A taxi will fit all of you and is most straight forward. You just walk out of the terminal and get into one. The car services work ok but just add a layer of more things to organise. if you want to look at a car service, here’s Dial7 which I’ve also used and had a little difficulty finding the car when coming out of the airport : Car Service NYC, Offering Airport Car & Limo Services In New York, NY Since 1977 - Dial 7

 

[rainbowgirl]

I figured out a couple of things about Google flights webpage.
I worked out how to bring up details of the return flight up on the screen and realised I had put the wrong end date in the selection. I put the date I wanted to get back to Melbourne rather than the date I wanted to leave USA. I corrected the dates in both the New York and the Newark search. The New Your fares all jumped to over AUD 2,000 but the Newark ones stayed fairly low. I'm leaning towards Newark at this stage. I'd love to see New York City but we might do it as a day trip rather than an airport commute.

I was at the doctors today and there just happened to be a Flight Centre next door. I dropped in just to see what they would say. At a rough estimate for my dates they quoted AUD$1400 per ticket return on United with a slightly less price for Miss 9. They also offered to help book accommodation and offered a discount per night if we paid an extra fee of some sort. Not exactly sure how that worked. I picked up a book but it mainly had stuff on New York, not New Jersey. I'd actually be happy for someone else to book the flights and accommodation and even the commute logistics but I'm too scared we'd be ripped off with charges which were unrealistic. That's why I'm trying to do as much research here as possible. I know some members here have used Flight Centre because I've heard entertaining stories about using multiple Flight Centre gift cards in a transaction. I guess they are useful for some types of travel.

 

[get me outta here]

Few people recommend FC as a travel agent, except in the circumstance when someone may be using multiple gift cards to their advantage. Good to do your own research so that you can tell if what a travel agent is saying is realistic. There are a few TAs on here that are recommended. I suspect that they are not mentioned much directly because of ‘advertsing’.

As you are departing Aus there is no charge to you for the service. And keep in mind that a TA who is known on AFF has a very important repution to protect as AFF crosses over other fora too.
Maybe ask more about what a good TA can do for you. There are other things beyond just the booking that a good agent will advise you on.

There’s a thread here somewhere on using TAs to book for you. Many AFFs use TAs.

 

[QF WP]

@rainbowgirl, now that I have found your thread, there is one specific experience that I can share - ESTA's for a family of 4 (done last night). VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO USA (see from post #550). Use the link that Flashware supplied in post #551 (I did). See my post #559. Do your family all as a "Group", it will save having to give your CC details 4 times and you only have one ID number rather than 4. USD$14 per application, charged as one amount. I entered them all by 11:30pm and by the time I had checked this morning (~9.15am) they were all authorised.

Whilst time consuming, it was mostly as a result of us all being dual passport holders and having different addresses in each of the 3 different areas I was completing. You may only have two to complete.