We will be in NY for a week in late December. Can anyone suggest an itinerary that will take us to Washington via Lancaster and Gettysburg? Should we also visit Philadelphia?
We are nervous about driving (the wrong side of the road for us!)and wonder if there are organised tours or perhaps we could do it by coach /train?
Could we see Lancaster and Gettysberg on day trips from Washington?
Any recommendations would be much appreciated.
New York to Washington via Lancaster
It%26#39;s easy enough to get to Lancaster by train, but Gettysburg is not served by train. A good compromise might be to take the train to Lancaster, rent a car in Lancaster (where car rentals are cheaper and driving is more peaceful) for the day to see Lancaster and Gettysburg, and then return the car and get back on the train.
Car rentals are significantly cheaper if you pick up and return the car in the same location.
If you%26#39;re trying to hit NY, Gettysburg/Lancaster and DC in a week, you don%26#39;t have time to see any other destinations. You%26#39;ll need three to four nights in NY, one in Pennsylvania and one to two in DC for an absolute minimum experience.
Find schedules at www.amtrak.com. You will most likely have to change trains each way in Philadelphia. NYC-Lancaster is about 2 hours, 40 minutes on the train.
New York to Washington via Lancaster
#1 - you are only here for a week - a trip to Lancaster, PA may be doable in a day, as for Gettysburg to really ';see'; Washington, DC, IMO, would require staying at least one night which would entail almost 3 days of travel.
Are you coming to the %26#39;States to see NYC or these other places which I would consider a separate trip altogether.
If I were you I would rethink exactly what you want to see, your time frame seems a bit short for all you want to do.
Poppa
%26#39;as for Gettysburg - this is a bit out of the way, not served byt train, so car rental would be necessary%26#39;
Sorry for the omission in my first reply.
I%26#39;ve just re-read my post and realised I didn%26#39;t make it clear that we have a week in NY and then another 5 days to fill in until we fly out of Washington on New Year%26#39;s Day. Apologies to all.
Thank you for all the replies but if this added information changes your suggestions I%26#39;d love to hear back from you.
Although I know and love the countryside around Lancaster and Gettysburg, I would like to know what it is that you are going there for......without a car, you are unlikely to be able to enjoy the wonderful farms, lanes and Amish buggies.....and Gettysburg, although also quite rural in parts, is the site of an American war battle so gets quite a few American tourists visiting but not usually non-Americans.....if you really want to see it, you must drive....you could certainly, as was suggested, take a train to Lancaster and rent your car there...go to Gettysburg and return to the train....but I think you might enjoy driving from Philadelphia to Lancaster and then on to Washington where you could return your car....Do tell us what you have in mind for this post New York trip
I suggest you post your questions about Lancaster on that forum and possibly on the Phildadelphia one.
tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g52970-i325-Lancas鈥?/a>
It%26#39;s possible there may be day trips or tours you can take to Amish country %26amp; Gettysburgh from Philadelphia. That sounds more logical to me than Washington, but I could be wrong.
I found one just by doing a search online but I know nothing about the co. and it%26#39;s unclear whether they%26#39;re done in Dec. Here%26#39;s the link I found.
http://www.amishexperience.com/cotour.html
Btw, Phil. is an easy train ride from NYC (as is Washington)
Thank you for your responses. It seems that driving may not be as daunting as it initially appeared. An earlier post gave a rssponse about a great deal of traffic between New York and Washington and possibly icy roads.
Our trip was originally planned for June/July and included a trip from NY to Niagara Falls and looping down to Lancaster finishing in Washington. Now we are going in December and have been advised not to go to Niagara, so we are trying to come up with another itinerary to fill in 5 days.
If we hired a car in NY can anyone suggest a driving itinerary that includes 2-3 nights in Washington?
Planning any kind of driving vacation on the east coast during the winter months is a risky proposition. This year was a relatively mild and snowless winter in the Mid-Atlanic region from NYC to DC, but who knows what will happen next year. This is not meant to scare you. The east coast isn%26#39;t the Arctic tundra...but snow and ice storms do happen here several times each winter and it%26#39;s a risk you should be aware of.
Lancaster and Gettysburg are seasonal destinations, which means that not all of the usual attractions will be open and the ones that are open have reduced hours. You should be able to find an organized tour in the winter, but your selection might be limited. One attraction that will be open is Hershey Park, about 45 minutes from Lancaster. You won%26#39;t be able to ride the roller coasters, but they do a really pretty winter event called Christmas Candylane when the whole park is lit up and decorated for Christmas.
Thank you so much for your information. This was exactly what I was worried about weather wise.
Do you think it is still worthwhile going along this route given that some attractions may be closed or do you think we should just stick to NY, Phialdlphia and Washington?
Philadelphia is ordinarily a great city to visit, very walkable, charming and historic with many 18th century buildings still in use and open. But in December it may not be so walkable, just keep that in mind. The part of town you want to be in is called Center City and is only about 25x25 blocks.
Another common place to stop is Baltimore, Maryland, the Inner Harbor (www.baltimore.org/baltimore_inner_harbor.htm), also home to the National Aquarium http://www.aqua.org/. Note also that train service goes between NY-Philadelphia-Baltimore-DC. Baltimore is absolutely good for a day and is only about an hour or so from DC.
If you do decide to get a car you probably won%26#39;t need it in DC proper, but if you want to see some great scenery you can drive out to the Great Falls Of The Potomac www.nps.gov/archive/gwmp/grfa/falls/falls.htm and also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Falls_(Potomac_River).
Though I understand your concerns about driving in winter, I would not be unduly worried about it. Storms are possible but generally unlikely and the interstate highway system is kept pretty clean.
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