Need advise for a trip to philadelphia

Hi,

I%26#39;m planning a 2 weeks trip on the east coast. I%26#39;ve planned 5 days in Boston, then I will go to Philadelphia.

I%26#39;ve found a Sleep in in Cinnaminson for about 80$ a night. It claims to be 15 mins from Phildelphia.

I want to know if Philadelphia will be easily accessible from there and if I should use public transportion or my own car to visit.

Also, how many days should I planned for Philly considering that I want to visit Washington and maybe Baltimore.

Thanks a lot !

Need advise for a trip to philadelphia

IMO, it is not very convenient. Parking in Phila is very expensive (the best you can do is $17/day), plus the bridge toll ($3.00), so you can add that to your room rate. That puts you at $100/night, plus driving time each way. You may be able to get something in town just over that amount (~$115) on one of the internet discount sites. It depends on what your dates are. There may be a NJT bus from Cinnaminson, but it IMO would not really be convenient. You could drive to a PATCO station and take the train into town, but that won%26#39;t put you near the historic area. Loonbeam can tell you more about public transit from NJ.

3-4 days in Phila, and 4-6 in Washington. 1 in Baltimore. You can easily spend more in Philadelphia (especially if you stay in town, where it is interesting as opposed to the area in NJ you are considering, which is a giant strip mall). You can also easily spend more tiem in DC. Lots to see there.

Need advise for a trip to philadelphia

From Cinnaminson you can get the River Line light rail to the Walter Rand Transportation Center (looks to be about 15 minute ride) where you can connect to the PATCO train, Broadway Station, that takes you into Philadelphia (about 5 min ride). Theoretically that is a 20 min trip, but practically its more because you have to get from your hotel to the station, allow for waiting time in Cinnaminson and also for the connection to PATCO. I%26#39;d say you%26#39;d be looking at 40 minutes realistically for this commute.

http://www.ridepatco.org/schedules.asp

http://www.riverline.com/index.php

Personally, as others have suggested above, I would find a hotel in the city close to your range. Not only will you save time and hassle, there are tons more dining options. Even though it may end up being $30 more a day for 2 or 3 nights you are only looking at $60-$90.

I%26#39;d allocate 2-3 full days for Philly, 1 full day for the historic district, 1 day for museums/cultural of interest, maybe 2 depending on what you want to see.

Baltimore is 2 days, Washington as many as you can fit, there is a lot to do there.

Thank you all for your advices. I really appreciate it.

I%26#39;ll be looking for a hotel in the city, I don%26#39;t mind paying 30$ more to save time and hassle. Do you have any recommendation ?

I expect to be in Philadelphia around july 19.

thanks again!

The Society Hill Sheraton is a nice hotel in a great location and usually has decent rates. Also try the Holiday Inn at 4th %26amp; Arch.

you should also look into the hotel packages offered on this website, some of them are inclusive of parking.

http://www.gophila.com/

The Sleep Inn in Cinnaminson is 15 minutes from Philadelphia itself via Rt. 73 across the Tacony-Palmyra and into the city%26#39;s Great Northeast. During off hours, it%26#39;s about 20-30 minutes from Center City via either Rt. 130 to the Ben Franklin Bridge, or Rt. 73 over the Tacony-Palmyra to I-95 North.

From the road, the hotel itself appears to be quite nice - fairly new, standard sort of hotel (not sleazy, in other words) but it is on a 6-lane highway with little pedestrian traffic or safety. The 419 bus goes down Rt. 130 to Philadelphia. The Riverline is another possibility but the stations nearest the Inn are not really walkable - they%26#39;re in Palmyra and Pennsauken. You%26#39;d need a car to get to the stations.

The toll over the Tacony is, I believe, $2. Most city lots in Philadelphia have an early bird rate that is much more affordable - in by 7am or 8am, and it%26#39;s much cheaper than arriving at 9 or 10.

It is not really the ideal location for someone looking to tour Philadelphia. I think it%26#39;s a little overegging it to suggest it%26#39;s just as cheap to stay in Center City, but it certainly would be a nicer experience in many ways. Though if you%26#39;re bringing your car anyway, you%26#39;re going to have to pay to stash it somewhere.

Re: the timeframe. I%26#39;d say 2-3 days gives you a nice time to hit the major sites and pick a couple of things that interest you. Give DC some time, too, you could spend the entire 2 weeks in the museums alone.

AAA has been promoting a package for 2 nights at the Crowne Plaza for $125 per night, plus a third night free, a very good price on a centrally located downtown hotel. Even if you%26#39;re not a AAA membeer, I suspect you can work out a similar deal with the hotel directly.

On Hotwire, there is a 3* room in Center City East for the dates of 7/19-7/21 (2 nights) for $89/night. I believe it is the Hilton Garden Inn. I%26#39;d grab it if I were you. Good location, nice rooms. You will have to pay to park, but I think it%26#39;s worth it to stay in Philadelphia instead of Cinnaminson. Let me know if you have questions.

Suzanne

Thanks a lot! That looks like a nice deal.

I hesitate to book that deal because it%26#39;s non refundable. I%26#39;m still not sure of the dates because we will be planning our trip on the go.

Is that kind of deal common on Hotwire ?

Also, I%26#39;ll probably leave Boston on next friday and will be heading toward Philadelphia. Because Six Flags Great adventures is on our way, we%26#39;ll surely spend a day there but it looks like it will be on a saturday. I fear that it will be too crowded.

Anybody knows if it%26#39;s ok on weekend or if I should avoid it ?

thanks again. That%26#39;s a great forum !!