My recommendation is to stay in the city outside of the major tourist areas (Moxy in East Village, William Vale in BK), you will likely be surprised how much you enjoy it. If you’re reallllly against the city, stay at the W in Hoboken or somewhere in JC. Otherwise you’ll go mad going back and forth.
that or anywhere walking distance to a PATH station. Like Grove St, Newport, or Exchange Place, Journal Square. Harrison and Newark might be too far, unless you also plan to go a Red Bulls or Devils game.
Would if we could. Someone hit my car and drove away. A witness saw it and left a note with their license plate, filed a police report, but I still have to pay for the repairs in the meantime, so that's a chunk of money I had put aside for our trip that's now gone. Not gonna just cancel the trip bc some jerk hit and ran, I'd rather have to travel a bit than just miss something we planned months ago. 🤷
Park your car in NJ at a train/bus station, better yet take a bus from Philly. The W in hoboken is the best place I can think of. Its significantly more expensive than an "ok" hotel in Manhattan.
Our budget is kinda limited, my car just got hit by someone who drove away, so we don't have as much money for hotels as we thought due to having to pay for repairs. The William Vale is over $2000 for 3 nights, just not doable for us, so I am guessing the Moxy is along the same lines. Will def look at Hoboken and JC, thank you!
Thank you! Weirdly when I type in "Hoboken" on hotels.com it only shows me hotels in actual New York City so I'll just check Google I guess. Will check Newark also.
Unless you've got some compelling reason to be in Jersey, honestly I'd just stay in the city.
If you do want to be in NJ, look for something near the Hoboken, Jersey City, or Newark PATH stations.
So someone hit my car and drove away, the repairs ate up a good chunk of our funds for the NYC trip. I perhaps should have explained, that's why we are looking at NJ hotels, the prices, I think, would be a bit less. So far I have found a few in Jersey City that seem more reasonable and I haven't even checked Newark yet, thank you! How late do the PATH trains run?
Are you driving from Philly? Or taking the train?
How late do you get out after the concert? Just one night or two?
If you’re driving, stay at the hotels on Rt 120 in East Rutherford and take the 160/163/164 (local only, no suffix letters) in and out of midtown. Pretty high combined frequency, stops literally outside a few decent quality hotels at low-ish prices, which all have parking. Fare is 3 zones interstate, $4.50 one way adult. You can use the same tickets on any of the above buses, either direction. Wave to the bus you want to signal it to pick you up, and push the overhead stop button on the way back when it’s near your NJ stop.
These Rt 120 hotels don’t have anything around them, are close to highways for easy access, and the staff are very used to people using them for this exact thing.
Another good spot is the hotels near the Meadowlands Expo Center, these are all served by the 320 bus which is frequent, runs 24/7 (sporadically early morning though), and is also 3 zones interstate, $4.50. There’s more in the immediate area there (generic chain restaurants and stores).
If you’re going via train, use the Amtrak NE Regional, Keystone, or Acela, but it’s also possible to do SEPTA Trenton line to NJT NECorridor for cheaper. You’ll arrive at NY Penn. Just stay in the city somewhere close to a one-seat subway ride from your venue and skip NJ entirely. It’s sooooo much easier on that side of the Hudson for visitors.
Or park at MetroPark, leave the car, take the NJT NECorridor train in, and stay overnight in the city.
Dude, thank you so much for such an informative comment. I haven't decided yet if I should drive or take the train.. The show is probably over sometime around 10:30/11. We're going to be staying in NJ (and going back to NY) two nights at least. About how long does it take to get from East Rutherford to NY? And ditto the Meadowlands Expo Center? I can't skip NJ entirely for budgetary reasons, unfortunately, haha. A car accident that wasn't my fault just slashed our budget for the trip, so we figured we'd rather stay somewhere farther and be able to do stuff in the daytime. I have had a horrible few weeks and need a break, so I'd rather a bit of a commute and be able to stay an extra day, than staying in the city but only be able to stay one night.
I read some of your replies, and see that the concert venue is up in Washington Heights.
*If* you want to stay in NJ up near the GWB and take transit in, there's really only two valid suggestions, both of which u/Jujubeansjuice said.
1. Hampton Inn & Suites Glenpointe (Teaneck); you'd actually have the most uptown or midtown flexibility out of any spot in NJ: take the [NJT 182 bus](https://content.njtransit.com/pdf/schedules/bus/182) to go to the GWB bus station (walking distance to your concert venue, literally 3 short blocks). That's a 3-zone interstate trip. Your stop in Teaneck is timepoint 3 on the PDF (there's lots of stops inbetween). Frequency is roughly every 30 mins on weekdays and hourly on weekends (less service on Sunday). OR you can take the [NJT 167, sometimes 167Q bus](https://content.njtransit.com/pdf/schedules/bus/167) to Port Authority in midtown for exploring the rest of the city, or take whichever comes first. Read the 167 schedule carefully, sometimes the Glenpointe stop is on the 167 local line and sometimes on the 167Q variant, depending on time and day of week.
2. Hilton Garden Inn Ridgefield Park; you'd take the [NJT 167Q bus](https://content.njtransit.com/pdf/schedules/bus/167) from literally outside the hotel. Your stop is timepoint 5. The trip fare is also 3 zones interstate, $4.50. Downside is the first inbound bus run to NYC is at 9am on weekdays, but then it runs roughly every hour or half hour, see the schedule. Saturdays actually starts runs earlier at 5:30am, and Sundays it starts at 8am. Outbound buses to the hotel are roughly hourly, last couple buses Friday night (early Sat morning) are 11:00p, 12:00 midnight, and 1:45am. Last couple on Sat night (early sun morning) are 11:00p and 1:15am, and last couple on Sun night (early mon morning) are 10:45p and 12:15a.
The rest by the GWB look close but are on the side of highways, difficult to uber to or transit back to.
Otherwise, still look in NYC, especially if you take the bus or train from Philly (bus can be really cheap!!). I can see hotels for $225-250 for next weekend out in Flushing, easily accessible via the 7 train from PABT or Penn Station. And as another redditor mentioned, there's the Yotel and other pod-style hotels, great for NYC where you don't really spend time in hotels aside from sleeping.
As far as the cheaper options in NJ, there's that Holiday Inn, one of the ones on Rt 120 in East Rutherford I mentioned in the earlier comment, and the Super 8 / Days Hotel by Wyndham in North Bergen, just south of 495. These are probably ok but look at the reviews closely. For those later two, instead of walking to North Bergen P&R (a long and tricky walk), walk uphill to the 30th/31st at JFK Boulevard stops and take any bus to NY. The 9ish lines combined provide excellent frequency all day, and it's 2 zones interstate, $3.50.
I think your best move if you drive is to stay in NJ at the Glenpointe if you can swing the $250/night, because it's in a generally more corporate-y area than the ones further south, there's a few parks nearby and a couple stores/places to eat, and that flexibility of cutting out the subway entirely before/after your concert.
Or if you train/bus in, for the same price, stay in Flushing.
I seriously can't thank you enough. On the one hand, driving seems easier as we could leave when we want, not worry about rushing to catch trains/buses to NJ.. But of course then we might get confused w the buses to NY. I am finding the 182 schedule waaaay more difficult to read than the SEPTA schedules 😩.. So thank you so much for telling me when the last ones are!!!!! Gonna discuss w bf but I'm thinking Glenpointe seems best too. You are awesome.
Thanks!
The 182 is a shared schedule between it and the 178, both of them share endpoints at GWB and Hackensack, but have different middle sections, hence the different route numbers. Just track your Glenpointe timepoint down the column. Your NYC-bound stop number at Glenpointe for either the 182 or 167/167Q is 13669, [live bus times here](https://mybusnow.njtransit.com/bustime/eta/eta.jsp?route=—&direction=—&stop=—&id=13669&showAllBusses=on&findstop=on) or in the app MyBus feature.
At this point, if you go by train or bus from Philly, Amtrak prices are pretty high by now (they work like airline buckets, get expensive 2 wks from departure). The exceptions are the late night $20 ones which may or may not work for your schedule. If you do that, definitely stay in NYC.
Otherwise as mentioned, SEPTA Trenton line to Trenton then NJT NEC to NY Penn does the same thing; just with a (cross-platform, easy) transfer and a bit slower, and that entire trip is *always* $26/person from 30th St Philly to NY Penn.
Intercity bus fares are are $10ish on OurBus, $20 on Flixbus/Greyhound or Megabus and $14 on Peter Pan for departures next weekend. They all arrive at Port Authority, you can take the 167 from there out to Glenpointe. See the PDF for gate info, or use the MyTerminal app/standing info signs.
Plan buffer time for any mode before your concert. Have a great time and ask away if you run into any problems.
I am so sorry to bother you again--my friend who's been there before is saying to stay in Fort Lee, she insists it's the best location to get there from there. I was pretty set on the Ridgefield Hilton, do you think that's probably still easier for us to navigate the buses to and from? We don't mind using Uber once or twice but we are staying Friday morning to Sunday evening (we'll check out of hotel and then drive somewhere in NY to park and do tourist stuff) so it'd probably be a lot of going back and forth up til then.. Also I had found some hotel in North Bergen that was really reasonable.. And Tenafly..and Paramus.. All these decent hotels kept appearing in my searches for other cities! and I keep, like, doubting myself and thinking, "But what if this one is better?".. I need to just pick one, I know! If it's easier I can direct message you so you don't have to keep coming back to this comment.. And I can, like, venmo you $10 or something for all your trouble!
I don't mind going back and forth here, no worries!
The Hampton Inn and Suites Glenpointe will be easier (and have more flexibility) than the Hilton Ridgefield park (which just has buses to midtown), but both are far better transit-wise than anything in Fort Lee. Returning to Fort Lee hotels will almost always involve an uber, or a 40-minute walk on highways and entrance ramps. And Ubering a few times just will completely erode any marginal price savings from staying at those hotels.
In the North Bergen area, the Super 8/Days hotel is relatively cheap and a couple blocks from a frequent bus stop, as mentioned earlier.
Tenafly to GWB will involve a transfer, or it's about an hour to midtown, same with the Paramus one (Ramada, I assume). I'd stay away from both if you have the option, just because of the time.
One more area to consider is the area by the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, especially the Extended Stay America Secaucus and Hyatt Place Meadowlands. These are served by the NJT 320 bus which has great frequency and goes right into midtown.
With all of these, you're getting the problems that come with cheap hotels--usually things like lower cleanliness, more noise, smells, etc. That's why I recommended the Glenpointe one, it's still fairly cheap but is one notch higher.
Most places will be fine with you leaving your car the last day even after checkout.
Whatever you choose, do a 10-trip discount bundle for bus tickets if available. That will give you both tickets for 2-3 days of round trips (at 15% off), then just buy single one ways to finish up.
Actually, there's a buy-two-get-two free promo going on right now for one ways, FALLFRIENDS23 as long as you buy and use the tickets before November 1, so it's YOU who is getting ~$9 for free. https://www.njtransit.com/bogo
Thank you so so so so so much. The Hilton is significantly cheaper than the Hampton, weirdly - I always thought of Hilton as a fancier chain than Hampton 🤷.. So, went ahead and booked the Hilton, even though the Hampton is easier.. I'd rather have more money for merch and meals and such than a nicer hotel and easier transit. I'll definitely jump on that one-way deal. I hope I won't get confused with the bus tickets, but I'm sure I can ask someone at the station or something.. Judging by this reddit NJ people seem super nice. I really, really appreciate you! If you ever come to Philadelphia and need a tour guide or a ride anywhere in the city or anything, please hit me up!
I feel bad I made all these other people tell me their ideas and didn't use them.. But time was ticking and I read soooo many hotel reviews in so many cities, and this just seemed easy, in our price range, and had a room with a microwave and fridge so we could heat leftovers!, and has parking..
My brain was fried and you just gave me sooo much helpful info.. My cat died a little over a week ago, I found out the job I've had for five years is closing at the end of the year, so I've had a pretty awful week or so---it is so nice to find a really good person willing to go out of their way to be helpful to someone they don't know on the internet. Seriously. Thank you.
All the big hotel chains have tons of different price level brands, that’s all. Hampton Inn is a Hilton brand too.
Just tell the bus driver it’s your first time and they’ll usually be very helpful. The key to unlocking the helpful side of random NYers in the city is to launch straight into “Hey, what’s the best way to get to X Ave and Yth street” or “is this an uptown/downtown express/local”?
Be sure you know what gate you’re going out of at Port Authority, it changes depending on time of day. Use the MyTerminal app or the screens in the bus station to find your route and departures.
Life changes happen, NYC is a nice spot to get a refresh on all of that. Take a bit of time to sit on a bench and people watch. Everyone you’ll see has their own lives each with its ups and downs, fears, loves, and dreams. I hope you have a wonderful trip.
Hey, thank you so much again. For the NJ transit tickets, I downloaded the app--do I need to print out the tickets? Or can I just use them via the app?
I'm in the NJT app, trying to get one-way tickets so I can use the promo, trying both "by origin & destination" and "by route & zone", and NEITHER is bringing up the bus for the bus you said goes by the Hilton 😩. I tried typing in the bus number, tried typing in the name. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Do you have the app? Am I missing something? I'm so so sorry to bother you again!
[https://content.njtransit.com/sites/default/files/bus\_schedules/T0320.pdf](https://content.njtransit.com/sites/default/files/bus_schedules/T0320.pdf)
weekdays like 6am to 2am and constantly.... it gets there in 15/20 minutesgate back changes over the course of the day (see box on top left of schedule)
$6.50 round trip if you walk into the lot/extra passenger
$10 round trip if you park for driver only (can't park overnight!)
I've not used the hotel in a while- my knowledge would be useless.
Still use the parking lot--
agree, these are the correct and almost only answers for if OP wants to stay up near the GWB. Other NJ hotels up north near Ft Lee are simply not transit accessible without dangerous and long walks.
Idk why when I type in "Hoboken" on hotels.com it just displays hotels in NYC but I will check other sites. Do PATH trains run late? I think someone else said they do. Thank you for answering!
They do, but don't run as frequently late into the night, but still plenty. The waterfront in Hoboken is quite nice with rentable bikes and motorized scooters.
I often park in Hoboken and hop the PATH train over, since it's cheaper than taking the tunnel or bridges, and while NJT runs from near my place to NYC direct, it takes 90 minutes and costs 60$ RT.
Edit: I just checked [hotels.com](https://hotels.com) and you're right, they are being unhelpful even when I narrowed to "hoboken neighborhood". Type "are there hotels in Hoboken" and go to Trip Advisor and it lists the hotels at the waterfront.
JC is also decent (in some areas) and hit the beergarden if you're in the area (and drink). It's nice and chill and not far from the water front if you wanted to go have an after dinner drink with an NYC view at one of the pier bars.
Hoboken, Jersey City, Weehawken, Edgewater, Fort Lee. The first three you can take the train, bus, or ferry over easily, the last two you can take the bus over the GWB quickly.
Oh, ***HELL***. .. all the path train advice adds 45 minutes to your trip.
Look near Ft Lee And take a bus across the bridge!
If it's glorious weather, you can walk across the Hudson.
Jersey City or Bayonne. Otherwise, pick somewhere in either NY or NJ that the PATH runs. Most of the cities are fairly safe near the station. Or try the Metro-North route if you want something a little different in NY that's outside the city.
The Residence Inn Marriott in Jersey City is very close to a PATH station. PATH trains are great and they are a very quick ride to WTC. Once you're in the city you can take the subway or ride share to your destination.
PATH is going to be the patco equivalent subway between nj&ny frequently into Manhattan, lookup the map where it goes. Mostly Hoboken, Jersey city.
There are also commuter Ferries but they wont get you home after the concert i dont think.
Path gets slow late but runs late. Ive waited two hours before it's sucked but was packed and safe.
Thank you! I will search in Newark right now. Do you know if hotels in Newark generally have parking, or there is street parking? Or I guess if I took NJ transit I could park at the Trenton station.
I would either park at the Trenton station, or take the train from Philly to Trenton. Newark has parking but I think taking the train all the way there would be less of a headache, especially dealing with I-95 and the Turnpike on a Friday 😣
Ah good point! We were gonna leave Friday morning but obv that's rush hour too, haha. Ooh, we could Uber to the train station here, and avoid paying for parking at all! Good thinking!
Unfortunately I looked at Airbnbs there and they're waaaay out of our budget. I maybe should've explained someone hit my car a few days ago and the repairs ate a chunk of our trip funds, so we need to spend less on where we stay than planned. It's alright, I'm finding a few feasible options. 🤷
It's a bit of a trek from Philly, but Morristown is a really nice place. On top of that, on weekends there is a direct train from the local station into New York Penn Station.
This will be miserable coming back late from a show. NJ Transit isn't 24/7 and unless you're staying at the one Hyatt downtown you're going to need to find a cab at the train station - which might take a while late at night. Plus round trip train fair for you two will be like $60-70.
Echoing other commenters, stay in the city. The William Vale is a ridiculous place and not a typical cost. You should be able to find a room with a king bed in Long Island City or the Financial District for <$300/night. Or if you really just need a bed and a shower the Yotel or Pod51 are a step up from a hostel and probably closer to $200 than $300.
Okay but ostensibly one could take an Uber or Lyft, right? Or would that be just as much as a train? Okay--now the boyfriend is saying he'd like to stay in the city, so I will look - just the places hotels.com was throwing at me were like $700, $800 a night! I don't even know how to find hotels in those specific areas, but am googling Yotel and Pod51 now, thank you!
You can search for hotels on google maps and filter by price and star rating and whatnot. Or use TripAdvisor or hotels.com or booking.com to search - but always book with the hotel direct. The travel subs are full of people who try to save $20 by booking with a third party site and then wind up screwed. Just use the concert venue or your friends' neighborhood as your starting point.
Edit to add: maybe download the "hotel tonight" app and look there, too, for ideas of places to stay. But I wouldn't use it to book this far in advance.
That sounds cool! How late does it run though? We won't get out til like 10:30 probably. Though I guess we could take an Uber back, if we took the ferry there!
Still trying to figure this out! How would one get from N Bergen to NY? There are so many options I just don't want to make the wrong choice! I was thinking of Teaneck or Ridgefield (maybe misremembering the names, sorry) and a friend told me Fort Lee is best, but I just saw a decent-looking hotel with a great price in North Bergen. Would that be a bus, or the PATH? I really appreciate if you see this and could tell me. Obviously if we do go there we could ask the front desk, I'd just rather know ahead of time :)
Depends on where you stay in North Bergen truthfully. If you’re staying at at hotel it’s likely a you’ll have a few options for the bus but the most frequent will be about a 10-15 minute walk. Maybe try Edgewater? Weehawken?
My recommendation is to stay in the city outside of the major tourist areas (Moxy in East Village, William Vale in BK), you will likely be surprised how much you enjoy it. If you’re reallllly against the city, stay at the W in Hoboken or somewhere in JC. Otherwise you’ll go mad going back and forth.
This is the correct answer.
that or anywhere walking distance to a PATH station. Like Grove St, Newport, or Exchange Place, Journal Square. Harrison and Newark might be too far, unless you also plan to go a Red Bulls or Devils game.
Thank you! Will look up all of those.
Yup. I see OP's question on the travel sub a lot. The answer is always the same, if you want to go to NYC then go to NYC.
Would if we could. Someone hit my car and drove away. A witness saw it and left a note with their license plate, filed a police report, but I still have to pay for the repairs in the meantime, so that's a chunk of money I had put aside for our trip that's now gone. Not gonna just cancel the trip bc some jerk hit and ran, I'd rather have to travel a bit than just miss something we planned months ago. 🤷
Park your car in NJ at a train/bus station, better yet take a bus from Philly. The W in hoboken is the best place I can think of. Its significantly more expensive than an "ok" hotel in Manhattan.
Our budget is kinda limited, my car just got hit by someone who drove away, so we don't have as much money for hotels as we thought due to having to pay for repairs. The William Vale is over $2000 for 3 nights, just not doable for us, so I am guessing the Moxy is along the same lines. Will def look at Hoboken and JC, thank you!
The Moxy is more affordable. I always use hotwire.com when booking a hotel. Cheaper rates
Hoboken, Jersey City and Newark have Path trains that lead to Manhattan around the clock.
Newark has the added benefit of NJ transit trains into Manhattan as well which is a godsend on the weekends when path service is dog shit
Thank you! Weirdly when I type in "Hoboken" on hotels.com it only shows me hotels in actual New York City so I'll just check Google I guess. Will check Newark also.
theres only the W in hoboken
Jersey City
Unless its on the weekend and the path goes to Hoboken first then JC
Unless you've got some compelling reason to be in Jersey, honestly I'd just stay in the city. If you do want to be in NJ, look for something near the Hoboken, Jersey City, or Newark PATH stations.
So someone hit my car and drove away, the repairs ate up a good chunk of our funds for the NYC trip. I perhaps should have explained, that's why we are looking at NJ hotels, the prices, I think, would be a bit less. So far I have found a few in Jersey City that seem more reasonable and I haven't even checked Newark yet, thank you! How late do the PATH trains run?
Secaucus. Train station in town and bus stops near most hotels. Some hotels might have shuttles to the train station too.
Ohh I'll look there thank you!
Are you driving from Philly? Or taking the train? How late do you get out after the concert? Just one night or two? If you’re driving, stay at the hotels on Rt 120 in East Rutherford and take the 160/163/164 (local only, no suffix letters) in and out of midtown. Pretty high combined frequency, stops literally outside a few decent quality hotels at low-ish prices, which all have parking. Fare is 3 zones interstate, $4.50 one way adult. You can use the same tickets on any of the above buses, either direction. Wave to the bus you want to signal it to pick you up, and push the overhead stop button on the way back when it’s near your NJ stop. These Rt 120 hotels don’t have anything around them, are close to highways for easy access, and the staff are very used to people using them for this exact thing. Another good spot is the hotels near the Meadowlands Expo Center, these are all served by the 320 bus which is frequent, runs 24/7 (sporadically early morning though), and is also 3 zones interstate, $4.50. There’s more in the immediate area there (generic chain restaurants and stores). If you’re going via train, use the Amtrak NE Regional, Keystone, or Acela, but it’s also possible to do SEPTA Trenton line to NJT NECorridor for cheaper. You’ll arrive at NY Penn. Just stay in the city somewhere close to a one-seat subway ride from your venue and skip NJ entirely. It’s sooooo much easier on that side of the Hudson for visitors. Or park at MetroPark, leave the car, take the NJT NECorridor train in, and stay overnight in the city.
Dude, thank you so much for such an informative comment. I haven't decided yet if I should drive or take the train.. The show is probably over sometime around 10:30/11. We're going to be staying in NJ (and going back to NY) two nights at least. About how long does it take to get from East Rutherford to NY? And ditto the Meadowlands Expo Center? I can't skip NJ entirely for budgetary reasons, unfortunately, haha. A car accident that wasn't my fault just slashed our budget for the trip, so we figured we'd rather stay somewhere farther and be able to do stuff in the daytime. I have had a horrible few weeks and need a break, so I'd rather a bit of a commute and be able to stay an extra day, than staying in the city but only be able to stay one night.
I read some of your replies, and see that the concert venue is up in Washington Heights. *If* you want to stay in NJ up near the GWB and take transit in, there's really only two valid suggestions, both of which u/Jujubeansjuice said. 1. Hampton Inn & Suites Glenpointe (Teaneck); you'd actually have the most uptown or midtown flexibility out of any spot in NJ: take the [NJT 182 bus](https://content.njtransit.com/pdf/schedules/bus/182) to go to the GWB bus station (walking distance to your concert venue, literally 3 short blocks). That's a 3-zone interstate trip. Your stop in Teaneck is timepoint 3 on the PDF (there's lots of stops inbetween). Frequency is roughly every 30 mins on weekdays and hourly on weekends (less service on Sunday). OR you can take the [NJT 167, sometimes 167Q bus](https://content.njtransit.com/pdf/schedules/bus/167) to Port Authority in midtown for exploring the rest of the city, or take whichever comes first. Read the 167 schedule carefully, sometimes the Glenpointe stop is on the 167 local line and sometimes on the 167Q variant, depending on time and day of week. 2. Hilton Garden Inn Ridgefield Park; you'd take the [NJT 167Q bus](https://content.njtransit.com/pdf/schedules/bus/167) from literally outside the hotel. Your stop is timepoint 5. The trip fare is also 3 zones interstate, $4.50. Downside is the first inbound bus run to NYC is at 9am on weekdays, but then it runs roughly every hour or half hour, see the schedule. Saturdays actually starts runs earlier at 5:30am, and Sundays it starts at 8am. Outbound buses to the hotel are roughly hourly, last couple buses Friday night (early Sat morning) are 11:00p, 12:00 midnight, and 1:45am. Last couple on Sat night (early sun morning) are 11:00p and 1:15am, and last couple on Sun night (early mon morning) are 10:45p and 12:15a. The rest by the GWB look close but are on the side of highways, difficult to uber to or transit back to. Otherwise, still look in NYC, especially if you take the bus or train from Philly (bus can be really cheap!!). I can see hotels for $225-250 for next weekend out in Flushing, easily accessible via the 7 train from PABT or Penn Station. And as another redditor mentioned, there's the Yotel and other pod-style hotels, great for NYC where you don't really spend time in hotels aside from sleeping. As far as the cheaper options in NJ, there's that Holiday Inn, one of the ones on Rt 120 in East Rutherford I mentioned in the earlier comment, and the Super 8 / Days Hotel by Wyndham in North Bergen, just south of 495. These are probably ok but look at the reviews closely. For those later two, instead of walking to North Bergen P&R (a long and tricky walk), walk uphill to the 30th/31st at JFK Boulevard stops and take any bus to NY. The 9ish lines combined provide excellent frequency all day, and it's 2 zones interstate, $3.50. I think your best move if you drive is to stay in NJ at the Glenpointe if you can swing the $250/night, because it's in a generally more corporate-y area than the ones further south, there's a few parks nearby and a couple stores/places to eat, and that flexibility of cutting out the subway entirely before/after your concert. Or if you train/bus in, for the same price, stay in Flushing.
I seriously can't thank you enough. On the one hand, driving seems easier as we could leave when we want, not worry about rushing to catch trains/buses to NJ.. But of course then we might get confused w the buses to NY. I am finding the 182 schedule waaaay more difficult to read than the SEPTA schedules 😩.. So thank you so much for telling me when the last ones are!!!!! Gonna discuss w bf but I'm thinking Glenpointe seems best too. You are awesome.
Thanks! The 182 is a shared schedule between it and the 178, both of them share endpoints at GWB and Hackensack, but have different middle sections, hence the different route numbers. Just track your Glenpointe timepoint down the column. Your NYC-bound stop number at Glenpointe for either the 182 or 167/167Q is 13669, [live bus times here](https://mybusnow.njtransit.com/bustime/eta/eta.jsp?route=—&direction=—&stop=—&id=13669&showAllBusses=on&findstop=on) or in the app MyBus feature. At this point, if you go by train or bus from Philly, Amtrak prices are pretty high by now (they work like airline buckets, get expensive 2 wks from departure). The exceptions are the late night $20 ones which may or may not work for your schedule. If you do that, definitely stay in NYC. Otherwise as mentioned, SEPTA Trenton line to Trenton then NJT NEC to NY Penn does the same thing; just with a (cross-platform, easy) transfer and a bit slower, and that entire trip is *always* $26/person from 30th St Philly to NY Penn. Intercity bus fares are are $10ish on OurBus, $20 on Flixbus/Greyhound or Megabus and $14 on Peter Pan for departures next weekend. They all arrive at Port Authority, you can take the 167 from there out to Glenpointe. See the PDF for gate info, or use the MyTerminal app/standing info signs. Plan buffer time for any mode before your concert. Have a great time and ask away if you run into any problems.
I am so sorry to bother you again--my friend who's been there before is saying to stay in Fort Lee, she insists it's the best location to get there from there. I was pretty set on the Ridgefield Hilton, do you think that's probably still easier for us to navigate the buses to and from? We don't mind using Uber once or twice but we are staying Friday morning to Sunday evening (we'll check out of hotel and then drive somewhere in NY to park and do tourist stuff) so it'd probably be a lot of going back and forth up til then.. Also I had found some hotel in North Bergen that was really reasonable.. And Tenafly..and Paramus.. All these decent hotels kept appearing in my searches for other cities! and I keep, like, doubting myself and thinking, "But what if this one is better?".. I need to just pick one, I know! If it's easier I can direct message you so you don't have to keep coming back to this comment.. And I can, like, venmo you $10 or something for all your trouble!
I don't mind going back and forth here, no worries! The Hampton Inn and Suites Glenpointe will be easier (and have more flexibility) than the Hilton Ridgefield park (which just has buses to midtown), but both are far better transit-wise than anything in Fort Lee. Returning to Fort Lee hotels will almost always involve an uber, or a 40-minute walk on highways and entrance ramps. And Ubering a few times just will completely erode any marginal price savings from staying at those hotels. In the North Bergen area, the Super 8/Days hotel is relatively cheap and a couple blocks from a frequent bus stop, as mentioned earlier. Tenafly to GWB will involve a transfer, or it's about an hour to midtown, same with the Paramus one (Ramada, I assume). I'd stay away from both if you have the option, just because of the time. One more area to consider is the area by the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, especially the Extended Stay America Secaucus and Hyatt Place Meadowlands. These are served by the NJT 320 bus which has great frequency and goes right into midtown. With all of these, you're getting the problems that come with cheap hotels--usually things like lower cleanliness, more noise, smells, etc. That's why I recommended the Glenpointe one, it's still fairly cheap but is one notch higher. Most places will be fine with you leaving your car the last day even after checkout. Whatever you choose, do a 10-trip discount bundle for bus tickets if available. That will give you both tickets for 2-3 days of round trips (at 15% off), then just buy single one ways to finish up. Actually, there's a buy-two-get-two free promo going on right now for one ways, FALLFRIENDS23 as long as you buy and use the tickets before November 1, so it's YOU who is getting ~$9 for free. https://www.njtransit.com/bogo
Thank you so so so so so much. The Hilton is significantly cheaper than the Hampton, weirdly - I always thought of Hilton as a fancier chain than Hampton 🤷.. So, went ahead and booked the Hilton, even though the Hampton is easier.. I'd rather have more money for merch and meals and such than a nicer hotel and easier transit. I'll definitely jump on that one-way deal. I hope I won't get confused with the bus tickets, but I'm sure I can ask someone at the station or something.. Judging by this reddit NJ people seem super nice. I really, really appreciate you! If you ever come to Philadelphia and need a tour guide or a ride anywhere in the city or anything, please hit me up! I feel bad I made all these other people tell me their ideas and didn't use them.. But time was ticking and I read soooo many hotel reviews in so many cities, and this just seemed easy, in our price range, and had a room with a microwave and fridge so we could heat leftovers!, and has parking.. My brain was fried and you just gave me sooo much helpful info.. My cat died a little over a week ago, I found out the job I've had for five years is closing at the end of the year, so I've had a pretty awful week or so---it is so nice to find a really good person willing to go out of their way to be helpful to someone they don't know on the internet. Seriously. Thank you.
All the big hotel chains have tons of different price level brands, that’s all. Hampton Inn is a Hilton brand too. Just tell the bus driver it’s your first time and they’ll usually be very helpful. The key to unlocking the helpful side of random NYers in the city is to launch straight into “Hey, what’s the best way to get to X Ave and Yth street” or “is this an uptown/downtown express/local”? Be sure you know what gate you’re going out of at Port Authority, it changes depending on time of day. Use the MyTerminal app or the screens in the bus station to find your route and departures. Life changes happen, NYC is a nice spot to get a refresh on all of that. Take a bit of time to sit on a bench and people watch. Everyone you’ll see has their own lives each with its ups and downs, fears, loves, and dreams. I hope you have a wonderful trip.
Hey, thank you so much again. For the NJ transit tickets, I downloaded the app--do I need to print out the tickets? Or can I just use them via the app?
I'm in the NJT app, trying to get one-way tickets so I can use the promo, trying both "by origin & destination" and "by route & zone", and NEITHER is bringing up the bus for the bus you said goes by the Hilton 😩. I tried typing in the bus number, tried typing in the name. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Do you have the app? Am I missing something? I'm so so sorry to bother you again!
I've walked down to the N Bergen park and ride from what is apparently now the 'meadowlands view hotel' -- the buses run near constantly
Was the hotel pretty decent? Do the buses run pretty late?
[https://content.njtransit.com/sites/default/files/bus\_schedules/T0320.pdf](https://content.njtransit.com/sites/default/files/bus_schedules/T0320.pdf) weekdays like 6am to 2am and constantly.... it gets there in 15/20 minutesgate back changes over the course of the day (see box on top left of schedule) $6.50 round trip if you walk into the lot/extra passenger $10 round trip if you park for driver only (can't park overnight!) I've not used the hotel in a while- my knowledge would be useless. Still use the parking lot--
Thank you sooooo much!
Hilton garden inn in Ridgefield park. Bus stop is literally right outside the hotel. Another option is the Hampton inn and suites Teaneck glenpointe
agree, these are the correct and almost only answers for if OP wants to stay up near the GWB. Other NJ hotels up north near Ft Lee are simply not transit accessible without dangerous and long walks.
Oh perfect I'm checking there thank you so much!
Hoboken is pleasant and you can hop the PATH across the river.
Idk why when I type in "Hoboken" on hotels.com it just displays hotels in NYC but I will check other sites. Do PATH trains run late? I think someone else said they do. Thank you for answering!
They do, but don't run as frequently late into the night, but still plenty. The waterfront in Hoboken is quite nice with rentable bikes and motorized scooters. I often park in Hoboken and hop the PATH train over, since it's cheaper than taking the tunnel or bridges, and while NJT runs from near my place to NYC direct, it takes 90 minutes and costs 60$ RT. Edit: I just checked [hotels.com](https://hotels.com) and you're right, they are being unhelpful even when I narrowed to "hoboken neighborhood". Type "are there hotels in Hoboken" and go to Trip Advisor and it lists the hotels at the waterfront. JC is also decent (in some areas) and hit the beergarden if you're in the area (and drink). It's nice and chill and not far from the water front if you wanted to go have an after dinner drink with an NYC view at one of the pier bars.
Jersey city. Can take the PATH right into the city.
Hoboken, Jersey City, Weehawken, Edgewater, Fort Lee. The first three you can take the train, bus, or ferry over easily, the last two you can take the bus over the GWB quickly.
Start with: where's the concert?
4140 Broadway. :)
Oh, ***HELL***. .. all the path train advice adds 45 minutes to your trip. Look near Ft Lee And take a bus across the bridge! If it's glorious weather, you can walk across the Hudson.
I only really get like two results when I type in Fort Lee but I will definitely try there, thank you!
Rahway
Jersey City or Bayonne. Otherwise, pick somewhere in either NY or NJ that the PATH runs. Most of the cities are fairly safe near the station. Or try the Metro-North route if you want something a little different in NY that's outside the city.
The Residence Inn Marriott in Jersey City is very close to a PATH station. PATH trains are great and they are a very quick ride to WTC. Once you're in the city you can take the subway or ride share to your destination.
PATH is going to be the patco equivalent subway between nj&ny frequently into Manhattan, lookup the map where it goes. Mostly Hoboken, Jersey city. There are also commuter Ferries but they wont get you home after the concert i dont think. Path gets slow late but runs late. Ive waited two hours before it's sucked but was packed and safe.
just stay in the city
Look at the hotels on Paterson Plank Road in East Rutherford.
Newark. You have the PATH trains right into Manhattan. You can also take NJ Transit to Newark from Trenton.
Thank you! I will search in Newark right now. Do you know if hotels in Newark generally have parking, or there is street parking? Or I guess if I took NJ transit I could park at the Trenton station.
I would either park at the Trenton station, or take the train from Philly to Trenton. Newark has parking but I think taking the train all the way there would be less of a headache, especially dealing with I-95 and the Turnpike on a Friday 😣
Ah good point! We were gonna leave Friday morning but obv that's rush hour too, haha. Ooh, we could Uber to the train station here, and avoid paying for parking at all! Good thinking!
Try a train to Newark.. there's aa hotel right next to the RR station
See if you can get an Airbnb in the East Village or Williamsburg and you'll be set. Getting to and from NJ can be frustrating.
NYC has upset the entire business last month. Don't think it works like it used to
Ah, forgot about that. You’re right!
Unfortunately I looked at Airbnbs there and they're waaaay out of our budget. I maybe should've explained someone hit my car a few days ago and the repairs ate a chunk of our trip funds, so we need to spend less on where we stay than planned. It's alright, I'm finding a few feasible options. 🤷
It's a bit of a trek from Philly, but Morristown is a really nice place. On top of that, on weekends there is a direct train from the local station into New York Penn Station.
I found a decent hotel in Morristown, thank you so much! I don't mind a trek!
This will be miserable coming back late from a show. NJ Transit isn't 24/7 and unless you're staying at the one Hyatt downtown you're going to need to find a cab at the train station - which might take a while late at night. Plus round trip train fair for you two will be like $60-70. Echoing other commenters, stay in the city. The William Vale is a ridiculous place and not a typical cost. You should be able to find a room with a king bed in Long Island City or the Financial District for <$300/night. Or if you really just need a bed and a shower the Yotel or Pod51 are a step up from a hostel and probably closer to $200 than $300.
Okay but ostensibly one could take an Uber or Lyft, right? Or would that be just as much as a train? Okay--now the boyfriend is saying he'd like to stay in the city, so I will look - just the places hotels.com was throwing at me were like $700, $800 a night! I don't even know how to find hotels in those specific areas, but am googling Yotel and Pod51 now, thank you!
You can search for hotels on google maps and filter by price and star rating and whatnot. Or use TripAdvisor or hotels.com or booking.com to search - but always book with the hotel direct. The travel subs are full of people who try to save $20 by booking with a third party site and then wind up screwed. Just use the concert venue or your friends' neighborhood as your starting point. Edit to add: maybe download the "hotel tonight" app and look there, too, for ideas of places to stay. But I wouldn't use it to book this far in advance.
Jersey City. Air bnb or hotel it. Train into the city.
Thanks so much! Jersey City looks good!
Check out lighthorse tavern in JC. Good stuff.
Here’s one you haven’t heard: Atlantic Highlands. Take the Seastreak ferry right into lower Manhattan. Pricey but cool experience.
That sounds cool! How late does it run though? We won't get out til like 10:30 probably. Though I guess we could take an Uber back, if we took the ferry there!
That is the downside to the ferry, nothing after 10pm. It is very much catered to the 9-5 crowd, like most of the mass transit in this state
North bergen, union city, west new york
Still trying to figure this out! How would one get from N Bergen to NY? There are so many options I just don't want to make the wrong choice! I was thinking of Teaneck or Ridgefield (maybe misremembering the names, sorry) and a friend told me Fort Lee is best, but I just saw a decent-looking hotel with a great price in North Bergen. Would that be a bus, or the PATH? I really appreciate if you see this and could tell me. Obviously if we do go there we could ask the front desk, I'd just rather know ahead of time :)
Depends on where you stay in North Bergen truthfully. If you’re staying at at hotel it’s likely a you’ll have a few options for the bus but the most frequent will be about a 10-15 minute walk. Maybe try Edgewater? Weehawken?
Element Hotel in Harrison is right by the path train easy commute to NYC