Train to Newark Airport from Rhode Island Instead of Plane(Bermuda Cruise)

[dazey]

We usually take the plane from RI to Newark Airport and flight time is about 40 minutes.  Today the cost is over $300 RT/pp plus parking which amounts to $140+ for 10 day cruise.  We are going to try taking the train from Westerly RI(free parking) but I am wondering if there is a particular station we should get off at.  We plan to stay at a hotel near the Newark Airport and then either take a cab or go to airport the next morning using the Celebrity van(fee of course) to get to Cape Liberty.

 

Wondering if anyone has done this and can offer advice.

 

Thank you.

 

 

[princeton123211]

3 minutes ago, dazey said:

We plan to stay at a hotel near the Newark Airport and then either take a cab or go to airport the next morning using the Celebrity van(fee of course) to get to Cape Liberty.

Just take Amtrak to either the Newark Airport station (you'll take a monorail over to the terminals and then onto your hotel) or some people like to stay at the Newark Doubletree which is located adjacent to the Newark Penn Station in downtown and then its just a quick Uber ride over to Cape Liberty in the morning. I wouldn't use a New Jersey cab-- the quality is horrendous for the most part. 

[Charles4515]

15 minutes ago, dazey said:

We usually take the plane from RI to Newark Airport and flight time is about 40 minutes.  Today the cost is over $300 RT/pp plus parking which amounts to $140+ for 10 day cruise.  We are going to try taking the train from Westerly RI(free parking) but I am wondering if there is a particular station we should get off at.  We plan to stay at a hotel near the Newark Airport and then either take a cab or go to airport the next morning using the Celebrity van(fee of course) to get to Cape Liberty.

 

Wondering if anyone has done this and can offer advice.

 

Thank you.

 

 

There are more trains that stop at Newark Penn than Newark Airport Station. I always get off at Newark Penn. I used to take a taxi which was a flat rate to the port. If you get off at Newark Airport which I have done when flying from the airport you have to take the AirTran to the airport. The last few cruises out of Bayonne I took an Uber. If you stay at a hotel take an Uber. The taxi drivers are going to rip you off on metered rides. The streets are spaghetti and congested. 

[Charles4515]

19 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

I wouldn't use a New Jersey cab-- the quality is horrendous for the most part

Yes, whatever none should take a cab in New Jersey. Before there was Uber I had no choice but to take some. Usually horrible. My first cruise out of Bayonne the driver got lost to the port or so he claimed. Really easy to take an Uber and much better. After that cab or Uber I follow their route on my phones GPS. 

[mjkacmom]

I’d take Amtrak to the doubletree, go out for some fantastic Portuguese food, and Uber to the port (my husband and I used to argue cab vs. car service back before Uber, sometimes he’d win and we’d be in a car with no a/c and a metal ceiling).

[dazey]

Thanks for all your recommendations.  Seems like an easy plan.  We take cabs in FLL but not in NJ.

[Brighton Line]

As stated the NJ Transit/Amtrak Newark Airport Station has no street access. You have to pay for and take the monorail at least one stop to get any other form of transportation. 

[dazey]

I had no idea there was a fee for the monorail in order to get from Amtrak Airport stop and go to airport terminal so we can take hotel shuttle. Online says if we have an Amtrak ticket showing destination we can just scan and not pay.  Honestly I would have preferred to get off at NewarkPenn and stay at Doubletree but we have a great price at a hotel by the airport terminal so I guess even if we had to pay for the monorail it would be okay.

 

I am looking forward to taking the train because it will be something we have not done in the US for probably over 35 years ago.  It also is saving us at least $700 in parking and airline fares. 

 

Thanks for the information.

[Charles4515]

55 minutes ago, dazey said:

I had no idea there was a fee for the monorail in order to get from Amtrak Airport stop and go to airport terminal so we can take hotel shuttle. Online says if we have an Amtrak ticket showing destination we can just scan and not pay.  Honestly I would have preferred to get off at NewarkPenn and stay at Doubletree but we have a great price at a hotel by the airport terminal so I guess even if we had to pay for the monorail it would be okay.

 

I am looking forward to taking the train because it will be something we have not done in the US for probably over 35 years ago.  It also is saving us at least $700 in parking and airline fares. 

 

Thanks for the information.

The Amtrak ticket fee to Newark Airport Station includes the fee. New Jersey Transit tickets don't. If you price the Amtrak ticket price to Newark Penn and Newark Airport the Newark Airport fare is higher, by the amount of the Airtran fee. So you don't have to pay the feetaking Amtrak at the station  becuase you paid fee when you bought your Amtrak ticket. I don't know if they fixed it but I had to wave my Amtrak ticket as it didn't scan. When I returned the Amtrak train was an hour late which meant more than that because all Amtrak trains don't stop there. So I took NJT to Newark Penn and caught Amtrak there. If you decide to stay at the airport hotel when you return you can just go to Newark Penn from Bayoone. I advise that. You don't have to return have return from Newark Airport.

[njhorseman]

16 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

The Amtrak ticket fee to Newark Airport Station includes the fee. New Jersey Transit tickets don't.

NJ Transit ticket prices to EWR also include the AirTrain fare. For example if I buy an adult fare NJ Transit ticket from the station nearest my home to EWR it costs $8.00 more than if  buy a ticket to Newark Penn Station.

 

 The $8 surcharge is verified by EWR's website:

https://www.newarkairport.com/to-from-airport/air-train

When you buy a NJ TRANSIT or Amtrak ticket to or from Newark Liberty International Airport Station, that one ticket includes the AirTrain Newark portion, which is $8. The AirTrain access fee is not charged for children 11 and under or for customers using monthly passes with the airport as the origin or destination.

Edited February 16, 2023 by njhorseman

[Charles4515]

37 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

NJ Transit ticket prices to EWR also include the AirTrain fare. For example if I buy an adult fare NJ Transit ticket from the station nearest my home to EWR it costs $8.00 more than if  buy a ticket to Newark Penn Station.

 

 The $8 surcharge is verified by EWR's website:

https://www.newarkairport.com/to-from-airport/air-train

When you buy a NJ TRANSIT or Amtrak ticket to or from Newark Liberty International Airport Station, that one ticket includes the AirTrain Newark portion, which is $8. The AirTrain access fee is not charged for children 11 and under or for customers using monthly passes with the airport as the origin or destination.

When I did it was years ago. I had to pay $5 then. I guess they changed it or something else happened. Maybe I had a Newark Penn ticket. I flew out of Newark a few times. Better connections to Europe. I prefer non stop flights. Flown out of Philadelphia, EWR and JFK for nonstops, I took Amtrak up from DC and stayed with friends in Metropark so sometimes did New Jersey Transit. One time pre cruise I stayed at the Gateway Hilton. Is that now a Doubletree Hilton? 

Edited February 16, 2023 by Charles4515

[njhorseman]

24 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

When I did it was years ago. I had to pay $5 then. I guess they changed it or something else happened. Maybe I had a Newark Penn ticket. I flew out of Newark a few times. Better connections to Europe. I prefer non stop flights. Flown out of Philadelphia, EWR and JFK for nonstops, I took Amtrak up from DC and stayed with friends in Metropark so sometimes did New Jersey Transit. One time pre cruise I stayed at the Gateway Hilton. Is that now a Doubletree Hilton? 

Yes, the former Gateway Hilton at Newark Penn Station is now branded as a Doubletree by Hilton.

[1025cruise]

Many years ago I took Amtrak to Newark Airport so I could get a rental car. I had to find someone who could open the gate after seeing my Amtrak ticket.

[princeton123211]

21 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Many years ago I took Amtrak to Newark Airport so I could get a rental car. I had to find someone who could open the gate after seeing my Amtrak ticket.

Scanning the QR code for the ticket works nowadays. 

[GTJ]

15 hours ago, njhorseman said:

NJ Transit ticket prices to EWR also include the AirTrain fare. For example if I buy an adult fare NJ Transit ticket from the station nearest my home to EWR it costs $8.00 more than if  buy a ticket to Newark Penn Station.

Sometimes the extra AirTrain charge is included, and sometimes not: it depends on where the New Jersey Transit ticket to or from EWR is purchased. If buying the ticket before boarding the train, from a ticket seller or machine, then the extra AirTrain fare is included in the price. But if buying the ticket on board the train itself, then the extra AirTrain fare is not included in the price, and has to be paid separately.

 

Also, New Jersey Transit tickets are valid not only between the points specified but to or from intermediate points. So a ticket between New York City and Elizabeth is also valid for transportation between New York City and Newark Airport station. However, the Elizabeth ticket will not include the extra AirTrain fare, and would have to be paid separately. I have wondered how many people see that fares to and from Elizabeth are less expensive than Newark Airport fares, and have tried (unsuccessfully) to escape from paying the extra AirTrain fare.

 

Note as well that persons who are elderly or disabled ordinarily pay half fare for New Jersey Transit tickets because federal law requires that discount as a condition for receiving federal transit grants. However, the AirTrain service was not funded through federal transit grants, so there is no half fare on AirTrain. The New Jersey Transit tickets that include AirTrain are not discounted by 50 percent because only the portion of the fare applying to the railroad get the discount while the portion of fare applying to AirTrain is not discounted.

 

The AirTrain fare is even more insidious when considering that the fares are only charged to people traveling by railroad . . . those who travel to the airport by auto, taxi, bus, bicycle, or foot can use AirTrain from any of the other stations free of charge.

 

18 hours ago, Brighton Line said:

As stated the NJ Transit/Amtrak Newark Airport Station has no street access. You have to pay for and take the monorail at least one stop to get any other form of transportation. 

The Newark Airport station complex is physically connected to the outside by a road, appropriately named "Station Road" and with directional signs pointing the way. https://goo.gl/maps/JiqErVQ4MzDNJYHG7 However, there is fence and gate erected across the road, for the purpose of imprisoning rail passengers to compel them to pay the extra AirTrain fare.

[Brighton Line]

Due note that Airtrain at Newark and JFK will have a price increase to $8.25 on March 5th.

Respective Amtrak and NJ Transit fares will also go up that $0.25 I assume.

 

https://www.amny.com/transit/going-up-airtrain-fare-rising-to-8-25-next-month/