Travel Tips: Getting from Baltimore/D.C. to New York City

Bolt Bus.

It's the only way to go. There are other options -- a $90 train or plane ticket, for example -- but none beat the quality and price. The Bolt Bus leaves from D.C., Baltimore, or Philadelphia and drops you off at different Manhattan locations.

Finding the Location of Your Bus Stop

We left from the Baltimore stop near Marc-Penn Station. Keep in mind that the bus is not associated with Penn Station nor does it leave from the station. I was expecting a more obvious location, so we had a hard time finding out where our stop was. We drove by the street address they listed and saw nothing but taxis parked along the whole strip of the sidewalk. Not knowing what else to do, our friends dropped us off at the station, we said our good-byes, and thanked the heavens that we were 30 minutes early and had time to figure things out. We decided to go inside and ask someone at the station if they knew. Luckily an employee had heard of Bolt Bus and told us that they met "somewhere around the corner." We used Travis' iPhone to get to the specified address, even though it appeared that nothing was there. Once we got there, however, we noticed a small A-frame (which was originally blocked by taxis) with the Bolt Bus logo, and a lady on a stool was sitting there ready to sell snacks to those boarding the bus. I didn't take a picture of the location, but yesterday when I pulled up Google Map's street view, they had conveniently managed to capture people boarding a Bolt Bus.

This was two years ago, however, and after looking Bolt's website recently, it looks like they've changed locations again. Just go to the sidewalk and wait, even if it doesn't seem like a logical location. And look for an A-frame. Here's another Google Map, only from Earth view. The star is where we boarded, and the Google Map marker is supposedly where they pick you up now.

Tickets

I bought our tickets 3-4 weeks in advance. I paid $6 for one ticket and $13 for another. You'll notice when you're buying them that each ticket is associated with a group letter. Since we bought our tickets so far in advance, we were put in Group B. Basically these groups just specify who gets to board first. The bus driver will call for Group A first, they'll load their luggage under the bus, and go pick out a seat. Group B goes next, and so forth. The earlier you buy, the better luck you'll have getting a seat that you want.

The Buses

The buses are really nice. They're equipped with wifi, and, if I remember correctly, they even had spots where you could charge your electronics. The seats were large and comfortable (for bus seats). I believe we stopped once for a break, but I didn't get off. Travis enjoyed the views and I enjoyed my book. The ride was about 3 1/2 hours and we chose to get off at NYC's Penn Station. They also had other NYC stops like Chinatown, but Penn Station was only a few blocks from our Hotel.

I'd do it again and I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone. Like I said earlier, for $9.50/pp, the quality and price just can't be beat.


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Travel Tips: Baltimore

How to get around Baltimore? Make friends with someone who will eventually move there and act as a tour guide & chauffeur. That's what we did.

Our friends Jesse & Della moved to Maryland so Jesse could attend PA school a few years ago. They were gracious enough to let us stay at their apartment and drive us anywhere we wanted to go. We spent the most touristy time in D.C., but we did go to church in Baltimore and spent one Sunday afternoon at Inner Harbor.

We parked really close and just paid like $15 for a couple of hours. I'm sure there are cheap places to park, and you can probably get validated parking, but we didn't really care to search. We just wanted to get out and look around. Della drove and the three of us walked around. There are ships you can tour, but we were about 5 minutes too late in buying tickets. If you want to do any of the tours, make sure you check the hours first. If you are spending more than a couple hours there, I'd recommending looking into the Harbor Pass.

We did pay ($5/pp) to go to the Top of The World Observatory on the top level of the Baltimore World Trade Center. They have a small (but good) 9/11 memorial and some spectacular views.

Other than the WTC, we just walked around and took crazy pictures. It's beautiful there and it was really peaceful that day. It rained on us the whole time and it was pretty windy, but I never felt like I needed a jacket. It mostly sprinkled, and for the few minutes it poured, we just huddled under a pavilion with a bunch of other strangers. The weather changes quickly so don't get discouraged if the skies are gray.

Feel free to check out my friend Della's blog for some more Baltimore awesomeness.


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Travel Tips: From SLC to Baltimore

I was 25 and it was first time flying. I know, I’m slightly sheltered. If you could only comprehend how sick my dad gets when he flies. Or drives. Or rides on a bus. Honestly, it’s a miracle we went anywhere. But I digress.

I was more concerned about saving money because I didn't know what else to plan for. Now I know that I’m willing to pay extra for a non-stop flight via Delta Airlines, rather than another company with stops. The issue, I’ve found, with American Airlines, is that even though you are able to “request” seats on the plane, it is most definitely not set in stone. If we were willing to pay an extra $30-ish each, we could have changed seats to sit by each other, but we decided we didn't want to waste the money. I had picked two seats together in the middle of the plane with one seat next to the window. Instead, for my first flight ever, I sat next to two complete strangers (who ended up being really nice), in an aisle seat, with my husband 4 rows ahead (also in an aisle seat). Not only was my seat in the aisle, it was also one of “those” seats. You know, if the plane has problems and you have to evacuate, because you’re sitting in that particular seat, you are assigned to open your emergency exit and get everyone to safety?! Oh boy. I was not expecting that. I didn't want that responsibly, and even though it’s possible to switch if you don’t want to or can’t do the job, I figured it would be much too embarrassing to make a fuss.

As for the actual flight… it is so much louder than I expected. So loud. I told my seat-mates this and they explained that it was because our seats were right above the engine. Apparently I got the worst seat ever (for a first-time flyer).  Guh.  I also discovered that while I love take-off, I hate landing. By the time I found Travis when we dropped down in Texas, I figured I was done with flying for forever.

We flew out of Salt Lake International in the late afternoon. I had heard – and still constantly hear—o f the nightmare of not having a long enough layover. I chose the cheaper American Airlines tickets with one stop at the Dallas Fort Worth airport. I heard it was a large airport so I planned a decent layover so we wouldn't have to rush. I may have overshot the amount of time we would need, but we didn't mind. There are tons of shops and restaurants at DFW to keep one entertained. We walked around. I bought a belt buckle (because it’s Texas and because I’m cool like that). We ate at TGI Fridays for the first time. By the time we were done, we only had to wait 20 or so minutes before we had to board.

Right when we landed at DFW, we found our gate for the flight to Baltimore. We talked to the lady at the counter to see if she knew if we were actually sitting together for the second half of our trip. She, apparently, was having a bad day and was more than annoyed about us asking. After apologizing for bugging her, she softened and said she would get the seating arrangement as soon as possible. Bless her, because she not only put us together, but she put me by a window so I could actually see. One thing to note though - our gate # had changed by the time we got back from eating, so it was good that we weren’t rushed to find our new boarding location.

(A seemingly stupid side note – but just in case you didn't know either: When you have a flight with stops, the airline automatically moves your luggage to your next plane. You don’t need to find the luggage carousel until you reach your final destination.)

We arrived at Baltimore Washington International that night. I actually liked that flight. And I liked landing at night (it’s slightly less terrifying for me when I can’t see if I’m about to die). We found our luggage pretty easily because of our cool duct tape handle trick. We called our friend Della when we waiting for our luggage, told her what terminal we flew into, and she was there waiting by the time we walked out. She lives about 10 minutes from the airport, so it was an easy pickup.

Even though the 5 ½ hour non-stop flight home was longer, it was so much better. Delta Airlines is fantastic, and when you pick seats online, you’re picking them officially. We missed our first flight home and had to wait another day, but that’s not Delta’s fault. That’s a story and with some much needed advice that’s coming up another day.

Other thoughts:

• I took tons of stuff to entertain myself on the plane. The only thing I ended up using was my iPad. Don’t over pack.
• (Another stupid one): The drinks on the flight are free. I chose a Sprite. I got it and then decided it would be a bad idea to drink the whole thing because I did NOT want to have to use the bathroom on the plane (I know, I’m weird). The flight attendant didn't ever ask to take my drink since it was only half gone, and I didn't want to have to track anyone down to take my garbage. There are no cup holders. I ended up holding it for the whole flight to Texas. If you hate peeing and/or hate bugging people, just keep that in mind. 
• We got an even better deal on tickets by purchasing them through Priceline instead of the actual airlines. The downside to this is that if you purchase tickets from sites like Expedia, Priceline, etc., if you miss your flight you lose the money you put into the ticket. If you buy from the airline company directly, they can just put you on another flight for free or for a small charge. Trust me when I say that it is so worth it to buy directly from the airline.

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D.C. & NYC Travel Tips: What & How to Pack

I wish I would have researched this topic ahead of time. It would have saved us a lot of effort, and a whole day wasted after a missed flight (that story will be coming up in my Transportation post).

How We Packed

Travis and I thought we had the most genius idea for packing. We packed all of our clothes together inside a fairly large suitcase and then put that suitcase inside a large suitcase. It was like a nesting doll of suitcases. We figured we'd be buying lots of "I <3 New York" t-shirts and other souvenirs and thought we'd end up needing both suitcases when we headed home. So we had two suitcases, but we only had to check one on the way there. This would have been a good idea had we actually needed both suitcases. After some intense squishing, however, we still managed to get everything to fit inside the nested suitcases. My thoughts? If you plan on checking a bag, just get a big one and put everyone's clothes in it. There's no need to pay for everyone to check a bag.

Also, one idea that we used from Pinterest was to take some crazy printed duct tape and wrap the handles of our luggage. Our black luggage looked like everyone else's except for our pink & black zebra striped handles. This was an amazing help in identifying our luggage on the airport carousels.

In addition to our checked luggage, we each took a backpack for our carry on and filled it with items to keep us entertained on the plane. We emptied Travis' at each of our destinations and filled it with our lunches & snacks for the day, water bottles, sunscreen, tickets, etc. This ended up being a really good idea, and I'll probably continue to do this for future trips.

What I Plan to Do Differently

I never plan on checking a bag again. I haven't had the chance to test this out yet, but I'm determined to "Pack Like a Freaking Ninja" next time. Check out this post and the embedded video. It will blow your mind. This woman packs for her week+ trips just using carry on bags. It's so genius. She has multiple YouTube videos. Each one has a couple new extra tips. Seriously, check them out. (Remember to pull up your airline's website to double-check their carry on bag dimensions and limitations.)

There are also tons of other blog posts like this blog post from GetAwayToday.com. And really there are tons of tips all over the internet if you're willing to search. Look on Pinterest. Do some research. 

What I Packed

Have you ever been back East? Holy Moly it's hot and humid! The humidity was nasty every day, but we at least lucked out with rain in Baltimore and cloud cover for most of the time we spent in D.C. My point? Pack t-shirts and shorts. I'm notorious for layering my shirts, but after some suggestions from my sister-in-law Melanie, I only packed shirts that didn't require an undershirt. It's hot enough as is, there's no need to make it worse with layers. I also packed a wrinkle-free skirt (for church), a pair of black dress pants (for Broadway), 7 pairs of ankle socks, and a jacket (which I never used). For shoes I took a pair of dressy black flats, a pair of sneakers, and a pair of casual flats. Remember to wear your bulkiest shoes on the plane so they don't take up so much room in your suitcase. For the duration of the trip, I chose comfort over style and wore my sneakers nearly the whole time. The amount of walking -- especially in D.C. where the metro stops aren't quite as convenient -- make a good pair of sneakers a necessity.

We took travel size shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. We used these for the Baltimore/D.C. section of the trip because we were staying with friends, but if you're staying in a hotel I'd recommend just using their stuff. Don't pack it if it isn't necessary. That being said, do remember to pack sunscreen or, at the very least, buy some while you're there. Remember that if you're using the carry on only method, you'll have to follow certain guidelines. If you're packing a liquid or a gel (like shampoo), it has to be in a container that is less than 3.4 ounces, and all of your containers should be shoved together in a quart-sized zip-lock bag.

As for meds, I went a little crazy in preventing all possible ailments. Something to think about: you're not headed to a 3rd world country. If you forgot to (or don't want to) pack the Pepto, go to the store and buy some. Odds are you won't need anything besides your daily meds, so don't go crazy.

The humidity was my frizzy hair's worst nightmare, but I was prepared for that. I filled 2 travel size spray bottles with spray gel and scrunched my hair and/or put it up in a ponytail every day. This saved some space in my bag because I didn't have to pack a curling iron or straightener. I did pack a blow dryer but I didn't need it because I could have used my friend Della's and then the hotel in New York had one. Like I said, don't pack it if you don't need it.


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Volare: My Baltimore/DC/NYC Vacation Tips

For our 5^th anniversary I dragged my husband on a Baltimore/D.C./NYC trip. He’s a farm boy from Podunk, Utah who lives to hunt and owns his own lawn care business. Guess how much he loved our big city vacation??  I might have forced him to walk through one too many art galleries, but he’s a survivor! I love that boy.

It was my first time on an airplane. I've done the whole bus thing – my furthest was a round-trip ride from Utah to Illinois. And I've done plenty of road trips of the car variety. For our first anniversary we drove to Reno, then on to the Redwood forests, up to my brother’s house in Salem, OR, and then home again. That was probably my longest car trip. Growing up my dad drove us places – the furthest was to White Rock, British Columbia, just a few minutes across the Washington State/Canada border. It was a long ride in a Ford Taurus with my 6’5 brother taking up most of the leg room in the back seat. Still though, that was probably about the time when I realized I wanted to travel everywhere.

It’s been almost two years since our anniversary vacation, and I think it’s time to write down my travel tips before I forget all of my “dos and don’ts.” As I said, these are my tips for me to remember. You can read them and leave me more tips, but don’t be a hater.

Travel Tips: What & How to Pack
Travel Tips: SLC to Baltimore

Travel Tips: Baltimore

Travel Tips: Getting Around D.C. & Other Tips
Travel Tips: Washington D.C. 
Travel Tips: Baltimore/D.C. to New York City

Travel Tips: NYC - Getting Around, Where to Stay, & What to Eat
Travel Tips: New York City
Travel Tips: Leaving New York