Monday, March 27, 2017

Planes, Trains & Automobiles: The NYC Edition


When we first scheduled our trip to New York City we had to figure out our transportation. The first thing we needed to tackle was how to get from LaGuardia down into Manhattan. We were told by my uncle who lives there to be prepared to spend around 50 dollars if we took a taxi. Being the frugal people that we are, we looked into our options. We got out our handy dandy phones, revved up Uber and checked the prices. The Uberpool was by far the cheapest mode besides taking the bus so we went with it. The cost was only $10.00 when all was said and done. We thought it was going to be 10 bucks per person but we were only charged 10 dollars total.

We had never used Uberpool, so we thought we would give it a try. One the SUV showed up and we loaded into it with two young women from Denver we were on our way into the city. Luckily, we were lined up to be dropped off first! Unfortunately, we got stuck in evening traffic and it took two hours to go 15.1 miles. Our ride back to the airport we took Uber Select and it only took 20 minutes and cost $36.00. Apart from our airport uber rides, we either walked or took the subway. We walked so much that in four days we did 23 miles. Word from the wise... wear comfortable shoes! Now on to the subway...

Looking at the New York City subway map can be overwhelming and intimidating but we quickly learned it's not as scary as it looks. Each ride costs $2.75 but if you know where to transfer underground then you can go from one side of town to the other for that bargain price. To get the subway card itself you'll need to pay a dollar for it. The smallest amount you can load onto a card is around five dollars.

We rode the subway several times and were never bothered or felt fearful. Granted we didn't ride it outside of Manhattan and we didn't ride it late at night. We did get caught on the subway during rush hour one of the evenings and found ourselves crammed in like sardines in a can. Everyone kept to themselves, tried to squeeze in and if you let them know it was your stop, they tired to get out of the way for you to exit.

We mainly stuck to the 1, 2 and 3 trains. Only one time did I ever find my non-claustrophobic self feeling claustrophobic. We were slightly lost the first time we transferred and it felt like we were in one of those mouse mazes buried deep underground with no natural light to figure our way out. Yikes! All in all we were masters of the subway for our first visit. We passed the time waiting on the trains laughing and thinking of all the seedy moments in movies that feature the NYC subway system.

If you find yourself in the city, don't be afraid to hitch a ride on the subway! You can do it! And remember you can get the subway maps on your phone.

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