Massachusetts: Amtrak Now Offering $20 Train Rides To New York City
Here is some great news if you are a night owl and like traveling by train. Amtrak announced they will offer $20 train rides from Boston to New York City. This promotion also includes a Washington DC to New York City route.
“Night owls and early birds get the savings,” Amtrak states. The lower fares are specific to trips that occur between 7 PM and 7 AM only. Amtrak does not list an end date for this special pricing at this time.
Here Is What You Can Expect
New York City is a central point for many of these Amtrak rides, including the $20 deal. For example, the highest one-way fare under the “Night Owl” deal is from New York to Washington DC or Boston to New York. Both routes are $20. It is important to note that these trips can take anywhere from three-and-a-half to four hours. So, leaving at certain points of the evening will still get you to your destination and prior to the middle of the night. For example, if you depart South Station in Boston around 7:30 p.m., it is reasonable to expect to arrive at Penn Station by 11:30 p.m. A New York City night is still young at that hour.
In terms of accommodations, Amtrak offers leather seats that recline. Furthermore, the configuration is two seats per row, which means there are no aisles with middle seats. There is free WiFi aboard, in addition to power outlets. There is a quiet car option that does not allow talking on the phone or any loud volume to be played. This is a great option for those who want to grab some sleep. Lastly, Amtrak now allows riders to bring up to four bags for free. That would be two carry-on items and two personal bags.
Where Else Can You Go?
While Washington, DC and Boston are the longest route points applicable to the “Night Owl” deal (from New York), you can also score cheap one-way tickets to destinations in between. Some of them include Philadelphia to Baltimore for $5. New York City to Philadelphia for $10. New Haven to Boston is only $15.
To see the full Amtrak “Night Owl” rides or to book your $20 Boston to New York trip, you can visit here.
From Pizza To Guitars Here Are Your Best I-95 Stops From Boston To New York
There are roughly 220 miles and four and half hours between Boston and New York. On the drive south (or return trip North), it’s likely you’ll need to make a pit stop. Whether it’s to accommodate a bathroom request, grab a bite to eat or get a breath of air, we’ve compiled a list of the best stops along I-95 on the Boston to New York drive.
We’ll assume here that we are driving south. Therefore, your journey begins in Massachusetts. You’ll pull past Providence and a few exit signs for T.F. Green Airport before enduring the meat of the trip. That would be a good two-plus hours through Connecticut, where you will surely slow down at some point. Finally, after trekking through the Constitution State, you start to see the exit sign numbers get down to single digits. The empire state awaits.
This journey can seem like a grueling effort up and down I-95. In a bigger picture, a four-hour route between two major markets is not really that much. Just ask the Midwest. If you want to drive from Chicago to Minneapolis, you are looking at close to a seven-hour drive, with only one state in the way. Nonetheless, the 1-95 Boston to New York route can be grueling. Therefore, we put together a collection of different stops to help make it more enjoyable.
Of course, this exercise does not include kids screaming in the backseat that need an immediate stop. Perhaps that’s another list. Here, we will pinpoint some pleasing attractions you would have the time to stop for. However, we won’t stray too far off the exits. And while taking 12 hours to play blackjack at Foxwoods would be a blast, we will narrow in on relatively short stops only.
So, let’s hop in the car and find the best stops from Boston to New York along I-95.
*Note – we are not going in order of stops from north to south. We are listing in an overall ranking format.
Jeff Gorra is a Boston-based writer who has been with Beasley Media Group since the beginning of 2023. He writes about restaurants and food, as well as sports and rock music. His experience also includes show hosting and in-depth creative writing in rock and reggae dub music. Jeff’s an avid surfer, New York Giants, and Pearl Jam fan, however, if you make unforgettable pizza, he is sure to find you.