The first flight: JFK to DCA

So, I fly into JFK International at 4:50pm on the 27th of Janurary. Then, I have to get to Washington. SOMEHOW. Yeah, I only got a ticket to New York cause it was cheaper, but now I have to get to Washington and the price it will cost me to get there would have been the same as if I had just bought a ticket from Sydney to Washington, but ANYWAY! How do I get from New York to Washington? The choices: 1) Plane - I can get an American Airlines flight from JFK to DCA (Reagan National in DC) that leaves at 8:41pm, and arrives in DC at 10pm. Cost? $117.80 Travel Time? 1hr and 19mins. 2. Train - Amtrak has trains running every 45 minutes or so from Penn Station in New York to DC. I could probably get to the station by 7pm. Cost? $150, or $68 if I want to leave at 10pm. Travel Time? Around 3 hours, depending on if I get the express or not. 3. Bus - There are a fuckload of buslines that travel from NYC to WAS and I could catch any of them. Thing is, again, I would have to get myself to the bus station from the airport. Cost? $20 for the cheapo, and $40 for Greyhound. Travel Time? About 4 1/2 hours 4. Hitch - Yeah...I probably don't want to die in my first few hours in the USA. 5. Hire a Care and Drive there - This has positives of freedom and the adventure of driving, but I would have just been on a place for 20+ hours, and probably won't be in a state to drive for 4 hours on the wrong side of the road to a place I have never been. Cost? $75 for a Chevrolet Aveo, or $90 for a Pontiac G6. Travel Time? Probably around 4 - 4 1/2 hours drive. I don't usually analyse things quite THIS much, but I have lots of time on my hands at work :) I am thinking I will probably just go the easy route and take the plane, which means I get a few hours at JFK to stretch my legs, and then I get to DC at a decent time to an airport just 10 minutes from where I will be living. What do y'all reckon?

Posted by Mick @ 1/18/2006 03:26:00 pm