Maggie101

My husband & I will be traveling to Johns Hopkins for consultations for our eight month old daughter mid Sept. May also be going to Phil Childrens. In time between testing would like to have some day trips planned.(It has been a stressful 8 months spent mostly in hosp) what are some highlights beween Baltmore and NY that would be short in duration, planned last minute,and can be seen with an infant. Rental car vs train? Coming from mid west so mass transit new to us

gail

Sorry for your dtrs health problems. Can not imagine what stress you all must be going thru.

Baltimore Inner Harbor is a great place for walking/stroller pushing. There are water taxis that are fun, even if you do not use them for transportation.

What about the beach - New Jersey shore has multiple locations where you could go for a day trip or short overnight. Also beaches in Maryland, but I am less familiar with these.

Of course, Washington DC (although not in geographic track you mapped) is a reasonable day trip on train from Baltimore. Advantage is that most museums are free, so you can hop in and out at will, especially if baby gets restless. Public transportation within DC is excellent and most stations have elevators or escalators that actually work.

You do not need a car in DC, and while it is possible to take train between Baltimore, DC, Philadelphia, NYC with a baby with health problems I might rent a car if you can afford the cost (and cost of parking it in city).

Good luck.

HKP

Best of luck with your daughter -- CHOP is a great place.

Phila. itself has a bunch of things to see, both in the historical district (around the Liberty Bell) and center city (Reading Market -- eat at the Amish restaurant). Also you might enjoy whelling your daughter around Longwood Gardens outside Phila. (to the SW) -- about an hr. drive.

You might also enjoy Bucks County -- e.g. New Hope etc. Really pretty area, with a variety of things to see, do -- http://www.buckscounty.org/visitors/index.aspx

Just to give you a framework for timing going outside Phila.:

By train, it's 2 hrs. to NYC and 2+ to DC (about 1.5 to Baltimore). By car it's about the same in the middle of the night with no traffic, otherwise congested and a mess, although probably the easiest by car would be Baltimore.

Still, I'd recommend using a car for things around Phila. in eastern Penn. and stick to train otherwise. You can do a lot in DC on the Metro or on one of the hop-on/hop-off tourist trolleys -- both they and the Metro are right there at Union Station.

Suspect NYC might be too tiring to try to do as a day trip, but if you can spend a night there, it might well be worth it. Again, every kind of transport is right there at Penn. Station.

Tell us more about what you like to do.

And again, hope all goes very well at CHOP -- some very good people there. Good thoughts for all of you.

zlaor

Philly has a lot, but your daughter might enjoy Bucks county / Amish country more.

You can stay at a working farm which the kids usually enjoy.

zlaor

What dates are you coming to the East Coast?

Maggie101

Thank you so much for your help. It makes much more sense to concentrate on DC and Phil. NY is just a place I have always wanted to visit. We will save it for another time. Museums and historical sites would probably be good for this trip. We can't have our daughter out in the heat for very long. Are the trains to DC crowded. (We travel with alot of "stuff" for baby) How can I get more info.
Thanks again

HKP

You actually have a choice of kinds of trains to DC, and there are secrets.

Go to amtrak.com and plug in "PHL" for Philadelphia and "WAS" for DC.

There are "express" Acela/Metroliners --at $127 each way -- and the less expensive "regional" non-highspeed trains at $43. The secret is that the travel time difference between the slower and faster trains is tiny, although because of the cost, the higher-speed trains tend to be less crowded.

HOWEVER, you can purchase "business class" upgrades on the regional trains, which put you in a designated car with a few added amenities. The only caveat about that is that on heavily traveled days (before holidays) people sometimes flock to the business class and it gets more crowded than regular seats, but that should apply to you at all in Mid-Sept.

And for what it's worth, mid-Sept. may be quite refreshingly cool in that area -- despite the occasional last-ditch heat wave, more often it's very very nice.

HKP

PS The "business class" upgrades are only $21 more dollars, still half of the express fare. There are also family-package rates that may get you a substantial reduction on one ticket -- check the website.

What else do you want more info on?

HKP

Sigh .. in my earlier post re:bus class cars -- "...that should NOT apply to you in Mid-Sept."

nytraveler

Amtrak trains are an easy way to travel with a baby. There's lots of space to put "stuff" - way more than on planes - and the seats are like large comfy armchairs - with two on each side of the aisle. You can walk up and down the aisles if you want, look out the window (but thre's not a whole lot to see) and there's a snack car.

Generally they are very crowded only on Friday afternoon/nights and Sunday nights/Monday AMs - with people who have been weekending in another city.

The schedule is very frequent - and they often have discounts - just check Amtrak.com