Getting Around Philadelphia

Cities of the American northeast – Boston, Philadelphia, and New York – might not be the world’s cheapest, but you can save a bundle by taking advantage of the recent boom of budget bus companies. These buses, which also connect with Washington, DC, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and even Charlotte, are a steal at as little as US$1 one way. (These prices are not typical!) I am thinking about going from Charlotte to DC next week and Megabus is currently quoting a round trip as low as $85. Boltbus does not currently serve Charlotte. Megabus has a much wider service area, ranging from Portland, Maine to Del Rio, Texas and Orlando, Florida. Considering most destinations are pedestrian-friendly (with good public transport and walkable centers), you can hop-scotch across the region without booking a flight or hiring a car. Better still, the ride’s comfortable, there’s free wi-fi, buses leave on time and there’s often plenty of room.

Book early online to get serious discounts on already cheap routes from Megabus and BoltBus.

Since I don't drive, I'm all about public transportation. A trip to Philly used to mean 4 trains and $35. Then, my best friend told me about the Boltbus and Megabus. Now, the NYC-Philly round trip could cost as little as $2.50 (Less than my daily commute!).

Fares vary, depending on when you're leaving and where from. Both charge a 50¢ reservation/transaction fee, and...both offer free Wi-Fi on their buses! BoltBus goes the extra step by offering power outlets.

The downside is that tickets are nonrefundable and nontransferable (use it or lose it). I missed my Boltbus last month so I can't review that, but I had taken the Megabus in June. I was very impressed that the bus was new, clean, departed promptly and arrived early - for only $5.50.

In Philly, both buses stop near 30th Street Station. Megabus also stops at Independence Visitor Center.

We opted to park our car at the WESTMONT Train station in Cherry Hill area of NJ. It was only about a five minute drive from our hotel.

We paid $2.15 each for one-way tickets. The station was very nice. The parking was free on saturday. The train ran every 15 minutes so it was very convenient scheduling.

We took the train into the SEPTA subway system in Philadelphia and got off at the 8th street station near Independence Building.

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Like in most of touristic cities in the world there is also a hop on hop off bus(pic 1) here in Philadelphia too. I guess it’s good to tour the city if you are in a hurry but we preferred to walk around as Philadelphia city center is safe and walkable and most of the sites are close together. The bus of course is an easy way to see all tha many sights in approximately 90 minutes.

You can find their route at their site, tickets can be sold in advance but also from the driver. The daily ticket costs $37 and the 2 day ticket costs $53

Opposite the Independence Visitor Center start the Trolley buses too(pic 2). Each loop is approximately 90’ and the price for a daily ticket costs $27

A more romantic alternative is to take a horse carriage. They are located opposite Independence Hall (pics 3-4) and I guess they go around the area.

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walking
Our hotel was located in downtown because most of the sites are in walking distance in Philadelphia. Actually you can see most of the main sites in some hours. What I liked most was that there were many useful signs with maps and directions in many street corners.

Public bus/metro
There are many local buses going everywhere and some subway lines that may be useful, we used the blue line to reach the main train station. The public system is cheap and extensive.

There are single tickets for $2 but you can buy a bag of 2,5,10 tokens that cost $1.55 each, so it’s much cheaper.

If you just want to use the public system many times in one day you can buy a one day convenience pass for $7(valid for 8 trips on bus, subway and trolley).

The city center is easily accessible because there are many buses on most of the main north-south and east-west streets. So, you can rest for a while and save some energy just by hop on and off these buses,

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Bus
We arrived in Philadelphia by bus from New York. The trip was 2 Hours long and we payed only $1! Megabus is an amazing low cost company that has some great offers. From Philadelhia you can take MEGABUS to New York, Washington DC, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Toronto etc Pic one shows our first image of the city as we were crossing the bridge into Philadelphia. Pic 2 shows the bus, as you can see a good modern bus :)

Train
Many people arrive in Philadelphia by train. The 30th street Station (pic 3) is a huge station that has many restaurants inside (we spent some time while we were waiting for our bus). It’s located near the Schuylkill river. The subway is right next to it.

Airplane
PHL is Philadelphia’s airport. It’s an international airport but I never used it so I don’t have any info about it.

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The Port of Philadelphia is located on the Delaware River, with very easy access to three major railroads and I-95 and I-76. The port handles large quantities of steel, paper, frozen meats, Chilean fruits, cocoa products, and forest products. The port also hosts Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line ships.

Philadelphia ranks as America's 23rd busiest port, though it only handles about 1/30th the volume of the nation's busiest port, Los Angeles.

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Philly is not a bad city to drive in, the grid pattern of streets is easy to figure out, and the rivers and City Hall provide good navigational landmarks. Parking is really not too much of a problem as long as you don't mind paying about $10 to $25 a day on weekends. It beats trying to find a free spot.