Vacations Around New York City That Include Billy Elliot

[accessmenj]

The best place in North America to see Billy Elliot The Musical is the Broadway production, with a stay in The City. But there are other vacations around New York City that have easy and cheap transportation for a day or two in order to attend one or more shows. Let's make lemonade out of lemons and not worry about the BETM tour, but see Broadway.

Anyone familiar with vacation spots that have transportation to Seventh Ave. in New York City, please list them with details for others to use.

[accessmenj]

I'll start with the area that I know. Vacation in the Philadelphia area which includes History, Gambling and Birding in New Jersey and other activities.. Then plan a day trip to NYC. If you want to go cheap(except good show tickets), take the "Bolt Bus" from downtown Philadelphia or Cherry Hill, NJ in the morning to New York. Walk to the theater. Take the "Bolt Bus" back home after the afternoon show. The whole day can cost under $200. Other options include the train or regular bus service, dinner in NYC, or possibly an overnight stay in NYC and a second show. The cost increases to $500 or more with a two day stay. For most people, two days is enough.

[accessmenj]

New England vacationers or residents. Don't wait forever until the tour may or may not visit Boston. Vacation at the New Jersey Beaches. Atlantic City is great if you like gambling and nearby Ocean City is perfect for a family vacation. Either way, fly into and out of Atlantic City from Boston on Tuesday or Wednesday for only $22 each way on Spirit Airlines. Take the Gamblers Express Train over the weekend. Stay in NYC two nights and see Billy Elliot The Musical twice. Total transportation cost less than $200. Other costs could be huge if you are not careful.
Spirit charges for every bag, and it's easy to spend $300/day in New York City. Plan ahead.

[accessmenj]

Baltimore and Washington --Why wait until the holidays to see Billy Elliot The Musical? The "Bolt Bus" takes 3.5 hours from Baltimore and 4.3 hours from Washington, but the round trip costs less than $40. WIFI is available, bring papers and a book, and a pillow for the return trip.
Again, the total cost for a day trip to NYC and good seats to BETM will be around $200. Perfect adventure for college students.

[ERinVA]

Since most of the travel-related information connected with the NY show is in the Ticketing and Theatre Information section, I am going to move this thread there.

[accessmenj]

Thanks, ERinVA

[accessmenj]

With the exception of the Washington D.C. area, I am personally familiar with the above vacation/Billy Elliot connections. I was hoping someone would be able to connect vacations in other areas around New York City with easy transportation to Broadway. For instance, the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania are a great vacation spot, but I have no idea what the best transportation to the city involves. Also Long Island and sailing on Long Island Sound, Connecticut and Rhode Island, Vermont and Upstate New York. Some of my best vacations were "outdoor" vacations with a city break in the middle to enjoy BETM or other city activities.

Oh well! If nobody has any experience with these vacations, I'll just have to check it out myself.

[ERinVA]

Colonial Williamsburg is only a one hour flight from La Guardia on Air Tran, which has very economical fares. You would fly into PHF, which is the code for Williamsburg/Newport News International Airport. Once there , you would need a rental car to take advantage of everything there is to see in the area, including not only Colonial Williamsburg, but also Historic Jamestown and Yorktown, all three known together as the "Historic Triangle." Of course, also located in Williamsburg is the Busch Gardens Amusement Park with some killer coasters, and Water Country, with some killer water slides. If you don't mind driving a bit farther afield, you can head to Virginia Beach, which is about an hour's drive east of Williamsburg, for some relaxing sun and sand, or to Charlottesville, home of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and the University of Virginia, which is about two hours west. If you are interested in the Civil War, you might also want to visit the city of Richmond, around an hour west, which was once the capital of the Confederacy.

Here are some links for you:

Colonial Williamsburg
http://www.history.org

Jamestown and Yorktown
http://www.historyisfun.org/

Monticello
http://www.monticello.org/

Busch Gardens
http://www.buschgardens.com/bgw/default.aspx

Virginia Beach
http://www.virginiabeach.com/

Richmond
http://www.visitrichmondva.com/Explore/History

[accessmenj]

Lots of airline seats from PHF to LGA for around $200 round trip. Virginia sounds like a perfect September vacation, with an overnight in New York to see two shows, or even three.

[ERinVA]

Better hurry and come before March, though. I just saw on the news that Air Tran plans to pull out of PHF in March. I am really unhappy about this, as it will seriously affect my being able to travel to NYC affordably and conveniently to see my favorite show. US Airways also flies to NY, but with a connection through PHL and the fares are higher.