How early do you need to catch the train from Philadelphia to make an international flight out of Newark?
Planning the train plus budget flight trick for a Paris trip. NJ Transit from 30th Street to Newark Airport, then an international flight out of EWR. What I can't figure out is the timing. How much buffer do you really need? Does checking a bag change things, and does customs slow you down on the way out? Would hate to save $400 on the flight and then miss it standing on a platform.
2 Replies
Rule of thumb that has never failed me: be walking into the terminal 3 hours before an international departure, and catch a train that gets you to the airport station 30 to 45 minutes before that. From 30th Street that means boarding roughly 5 hours ahead of your flight.
The breakdown. NJ Transit to Newark Airport station runs about an hour and 15 with the transfer at Newark Penn, Amtrak is faster but costs more. At the airport station you hop the AirTrain to your terminal, add 15 to 20 minutes. Checked bag adds a counter line, so that 3 hour cushion matters.
One thing people get wrong: there is no US customs on the way out. You only clear security at EWR. Customs happens when you land in Paris. So departure timing is just train, AirTrain, bag drop, security.
Trains run a couple times an hour most of the day, so if you miss one you're not stranded, but build your plan around the earlier train, not the one that barely works.
Rule of thumb that has never failed me: be walking into the terminal 3 hours before an international departure, and catch a train that gets you to the airport station 30 to 45 minutes before that. From 30th Street that means boarding roughly 5 hours ahead of your flight.
The breakdown. NJ Transit to Newark Airport station runs about an hour and 15 with the transfer at Newark Penn, Amtrak is faster but costs more. At the airport station you hop the AirTrain to your terminal, add 15 to 20 minutes. Checked bag adds a counter line, so that 3 hour cushion matters.
One thing people get wrong: there is no US customs on the way out. You only clear security at EWR. Customs happens when you land in Paris. So departure timing is just train, AirTrain, bag drop, security.
Trains run a couple times an hour most of the day, so if you miss one you're not stranded, but build your plan around the earlier train, not the one that barely works.