How to Get to Ithaca

If you are coming from New York City, there are three ways to get to Ithaca:

• Bus: Greyhound and Shortline both have routes from NYC to Ithaca. (www.greyhound.com or www.shortlinebus.com). Buses depart every 1-2 hours. Round-trip fares are $100 on Greyhound and $107 on Shortline. Shortline tends to have nicer buses, so we recommend them. Travel time is 5 hours, and the route usually has one other stop in upstate NY. If you are a Cornell alum (or know one), there’s also the swanky Cornell Campus-to-Campus bus (www.c2cbus.com). It has big comfy seats, tray tables, and wifi. It goes from Cornell Medical Center or the Cornell Club in NYC to the Ithaca campus. Fares are $150 round-trip, and there are only two trips each day. Travel time is 4.5 hours with no stops.
• Fly: Flight delays and cancellations into Ithaca are common, so we don’t particularly recommend flying.  But if it’s the best option for you, there are direct flights to Ithaca and Syracuse from Newark and LaGuardia airports, on Continental and US Airways. Ticket prices vary, but at the moment flights from Newark are $250-270 round-trip; flights from LaGuardia are $280. Flight time is 1.5 hours. Note that all flights are on turbo-props, which may bother some travelers. You can also fly to Syracuse, which is a 1-hour drive from Ithaca. Flights are $195-235, also from Newark and LaGuardia, and also a 1.5 hour flight on a turbo-prop.
• Drive: Ithaca is a 4 hour drive from NYC, up to 5 hours depending on how much NYC traffic you have on the way out. It’s a very pretty route!  If you decide to drive, we hope you will consider carpooling with friends or family to reduce emissions (sorry, all – I can’t help it!). You can post comments on this website to offer or request a seat in someone’s car.
• There’s no passenger train to Ithaca, unfortunately. You can take the train to Syracuse, which is a 1-hour drive from Ithaca.

If you're coming from Washington D.C. or Maryland, you have two options:

• Drive: Ithaca is 5 hours away from Baltimore, 5.5 hours from Annapolis, and 6 hours from Washington DC. If you decide to drive, we hope you will consider carpooling with friends or family; you can post comments on this website to offer or request a seat in someone’s car.
• Fly: Flight delays and cancellations into Ithaca are common, so we don’t particularly recommend flying.  But if it’s the best option for you, there are flights to Ithaca and Syracuse from BWI, Dulles, and Reagan airports.  Ticket prices vary, but at the moment there are direct flights from BWI to Ithaca ($275 round trip) and to Syracuse ($300-$400 round trip). There are also flights to Syracuse from Dulles and Reagan airports (also $275 round trip). Flight times are 3.5 hours from BWI (with 1 stop) and just over 1 hour direct from Dulles or Reagan to Syracuse.
• You can take Greyhound, but with bus routes and layovers it's 10+ hours and several transfers. Based on personal experience, Dan wouldn’t wish this on anybody!
• There’s no passenger train to Ithaca, unfortunately.

   

If you're coming from San Francisco, we have a few options for you:

• Fly: Flights are available from SFO to Ithaca on Continental and Northwest. At the moment, prices are $450-540 round trip with 1 stop. Flights to Syracuse have similar prices are also 1 stop, but have more options for flight times. Prices vary a lot throughout the year, so prices might go down (or up!).
• Fly: to NYC and follow the options above.
• Drive: only 43 hours!  And you get to see Wyoming. In the summer. Ye-haw.