The Wedding of Cindy Qiu & Martin Stein

Both Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad have regular service from New York City (Manhattan) to New Haven.

The Metro-North Railroad goes approximately every 30 minutes from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan to New Haven Union Station (~2 hours, $19.25 each way). Note that on weekdays, the Metro-North also stops at State Street Station, which is more conveniently located (see note on New Haven train stations below). See timetable here; tickets must be bought on the TrainTime App (Google App Store, Apple App Store).

Amtrak trains go about once per hour from Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan to New Haven (~1:45 hours, a few trains also stop at State Street Station). Tickets for Amtrak can be much more expensive than Metro-North. Book well in advance to avoid high prices. Timetable and tickets can be found at Amtrak.com.

Amtrak trains go about once per hour from Boston South Station to New Haven Union Station (a few trains also stop at the more conveniently located State Street Station, see note below). Book well in advance to avoid high prices. Timetable and tickets can be found at Amtrak.com.

New Haven has two train stations, Union Station, which is the main station, and State Street Station, which is closer to Downtown and our wedding venue. Unfortunately, most trains do not stop at State Street Station on Saturdays. However, if you find a train that does stop there, we strongly recommend getting off at State Street Station (it is a pleasant 10-minute walk across the New Haven Green to our wedding venue). Otherwise, take a train to Union Station and walk the less pleasant 20 minutes along roads, or take a bus or taxi to downtown.

Click the below links for walking directions from each station to the wedding venue:
Walking directions from State Street Station to wedding venue
Walking directions from Union Station to wedding venue

New Haven has an airport (HVN) which is only a 20-minute bus ride or a 10-minute taxi ride from the downtown area. However, flights only go to a limited number of domestic airports. Alternatively, travel times from the New York airports (JFK, LGA, EWR) and Boston (BOS) are about 2.5 hours. Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford is also an option with travel times to New Haven of around 1:40 hours via the Amtrak Hartford Line or Northeast Regional.

If you arrive from overseas, we recommend flying to a New York City airport (John F. Kennedy [JFK] or Newark Liberty [EWR]) or Boston Logan airport [BOS].

A confusing and vast number of transportation methods can get you from the airport to a train station and from there onwards to New Haven. The states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut all operate separate public transportation systems in the New York City area with overlapping and competing services.

Most importantly, do not despair over the vast number of options. Whatever airport and subsequent transportation mode you choose, it will get you to New Haven in 2.5 to 3 hours. Google Maps is very accurate at giving you the best transportation options, and public WiFi networks are available almost everywhere (in case you do not have internet by other means).

However, if you would like a concrete recommendation, this is what Martin would do: Fly to JFK airport, take the Airtrain to Jamaica Station ($8), then take the subway to Grand Central terminal (E train to Lexington Av/53 St + short walk, $3). From there, take the Metro-North railroad to New Haven ($19.25).

Why this option? US border control times are unpredictable, and any faster option like an Amtrak train is too inflexible to absorb unexpected delays. The subway and Metro-North railroad are flexible and reliable, and at worst 20 minutes or so slower than the fastest option.