Getting to Ithaca
and Cornell
What's the best and easiest way to get to Ithaca,
especially with all the heavy bags? Where would I
stay as soon as I land here? Coming to live in a new
city can be stressful and confusing, especially for
International students. With this in mind, we are
trying to provide you with the most useful and
up-to-date information, and hope you find it useful.
Location
Ithaca is in central New York at the Southern tip of
the Cayuga Lake, 50 miles (80 km) north of Binghamton,
55 miles (88 km) southwest of Syracuse, 145 miles (232
km) southeast of Buffalo, 220 miles (352 km) northwest
of New York City, and 237 miles (380 km) north of
Philadelphia.
Airport Information
Landing directly at Ithaca
* The Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport
Brown Rd., Ithaca
www.ithaca-airport.com
This airport is located only 10 mins from the campus
and downtown.This option is the most convenient, taking into
account the heavy bags that you would have to tug along.
However, a word of caution is that flights to ithaca do tend to get
cancelled every now and then. The airlines will certainly make
arrangement to put you another flight, so there's no reason to
panic but it might cause you some incovenience. Flying all the
way to ithaca might also work out to be slighly costlier than the
other options below.
Landing at Syracuse
* Hancock International Airport
I-81(Exit 27) Syracuse
www.syrairport.org
This airport is located about 60-70 minutes from
Ithaca by road and offers a wide selection of
airlines and flights. It also has a Jet service to
and from JFK. It is easier to get connecting flights
from any airport to Syracuse than to Ithaca.
Practically speaking, this seems to be the most
economic and convenient option. However, keep in mind
that you would need to take a connecting flight to
Syracuse, and that your port of entry would be either
Detroit, or Chicago or New York- depending on how you
organize your tickets. This is the city where you
first enter the United States and where your
paperwork would be checked. This would include
immigration and customs checking, inspection of your
I-20.
From Syracuse, you could book an airline limousine
which would cost you about $50 from Syracuse to
Ithaca. The limo ( which is like a regular van,
don't be fooled by the lingo) would drop you at
your doorstep. We can book it for you if you let us
know the flight timings of your arrival at Syracuse.
You can pay 50$ in cash at the time of boarding the
limo but advance booking is a must.
Also keep in mind that this option is less expensive
than the first one, but more expensive than the third
one (landing at NYC). But if you do not have
relatives/ friends in NYC, this is the option for
you.
Landing at New York City
Tickets for getting to NYC would be the cheapest as
compared to getting to Syracuse or Ithaca (by about
4000 -5000 Rs.), but there is an additional cost (and
a lot of additional planning!) involved in traveling
from NYC to Ithaca, so keep that in mind while
negotiating with your travel agent. You would find
landing at NYC favorable if -
-
You have some relatives or friends (may be long
lost!!) in NYC who can pick you up from JFK and
drop you off at the correct location to start your
remaining journey to Ithaca (We strongly recommend
landing in NYC for those who are fortunate to
satisfy this condition)
-
If you have been to NYC earlier and are familiar
with the modes of transportation there (especially
subways)
-
If you have been dreaming of NYC day and night and
can't refrain from making a stop over there
before coming to sleepier but much more beautiful
Ithaca. (but be ready to have some adventure with
approximately 80 kg. of stuff with you!!)
If you decide to land in NYC, the most economical way
for you to get to Ithaca is by bus. So after landing
at JFK, you need to go to Port Authority for taking
the Shortline bus-service to Ithaca (www.shortlinebus.com).
So for this you can
-
Obviously rely on your relatives if you have any in
NYC.
-
Take a shuttle (Go to the ground transportation
desk in the baggage claim area at JFK for
information about Carey Transportation @$13 buses
to the Port Authority Bus Terminal)
Don't take the subway if you have no previous
experience as with so much luggage. You would find
getting on and off the trains pretty difficult as
they are fast and furious!!
Don't rely on cabs as you might be taken for a
ride (figuratively!) which is heavy on your wallet
(about $40 + $3 tolls + about 15% tip)
Once you reach Port Authority bus terminal, life is
easy as you can get a comfortable Shortline to start
an approximately 5 hour journey to Cornell campus.
There is also Greyhound bus service connecting NYC
and Ithaca which is somewhat faster but most people
prefer Shortline as it serves the campus directly.
Depending upon the location of your housing (or
temporary housing) you can get down at Collegetown or
North campus. From either of these two places we can
pick you up if you let us know of the time you'll be
reaching here.
Guides and maps
Relocation guides and maps are available on the
following sites-
Some common traveling tips
At the airport
-
Do not leave your bags unattended at any point of
time!
-
Please make three copies of all your documents
(including tickets) - keep one copy in each of the
big bags that you are carrying, the originals
always in your hand-luggage, and the third copy of
documents at a safe place at home.
-
Always carry something with you to eat- like a
bottle of water and some chocolate, in case you get
hungry somewhere on the journey.
-
Keep you money/travelers checks and tickets along
with your passport and I-20 always on you. Your
passport and I-20 are the only proof that you are a
legal entrant in the country- under no conditions
should you lose these!
-
At the port of entry you would be given the I
-94.Make sure the officer staples it into your
passport- this is as important as the passport
itself- please keep this safely for all future
reference.
-
Have the addresses and phone numbers of people you
know in the United states handy- you never know
when you may need them.
-
Always carry currency in multiple denominations- as
a combination of $100, $20,$10,$5 and $1 bills.
Also try and get quarters, if possible, some places
need quarters or single dollar bills for the
baggage carts.
-
Relax and enjoy your flight- you are going to have
a great time here!
Before leaving from home
Make sure you have weighed your bags well; don't
overstuff them- after all, people live in Cornell-
you can get almost everything here!
It may be helpful to put a list of the things you are
getting in each bag- you may just find it easier to
locate stuff when you are unpacking. For your
convenience we are providing some common lists here.
These are meant to serve only as guidelines; they
would obviously need to be personalized according to
your needs!
Again, if you have any questions or comments, feel
free to ask any of us.
Looking forward to having amongst us soon and wish
you a safe and wonderful journey
The CIA Team
