Plattsburgh, NY
This trip was made especially for my best friend's graduation, but first I had to figure out how to get there.
December 11-14, 2024
This is a trip that was determined almost 2 years in advance! It was something I knew that was going to happen in December 2024 and in the winter of 2022, I made the decision to attend my best friend's college graduation. But! I can't continue unveiling this trip without introducing the main character, first!
(How about that cell phone camera quality from 2018!)
Samantha and I became pen pals via Instagram in the spring of 2016. I almost didn't become her pen pal though....... because I wasn't looking for domestic pen pals. However, we had so much in common that I decided it was worth a shot. Almost 9 years later, we're best friends who communicate (in some form) almost every day and have visited each other numerous times!
A few years ago, Samantha decided to go back to school to finish her bachelors and become a career woman. I was excited for her and also there for all the up's and down's that came with being a mom-of-2 young boys and a special needs advocate, while trying to earn her college degree. So, when she told me she knew her graduation date (after extending it a bit to be able to graduate with TWO degrees), I knew I had to go! It wasn't my journey, but I had been on it with her the whole time and I wanted to be there with her to celebrate her achievements.
Samantha attended SUNY (State University of New York) Plattsburgh. I had never been to upstate New York, much less to the town of Plattsburgh, so getting there took some time to figure out. - New York has a series of SUNY colleges spread throughout the state. They tend to be cost effective for many, and each one has their specialties within education. They're not generally known for their athletic programs though.
The essential information first.
Below is my full journey on how I planned and arrived at Plattsburgh, but for those who are interested in getting to Plattsburgh and/or just want the details first, here it is:
Plattsburgh is a small town that does have its own airport. However, like most rural and small cities/towns in the United States, it is neither heavily utilized nor a hub for major airlines. No major airlines operate direct flights to or from Plattsburgh; only regional carriers serve the town. The only airline I could find to book a direct flight in was through American Airlines, which all had connecting flights in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a regional airline. After researching, it was clear that Philadelphia is the best option to catch a connecting flight into Plattsburgh. If you're trying to avoid American Airlines, I recommend booking a flight to Philadelphia and then booking a separate flight from Philadelphia to Plattsburgh. -Neither option saves money.
The alternative route (and the one I took) is to fly into Burlington, Vermont (BTV). BTV is technically a major airport, although it's small and doesn't get much traffic. From Burlington there is about 30-minute drive to the Grand Isle Ferry.. The ferry ride takes 15 minutes straight across the river to Plattsburgh and costs $5.25/adult. Taxi companies will drive onto the ferry and take passengers to their destination in Plattsburgh, but the cost significantly rises to $130 and up. If you're planning to make a roundtrip, renting a car is much more cost effective, as it's only $11.75 for a vehicle to board the ferry.
Warning, the taxi situation in Burlington, Vermont is bleak. I suggest Uber over airport taxis, as it's cheaper. Another tip is to have someone order your Uber outside of the state. My partner was able to order my Ubers for less than half of the price that Uber was showing me while I was in Vermont and Plattsburgh. I would not even attempt to order a taxi from Plattsburgh. They are scarce, unreliable, and often leave passengers stranded or waiting for extended periods, typically an hour or more. Oh, and they are steeply overpriced and a lot of the taxis require cash only.
I started to look at flight prices a year before takeoff. I couldn't book a flight that far out in advance though. Plattsburgh is a small city and except for the college population and their relatives, they do not seem to receive much tourism. Therefore, flights to Plattsburgh were as much as flying from San Francisco, California to the other side of the country in New York City, New York on the cheaper end, and on average they were about $300-$400 than flights through major airports. The cost of the flights alone were worrisome and did weigh on me for several months. Occasionally, I would check flights and it seemed like I was in for about $744-$825.
For reference: I paid less than that to fly to Finland.
But it all came together one night this summer. In August, at the point of being 4 months and 1 week out from graduation day, I was becoming anxious and I really wanted to book my flight. Personally, I like to book my flights as far in advance as possible; the rates are usually cheaper, the seat options are plentiful, and it definitely soothes my mind knowing that I have my flight secured.
I was getting ready to go to bed and my partner found some flights for around the $625 mark. This was the best pricing I had found in a while. The only problem, for me, was that it was through American Airlines. I refuse to fly American. I have heard so many bad reviews about them and since I was flying alone, I was not about to endure any issues solo. This summer, we flew my niece and her mother out here through American, who cancelled their flight the day they were supposed to leave, and they couldn't leave until late the following day. They arrived for their layover in Texas and had more delays that had them arrive here 2 days late. I also could not risk delays when I had specific times and dates that I needed to be there.
Through some research, I found that it was cheaper to fly into Burlington, Vermont (BTV) and I could fly on United Airlines. We looked up taxis and it seemed to only be an hour drive over to Plattsburgh, so we booked the flight at just over $400, knowing that the money we saved from the direct flight would go to an Uber.
I booked my hotels that night as well. I wanted to be as close to the university as possible. At this point, Samantha had not booked her stay and the last time I had discussed with her her plan, she was leaning towards bed & breakfasts (B&B) farther out from SUNY Plattsburgh that the college has recommended. - Personally, I don't like B&Bs. They are generally small and in someone's house. Even if the house is solely used as a business, it feels strange to me; I just can't shake the feeling that I'm in a strangers home. - I also hadn't confirmed transportation with her, so it felt safer to me to be able to easily access the university on my own if I needed to. So, I choose the Days Inn by Wyndham Plattsburgh that was a 15 minute walk to the university.
A couple of weeks before leaving, I ran into a bit of a snafu. I went to book a taxi for my journey from BTV to Plattsburgh. On the night that I booked my flight, we had researched and found via Google Maps that it was about an hours drive. I knew at that point it was going to be an Uber ride around $88 each way, but there wasn't much I could do if I wanted to avoid American Airlines. However, what we discovered in these last couple of weeks is that there is no taxi that will take a person from BTV to Plattsburgh. The journey requires driving north, around, and then back down, because Lake Champlain separates New York and Vermont. So, unless I was going to rent a car (which I didn't want to do), my partner learned the only way to get to Plattsburgh was via the Grand Isle Ferry.
My stress came from the cost of taxis to the ferry. It was averaging $175 if I wanted the service to take me over to my destination in Plattsburgh and it was $130 just to go to the ferry. - In my journey to finding reasonably priced transportation, I learned that it's common for people who want to take a trip through New England to start up in Maine and drive through New Hampshire, Vermont, and down into New York, which is often done via the Grand Isle Ferry. Another popular route is for people to explore all (or most of) Vermont and then drive into Plattsburgh, New York and through the state to get to NYC. I wasn't trying to do any of that though. I simply just wanted to go to Plattsburgh and back. - Renting a car seemed like an unnecessary ordeal, especially when Samantha and her husband agreed to drive me after deciding to stay at the same hotel. I didn't want to risk parking the car in the lot of the ferry service either; I was unfamiliar with either side of the lake and the safety of the areas.
But! I didn't give up and I didn't settle for the taxi robbery system in Burlington and I finally found an independent company that would take me to the ferry for $55 and even though their English wasn't the best, I knew I had at least secured a ride if Uber or Lyft failed upon arriving in Vermont.
After that, it was just a matter of packing and preparing myself for traveling solo for the first time since 2019.
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