Day Trip from New York

The Philadelphia part of the day

The listing’s itinerary gives three Philadelphia entries:

• Liberty Bell: a visit of 20 minutes.
• Independence Hall: a pass-by of 10 minutes.
• Rocky Statue: 25 minutes.

The rest of the 15 hours is spent in Washington, D.C., and on the road. Philadelphia and New York are roughly 95 miles apart. The listing adds that the itinerary is subject to traffic conditions, so the times on the ground can shift.

What 20 minutes at the bell means

The listing does not say whether the 20 minutes are spent inside the Liberty Bell Center or outside at the windows. Both are possible ways to see the bell. The NPS lists a visit inside at 15 to 55 minutes, and that figure does not include the wait: the line forms outside, every visitor goes through security screening, and Visit Philadelphia notes that lines can be long in peak seasons. On a busy day the line and screening may not fit into a 20-minute slot. The bell is visible through the large windows on Chestnut Street at any hour, with Independence Hall behind it, per Visit Philadelphia, and that view involves no line. The window view page explains where it is.

What the 20 minutes show is the bell itself: a bronze bell that weighed 2,080 pounds at order, cast in Philadelphia by John Pass and John Stow in 1753 and silent since February 1846, per the NPS. The wide gap visible on its side is the 1846 repair attempt; the crack that silenced it is a thin line. The crack page and the history page give the background that a short stop leaves out.

Independence Hall from the outside

The itinerary lists Independence Hall as a pass-by of 10 minutes, which reads as a view of the building rather than a tour. Guided tours inside need a free timed ticket reserved on recreation.gov, per the NPS, and the day-trip listing does not mention one. The Independence Hall tickets page explains the schedule for a separate visit.

Conditions in the listing

• Start at 5:00 a.m. in the Times Square area; the listing mentions pickup options, so the listing is the place to check pickup details.
• A bilingual guide in English and Spanish.
• Not suitable for wheelchair users, per the listing.
• Under-18s must be accompanied by an adult.
• For children under 8, the listing asks travellers to bring their own child seat, citing New York law.
• Free cancellation up to 24 hours before for a full refund.

Rhoda from the US describes a wonderful day with a friendly and helpful guide, and Barbara from Italy calls it a fantastic day.

Going independently

Trains and intercity buses run between New York and Philadelphia, roughly 95 miles apart; schedules and fares are on the operators’ own sites. Arriving independently leaves the length of the Philadelphia visit open. The nearest SEPTA station to the bell is 5th Street/Independence Hall on the L, the Market-Frankford Line (septa.org). A day in Philadelphia alone can take in the Liberty Bell Center at its 9 am opening, a timed tour of Independence Hall and the museums around Independence Mall. The getting there page, the one-day plan and the Philadelphia or New York page cover the alternatives.

Check dates for the day trip

Fifteen hours from New York, with Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. in one day.

Frequently asked questions