Watch CBS News

5 Fun Day Trips From Port Authority

Memorial Day weekend is considered one of the most traveled holidays of the year. But filling up at the pump and sitting in hours of traffic isn't necessarily the only way to get out of town this holiday weekend. The day trips listed below leave from Port Authority in Times Square and offer the perfect one-day getaway. Some will even have you back in time for dinner or a Broadway show. By Jessica Allen.

More: The Tri-State Area's 7 Best Weekend Getaways

StormKing
(credit: Garrett Ziegler)

More: Family Fun Getaways From New York

The price of this Coach USA trip includes round-trip bus fare and admission to Storm King Art Center, a 500-acre sculpture park in Hudson Valley, about an hour and a half from New York City. Nestled among the grasses, trees, and wildflowers are more than 100 works by contemporary artists like Maya Lin, Richard Serra, Andy Goldsworthy, and Tal Streeter (pictured). Each one has been placed just so to interact with the natural world.

Bear_Mtn_Bridge
(credit: Mwanner)

More: 10 Best Rock Climbing Getaways

With this bus trip, you can have freshly baked bagels for breakfast and dramatic views of the Hudson Highlands along the Appalachian Trail for lunch. Bear Mountain State Park offers a zoo, an inn, a merry-go-round, ballfields, picnic areas, a playground, swimming pool, places to fish, and biking and hiking trails (some of which are old mining or military roads, dating to the Revolutionary War). Fit folks might scamper up to the Perkins Memorial Tower, more than 1,300 feet above the Hudson River, to see what there is to see.

WoodburyCommonPremiumOutlets
(credit: Woodbury Commons Premium Outlet / Facebook)

This bus trip to the outlet stores at Woodbury Common is so popular that it usually runs seven times a day. You can combine a visit here to one with Storm King or West Point, or you can just spend the day at the world's largest designer outlet center, shopping for deals at such retailers as Burberry, Barneys New York, Fendi, Oscar de la Renta, The North Face, Tom Ford, and MaxMara. The package includes a VIP coupon book with hundreds of discounts at the stores and restaurants. Plus receive 15 percent off a purchase of over $100 or 10 percent off your entire purchase at Tommy Hilfiger, all you need to do is show your Coach USA ticket.

SixFlags
(credit: Six Flags / Facebook)

One bus ride, so many thrilling experiences. You can spend the day at Six Flags Great Adventure riding roller coasters, playing games, taking a cable car across the sky, and having a picnic. You can take the off-road Safari Adventure through rugged terrain that's home to 1,200 animals. Or you can head next door to Hurricane Harbor, and splash about the 45-acre tropical-themed water park, including a million-gallon wave pool and almost 20 speed slides.

GoldenNugget
(credit: Golden Nugget)

A different set of thrills may be had in Atlantic City. Academy Bus Lines offers frequent trips to major casinos, including Trump Marina, Bally's, Caesar's, Taj Mahal, Golden Nugget (pictured), and Tropicana. If you don't feel like gambling, you can hang out at the beach, walk along the famed boardwalk (and check out sites from HBO's Boardwalk Empire), spend the day at the spa, play golf, and eat -- boy, can you eat, from sit-down to buffets to slice and sandwich joints.

Jessica Allen blogs at We Heart New York.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.