Philadelphia rail information

I am curious on the SEPTA rail system and whether I should rent a car. If the event was at the old place, this would be a no brainer. But since it is in the hotel, I am wondering about the train route in case I want to go into downtown some time.

I have brought up the maps on http://www.septa.org/maps/system/index.html and it appears the trains run from the airport into certain parts of downtown. An example would be if I wanted to go into South Philly to Genos or Pats, or to the historical part of Philly, how close will the train get? I also saw where there is this on my hotel reciept:

Parking Charges: Self Parking: 5.00

I have no problem renting a car, but if I was to go alone into town early Saturday or Sunday morning, it would not be worth it. Does anyone know the rail system there well and if I rent a car, would anyone be interested in seeing downtown when we have a little free time? Thanks!

To get to most places you do have stops on the rail system but for the most part you will be having to walk a few blocks either way. The hotel can shuttle you to the airport to get the train but most stops in the city are at centralized locations. For the cheesesteaks I have no clue which one would be the closest. There are a few that get you close to Old City but to see any of the sights it's still going to be a bit of walking around. The only stops I know for sure that are decent ones are 30th street station, 69th st Temple and Suburban. You can always look into the different bus routes too.

One thing to look for though is if any groups are planning to take a trip into the city. You may just be able to bum a ride from them.

fireguardian said:

One thing to look for though is if any groups are planning to take a trip into the city. You may just be able to bum a ride from them.

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Perfectly true. No-one has to go anywhere alone as there are always people with cars getting group excursions together, whether to go sightseeing, on food runs, shopping or just general driving around.