Look, if you’re standing in Hoboken and need to get to Penn Station, you're basically dealing with the ultimate "choose your own adventure" of New Jersey transit. It sounds simple. You see the skyline right there across the water. But the reality of getting from Hoboken to Penn Station depends entirely on which Penn Station you actually mean—New York or Newark—and how much you feel like walking.
Most people are heading to Midtown Manhattan. If that’s you, don't just blindly follow the first person in a suit you see running toward the terminal. You’ll probably end up on a PATH train to World Trade Center by mistake, and suddenly you’re miles away from where you need to be.
The PATH Train: Your Best Friend or Your Worst Enemy?
The PATH is the backbone of this commute. It’s cheap. It runs 24/7. But it’s also kind of a labyrinth if you aren't paying attention to the colors on the map. To get from Hoboken to Penn Station (the Manhattan one), you need the Blue Line. That’s the Hoboken-33rd Street line.
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It makes stops at Christopher St, 9th, 14th, and 23rd before hitting 33rd Street. Now, here’s the kicker: 33rd Street PATH station is not inside Penn Station. It’s a block away. You’ll pop out at the corner of 6th Avenue and 32nd or 33rd, and then you’ve got to hoof it over to 7th or 8th Avenue to find the actual Amtrak or NJ Transit gates. If it's raining, you're gonna get wet.
On weekends, things get weird. The PATH often combines the Hoboken-33rd line with the Journal Square line. You’ll end up stopping in Newport (Jersey City) first. It adds maybe ten minutes to the trip, but it feels like an eternity when you're late for a Broadway show or a meeting at Madison Square Garden.
NJ Transit: The "One Seat" Myth
People always ask if there’s a direct train from Hoboken to Penn Station via NJ Transit.
The short answer? No.
The long answer is that Hoboken Terminal is a terminal in the most literal sense—it’s where the tracks end. If you’re on an NJ Transit train coming from somewhere like Morristown or Montclair, it either goes to Hoboken or it goes to New York Penn. It almost never goes to both. If you are already at the Hoboken Terminal and want to use NJ Transit to get to NY Penn, you basically have to take a train away from the city to Secaucus Junction and then transfer to a New York-bound train. It’s a massive waste of time. Stick to the PATH or the bus unless the PATH is totally broken down (which, let’s be real, happens).
The Newark Confusion
I have to mention this because someone always messes it up: Newark Penn Station.
If you’re trying to get from Hoboken to Penn Station in Newark, you can take the NJ Transit Main/Bergen County or Pascack Valley lines to Secaucus and then switch to any Newark-bound train. Or, take the PATH to Jersey City (Grove St) and switch to the Red Line (Newark-WTC). It’s a bit of a haul. Newark Penn is beautiful in a gritty, Art Deco kind of way, but it’s definitely not where you want to be if your dinner reservation is at Carmine’s in Times Square.
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The Bus 126: The Secret Weapon
If the PATH is a mess, the 126 bus is your savior.
It runs along Washington Street in Hoboken and goes straight to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. From Port Authority, you can walk down to Penn Station in about ten minutes, or just take the A, C, or E subway one stop south to 34th Street-Penn Station.
Honestly, if you live on the north end of Hoboken—near 14th Street—taking the bus is way faster than walking all the way down to the PATH station at the south end of town. The 126 uses the Lincoln Tunnel's exclusive bus lane, so while cars are sitting in soul-crushing traffic, you’re zooming past them. Except on Friday afternoons. Nothing moves on Friday afternoons.
NY Waterway: The Luxury Option
If you’ve got money to burn and want a view, the ferry is incredible.
You can jump on at the Hoboken South (near the PATH) or 14th Street. It drops you at Midtown / West 39th Street. From there, the ferry company runs free shuttle buses that can drop you closer to the Penn Station area. It’s the most "New York" way to travel. You get the wind in your hair, a view of the Empire State Building, and you don't have to smell the "unique" aroma of the PATH tunnels. It costs significantly more than the $2.75 PATH fare, though. Last I checked, you're looking at about $9.00 for a one-way trip.
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Surviving the Walk
Once you get off the PATH at 33rd Street, the walk to Penn Station is a gauntlet. You're navigating around Herald Square, the flagship Macy’s, and roughly eight thousand tourists who have stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to look at a pigeon.
- Exit at 32nd Street for the quickest route.
- Walk west toward 7th Avenue.
- Look for the massive "Madison Square Garden" sign; Penn Station is directly underneath it.
The Reality of Late Night Travel
After midnight, the "Hoboken to Penn Station" route becomes a test of patience. The PATH drops to a 35-minute or 40-minute frequency. There is nothing quite as depressing as reaching the turnstile just as you hear the train pulling out, knowing you’re stuck underground until the next administration takes office.
If you miss that late-night PATH, check the bus schedules or just bite the bullet and call an Uber. Just be prepared for the "tunnel tax." Drivers hate going through the Holland or Lincoln Tunnel late at night because they usually have to pay the toll coming back without a passenger.
What to do next
If you're planning your trip right now, download the RidePATH app. It's the only way to get real-time alerts that actually matter. Google Maps is okay, but it doesn't always catch the "emergency signal problems" that plague the tunnels on Tuesday mornings.
If you are a frequent traveler, get a SmartLink card. Don't bother with the OMNY system yet if you're switching between NJ Transit and PATH frequently—it’s getting better, but the PATH still loves its proprietary cards for the best fare deals.
Check the NJ Transit "DepartureVision" on their website before you leave your house. If you see a sea of red "Delayed" or "Cancelled" notices, just go straight to the ferry or the bus. Don't even bother descending into the PATH station.
Lastly, if you're carrying luggage, use the elevators at the south end of the Hoboken PATH platform. The stairs are narrow, steep, and usually crowded with commuters who will not be happy if you clip their heels with a Samsonite.