Hey travelers. Soon I have a flight to Germany that includes a 7 hour layover in Newark. Is that enough time to hop a train to Manhattan and do some stuff and make it back with enough time or would that be stupid? Any other ideas for a 7 hr layover there?

I've done it before. It takes two trains, one from the terminal to the NJ Transit station and another from there into Manhattan. It will drop you at Penn Station. The train from the terminal is pretty consistent but you may have to wait on the train into Manhattan which could eat into your time. If money is not an issue, a taxi or car service might be quicker. If you're just looking to kill time, Washington St in Hoboken can be a cool place to visit with shops, restaurants, and bars. You could get there by taxi.

Plenty of time especially if you have pre-check. Going back through security can be slow without it. Depending on the time of day and where you want to go, you could also uber.

I've made the trip from Newark to Manhattan numerous times so I have some idea of the logistics, although I've never it on the same day like you are talking about. But it's always a great idea to get out of the airport for a day trip when you can, which I've done at various airports around the globe. With 7 hours I would plan my time as:

- It will probably take you 15 - 30 minutes to exit the plane and walk to the exit to get a taxi

- 1 hour transit each way from Newark to Manhattan. I would take a taxi to make the most use of your time. It will be more expensive then the train and you risk running into some traffic, but the taxi can drop you off and pick you up exactly where you want. So you won't have to waste time waiting on a train, making subway switches and then walking to your location. One hour each way is probably more time than you need, but I wouldn't count on less just to be safe.

- Arrive back at Newark 1.5 hrs before boarding to get through security (pre-check hopefully) and immigration, assuming you don't have bags to check or they are already checked through.

So that will give you 3 - 3.5 hrs to spend in Manhattan. I would definitely do it.

When I Googled it there's a bus that goes directly between Newark airport and Grand Central Station. Think that would be ok? Hardly ever in NYC so even if it's a bit of a mess I'd still rather do that than sit in a terminal for 7 hours, especially since after that I have a 10 hour flight to do nothing on