[upinottawa]

My wife and I will be making a day trip to Philadelphia in the upcoming weeks and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or recommendations on where to store our luggage? We will be flying from Raleigh to PHL, spending the day in Philadelphia before taking the train to Trenton where we will meet up with a friend who is doing his post-doc at Princeton. We will also spend another half day in the city before flying back to Ottawa.

The problem is that we will have our luggage with us. Does the 30th Street Station have a luggage storage area? I have only been there once, but I do not remember such facilities (likely for security reasons). What about hotels close to a SEPTA rail station (we will be taking the train from the airport to downtown)?

We are both really excited to check out Philadelphia but we would prefer to see the city without lugging our luggage with us. Thanks in advance. Any other suggestions (things to do, places to see, are more than welcome).

[LostInTheZone]

Amtrak will store your baggage if you have a ticket. Hotels will usually hold your bags if you give the desk a tip, and there are several hotels close to the SEPTA stations in center city. Beyond that, I'm pretty curious about the question too.

[Late1]

Yes, 30th Street Station has a "Baggage Holding" area and charges $2 per item to check your luggage (not sure whether you'll need to show a train ticket to use the service, but if you do, an R1 ticket from the Airport Line will do - my UK buddy took the train up from the airport and stowed his luggage this past November).

Not sure how late Baggage Holding is open, but I'm pretty sure it's at least 9pm - try calling Facility/Station Management at 215.349.3196 or 215.349.2455 and hopefully they can either answer any questions you have or direct you to someone who can. Enjoy your visit!

[upinottawa]

Thanks both of you for the information. I am really looking forward to visiting the city.

[LostInTheZone]

the Harrisburg train/bus station still has key lockers you pay for with quarters. God I miss when those things were more common. I know the rationale for getting rid of them is terrorism, but can't they make bomb-resistant ones or something?

[LostInTheZone]

so I know we solved upinottawa's problem, but I'm kind of curious if anyone knows of any good places besides 30th Street, and which hotels will/will not check bags for a reasonable tip?

[upinottawa]

Thank you everyone who has posted on this thread.

My trip to Philadelphia went really well -- we only had time to spend the equivalent of one full day there but we managed to hit Independence Hall/Liberty Bell, Reading Terminal Market, Market Street, City Hall, Rittenhouse Square, South Philly (had to do the Cheesesteak thing), and the Museum of Art. We also walked down numerous side streets in the downtown area. We were both very impressed by the city.

As far as luggage is concerned, here is the lowdown:

Amtrak is the only company that checks bags at 30th Street and they only check bags for its customers. Therefore, is you are travelling on SEPTA you must become an Amtrak customer, i.e. you can purchase a one way ticket to Atlantic City for $7. Once you have this ticket you can check your luggage with Amtrak. Amtrak charges $3 a bag for storage (no matter how small the bag). After you return to pick up your bags, you can exchange the ticket for a refund.

I realize that this is cheating the system, but this is the only way to check luggage at 30th Street.

[PhillyRising]

Thank you everyone who has posted on this thread.

My trip to Philadelphia went really well -- we only had time to spend the equivalent of one full day there but we managed to hit Independence Hall/Liberty Bell, Reading Terminal Market, Market Street, City Hall, Rittenhouse Square, South Philly (had to do the Cheesesteak thing), and the Museum of Art. We also walked down numerous side streets in the downtown area. We were both very impressed by the city.

As far as luggage is concerned, here is the lowdown:

Amtrak is the only company that checks bags at 30th Street and they only check bags for its customers. Therefore, is you are travelling on SEPTA you must become an Amtrak customer, i.e. you can purchase a one way ticket to Atlantic City for $7. Once you have this ticket you can check your luggage with Amtrak. Amtrak charges $3 a bag for storage (no matter how small the bag). After you return to pick up your bags, you can exchange the ticket for a refund.

I realize that this is cheating the system, but this is the only way to check luggage at 30th Street.


I'm glad you enjoyed your brief visit to Philadelphia!

[Late1]

Thank you everyone who has posted on this thread.

My trip to Philadelphia went really well -- we only had time to spend the equivalent of one full day there but we managed to hit Independence Hall/Liberty Bell, Reading Terminal Market, Market Street, City Hall, Rittenhouse Square, South Philly (had to do the Cheesesteak thing), and the Museum of Art. We also walked down numerous side streets in the downtown area. We were both very impressed by the city.

As far as luggage is concerned, here is the lowdown:

Amtrak is the only company that checks bags at 30th Street and they only check bags for its customers. Therefore, is you are travelling on SEPTA you must become an Amtrak customer, i.e. you can purchase a one way ticket to Atlantic City for $7. Once you have this ticket you can check your luggage with Amtrak. Amtrak charges $3 a bag for storage (no matter how small the bag). After you return to pick up your bags, you can exchange the ticket for a refund.

I realize that this is cheating the system, but this is the only way to check luggage at 30th Street.

Wow, that's strange - my buddy from the UK definitely didn't have to buy an Amtrak ticket when he rode the R1 from the airport and stowed his bags at 30th St in November. I wonder if what you experienced is a new policy or if it just depends on who's working baggage holding when you want to stow your stuff?

In any case, I'm also glad to hear it worked out and that you had a good time!

[LostInTheZone]

^I actually stored a bag there for a few hours last week, and I didn't have to show them any kind of ticket at all. I guess it depends on how nice the person at the counter is.

[xzmattzx]

My wife and I will be making a day trip to Philadelphia in the upcoming weeks and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or recommendations on where to store our luggage? We will be flying from Raleigh to PHL, spending the day in Philadelphia before taking the train to Trenton where we will meet up with a friend who is doing his post-doc at Princeton. We will also spend another half day in the city before flying back to Ottawa.

The problem is that we will have our luggage with us. Does the 30th Street Station have a luggage storage area? I have only been there once, but I do not remember such facilities (likely for security reasons). What about hotels close to a SEPTA rail station (we will be taking the train from the airport to downtown)?

We are both really excited to check out Philadelphia but we would prefer to see the city without lugging our luggage with us. Thanks in advance. Any other suggestions (things to do, places to see, are more than welcome).

To be honest, it will take the airport a day to get your luggage to you from off of the plane. Actually, from experience, you're more likely not to see your luggage for 2 ro 3 days rather than get it as soon as you get off of the plane.