As someone else said, if you book the amtrak ticket to Newark well ahead of time it can be a reasonable price; however if you don’t book enough ahead or you need to change the day/time last minute, be prepared to pay anywhere up to $80-110 for the 2 hour ride. On the other hand, the Metro-North only has two flat fee options: peak (commute times) or off-peak hours. You also can’t buy amtrak tickets while you’re on the train, whereas metro north tickets can be purchased on the app anytime and are not tied to a specific day or time.

To get to Newark, I’ve taken the amtrak once but I’ve also taken the metro-north to grand central and then the newark airport express bus straight to the airport. I had a good experience with the bus but I’ve heard it can be quite inconsistent.

I tend to fly out of JFK cause it usually has the cheapest direct flights to the west coast, but it does require taking the metro-north, two short subway rides, and the air train. It’s not the most convenient, but once you get it down it’s easy enough and the transit is always on time.

Bradley is super convenient if you take the train to Windsor Locks or catch a rideshare. You can even drive there if you’re going for a shorter trip cause you can get parking at BDL for like $6 a day.