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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Scranton
Give Scranton one full day for Steamtown and the coal mine tour, two if you add Nay Aug Park and the Everhart; base downtown and drive.
Scranton is a former anthracite and railroad city in northeastern Pennsylvania, about 2 h 15 min by car from New York and 2 h from Philadelphia. Its draw is industrial history — Steamtown National Historic Site, the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour and the Iron Furnaces — plus a compact, walkable downtown of early-1900s buildings. It is a one- or two-night stop on a Coal Region or Poconos drive, not a standalone destination.
- Country
- United States
- Best months
- May–Jun, Sep–Oct
- Avoid
- Jan–Feb (cold, ice), peak summer humidity in Jul–Aug
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $60–100 excl. bed · Mid $110–180 excl. bed · High $200+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | $3–5 |
| Diner breakfast | $10–16 |
| Casual lunch or a slice | $10–18 |
| Sit-down dinner, before tax and tip | $18–35 |
| Draught beer in a bar | $6–9 |
| Downtown parking garage | $1.75 first hour, about $0.75 each hour after |
| COLTS bus ride | $1.25 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- AVP · Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International
- About 20 min south in Avoca; daily flights to Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare, Detroit, Newark and Philadelphia; rental cars at the terminal.
- EWR · Newark Liberty International
- About 2 h by car; the usual long-haul gateway for this region.
- PHL · Philadelphia International
- About 2 h by car.
Typical fares
- Taxi, downtown to Montage Mountain
- about $25–35 (check)
- Bus, New York to Scranton
- about $35–60 one way, 2.5–3 h (check)
- Downtown parking garage, full day
- about $8–12 (check)
Get around
A car is the practical default: sights spread from downtown to McDade Park and Montage Mountain. Downtown itself is walkable — park in a garage and cover Courthouse Square, Steamtown and the Iron Furnaces on foot. COLTS buses run city routes roughly 7:00–19:00 and do not run Sundays or holidays; taxis are phone-dispatch only and cannot be hailed.A car is the practical default: sights spread from downtown to McDade Park and Montage Mountain. Downtown itself is walkable — park in a garage and cover Courthouse Square, Steamtown and the Iron Furnaces on foot. COLTS buses run city routes roughly 7:00 AM–7:00 PM and do not run Sundays or holidays; taxis are phone-dispatch only and cannot be hailed.
See and do
Known for
- Steamtown National Historic Site
- Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour
- Anthracite and railroad history
- The Office (TV setting)
- Joe Biden's birthplace
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wilkes-Barre | I-81 south, about 30 min by car | About 40 min |
| Jim Thorpe | I-81 south to I-476, then PA-903, about 1 h 15 min by car | About 1.5 h |
| Dunmore | I-81 north or Drinker Street, about 10 min by car | About 20 min |
| Clarks Summit | I-81 north to PA-407, about 20 min by car | About 30 min |
| Hazleton | I-81 south, about 50 min by car | About 1 h |
| Pottsville | I-81 south to PA-61, about 1 h 15 min by car | About 1.5 h |
Sleep
- Downtown / Central City
- Two dozen walkable blocks around Courthouse Square; the Radisson Lackawanna Station hotel occupies the old train station. Best for a car-free day.
- Montage Mountain / Moosic
- Highway-side hotels near PNC Field and the ski area; cheaper, but you drive everywhere.
- Dickson City / Viewmont
- Big-box strip on Business Rt. 6 north of the city; practical for drivers with a car.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Where is the entrance? | Where is the entrance? |
| How much is it? | How much is it? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
| Is there parking here? | Is there parking here? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- COLTS buses do not run on Sundays or holidays — check the schedule before relying on them.
- Steamtown's GPS pin (150 S Washington Ave) has no public access; enter from Cliff Street.
- Winter ice on pavements and steps downtown; summer can be humid.
- The Dunder-Mifflin building at 1725 Slough Avenue does not exist — the exterior shots were filmed in California.
Downtown is fine on foot in daylight and early evening; use normal city sense after dark and drive between outlying sights. The real hazards are winter ice, deer on rural roads and long, unlit stretches between towns.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Scranton yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Steamtown National Historic Site
- Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour
- Anthracite and railroad history
- The Office (TV setting)
- Joe Biden's birthplace
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Steamtown National Historic Site (NPS): www.nps.gov/stea/index.htm
- Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour: coalminetournepa.com/
- Wikivoyage: Scranton, revision 5236458 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5236458
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Scranton
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance911
No embassies in Scranton; consulates-general are in New York and Philadelphia, embassies in Washington, DC.
Tipping is expected: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink, 15–20% taxis.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/scranton). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.