Lafayette and Wagner in 2 Days: An Easton, PA and Staten Island College Trip
A parent-first plan for seeing Lafayette College and Wagner College in two days: how each tour works, where to park, six hotels from budget to upscale, drive times from Easton to Staten Island and Newark, sibling stops and seasonal weather, every fact sourced and checked Oct 31, 2026.
A quad on the Lafayette College campus in Easton, Pennsylvania (May 2012). Photo: Tomwsulcer · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Last checked Oct 31, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).
The short version
Trip at a glance
Schools
Lafayette College (Easton, PA; Patriot League) · Wagner College (Staten Island, NY; Northeast Conference)
Days
2 days: Lafayette on day 1, then about an hour and a half east to Staten Island; Wagner on day 2.
Fly into
Lehigh Valley International (ABE), Lafayette's closest airport and about 24 minutes from downtown Easton, or Newark Liberty (EWR), about 77 minutes away with no traffic. Fly home from EWR, about 23 minutes from Wagner.
Best base
Grand Eastonian Hotel & Suites in downtown Easton, about 4 minutes by car from Lafayette, then Hilton Garden Inn Staten Island, about 13 minutes from Wagner.
Car or transit
Rent a car: Lafayette is about 89 minutes from the Staten Island hotels with no traffic, and both schools give driving directions to a visitor entrance.
Registration
Book each campus visit on the school's own registration page. Wagner says students who visit get an application fee waiver.
1. Who this guide is for
This plan is for parents with a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, who want to compare two private Division I colleges on one trip: Lafayette, a liberal arts and engineering college on College Hill in Easton, and Wagner, on Grymes Hill on Staten Island with Manhattan a free ferry ride away.
Lafayette's visitors park free on the third floor of the Markle Parking Deck and check in at the Hugel Welcome Center in Markle Hall; at Wagner, you turn in at the Main Entrance and tell the guard booth you're visiting the Admissions Office.
Why this order
Day 1: Lafayette's campus tour runs about 1.5 hours, starting with a 15-minute introduction from an admissions counselor and then a 75-minute student-led tour that includes a typical first-year residence hall. An Engineering Center tour of about an hour covers the Acopian Engineering Center.
Day 2: Wagner's daily student-led tours run about an hour and stop at lecture halls, the dining hall, theatre spaces, the gym and fitness center and the library. Afterward, families can meet with an admissions counselor; Wagner says these meetings are informational, not interviews.
Plan ahead: registration and timing
Lafayette's campus tour is offered Monday through Friday and on select Saturdays; the Engineering Center tour runs on Tuesdays and select Fridays and Saturdays. Check the registration page for open dates.
Lafayette on-campus interviews need registration at least 2 days ahead, and its Leopard for a Day program (for seniors and transfer students) needs sign-up 2 weeks ahead.
Lafayette says demonstrated interest is part of its assessment, and self-guided visits need no pre-registration: scan the QR code at the kiosk outside Markle Hall so admissions knows you came.
Wagner: students who visit get an application fee waiver. Fall Saturday Overview Visits pair an admissions information session with a Student Ambassador tour.
Tour availability varies by season.
During Lafayette's academic breaks, admissions offers half-hour information sessions plus a self-guided tour instead of the full program, and the campus is closed for the winter holidays; check the registration page for your dates.
Lafayette also offers Sustainability and Arts tours and virtual visit options, linked from its Admissions Visits page.
2. The suggested 2-day drive
Drive times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, and walking times use OpenStreetMap foot routing, with addresses geocoded by OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Lafayette times are to 730 High Street, the GPS address Lafayette gives for the Markle Parking Deck, and Wagner times are to 631 Howard Avenue, the GPS address on Wagner's directions page. Expect real traffic around New York City to add time.
Arrival: fly into Lehigh Valley or Newark and check in in Easton
Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) → Grand Eastonian Hotel & Suites (140 Northampton St.)
Driving (no traffic)
~24 min, 14.7 mi
Driving and walking
Rental car
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) → Grand Eastonian Hotel & Suites
Driving (no traffic)
~77 min, 60.5 mi
Driving and walking
Rental car
Lafayette names Lehigh Valley (ABE) as the closest airport, with Newark (EWR) about an hour's drive and Philadelphia (PHL) about 1.5 to 2 hours. Easton is also reachable by bus (Trans-Bridge and Greyhound).
Flying home from Newark makes the most sense for this route, since Wagner is about 23 minutes from EWR with no traffic.
Day 1: Lafayette College and downtown Easton, then on to Staten Island
Grand Eastonian Hotel & Suites → Lafayette College (Markle Parking Deck, 730 High St.)
Driving (no traffic)
~4 min, 1.1 mi
Driving and walking
~15 min walk, 0.7 mi
Grand Eastonian Hotel & Suites → Crayola Experience (30 Centre Square)
Driving (no traffic)
Walk
Driving and walking
~4 min walk, 0.2 mi
Lafayette College → Hilton Garden Inn Staten Island (1100 South Ave.)
Driving (no traffic)
~89 min, 67.6 mi
Driving and walking
Drive
Enter the Markle Parking Deck on the second floor and take the ramp up to the third floor, where marked visitor spots are to the left past the elevator shaft and the Welcome Center doors.
Check in through the double doors of the Hugel Welcome Center in Markle Hall. Lafayette's admissions staff are there 9 to 5 on weekdays.
The tour doesn't go inside the gym, but Lafayette says you're welcome to explore it on your own any time.
Day 2: Wagner College and the Staten Island waterfront, then fly home
Hilton Garden Inn Staten Island → Wagner College (631 Howard Ave.)
Driving (no traffic)
~13 min, 5.6 mi
Driving and walking
Drive
Wagner College → Snug Harbor (1000 Richmond Terrace)
Driving (no traffic)
~12 min, 2.8 mi
Driving and walking
Drive
Wagner College → St. George Ferry Terminal
Driving (no traffic)
~10 min, 2.7 mi
Driving and walking
Free Wagner shuttle
Wagner College → Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Driving (no traffic)
~23 min, 12.2 mi
Driving and walking
Drive
At the top of Grymes Hill, turn right into the Wagner College entrance marked "Main Entrance" and tell the guard booth you're visiting the Admissions Office.
Wagner says it's most easily reached from Newark Liberty, with LaGuardia and JFK within reasonable travel distance.
3. Campus by campus
A quad on the Lafayette College campus in Easton, Pennsylvania (May 2012). Photo: Tomwsulcer · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
All visits, including campus tours, engineering tours and interviews, check in at the Hugel Welcome Center in Markle Hall, entered from the third floor of the Markle Parking Deck.
The campus tour is about 1.5 hours: a 15-minute admissions counselor introduction, then a 75-minute student-led tour that includes a typical first-year residence hall. Admissions counselors are available afterward for questions.
Visitor parking
Visitors park free on the Markle Parking Deck with no ticket needed, except during special events such as football games. Visitor parking is on the third floor, with accessible spots and EV chargers on the deck; the Leopard Deck is overflow parking.
In snow, the third floor may close: park on the second floor and use the red double doors.
Getting there
Use 730 High Street, Easton, PA 18042 in your GPS. Lafayette's directions take you up College Avenue to McCartney Street at the stone Lafayette College sign, then onto High Street and right into the Markle Parking Deck.
Lafayette is about 4 minutes by car or a 15-minute walk from the Grand Eastonian, and a 2-minute drive from The Lafayette Inn, with no traffic.
What to know
Self-guiding? Scan the QR code at the kiosk outside Markle Hall and pick up a self-guided tour map below the kiosk.
Contact
Lafayette Admissions is in Markle Hall, open 9 to 5 on weekdays; contact details are on the Admissions Visits page.
Last checked Oct 31, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.
Daily tours are student-led and take about an hour, covering lecture halls, the dining hall, theatre spaces, the gym and fitness center, the library and more. An informational meeting with an admissions counselor can follow.
On select fall Saturdays, Overview Visits combine an admissions information session with a campus tour led by a Student Ambassador.
Visitor parking
Turn right into the entrance marked "Main Entrance" at the top of Grymes Hill and tell the guard booth you're visiting the Admissions Office.
Getting there
Use 631 Howard Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301 in your GPS. Wagner is about 13 minutes by car from the Hilton Garden Inn and the Hampton Inn & Suites on South Avenue, and about 23 minutes from EWR with no traffic.
Without a car: the Staten Island Ferry from Manhattan is free and takes about 25 minutes, and Wagner runs a free shuttle from the ferry to campus 7 days a week.
What to know
Wagner's video campus tour points out that Manhattan is just a free ferry ride away; the Spiro Sports Center, home of Wagner's Division I teams, has a fitness center, gym and pool.
Contact
Wagner Admissions: admissions@wagner.edu, (800) 221-1010 or (718) 390-3411, Monday to Friday 8:30 to 5.
Last checked Oct 31, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.
In historic downtown Bethlehem, about 24 minutes by car from Lafayette and about 12 minutes from ABE with no traffic.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 4.5-star property, so we place it in the Upscale tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Good to know
Expedia lists two on-site restaurants, a free round-trip airport shuttle and self-parking for a fee. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
For the night before Wagner: about 13 minutes by car from campus and about 17 minutes from EWR with no traffic. It's on Wagner's local lodging list, and Wagner says to tell the reservation clerk you're visiting Wagner for a special rate.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Good to know
Expedia lists free self-parking and an on-site Italian restaurant, Lorenzo's. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Next door to the Hilton Garden Inn, about 13 minutes by car from Wagner with no traffic, and also on Wagner's local lodging list with a special rate for Wagner visitors.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 2.5-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free breakfast buffet and free self-parking. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Stay in downtown Easton the night before Lafayette, then drive to Staten Island after your tour so day 2 starts about 13 minutes from Wagner. Both Staten Island hotels are on Wagner's local lodging list; mention Wagner when you book to ask about the special rate.
5. Meals between tours
Hours change, so check before you go.
Downtown Easton
The Grand Eastonian is in downtown Easton, a few minutes' walk from Centre Square and the Crayola Experience, so dinner on the night you arrive is a short walk away.
Staten Island
The Hilton Garden Inn has an on-site Italian restaurant, Lorenzo's, and the Hampton Inn & Suites includes breakfast, per their Expedia listings, which helps on tour mornings.
6. Things for siblings along the route
With siblings
Crayola Experience Easton
30 Centre Square, Easton, PA
About a 4-minute walk from the Grand Eastonian. Crayola's family attraction has 20+ hands-on activities, and it recommends 3 to 4 hours for a visit.
About 12 minutes by car from Wagner. The outdoor grounds and gardens are free, open daily from dawn to dusk, and need no tickets; expect shorter hours from October to March.
A free ride to Manhattan and back that needs no ticket, run by the City of New York 24 hours a day. The terminal is about 10 minutes by car from Wagner.
At Lafayette, visitor parking on the Markle Parking Deck is free with no ticket needed outside special events such as football games.
At Wagner, enter at the Main Entrance on Howard Avenue and check in at the guard booth.
Flying in and out
ABE is about 24 minutes from downtown Easton and EWR about 77 minutes, while Wagner is about 23 minutes from EWR with no traffic, so flying into ABE and home from EWR saves backtracking.
Wagner says Newark Liberty is the easiest airport for reaching campus.
Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Allentown Lehigh Valley International Airport)
Spring: April averages about 63°F highs and 40°F lows, with about 3.7 inches of rain.
Summer: July averages about 86°F/65°F, with about 5.3 inches of rain.
Fall: October averages about 66°F/44°F, with about 4.1 inches of rain.
Winter: January averages about 38°F/22°F, with about 3.3 inches of precipitation and about 10 inches of snow.
Parent checklist
Register for a Lafayette campus tour (and the Engineering Center tour if your student is interested), and book any interview at least 2 days ahead.
Book a Wagner daily tour or a fall Saturday Overview Visit, and ask about the application fee waiver.
Book flights into ABE or EWR and home from EWR, plus a rental car.
Book one night in Easton and one night on Staten Island, and mention Wagner when you book the Staten Island hotel.
After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.
8. Student-athlete recruiting visits
For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.
Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.
Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.
2 Division I
Athletics
Lafayette College
NCAA Division I Patriot League
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
Division I (Lafayette College and Wagner College): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.
Planning around the season
Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.
Add your dates and how you're getting there, and we'll pull this guide into one plan: tour sign-up links, the hotel base, parking or airport notes, the route and meals.
Coming soon
Planning more college trips?
Visit-season reminders and new trip guides from College Visit Guides. Newsletter coming soon.
Sources
All checked Oct 31, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.
Expedia listing: Grand Eastonian Hotel & Suites (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Allentown-Hotels-Grand-Eastonian-Hotel-Suites.h2233470.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: The Lafayette Inn (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Easton-Hotels-The-Lafayette-Inn.h100359552.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Hampton Inn Easton (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Allentown-Hotels-Hampton-Inn-Easton.h973635.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Hotel Bethlehem, A Historic Hotel of America (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Allentown-Hotels-Hotel-Bethlehem.h524471.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Hilton Garden Inn New York/Staten Island (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/New-York-Hotels-Hilton-Garden-Inn-New-York-Staten-Island.h791824.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Hampton Inn & Suites Staten Island (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/New-York-Hotels-Hampton-Inn-Suites-Staten-Island.h1747244.Hotel-Information)
