If the NJ Transit strike has you worried about how to get in and out of New York City this weekend, the good news is that there are a number of ways to get to the city that don't involve a rowboat or swimming.

The bad news is that NJ Transit says even stepped-up alternative services will just barely help account for its 350,000 daily rail riders, so it advises working from home if that’s an option.

The strike doesn’t look like it will be resolved until Sunday at the earliest, so we’ve pulled together some (relatively) easy alternatives for travel to and from the mainland over this weekend.

There are still trains between NJ and NYC

The Port Authority Trans-Hudson line, known lovingly as the PATH train, has been the stalwart alternative to NJ Transit for generations, albeit a little tricky for people who don’t live on its routes.

If you can get to Newark, Harrison, Jersey City or Hoboken, you can ride the PATH to the World Trade Center or Midtown via the 33rd Street line for $3.

Here are all the PATH train schedules. But some advice before you plan your trip:

World Trade Center lines

The WTC station has access to two PATH lines to New Jersey, 17 ferry routes, 30 MTA bus routes, a bunch of bike lanes and 12 subway lines — the A, C, E, J, R, W, Z, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. It’s a viable through-point to get you anywhere you need to go in four of the city’s boroughs (We don’t recommend coming to Manhattan to get to Staten Island — it’s practically in New Jersey and you might as well just drive).

Hoboken has a direct line to WTC. But you can also hop on the PATH at Newark Penn Station, Harrison, and Jersey City’s Journal Square, Grove Street and Exchange Place stops.

When you get off the train at WTC you’ll exit into the giant Oculus. On the PATH side you’ll be closest to the 1 train, which is to the left as you head up the Oculus staircase. Heading south through the Oculus, you’ll see signs for the E halfway through and on your left. Then all the way down you’ll find connections to all the other subway lines mentioned. It’s a bit of hike, but you can do it all indoors, or just go outside the WTC station and walk toward Fulton Street.

33rd Street lines

The 33rd Street line will pick you up from Journal Square, Grove Street and Newport in Jersey City. You can also grab a train to 33rd Street from Hoboken.

Once your train crosses into Manhattan, it stops at Christopher, 9th, 14th, 23rd and 33rd streets, all along Sixth Avenue.

Knicks fans, this train will get you to MSG and Penn Station on Friday night. Just take it to the final stop and walk a crosstown block west to Seventh Avenue.

But remember to factor in enough time!

While PATH trains are abundant and full of life during the work week, they're desolate and capricious on weekends. And for reasons beyond understanding, the two 33rd Street lines are combined into one during the weekend, forcing Jersey City folk to mix with Hoboken folk and taking much longer for everyone.

All aboard, Amtrak

Several Amtrak lines run through New Jersey, sharing the same Northeast Corridor tracks that NJ Transit uses. Unfortunately for commuters, however, they have far fewer stops in the Garden State, and are generally priced higher.

The easiest way to make sense of the options is to punch in a starting point and destination at Amtrak’s site or on its app. But be warned: Prices fluctuate with specific lines and availability, and while a one-way coach ticket from Trenton to New York purchased months out could cost as little as $10 depending on the time of day, a last-minute purchase might cost nearly $120.

Ten-trip multi-ride passes ($400 for the batch from Trenton to New York) offer a little more flexibility, but are use-it-or-lose-it after 45 days. A two-trip-a-day monthly pass for the same stretch or rail is $1,000.

One small silver lining: Without NJ Transit trains on the tracks, the two services can’t point fingers at each other if infrastructure problems cause total service meltdowns.

Buses to the Big Apple

If you live in the greater metro area, including the 'burbs, chances are there’s a bus you can take to the luxurious Port Authority Bus Terminal near Times Square, or to a PATH station. Most are operated by NJ Transit, but those drivers aren’t part of the strike.

Unfortunately NJ Transit warns that even though it’s stepping up its bus service in and out of New York with more capacity, that will “accommodate an extremely limited number of rail customers.”

Several New Jersey towns have park-and-ride bus stops — with 60 different bus routes to the Port Authority. And NJ Transit says it’s stepping up peak period service to several lines in close proximity to rail stations.

If you’re taking an NJ Transit Bus, the easiest way to find a route is to use its MyBus service and enter your starting point and desired location.

Starting Monday, there will be four key regional park-and-ride lots operating on weekdays only, during peak periods:

  • Secaucus Junction to Port Authority (with adult round-trip tickets to New York for $8)
  • PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel to the Port Authority Bus (trips from PNC are operated by Academy Bus, and tickets have to be purchased through that service) (round-trip tickets for $48)
  • Hamilton Rail Station to Newark Penn Station and the PATH (round-trip tickets for $24)
  • Woodbridge Center Mall to the Harrison PATH Station (round-trip tickets for $14)

Otherwise, depending on your location, a round-trip ticket could cost anywhere from a few bucks to $100.

But during the strike, NJ Transit says it plans to cross-honor rail tickets for bus and light rail lines.

NJ Transit train tickets and passes will not be accepted on Amtrak, MTA, PATH, PATCO, SEPTA, ferries or private carrier buses.

We live on islands. We have boats.

Commuting between New Jersey and New York City by boat is the OG form of city transportation and can be much more pleasant than the underground route, but it costs significantly more than other alternatives.

Most ferries accommodate bikes. Between Jersey City and New York City you can take a CitiBike aboard the ferry and dock it on either side of the Hudson.

Here some of the more popular ferry options:

NY Waterway: The NY Waterway Ferry gets commuters across the Hudson River. There are ports in Edgewater, Weehawken, Hoboken, Jersey City and South Amboy. Commuters from other towns have the option to bus into the ports, too. The Waterway docks at three locations in Manhattan: Battery Park, Pier 11/Wall Street and West 39th Street, with fares around $10 to $30 depending on the length of commute.

Liberty Landing City Ferry: This ferry takes commuters from Jersey City to Brookfield Place Terminal in New York. Brookfield Terminal is located just west of The World Trade Center with MTA lines 2, 3, A, C and E nearby. A round trip ticket costs commuters $20.

Seastreak Ferry: The Seastreak Ferry helps get Jerseyans in Monmouth County into New York City. To accommodate for the train strike, Seastreak said in a statement it will increase its service to help get more people across the bay — including adding larger vessels for weekend service.

Driving?

All the usual roads and bridges are operational, if expensive. It costs between $13 and $16 to get into Manhattan by bridge or tunnel and then another $9 if you're in the congestion zone. Just make sure you load up on podcasts like NYC Now, because you may be sitting in traffic for a good long time.