jandee

Hi, I would like to rent a car from Manhattan. We will be driving to Maryland, spending a couple of days with family and flying back home from Baltimore. So we will be returning our car at Baltimore airport. My main question is should we rent a car from Manhattan or from NY airport(Kennedy or LGA). I am worried about driving in Manhattan and if we go the airport way we have to figure out how to go there. We are a family of 2 adults, 2 kids staying at Belvedere

Thanks

MaureenB

Last October, our family of four did exactly what you're thinking of doing. We flew into LGA, were flying out of Baltimore, spending the weekend in Manhattan, and pricing transit alternatives. It was so reasonably priced to rent our car in downtown NYC, drive to Baltimore, and leave the car at BWI a couple of days later.

We were staying down at the Embassy Suites, and I'd asked the front desk in advance, about a nearby rental agency. I think it was Enterprise, but I could be wrong. Their office was just a couple of blocks from our hotel, so we easily walked over to get the car. You could ask the Embassy Suites.

We didn't want to drive in Manhattan either! We picked up the car at our check-out time, and it was an easy drive to the bridge, because our hotel wasn't in the center of things.

I don't think we even had a drop off fee. It was much cheaper than taking the train for four. Good luck.
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mclaurie

I think someone else posted about a similar thing recently and we found that renting in Manhattan (without added airport fees) was actually cheaper than out at the airport. It's also a real pain to drag 4 people & luggage to the airport. The only airport that would be on your way is Newark. So why not price out picking up at Newark vs. picking up in Manhattan and see what the difference in price is.

nytraveler

To go to Maryland there are 2 choices - either rent in Manhattan or rent at Newark (LGA and JFK don;t make sense ifyou're headed south).

With 4 people, and assuming you have a reaasonable amount of luggage it is probably easier to get out of the city by car. It will be esiest to grab a cab to one of the car rental companies on west side near 42 st. then, just head west, drive down 9th avenue a couple of blocks and on the right you will see tne entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. Should take no more than 5 minutes from car rental to the Tunnel.

If you're truly terrified of driving in Manhattan, then take a shuttle bus (if more luggage) or public transit (if little luggage) to Newarak and get the car there. That will put you right on the Jersey turnpike south. to do this I would take a cab to Penn Station, NJT to Jersey Penn Station and AirTrain to EWR. You can see details on the web site - but it's a pain if the kids are so small they can't manage their own luggage.

jandee

It seems to be a lot cheaper to rent from Manhattan than the airport. The only catch is the rental locations seem to close quite early on Sat. Thanks for pointing out EWR is more in my way - I did not realize that. It does seem like a pain to go the airport first. We will have to decide which is the lesser of the 2 evils

Aduchamp1

There is an Avis that is opened 24 hours a day.

williamscb13

I didn't think there were any rental car places that were open 24 hours in Manhattan.

If you are driving on a Saturday in Manhattan, it isn't that bad. You can always go pick up your car at one that is open a little bit later and then go back to your hotel and pick up your family and things. and renting a car in Manhattan always takes longer than renting a car at an airport. So budget some time for the actual picking up of the rental car.

Let me also emphasize getting to Newark is a pain. you'll have to pack all your things in a car and then unpack them and then repack them into your rental car. Just rent a car in Manhattan and be on your way.

Most car rental agencies will let you search by location and you can find their local locations for Manhattan.

nytraveler

The major rental agencies in Manhattan are typically open from 6 am to 11 pm or midnight - some longer. You should have no trouble finding one with hours you need.

doug_stallings

Just remember that most of the Manhattan car rental agencies sell out each and every weekend, so be sure to plan as far ahead as you can. If I were you, I"d actually take Amtrak to the Baltimore Airport (I believe there is a station there or at least very nearby), but I do hate driving that much.

doug_stallings

I meant that you should get a car at the Baltimore airport. Without the drop-off fees, it might be a wash in terms of pricing given the cost of gas and rentals in Manhattan.

Aduchamp1

I live in Manhattan and rent cars frequently. I hsve already secured reservations for Thanksgivng and Christmas.

During the summer and specific holidays there is a mad dash for cars but are available with reservations. Worst time during summer Friday 6-9 PM and Saturday 8-10 AM.

It will cost over $750 for 4 people even without the ACELA.

doug_stallings

That's absolutely not true about the cost of Amtrak. Tickets to BWI can be as cheap as $65 ... and that times four certainly doesn't add up to $750.

It's more likely that they will be paying $85 for this route, but it's still half of $750.

I tend to agree that Amtrak is overpriced, but let's be real here.

Aduchamp1

My apologies, I misread the AMTRAK prices. I picked a random date in August and entered 4 adults. The cheapest for the 4 would be a total of $256 and ACELA would be $440.

jandee

The rental rates range from $150 - $450. The locations which are open longer seem to be charging twice as much!

Also I am not sure how to figure out which location would be closest to the hotel. Is there a website where I can figure out the distance between places in Manhattan? Thanks

nytraveler

Well - your hotel is on west 48th St - so you yould want a car rental office in the west 40s - so it's close to both the hotel and the Lincon tunnel. Prices hsouldn;t differ that much unless you're renting completely different size/type cars - or the difference is the drop off charge. Sometimes smalleror no name companies have huge drop off charges since they are franchise offices - and have to pay to have the car brought back to them.

A one-day rental for a smallish car from Manhattan should be in the range of $100 (with AmEX or AAA or other discount). Larger cars will be more. Make sure they aren;t including insurance charges - and what part of the amount is drop off charge for a different city.

williamscb13

you can use hopstop.com to figure out distances or even yahoo maps or google maps to figure out where you are going between places.

mclaurie

There are a bunch of websites that give comparative prices. Breezenet.com is one I found. Anything in the west 40's or 50's is good.

jandee

Thanks all I made a reservation on alamo for $160 for 2 days.

Aduchamp1

Thanks all I made a reservation on alamo for $160 for 2 days.

Now I can sleep a lot easier.