enewell

In June, we'll be visiting NYC for 4 days before attending a wedding near Greenport on Long Island. After the wedding, we will take the ferry over to Ct. and drive up the coast. I'm wondering where to pick up the rental car.

Should we take the Long Island Railroad to near our destination before picking up a car, or find a rental location near a route out of the city? And what would that route be?

As I've never been to NY, it is very hard for me to envision the simplest plan. Thanks for any advice!

nytraveler

It will be much easier to pick up a car in the city and drive from there. There are a ton of rental places that are open all hours so you can pick up when you want. But- assuming this is a weekend you need to make a reservation at least 2 months in advance. All area rental offices tend to run out on summer weekends - since so many city people with houses at the beach or country don't own cars (garage cost is enormous) but instead, rent a car for the weekends they leave the city.

I'm not sure about schedules to Greenport in the summer - this time of year there are 3 trains per day - 1 in the morning and 2 after work. I wouldn't expect many more in the summer. Have you checked a map - Long Island is - 110 miles - and on a weekend in summer - unless you go Friday morning - traffic is likely to be very heavy - both going out from the city and all over the east end. So do allow for that in your planning,

nytraveler

Sorry - You might also consider the Hampton Jitney - a luxury bus. Not sure of the fare to Greenport - or how many buses they have a day. I would be more concerned about getting a car rental in the area. If a specific office in NYC is out - they will pull cars from other offices - not possible on the East End,

ekscrunchy

Only idea I can add is to take the train to Ronkonkoma rent a car there.
There are many more trains to Ronkonkoma than to Greenport.
LIRR service to Greenport is quite scanty, even in summer, and the ride takes over three hours if I am remembering correctly. (For this reason, few people take the train that far..)

This would save you the drive through traffic from NYC to Greenport. That drive takes under 2 hours with no traffic and can stretch to 3 or even more on summer weekends.



The Jitney (upscale private bus; comfortable and able to take luggage) to Greenport costs $22pp one way. You should book in advance in summer.

http://www.hamptonjitney.com/cgi-bin...page=home.html


Please also book ferry reservations ahead of arrival.

https://www.longislandferry.com/default.aspx

ekscrunchy

Also, you can rent a car in Southold, the town just west of Greenport. There is a Hertz there, and perhaps others as well.

Gekko

Are you flying into a NYC airport? If so, I agree that renting a car at the airport is your easiest bet.

But if you are arriving in NYC another way, then I would take the Jitney to Greenport and rent a car there.

If you are picking up the rental car on a Friday or Saturday, have a back-up plan. There's a good chance your reservation will not be honored (no cars).

enewell

We will be flying into NYC, but will be spending 4 days there before the wedding. We will be heading to Long Island on a Thursday morning, not on the weekend.

Would this make the train a better bet?

nytraveler

No. Car rental in the Greenport area is VERY limited. Much better to pick up the city where there are many more cars - esp on a Thursday am.

Gekko

I agree. Rent a car on Thursday and drive out to the North Fork. (Be prepared -- it will be far more expensive than most all other cities.)

Enjoy!

mclaurie

IMO there is no one right answer to this. I'd do some price comparisons on the rental from
Manhattan & the other locations mentioned. There's also an Avis location in a Holiday Inn in Carle Place (on LI) near the LIRR train station & that might be cheapest. There's also the issue of the car return. It sounds like regardless of where you rent, you'll have a drop off fee since you'll want to return to the airport. You might check what renting there will cost. Both LGA & JFK are on the way to Greenport.

nytraveler

LGA is on the way to Greenport. JFK is out of the way and getting there can be a mess. You would need to take a cab - but not to the airport - to the car rental office. So it wouldn;t be the $45 flat rate ($60 with bridge toll and tip) but would be on the meter - and subject to addiitional costs based on traffic or weather or accident - since you are not actually going to the airport.

doug_stallings

The cost of a car rental in Manhattan is usually 2 to 3 times that outside of the city, so I'd try to rent outside of Manhattan if possible. If it were me, I'd take the Long Island Railroad and Airtrain to JFK and rent a car there, then drive out to Long Island even if it's out of the way. It's going to be significantly cheaper and you will be able to bypass the airport traffic by taking the train.

I know people who have rented at LGA, but the prices aren't usually as good, though still about half what you'd pay in Manhattan, so that's certainly an option. The city bus (M60) does go right by some of the LGA car rental outlets, but for others you have to go to LGA and take a shuttle.

enewell

Wow, I really appreciate all the responses. I think we'll go with the JFK rental, and return the car there as well, to lower the rate. Can't believe how much more it is to return to another location!

doug_stallings

A car rental in Manhattan can cost almost $100 per day (especially on a weekend, when most rental agencies are offering discounts but rates in Manhattan go up since relatively few people have cars). It's significantly cheaper in the winter and during the week, but the cost is rarely below $60 per day, which is really expensive by car-rental standards.

Gekko

I rent from an Avis on the UES and if I pick up on Thursday I pay about $60/day for a mid-sized. Pick up on Friday? Price goes up.

It's actually cheaper for me to rent from Thurs-Sun than Fri-Sun. (We usually go out east from Thurs-Mon, however.)

nytraveler

I have picked up at LGA twice - and it wasn;t any cheaper than picking up in the city by the time I added on the $25 cab fare.

Sometimes what seems cheaper really is;t worth the hassle. I would suggest you check for yuor actual pick up time - then add the cost to get to the rental office.

Gekko

I agree about the hassle factor. Unless you're truly destitute, in New York City it's often not worth the time and trouble to travel by public transportation or venture outside the city for goods and services.

I have a friend who once spent $40 to save $20 on a propane canister for her grill, for example.

Another friend decided to take the airtrain/subway from JFK to Manhattan. The trip took over 2 hours and he missed a Broadway show.

I always encourage people to do a personal cost/benefit analysis.