dandynita

We booked the hotel in Newark and will arrive there on the 6th of August (Friday). The next two days (Saturday and Sunday), we will spend time in NY city and visit Rockefeller, Empire State, Trump Tower, Time Square, Liberty, Central Pwky, Brooklyn Bridge and probably Soho.

We considered to drive to the city because we take along our parents (70 yos) and kids (10 and 7). We heard that on the weekends we can park our car on the street free. Can you please tell us which street around those point of interests that we can park our car for free or do you have any suggestion regarding driving and parking in NY city?

Thanks
Nita

travelbuff

Well first get a map of the city so you can pinpoint the sites you want to see and the distance they are from each other.

Most of the sites on your list are midtown, and the statue of liberty is way downtown, but an easy subway ride.

Sorry but there will be NO free parking on the streets anywhere near the sites you want to see, so if you decide to drive into the city find a garage that is close, and leave the car there for the day and walk around, or take the subway and bus. The traffic in the city on weekends is very bad, and streets will be closed for street fairs so that messes things up as well.

Hope you enjoy your trip to the city.

Aduchamp1

There is no way to explain where and how to park on the streets of NY on these forums.

You can park in the residential neighborhoods and then make your way from there. Of course, it is impossible to predict where you will find a parking spot and if you are unfamiliar with Manhattan, it makes it that much harder. Additionally there are arcane rules about parking and according to the site below, the city manages 1 million parking signs.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/mot...prkintro.shtml

Aduchamp1

Please note that your itinerary will require a lot of walking and moving about by bus, subway or cab even if park in Manhattan. Please also note you want to visit Central Park not Grand Central Parkway which is a highway in Queens and Long island.

HowardR

There is free parking in meter spots all over the city on Sundays, even near many tourist sites. However, you must get in early to get them. So, you can start your day in a free spot that day, but after that....forget it.

J62

I never seem to have any luck finding on-street parking, so I just plan to park in a garage or open lot somewhere for the day then use taxi, feet, and subway to get around.

Try to cluster your sightseeing (midtown vs lower Manhattan) so you don't spend the time, money, and energy zig-zagging back and forth.

You don't have time in 2 days to do everything on your list. If you plan to go to the Statue of Liberty, considering doing that from the NJ side. It's about a 10min drive from Newark to Liberty State Park in NJ, and you can park right near the ferry to the SoL.

Look at nyc.centralparking.com/New-York.html or http://www.iconparkingsystems.com/Pr...s_Specials.asp for specials. You can sometimes find a $10 or $15 weekend special, but more likely you should expect to pay $20-$30 for the day.

nytraveler

First of all I'm not sure what some of those places are: unless Central Parkway is Central Park.

You really need to get a map and checkout where the places are.

Second to get to Liberty Island you need advance tickets for the ferry and the Statue - which I'm sure are sold out. You can take the free Staten Island ferry and get a fairly good view of the Statue from a distance and a great view of the skyline on the way back. If you insist on going to the statue you should assume a 2 to 3 hour wait to get on the ferry - then another 4/5 hours for the ferry ride - to see the base of the statue, ferry to ellis island (the msuesum there is brilliant) and thenn ferry back to Manhattan.

ESB will also have lines hours long - so I reco going to Top of the Rock instead - for which you can get times advance tickets - and the wait may be nothing or a few minutes.

As for taking a car into Manhattan - there is NO PLACE to park on the street it in the areas you're talking about. (There are a few free spots in most areas - but generally unless you are there before 8 am they will be full. And once full it's gone for the day.) There is substantial free Sunday parking in the residential areas - but that doesn;t mean there are open spots. It may take 20 to 30 minutes of driving around to find a space each time you park. And the residential areas are not any place near the sights you want to see with the possible exception of Central Park. (But you would probably have to leave the care 4 or 5 blocks from the Park - and again drive around a lot to find an empty spot.) So you would then have to take subway or cab from where you have parked to where you're going.

So - you will have to garage the car each time you park it. This is typically $12 to $15 for the first hour and goes up rapidly from there. If you park 4 times during the day it will cost more in the range of $100 to $150 - so you are probably better off taking public transit - or, if you're not up for that - cabs. Group the activities in the same area for each day as much as possible and that will minimize cost.

HowardR

While I don't recommend driving into the city in the OP's situation, I must disagree with those who say there is no or very limited parking spaces in the tourist areas on Sundays. I can speak for the area of the West 30s (between 5th & 9th Avenues) on Sunday mornings, say before noontime. when (and speaking from frequent personal experience) there are plenty of free legal spaces available. This area is easily (i.e., less than a mile) within walking distance to the ESB, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the theater district, Macy's,etc.

mclaurie

You won't find free parking on Sat. and you'll work hard to find it on Sunday without being familiar with the area. You'll also pay for tolls (~$8 for a bridge or tunnel and probably more if you have to go on the NJ turnpike) and the aggravation of driving in an unfamiliar place.

You would be far far better staying closer to Manhattan in Jersey City at a hotel with PATH train service nearby--or better still at the Skyline hotel IN Manhattan with $10/day parking.

The PATH train costs ~ $1.75/person each way. Even with round trip train fare for all 6 of you (the youngest may not have to pay-I don't know) of $21, it will cost less than what you'll pay in parking in Manhattan. Bestparking.com will show you Manhattan costs.

If you can cancel your Newark hotel, Hotwire.com has a 4* hotel at $159/night that's either the Hyatt Jersey City or the Westin, both great hotels near the PATH train.

Gekko

As a New Yorker who frequently entertains visitors, I suggest that you do NOT bring a car into Manhattan. You'll regret it. Use taxis, public transportation, and walk.

If you make the huge mistake of driving in, you'll spend more time searching for a space and then walking to your destination from that space than you'd spend using other options.

Bottom Line: Don't do it.

HowardR

I totally agree that anyone unfamiliar with the city will not have an easy time finding a parking space on meter-free Sundays. However, for those familiar with the city,I speak from frequent experience when I say that it is fairly easy to find a parking space on a Sunday morning in the midtown area I previously mentioned (the West 30s). In fact, it's easier than in most, if not all, of the residential areas. Though I don't venture as often to the Village and Soho, I've also had luck finding a Sunday morning space in those areas as well. The key word is: MORNING.

nytraveler

I think the point i s that the OP wants to drive into the city in order to avoid walking around. I believe he thinks that there are parking spaces in front of major tourist sights - not that they would have to park a mile away and walk to one site - then subway or bus or cab to another.

Aduchamp1

Sunday morning is better, Saturday morning also means tow-a-aways. And there are some notorious blocks.

LittleWing

I've had some wonderful Sunday driving and parking adventures in Manhattan. One must be a very good sign reader and interpreter, but it can be done. Drop the gang off at Upper West Side or Midtown - hells kitchen or Seaport and hook up with them via cell phone. It can be done, if the driver is adventurous and ready to pay to park if necessary.

dandynita

After trying to find the one that I posted (I didn't know I posted so many times, and I am so sorry about that, it was probably because my internet did not do a good job at the time I tried to post my question), I finally found and can read all replies.

Thanks for all the answers and the tips. We don't mind to walk, and park at one destination and take bus or subway around the city. I, myself had been in NY city about 14 years ago, I remembered that my brother and I drove to the city and parked there but didn't recall at all about how hard/easy it was to find the spot.

And now I wanted to take the kids and my parents to see the big apple. That is why we want to know how bad is the traffic now in downtown NY if we decided to drive there on the weekend.

Thanks for the tips about ESB and Rockefeller. If we decided to go to Rockefeller than ESB, I will find a way to tell my daughter that we won;t be able to go up there because of the line up.

MFNYC

The next 3 weeks have Summer Streets on Saturday. Park Av and connecting streets will be closed from Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park for bicycles and strolling. That means that car traffic could be worse than on a typical summer Saturday. Also check for street fairs on the days your driving in.

dandynita

Thank you for the info regarding the summer streets on Saturday. We really appreciate that. We, for sure, will check all the street fairs during that particular weekend. We just really hope that we will enjoy our trip there. We only concern about our parents if we have to walk a lot and using bus or public transportation in the city that we are not familiar.

But thanks again for all the tips.

dandynita

One more question, Is it worth it to try on famous frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity?

doug_stallings

It is if you are 8. Otherwise, not so much.

dandynita

Thanks. I read the reviews that the service and the line up are very bad as well so thanks again for the advice.