Driving to New York
 

Friends of mine want to visit New York in the spring for a long weekend - they dont want to fly but rather drive as they want to check out Cooperstown on the way, but once in New YOrk, they are mainly interested in theater and we hear that driving is crazy in New York - so what would be a good place for them to stay on the edge of New York and cab in to the shows? Any advice welcomed thanks

You say that your friends want to &quot;stay on the edge of New York&quot; and &quot;cab in&quot; to the theater. That's a tough pair of conditions to resolve. If they park on the edge of the city, the cabfare will be enormous! If the park within a reasonable distance for a reasonable cabfare, they they'll have to deal with the city traffic.<BR>The best bet is probably for them to find a less expensive parking lot a few blocks east or west of midtown and stay at a hotel in midtown.<BR>

Howard is right. <BR><BR>One option would be to stay in New Jersey (on the edge..lol) and take the train or ferry into the city. Then, take a cab, subway or bus. However the treck back from an evening performance could be a pain, although many do it.<BR><BR><BR>Stay in the city is the best bet<BR><BR>Driving is not a crazy as you might think. It is not some &quot;wild west&quot; like driving in La Paz. I think driving in Jersey is worse than Manhattan <BR>

i would suggest the drive to new york, see the sights along the way, once they arrive in new york, get a place and just leave the car parked. we have stayed near time square and central park and did all our sightseeing via foot, bus or subway. it s the quickest way to get around. leave the car behind. go online and buy a &quot;city pass&quot; which will allow you to see some major sites at less cost than seeing them individually.

Don't know where your friends are from, but if they are comfortable sith city driving, NYC is fine. The grid layout of numbered streets in midtown make it tough to get lost or go in the wrong direction for too long. However, there is a lot of traffic, so their comfort level in traffic could be an issue - but there is traffic almost everywhere, isn't there?<BR><BR>The &quot;cab in&quot; issue indicates they may not have a good concept of distances around NYC. Agree with above poster - park the car (for admittedly a lot of money), walk, bus, subway. To not stay in the city skips a big part of the experience. (good and bad!)

For what a pain a car is in NY, both driving, and parking, why don't you drive from Cooperstown to Poughkeepsie and leave your car at the train station garage there, and take Metro North commuter train into town. Then stay in town. Otherwise, as others have posted, the cab fares will be ski-high. The Newark Hilton (Gateway) is directly across the street from Newark Penn Station, which you could reach by Amtrak, NJT, or PATH trains, if you prefer being outside NYC.

thanks for all your helpful replies

A great option is to rent a car, drop it off in Manhattan on your way in and rent another one to go home. Much easier than parking and worrying and paying the price of parking. Also, may be cheaper than multiple train fares.

There are some decent hotels near times square that offer parking spots. the Sofitel is newer and pretty nice and right the heart of the theater distrcit.<BR><BR>Drive in, it's not all that bad really, and leave the car parked until you leave town. Have fun<BR>