I want to drive to New York for the Thanksgiving Day Parade but I really can't afford to stay in New York. Does anyone know of a good place to stay in New Jersey or a cheaper part of New York with an easy way to use public transportation into New York. I will be taking my 11 & 12 year old daughters who like adventures. We plan on staying for 4 days.

From where are you driving?

Macomb in West Central Illinois

This topic was covered many times on this thread. The bottom line is that if you want to experience NYC then you should stay in NYC because schlepping around with 2 kids and yourself on public transportation can get expensive easily $ 30 day roundtrip for all of you.
That said, if you are only going to see the parade, then you can get there from NJ by train (New Jersey Transit) or by PATH (subway) from Jersey City. I took my then 10 year old with grand pa who lived in NJ to NYC to see the parade by train. We arrived at Penn Station around 8:30am only to find that we were too far back from the curb to see anything worthwile except for the balloons which we can look up to see. I suspect people start queing up around 7:00 am or earlier to get a prime spot.

Try the Doubletree Newark Airport. Very nice/updated and good rates.

Oops, wanted to add that you may want to try the Candlewood Suites in Jersey City, right across the Hudson River from Manhattan, and a cheaper, shorter PATH train ride to the city.

Getting to/from NJ to NYC is fastest by train (PATH) or ferry. There are many many hotels in the Secaucus/Meadowlands area, but from there I THINK it requires buses which will be caught in terrible traffic in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel. So I would say any hotel in Jersey City NEAR a PATH train (and not all the hotels are near the PATH train) or perhaps the Sheraton in Weehawken that has a ferry terminal. Just a heads up the ferries are pricey at ~$6/person for each trip (so $12/day/person) The PATH trains only cost $1.50/ride.

I would also compare prices to staying in Manhattan at some place like the Embassy Suites downtown. Not as convenient as staying midtown, but still better than being in NJ (imo). There are also now some hotels & b & b's in Brooklyn where you can use the NY subway, but not sure what parking will be like. Someone has recently been posting about staying at a b & b in Brooklyn on this thread
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=35061198
Don't know about parking there though.
http://www.escapeguesthouse.com/

If you possibly can, get into the city the night before the parade - they lay out and blow up the balloons on W. 77th street (in front of the Museum of Natural History) and it's almost more fun than the parade itself.

Unfortunately you have picked possibly the most popular - and expensive - weekend of the year to come to NYC.

Many hotels are already fully booked and you won;t find low prices even in New Jersey - although they will be less than Manhattan. But- you must consider not only the cost but the time of transit. (On busy days it can take 1.5 hours plus into the city even from nearby suburbs by bus or car.) So - for efficiency you want to be at a hotel on top of a train station (check Jersey city Hyatt and a couple of others).

Staying at a Newark airport hotel is also a time issue - since you usually need to take a shuttle to the airport to catch the Air Train to switch to New Jersey Transit or PATH into the city. You can check to see if any of the airport hotels have other options to train stations - but you DO NOT want to drive or bus back and forth.

On the day of the parade if you want to be anywhere near the performances (the VIP Grandstand, TV cameras and most action takes place in Herald Square - 34/35th STs) you need to be there before 7 am. (I've seen pictures of people sitting on the curbs at 6am on the local news.) The further uptown you go the more latitude you have on time - but you won;t see a lot of the live action if you're above about 39th St. (You will see the balloons everywhere along the route.)

In any case, I suggest getting a hotel with cancelable reservations now - so you're not shut out - then continue to look for a better deal. Try kayak, travelzoo, etc. Unfortunately you can;t use Priceline since there are 3 of you - but they're not likely to have much inventory then anyway.

Also - tens of thousands of people go to see the balloons blown up the night before - in the park behind the Museum of Natural History (CPW & 78/80th Sts).

I would seriously consider parking the car outside the city, somewhere new transportation, and staying in Manhattan. To commute in and out for 4 days with kids, is not going to be pleasant and your days will be cuty short. The kids will need breaks, s o having a hotel within reach just for afternoon rests is worthwhile.

I don't know what your budget is, but the downtown EMbassy Suites runs abotu $250 on their website for that timeframe, the Embassy suites ins sacaucus is about $210, so there's not much saving and if you fact in commnuting time and money, you NYC is the better deal.

Put your dates in Kayak.com and see what it cmoes up wiht. You can narrow down the results by price. It also includes areas outside of Manhattan.

CPW & 78/80th Sts

I guess they moved it -- my friends used to live on W. 77th and we could watch it from their living room window (not to mention waking up at 6 a.m. with someone yelling "Clowns over here!"

There's your answer--make friends whith someone who lives on the parade route!

THere is a lovely B&B in upper Manhattan right near me, and it's a around $100nt, which will be better than you will probably get in NJ. There's also street parking in the area which is free and it's also close to the A and 1 trains so transportation would be pretty cheap.

You would drive into Manhattan over the George Washington Bridge and drive down Broadway. IT's located on 147th St, between Covent and St. Nicholas.

Let me know if you would like the phone number.

Yes, I would like the phone number for the B & B. You have been a great help.