William_Everett

I am considering driving to NYC but am concerned because I am from Northeast Vermont and am not use to driving in traffic,big cities,etc..When I look around the area such as NJ it seems like these places are also very difficult to drive to.Any suggestions or alternative routes,areas to stay that are easily accesible to NYC?Thanks.

vjpblovesitaly

What route are you planning that you want alternatives to?

doug_stallings

It's hard to say. If you can't deal with the traffic, then perhaps it's not a good idea for you to do the drive. There are a few places where you could stop before Manhattan, park in a garage, and then take a train into the city. Stamford CT comes to mind, and perhaps Yonkers or White Plains. Or New Haven. Perhaps you should get some more input from people who commute from those areas. I'm not familiar enough with the parking situations.

HappyTrvlr

Why don't you drive to Albany, park, and take Amtrak to Penn Station? It's a beautiful ride along the Hudson River, views of West Point.

panecott

If you're going to be spending time in the city, you're really better off taking public transportation -- bus or train to get here. You won't have to worry about driving or parking and you don't need a car to get around when you're here. In fact, you're better off without a car.

No matter what route you take, once you get close to the city there will be traffic.

doug_stallings

If you want to come into the city from a Hudson Valley station, I'd actually try to drive to the first Metro North Station at Poughkeepsie (assuming there's adequate parking for several days). Metro North is much cheaper than Amtrak and has more trains. But I'd still come all the way to White Plains if possible.

ggreen

William, it sounds like you're planning to visit NYC, is that correct? If so, you definitely don't want your car in the city: even us locals avoid driving most of the time! And parking in the city will be expensive.

It's true that the train along the Hudson is very pretty. But if you're coming from the Northeast Kingdom, it's a long drive just to get that far west! An alternative would be Amtrak in Springfield, MA. Or if you're up for the drive, getting to a Metro North station either along the Hudson like Doug_Stallings suggested, or along the CT coast such as New Haven or even Bridgeport or Stamford.

This is the homepage for Metro North Railroad (MNR):
http://www.mta.info/mnr/

And this is the schedules page for lines west of the Hudson, which is what you'd want:
http://as0.mta.info/mnr/schedules/sched_form.cfm

// As for driving ability, I'm always amazed how fast the locals take to the inclines and curves on the roads in Vermont. I guess we all have our own skills!

J62

Another alternative is to take the Megabus from Albany, Amherst MA, or Hartford. Fares are much lower than Amtrak or even the Metro North.

us.megabus.com

BigRuss

>

Ggreen missed a key modifier: ridiculously. NYC seeks to and makes a ton of money off of parking taxes so that tiny spot in the indoor cramped lot costs a small fortune for an hour.

Driving in the City is a fool's errand for non-NYers. If you're not accustomed to it, it can be brutal. NYC driving is the closest approximation to driving in a major European city only the cars are larger and there are more trucks. I would not do it myself if I hadn't been raised in the City.

The White Plains trip to NYC or the one from Poughkeepsie on Metro-North should be on an express train (time your arrival with the schedules), which is decently swift and fairly comfortable. The benefits to Poughkeepsie are (1) there are a lot of trains and they usually make only one or two stops before flying down the Hudson to NYC and (2) you don't have to drive as far south as you would for White Plains.

http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm

(Hudson Line from Poughkeepsie) http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/plannin...202%202012.pdf

(Harlem Line from Southeast - not many options to go to the end of the line at Wassaic)
http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/plannin...202%202012.pdf

capxxx

From the NE Kingdom (just got back from your beautiful corner!), you can drive I-91 south and then I-95 west toward NYC. As ggreen and J62 suggest, pick up public transportation somewhere along. Traffic increases as you get nearer to NYC, but so does frequency (and cheapness) of public transportation. You might want to think about timing your drive to avoid rush-hour traffic.

Amherst, MA: Megabus (express) or Peter Pan bus (via Springfield). Amtrak once a day.

Springfield MA: Peter Pan Bus every couple hours, or Amtrak maybe 5x times a day.

Hartford CT: Megabus. Don't know the details/location, but this could be a good stopping point.

New Haven CT: Amtrak or MetroNorth commuter train (same station), frequent. Nice parking garage, easy on/off highway.

Fra_Diavolo

Agree with the advice above, that if you do not need your car in New York, take public transportation. You might consider taking Amtrak direct from Vermont. There are two routes, of which the Ethan Allen Express looks much faster. See if the stations are convenient.

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/1021/306...ule-070212.pdf

BigRuss

Would avoid Amtrak like plague. Costly, unreliable, few options.

Fra_Diavolo

"Would avoid Amtrak like plague. Costly, unreliable, few options."

I disagree.