boilerman

I was planning to take my family (two teenagers and a 10 year old) to NYC for three days. We may drive if the price for air doesn't come down from Detroit. I have been there a couple of times but have always arrived via air.

If we drive, I would prefer to either:

- stay outside the city and take the train in each day. I have hotel points for this option so it might be the cheapest.

or

- park our car and take the train in and stay in the city

I would prefer the second option and stay in the city but it will depend on what I can find in terms of a hotel in the city.

Can anyone give me feedback on where to park the car and take the train in from? Would NJ or northern NY be the best option? This would be for three days. Can a family of five lug our luggage onto the train and into the city?

nytraveler

Many of the local commuter train stations don;t even have the capacity to hold all the commuters' cars- and anyone arriving after 8am is very unlikely to be able to park. Also - many stations either require a local town parking permit - or don;t allow overnight stays.

There are a couple of large staions that may allow it - but don;t know the details. Suggest you look at NY Transit web site for Metropark - and MetroNorth for White Plains - both very large stations.

You can certainly take luggage on the train as long as you can drag it up and downstairs (I beleive both stations are elevated). Youwould then need to get a couple of cabs (they are only allowed to take 4 passengers - and would have no room for more with luggage) from Penn Station or Grand Central respectively to your hotel. (Some people will tell you to take the subway to the hotel - I do not reco wti with luggage- there are just too many stairs and passageways to negotiate.)

Another option is to take the Waterways ferry in from New Jersey - there are overnight parking lots there - but don;t know the current status on this - there have been stories they are going out of business.

A final option is to drive into the city and just put the car into one of the huge non-daily garages - there's one near the tunnel I believe - and cab to the hotel - much cheaper than paying the $40 per day the hotel valet will charge.

Do not reco taking the train in and out each day. Can be very time consuming - and five RT fares will not be inexpensive vs the savings against the cost of a hotel in the city.

HowardR

You say you have hotel points. Couldn't you use them for hotel in NYC? That would certainly be much more advisable than staying outside the city.
The cost of the trainfare back and forth might even exceed the cost of parking the car in the city...to say nothing of how much more enjoyable and copnvenient it would be for your family to stay in the city.

CAPH52

I know this wasn't one of the options you mentioned. But just to throw it out there....When we went in July of '03 we drove into the city and stayed at the Super 8 Times Square. They offered storage parking at a garage across the street for $20 per 24 hours. The hotel itself was very reasonable (we were also traveling with kids). And that was a very good price for parking. You might want to check and see if they still offer the same deal.

Cicerone

If your points are Star wood or Hyatt, they each have a hotel on the Hudson in New Jersey across from Manhattan.

There is a Sheraton all-suite hotel in Weehawken. The hotel is located in front of the New York Waterway ferry pier, you could take the ferry over each day; plus you would get the great Manhattan views. The suite would be good for a family, and the ferry would be a fun way to go in, may get old after a while though. You could take the ferry either to mid-town or to the World Trade Center area, which would give you some sightseeing flexibility. Take a look at starwood.com

Sheraton Suites Hotel on the Hudson
500 Harbor Boulevard
Weehawken, New Jersey 07086
Phone (201) 617-5600
Fax (201) 617-5627

The Hyatt is in Jersey City, and you can get to NYC by PATH (station is basically right at the hotel door) or the ferry. It gets good reccos on this site. Take a look at hyatt.com

Hyatt Regency Jersey City
2 Exchange Place
Jersey City, New Jersey
07302 USA
Tel: 201 469 1234
Fax: 201 432 4991

Other than the two hotels noted above, I would not recommend staying outside of Manhattan.

You could also stay in Manhattan using points and use the money you save to pay for parking. Check with your hotel for parking charges. Alternatively a very good place to park is the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 8th Avenue and 42nd Street. All you do is take the Lincoln Tunnel in to NY and as you exit the tunnel, look for the signs for the parking garage entrance. You don’t have to drive in Manhattan at all. You could then take a taxi to your hotel. Daily parking is about $25, take a look at http://www.panynj.gov/. This will also give timetables for the PATH subway from New Jersey.

As you are coming from Detroit, if you want to leave the car at a rail station, I would suggest you try to leave it in the Morristown area in New Jersey off Route 80. The Metropark station mentioned above is in Edison New Jersey and is significantly south of NYC and Route 80. The Metronorth station in White Plains (New York State) is a possibility, but traffic in that area can be murder and it is a bit out of the way from Route 80 to get up to White Plains A train from Morristown to Penn Station will take about an hour, some require a change in Newark (Broad Street Station). The phone number for parking info for Morristown is 973-539-4810, you should call to confirm about overnight parking, some places do not allow it. Also, as mentioned above, some towns only allow parking by residents with a permit.

If you want to fly, look into flying in Newark, it may be cheaper and it is just as convenient as JFK and may be cheaper to fly into. La Guardia airport would be another thought.

Website for NY Waterway is www.nywaterway.com
Website for New Jersey Transit trains and train stations is njtransit.com
Website for MetroNorth trains and train stations is http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mnr/ . You want info on lines West of the Hudson.

BudgetQueen

I wouldn't consider the Metro North White Plains??? Look at Poughkeepsi- especially if you come across Ca. and over the Peace Bridge- then hook up with the NYS Thruway. Parking is $4/day, free weekends. About $23pp round trip rail fare off peak. If you want NYC activities- Stay in NY. I stay between 3 hotels, Days Inn, HOJO both on 8th and Super 8. I go with the cheapest. Priceline isn't an option because of your need for 2 beds.

jlm_mi

You mention driving if the airfare doesn't come down from Detroit.

I'm not sure when you're going, but right now NWA, AA and United are all offering $139 round trip. NWA and AA is through May and United is through March. I don't think you'll find much better than that, though they're offering $109 if you drive to Cleveland and fly from there.

This is definitely more expensive than flying, at probably ~$100 for gas (unless you drive a large SUV, then more) and ~$100 in train fare or parking, but it's also faster meaning you might be able to get away with 1 fewer vacation day from work for the trip, if that matters.