Fron NY to Niagara Falls
 

We are planning to travel from Manhattan to Niagara Falls this coming July. We thought of taking some kind of public transportation outside of Manhattan and rent a car there, so we won't have to tackle the traffic in Manhattan. Can someone have a suggestion what would be a suitable place to rent the car? We would be grateful also for suggestions about the route to Niagara Falls, taking in mind that we wish to drive a beautiful way but still get to Niagara by evening.

The hassle of driving out of Manhattan will be replaced 2-3fold by the hassle of taking public transportation then renting a car elsewhere.

Exiting Manhattan off peak rush hour is not a big deal.

To Niagara Falls you can either cut diagonally across NY/FInger lakes region or drive the Thruway to Albany then West to Buffalo.

To go through Finger Lakes region, you'll take the George Washington Bridge to NJ Rt4, then connect to Rt 17 North in Paramus. Rt 17 in NY will take you in the direction of Binghampton.

To get to the Thruway to Albany, take the Triboro Bridge which leads directly to the Thruway in the Bronx.

Either route is really no hassle out of Manhattan - the rental car co or hotel can give you straightforward directions.

Agree to get the car in Manhattan. There are a bunch of offices on the upper west side (77/78 near Broadway) that allow you to just jump on the west side highway at 79th st.

After crossing the GWB you can take 80 west then then 81 north til you get to the Thruway - IMHO - a prettier ride and less traffic than RTes 4 and 17.

Thank you very much. I'll consider both suggestions

Not sure if this is the best idea, but it would be possible to fly JetBlue from JFK to Buffalo and then rent a car from the Buffalo airport...

Are you planning on visiting Niagara Falls, Canada? If so, there are some very pretty drives on the Canadian side, and Niagara-on-the-Lake is a cute town. You could check out the Canada Fodor's board and do a search on Niagara Falls. Lots of wineries in that area if you are into that sort of thing.