I live in Boston and am wondering the best way to get into New York City.
Best meaning: easisest, cheapest, fastest, etc.
I have no trouble driving in Boston, but not sure if I could handle driving in NY City.But I am not totally against it, either.
I will be travaling with 2 12 year olds, so must multiply any tickets, etc. by 3.Driving might make the most sense.
I understand that we could drive most of the way and then park and take another mode of transportation into the city.
We will only be going for 2 days or so, most likely mid week.
Any suggestions are appreciated.Also any hotel and or rest. suggestions for 2 pre-teens? Thanks

Check out Amtrack! You will love it.

Amtrak is currently offering a special: Buy one ticket at full price, get one for half price and the third one is free! Even at regular prices, I consider Amtrak the best way to get from Boston to NYC. Driving MIGHT still be cheaper, but you' have to pay for parking, etc. and have the hassle of doing all the driving yourself. Take Amtrak and relax and enjoy your kids and your trip.

Hi,
That is great news about the Amtrack special. I am going to look into it right now!
Thanks!

FYI, kids up to age 15 always go at half-price, but this special means in effect that you do, too!

Amtrak is also offering 25% off single tickets, and they always offer discounts for AAA, seniore over age 62, etc. etc.

cheap= fungwahbus.com

The bus mentioned above IS the cheapest way i know.

Can cost as little as $25/RT depending upon your times.

I also read not too long ago that Greyhound offers similar priceing (which is more than 1/2 off their regular rate) for certain EARLY AM departures that originate in Boston.

BTW, the bus above goes from Boston's Chinatown to NYC's Chinatown.

You can slice some of the price off train fare as well by taking the MBTA commuter rail Boston to Providence, then hopping on Amtrak,
Or take Amtrak to New Haven, and ride the MTA Metro-North train from there.

The commuter rails aren't quite as comfy as Amtrak, but receive very large government subsidies, allowing MUCH lower fares. I doubt the savings would be worth trying to use all three lines tho. mbta.com, amtrak.com, and http://as0.mta.nyc.ny.us/mnr/schedules/sched_form.cfm for MetroNorth (NewHaven to GrandCentralTerminal)

For what to do, eat etc. in NY, type in teens in the text search and click New York on the right. You'll pull up lots of threads. Times Square seems to be the place the kids like best to stay. If you go the Chinatown bus route, there's a fun hotel (I think a Holiday Inn) in Chinatown. Look for it on the Fodor's Hotel list here.

Theme restaurants like Jekyll & Hyde & Mars 2112 seem to be popular with the kids but the food's not very good.

Topping. Here it is cpeicott. Don't know what you were doing wrong. Just type your name in the text search.

Thanks

Hi,
Thought that I would try one more time and get additional opinions about driving from Boston to New York, versus train, versus driving part way and parking. Bus sounds too cheap! Makes me wonder if it is awful?
We will only be there a couple of days, so I need to think about time as well as money.
Still looking for ideas for things to do with a 12 and 13 year old.
Thank you for input so far.

Time is about the same for all 3 alternatives, train, bus and driving!

I grew up in NY an I can say, you don't want to have a car in the city. I once parked there for 4-5 hours for dinner and a show and it cost $60 and that's going back several years. There is a Doubletree hotel right in Times Square. The kids always like to see where MTV Studios(Carson Daly show)is broadcast from. This is in Times Square across from the Marriott Marquis. We took my 3 kids 1 1/2 yrs ago(my oldest at the time was 11, a girl) We took the kids to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Central Park(there is a zoo there) is also a fun place to go as well as walking on 5th Ave(lots going on and lots of shopping, you didn't say if they are girls/boys)There are so many museums and also Madame Taussauds wax museum. Serendipity is a fun place to go for ice cream. Rays pizza is a well known pizza place(there are many around the city) There are also a lot of great shows in NY and you can go to TKTS in Times Square and get 2fers. I can go on and on.

Hi,
That is all great advise. I want to take my daughter and her cousin, so two girls.
I keep seeing mixed reviews about staying in Time Square. Sounds like the girls would like it and that is what I am going for.
Any sugggestions on a hotel there for 3?
How does the Madame Taussauds museum compare to the one in London? My daughter has been to that and loved it!
Thanks again.

I highly recommend Chinese buses. They are not awful, much much better than Greyhound. They have big buses, clean and on time. For list of all buses:
http://www.staticleap.com/chinatownbus/
Amtrak is another good choice.
I would just bid on Priceline for a hotel in NYC.

Thanks, the prices just seemed so much less expensive than anything else I was a little nervous!

Can I just dispel the parking in Manhattan myth. Yes, if you want to park indoors, downstairs from your hotel, you will pay through the nose (but no more than I have paid in Boston or D.C.). However, there is a thing called alternate side of the street parking. You can park free on the street in Manhattan. Yes, I did say free. Yes, I did say Manhattan. You just have to know where to do it and be able to read confusing signs. No, you won't be able to park on the street anywhere in, around or near Times Square, but you may want to consider some of the other hotels in more residential areas of NYC. There are a few along Lexington in the 20's and 30's, and a few in Chelsea and Greenwich Village. These are residential areas with plenty of alternate side of the street parking. You will likely have to walk 3-5 blocks from your hotel to the car and you will either have to sit on the block from 10-30 minutes or circle for the same amount of time (I recommend the sit still approach). Just don't leave anything in the car, even coats and jackets.

Now that being said, with 12 year olds x 2, the chinese bus is probably the best overall way to get here. But Times square is a good place to stay with kids and Chinatown, where it will let you off, is a good bit away from there - about $20 in a cab. With the Amtrak deal, it might be better overall (slightly more expensive, but less hassle) to take Amtrak. You will be arriving in midtown and Times Square is not far away.

Suggestions for pre-teens are:
1) a walk down St. Mark's place esp around dinnertime when all the funky NYU students are around.
2) a climb on the lions by the library
3)TRL in times square (I think it's around 3 or 4pm - the 12 year olds will know for sure)
4)Rockefeller center during the Today Show, to get on the air or to hear a performer.
5) Ellis Island - check the rolls for an old relative.
6) Puglia in Little Italy - the food is mediocre at best, but the atmosphere is fun in a 12 year old or drunken frat boy kind of way.
7) if they'll eat sushi, East restaurant on Third ave has the food come around on a conveyor belt and you pick what you want - it's kind of fun, but expensive.
8)Planet hollywood, Hard Rock cafe, Chevy's are all in the general vicinity of Times Square and pre-teens to teens like them.

Thanks methinks.
Wold you be able to reccomend a hotel in Times Square?

It's hard for me to recommend a hotel in NYC, since I live here (I don't really know prices and haven't been inside most). I only know where family has stayed when they come to visit and they generally get cheap military rates or use frequent flyer mileage. I've been in a room at the Marriot Marquis in Times square. It was nice, clean, and spacious - the three of you would have plenty of room. If you chose there make sure you get a room overlooking Times Square, the girls will love looking out over the chaos.
The Milford plaza is on 8th avenue and I've heard they've spruced it up, but it looks alittle "seedy" to me when I pass by, but I have NEVER actually been inside. There is a Sheraton up there also, and my mother stayed there years ago and it was ok. The Hilton is a bit up 6th avenue and the rooms are fine. The Waldorf is on the east side, it is definitely a nice place and is more interesting than the others. If you are not coming to NYC midweek for a particular reason, you might want to consider coming here over a weekend, there are alot of weekend deals these hotels run that can cut the cost by half or more over weekday rates. I would follow the advice of others on the site or just try priceline.