Hiring a car : hotel in manahatten : any way of avoiding NYC traffic
 

We are staying in manhatten and want to hire a car to drive to Vermont and Boston. I'm Not very keen on starting the drive in strange car and [what is for us Brits] the 'wrong 'side of road in busy Manhatten. I am therefore wondering if it is possible to get a train out of NYC to somewhere slightly less frenetic and pick up a car hire at a train station. Does anyone know of a station en route to Vermont which has a car hire facility ? Thanks

Manhattan - no e

I think it has been discussed before to take Metro North out of the city and find a car somewhere in Connecticut

Actually, vjplovesitaly, that's a really good idea.

If you wanted to take the NY State Thruway north to Vermont, the Poughkeepsie and Beacon stops on Hudson Line of Metro North turn out to be close by to the Enterprise Car Rental facilities, and they will pick you up for your rental. Then it's just a hop across the river to pick up I87 north.

www.enterprise.com
www.mta.info
www.nysthruway.gov

Take the Metro North Harlem Line from Grand Central Station to the North White Plains station, about a 45 minute ride give or take depending on express/local. There is a Hertz literally a 3 minute walk away and a major interstate (carriageway) that's easy to get on less than 5 minutes away and the hours they are open are relatively liberal - not as much as an airport branch, but decent.

The first time I drove in England, I hired a stick shift, no gps, having not driven a manual for awhile and was pretty darn proud I returned it in one piece after driving to the Lake District and Manchester.

Thanks for these replies. They are really helpful.

NY Magazine has written about doing this to save some money.

http://nymag.com/nymetro/travel/features/471/
http://nymag.com/bestofny/fun/2008/halfcar/

Another benefit to the train is the tracks run close to the Hudson north of the city for lovely views which you wouldn't get driving. If you're planning on dropping the car somewhere other than where you pick it up, your options may be more limited. If you can, I'd go to Poughkeepsie and use Enterprise rental car there.

Yes, the train ride to Poughkeepsie is very scenic and offers interesting views of upper Manhattan, the Palisades, the fiord-like beauty of the river between Peekskill and Beacon, and an across-the-river view of West Point Military Academy between Garrison and Cold
Spring.

By comparison, the train ride to North White Plains is just a way to get out of town. You'll pass through more of the Bronx and then ride through suburban Westchester County. However, you'll reach your car rental location more quickly.