MaryMortier

We (Family of 5-parents and 3 teens) are planning a trip to the east coast in Aug. We are renting a car in the DC area and planning 2 days in New York. A couple questions..

1. How would we work in this itenerary?

Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island
Empire State Building
Ground Zero
Rockefella Center
St. Patrick's Cathedral
(maybe) Central Park
(maybe)Times Square

2. We've been told not to drive into N.Y. but to park our rental car somewhere in NJ and take public transportation in and stay at a motel in NY. Are there places to park for a couple days(overnight) in NJ?

Thanks.

Michael

Why drive? I am willing to take the Chinatown buses to NYC from D.C., Philadelphia or Boston. Others are not. But here is a report by someone else who found a different bus company from Boston to NYC. I would think that similar travel arrangements can be found between DC and NYC.

Thanks to multiple bus companies competing for this route, bus ticket prices are fairly cheap. I bought our tickets 2 months in advance on Megabus. My BOS-NYC ticket for Wed was $1, my DH's BOS-NYC ticket for Sat was $10, and our return ticket for Sun was $11 each. Therefore, the total cost was $$33.50 (50 cents booking fee) for over 400 miles r/t.

Anonymous

One classier option between DC and NYC is Bolt Bus. Makes no sense to drive and park the car there. Depending on your kids' ages, you might be able to get a good deal on Amtrak; IIRC, kids are half-price up to age 15.

nytraveler

Well, Manhattan doesn;t have motels - only hotels. If you want to bring your car with you there is one hotel in NYC with free parking - the Travel Inn on the far west side - not far from the Lincoln Tunnel. It gets generally good reviews and rates are modest. But, you would have to take 2 rooms - since their max per room is 4 people.

For 5 people you will need to go to one of the suite hotels. Radio City Apartments is probably the best deal, but they sell out VERY early. theSalisbury also has reasonable accommodations for 5.

You can leave your car at several places in New Jersey - some recommend using one of the New York Waterways lots and then taking the ferry across the Hudson. Not cheap, but great views of the city. Also, some of the larger train stations have manned lots (I wouldn;t leave a car alone over several nights in an unmanned one - but others expert on New Jersey transit would have to tell youw hich ones.)

As far as yuor itinerary, it's certainly doable. You must buy advance tickets for the SoL ferry to avoid one of the long lines - the earlier in the day the better. Assume seeing the SoL and Ellis Island, with ferry trips, wil take 6 hours os so. I would do Top of the Rock - for which you can get advance timed tickets, versus the Empire State Building, which often has horrendously long lines. Ifyou do those in one day, you have another to see some of Central Park and at lest one of the major museums (either the Met or Natural History) - which no one should miss.
(Times Square, Rockefeller Center and St Pat's are all close together and can be seen in a short while when you do Top of the Rock.)

LaurenKahn1

If you just want to "see" the SOL, take the ferry to Ellis Island. When it stops at the SOL, snap your photos and DO NOT GET OFF. If you get off, you could be in a grand line to get back on to go to Ellis. Then take the ferry from Ellis back to the foot of Manhattan.

You can only go into the pedestal at the SOL so you will not miss much by using the above strategy.

bachslunch

Would recommend the following:

-stay somewhere in Manhattan, though parking will likely be brutal. Taking the bus or AMTRAK up and leaving the car behind is a very good strategy.

-the Empire State Building has horrendous lines for the observation deck. Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center provides an excellent view with less horrible a wait. But a pop in to the lobby of the Empire State Building takes little time and is very nice -- and that goes for the Chrysler Building and Grand Central Station, too.

-definitely get tickets in advance for the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, and be prepared to spend the better part of the day involved in this activity. A good time- and money-saving alternative is to ride the Staten Island Ferry over and back. It's free, takes about an hour and a half both ways, and provides good views of the Statue of Liberty. You can include a look at Ground Zero on the same day, though note that it's just a big construction site hole-in-the-ground at present.

-nytraveler is right that Rock Center, Times Square, and St. Pat's are all close by each other, and the lower part of Central Park is not far away. They can all be included in your second day.

nytraveler

I assumed you were renting a car in order to see things between DC and NYC - or beyond NYC. If you just want to get from one to the other some of the bus options will be much cheaper - even for 5 - than renting a car that sits for days not being used.

And while the Staten Island ferry is fine for a (semi distant) view of the Statue of Liberty - it can;t take you to Ellis Island Immigration Museum, which, IHO is brilliant and definitely worth the time.