We are thinking of flying from the UK to New York in August (regrettably tied by school/uni term dates) giving my girls 2 or 3 hectic days in New York (with plenty of shopping opportunities) then driving to PEI where we will spend a quiet 4 or 5 days. Probably would have to fly back to Blighty out of New York again - and would have about 2 - 2 1/2 weeks in all available.

Is this feasible? Roughly how long would the driving take - we are happy to amble and take our time, stayover and/or see a few things enroute if possible. I know this is quite a general question but any opinions will be appreciated.

Also posting this on the Canada forum.

Thanks all!!

Sorry also meant to ask, is there likely to be any problem if we hire a car in NY then travel into Canada - sometimes there are restrictions. Thanks again

What is PEI?

Prince Edward Island. I know you can rent a car to drive across the border but they apparently investigate rental cars more than owned cars.

According to maps.google.com when I type NYC to Prince Edward Island they estimate 14 hrs. 11 mins. driving. This is a loooong trip. I would consider flying to get closer. There are some relatively inexpensive nonstop flights between NYC and Portland Maine (on Jet Blue and others) that take an hour and put you only 8-9 hrs. drive vs. 14.

I've rented in Seattle and drove all over BC, but I never bothered asking about insurance though, so I'm not sure how the policy goes. When renting in BC, some places did not allow the car into the US.

That is alot of driving from NYC to PEI. I've done alot of long distance driving in the US and driving in the UK, the trips don't feel that long to me. Not sure how it goes the other way.

It should be a scenic trip though and I guess you could go leisurely one way in 3 days, but if it were me, I'd fly into Halifax, but of course, depending on the number of travelers, it would be cheaper to drive than fly.

If you wanted to take your time, you can make a nice trip out of it. We drove from Boston to Bar Harbor, spent the night, took the ferry to Nova Scotia, spent a couple days in Halifax then drove up to PEI. On the way back we drove through New Brunswick spending a night near the bay of Fundy, then a couple more nights at Bar Harbor.

it is a LOT of driving. If you use at least 3 or 4 nights in each direction it can be a very nice trip.

We rent or borrow cars when we drive between the US and Canada, and haven't been treated any differently than our relatives who drive their own cars. The trick would be that you'll want to make it a round-trip to avoid astronomical one-way charges.

Another pleasant way to do it would be train from NYC to Montreal, and then driving, flying or takign the train from there. You'll probably want a car for the Island, though.

If you do make it to PEI, be sure to read the Anne of Green Gables books first (if you haven't already), and to go to the musical when you're in Charlottetown. I'm a die hard Anne fan, but will only see the musical on the Island, it doesn't feel the same anywhere else.

There's also a neat bit of Acadian history including an Acadian open-air museum and church.

Everything is pretty close by car on the Island, it's getting there and back which stretches distances. You might price out flights between NYC or Montreal and Charlottetown with a few days' car rental on the Island, and compare those to the price of a 10+ rental with gas, insurance, lodgings and food. I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually cheaper to do the flights!
(You may not need to buy car rental insurance -- a lot of credit cards Gold, or higher -- will cover.)

Many car rental companies will not allow you to leave the country due to insurance reasons. They track the cars with GPS so I wouldn't try to not tell them.

That is a looong drive. I'd fly.

I live in New Brunswick which is the province next to PEI, and I have driven to New York before (well the bus driver has) and you can do it easily in 2 days (one way). We usually stop for a night in Bangor or Portland Maine to break the trip up but it is a fairly easy drive. I am not sure I would drive both ways, but you might try flying out of Moncton , New brunswick to get back home and save you driving one way.
PEI is lovely in July and August, as is most of the Maritimes, so you should be able to have a lovely trip. Not sure how old your girls are but you might want to consider taking them to the play called 'Anne of Green Gables'. It is a staple on the Island, and you will see A LOT of things that pertain to her during your stay.

You don't want to rent a car to drive all the way up thre. Renting in NYC is well over $100 per day (can be much higher withinsurance for non US residents), and they might not let you take it across the border at all. And droping in PEI would, I'm sure, be a huge charge. Much better to fly up and rent a car there - unless you're touring on the way up.

Sorry - look at multi-destination flight options - so you dont; have to drive all the way back to NYC.

re not renting to take over the border. I'm surprised. It's not been our experience going the other way - we've done one way Canada/US rentals, as well as a lot of roundtrip rentals. Canada doesn't have a problem with us leaving or coming back in a Canadian-plated car, and the US doesn't seem to care what we arrive in.

I agree that if the main destination is PEI, then a flight itinerary like this makes sense: UK to NYC to PEI (or NB or NS) to UK. Original poster can rent a car in the Maritimes, do a loop tour and thus return the car in the same spot before flying home, avoiding one way charges.

The responders are correct, about 14 hours from NYC to PEI. Because you seem to have limited time I would look into flying to Charlottetown or St. John NB. Is there a specific reason for PEI-friends or relatives? We have been there and its lovely, but a long trek for you. Consider New England coastline - Maine? Portland is a comfortable 5 hour drive from NY, even with a bit of traffic, just did it Saturday!

Thanks for all the advice a lot to digest!! We are going to PEI to see friends and had wanted to sort of road trip on the way up - I will have a good read of all your suggestions and see what is feasible in the time we have