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NY by car from Montreal

Hi, We are travelling down to NY from Montreal soon. Since I never been to NY before I have no clue how difficult it is to enter Manhattan. Expect the worst! The maps doesn't tell the full story. So which raod and bridge woould be the best to enter Manhattan? Are staying at Best Western hotel Ambassador at 132 West 45th Street. We were also thinking of spending the night in a town 1-2 hours before entering NY the next morning. So any suggestions? Thanks, Tintin

Tintin, sounds as if you will be traveling south on the NY Thruway - I would do this into New Jersey (on to rt 17 south) once on 17 in the town of paramus (this will be well marked) take the exit for rt 4 EAST - you are now 10 miles out of Manhattan, Rt. 4 East will take you to the George Washington Bridge - Cross the Bridge and follow signs for the Henry Hudson Parkway get off at the closest street you can - I am not a fan of map quest but www.mapquest.com will give you the exact cross street you want...and then some - the trip takes me about 6 - 7 hours.

http://www.mapquest.com/rtp/directions.adp?rtpid=3ce3184b%2d00322%2d03e39%2d40 0c252b&segment=1 Tintin, we go to Montreal every year,and stop in Lake George as the halfway mark.THere are a lot of nice places to stay and eat. This is from Mapquest showing you the route by the Thruway (from Lake George)to W45th st.Hope this helps,as my husband is not here and he always is the one that drives, and I pay no attention to streets and bridges. But it is a straight and easy ride.The speed limit is 65 so you should make the entire trip in 6-7 hours, but stopping over is great.you will get up in the morning and be in the City in 3 hours! have fun.kate

Tintin-sorry,the map I cut and pasted did not go through,never think that I am computer savvy! Here are the directions though.Good luck~ DIRECTIONS DISTANCE 1: Start out going East on CR-35 by turning left. 0.04 miles 2: Take the I-87 S ramp. 0.21 miles 3: Merge onto I-87 S. 58.73 miles 4: Take the I-90 E/I-87 S/I-90 W exit- exit number 1- towards ALBANY/BOSTON/NEW YORK/BUFFALO. 0.66 miles 5: Merge onto NEW YORK STATE TRWY S (Portions toll). 0.21 miles 6: Take the I-87 S exit towards NEW YORK. 0.62 miles 7: Merge onto NEW YORK STATE TRWY S (Portions toll). 126.82 miles 8: Take the PALISADES PKWY SOUTH exit- exit number 13S- towards NEW JERSEY. 0.41 miles 9: Merge onto PALISADES I-PKWY S. 18.15 miles 10: Take the HUDSON TER. exit. 0.91 miles 11: Merge onto I-95 N. 1.60 miles 12: Take the HARLEM RIVER DR./AMSTERDAM AVE. exit. 0.71 miles 13: Merge onto HARLEM RIVER DR. 0.09 miles 14: Stay straight to go onto FDR DR S. 5.86 miles 15: Take the E 63 ST exit- exit number 12- towards RT-25/QUEENSBORO BR. 0.06 miles 16: Turn LEFT onto FDR DR. 0.11 miles 17: Turn RIGHT onto E 61ST ST. 0.31 miles 18: Turn LEFT onto 2ND AVE. 0.04 miles 19: Turn RIGHT onto E 60TH ST. 0.33 miles 20: Turn LEFT onto PARK AVE. 0.64 miles 21: Turn RIGHT onto E 47TH ST. 0.03 miles 22: Turn LEFT onto VANDERBILT AVE. 0.11 miles 23: Turn RIGHT onto E 45TH ST. 0.11 miles TOTAL ESTIMATED TIME: 3 hours, 47 minutes

Since the hotel is on the west side it would be best to enter the city by going over the George Washington bridge. To get to the bridge once over the border take 87 to Albany where you pick up the NY thruway (also 87). Take the Thruway to exit 13 where you will pick up the Palisades Parkway. Go southbound and the parkway takes you to the GW Bridge, When you get on the bridge stay to the right and follow the sign that directs you to the Henry Hudson Parkway. Enter the ramp and you will see additional signs one of which will say Henry Hudson Parkway and DOWNTOWN. You want to head downtown. The Hudson River will be on your right. Continue on the parkway and soon after the name changes to Joe Dimaggio highway you will see a sign anounncing 46th st. Make the left onto 46th St and go straight ahead to 5th ave (you pass 11th, 10th, 9th, 8th, Broadway, 7th and 6th Avenues. Make a right on 5th and go one block to 45th. Make a right on to 45th. The hotel is between 6th and 7th. Parking is another issu. Have to go now but will send another post on parking

Thanks a lot, I got the proposal from a friend here in Montreal to head for the Lincoln tunnel. Any disadvantage using the tunnel? Apparently it's a toll tunnel. Best Western hotel Ambassador at 132 West 45th Street is close to the Lincoln tunnel. The hotel also have an agreement with a garage close to Time Square.

Tintin, If you're just planning to go to the city and back without stops in-between, you should strongly consider taking Amtrak, which I believe runs at least once a day from Montreal to New York directly. There have been many discussions on this forum about the aggravation and expense of bringing a car into Manhattan (parking, navigating the streets, parking, etc). Just a thought.

To late to change the plans. Leaving in 2 hours! Anyway I've spoken to some friends stayign at this hotel. And the paring is reasonable if using the garage. We will not use the car while at Manhattan so Amtrak might have been a good alternative. But I´ve heard it's expensive for a family.

Hope this quick reply still reaches you: Kingston is a town right off the NYS thruway (exit 19?) almostly excatly 2 hours out of NYC--some chain hotels there and while not a fancy town, has an interesting are called Rondout (on the river) w/ some nice restaurants. I would take the GW Bridge as RQF outlined. I find the access to the city better,in general than using the Lincoln Tunnel. However, tune your AM radio to 1010 or 880 when you're about 30-40 minutes ouside the city. Both give traffic reports every 10 minutes (on the 1's for 1010, on the 8's for 880) and will alert you to any problems on either the bridge or tunnel.

If you get this go via the GW Bridge - Forget the tunnel