Rachel

Hi, coming from rural upstate NY, for a day trip to NYC(1st.time on my own), w/my teeage daughter.I think my biggest concern is getting around, and what do I do withmy car, where is it safe and not horribly expensive to park? Plan on SOHO,circleline cruise,if possible st Pauls Chapel. Any ideas???suggestions appreciated. Rachel

Philip

Have you thought about parking a little outside the city and taking a commuter train in? I'm not sure what part of upstate NY you are coming from, but you might want to check and see if you can connect with any of the Metro North train lines. www.mnr.org They pull into Grand Central Station where you can catch subway lines.

If you are driving in, here are some links to some of the parking garages around town.

http://iconparking.citysearch.com/

http://gmcparking.citysearch.com/

westsider

There is a huge outdoor lot on West End Ave and 61-62nd street called Central Parking. Dont know what the daily fee is but it is probably around $20 (its outdoors, your car will be safe but get filthy). They have a free shuttle to the Columbus Circle area. You can also take a bus from there--MTA has a web site -- or catch a cab down to Circle line which is great but maybe not in the winter. You can get to this lot from the Westside Hwy. Try mapquest.
Have fun! Oh, check out the Timeout.com web site for info on NY. Your teen will love Soho!

Maurice

We stayed with my sister and brother-in-law in NJ. To get to Manhattan, took the interstate to the Hoboken station (not far from the Holland Tunnel. There are 3 or 4 big parking garages just down the street along the waterfront. You can walk from these to the Path train station at Hoboken waterfront. Of course, the PATH train to WTC ain't running, but you can get to Christopher Street or 33rd street on the other PATH route.
I wish I could give you better directions, but I just know the location, not the street names. (I'm from Northern Manitoba) This is probably a good parking location because you can get there almost directly from the Interstate/NJ Parkway, and you don't have to pay to get INTO NYC before parking. I think the most I paid for parking all day was $12.
Inside NYC, why use anything except subway?

Mel

When we drive in from Jersey, we always swing right into the Port Authority garage just as you exit the tunnel. I think it's about $13 a day and you can catch a cab at the queue to get to midtown for about $5.00.

x

Your options can change based on the following factors:
Day of the week for this trip.
Time of day you expect to arrive
When you expect to start for home at end of the day.
What approach you will be using to get into the city.
Answer these questions and you can get suggestions that could minimize parking and travel expenses and maximize sightseeing time.

Vic

We parked the car at the Javits Convention Center parking structure. It's a few blocks walk to the Theater District. The price was about $20 per day. It's about as cheap, safe and clean as you're going to get.

M.

I know you are mainly interested in parking, but if you have a teen with you, plan to see Madame Tusseau's Wax Museum. I think she'll really enjoy it. Check on when it opens. It can have a long line. Obviously, you can't do everything on your list, but a cruise in winter doesn't sound like much fun.

Rachel

thanks to everyone, what a lot of info,,,I've been waiting for an email, letting me know I got a reply,,,,(new to this),,,never did rec'v one, but just stopped back tonite to see what was up. Now I will think about all your replies and make some plans. Thanks so much,,,,the wax museum was something I thought would be fun.I do want to make the first time pretty simple, and then hopefully make subsequent trips and have some confidence. I don't know much about subways either.Excited to make the trip!