hstraveller

Hello Community,

I am new to this site and looking for some valuable advice.

My wife and me are travelling to NYC for a day and would then drive to boston. We would stay on West 29th Street and would want to drive out on a sunday evening. We are planning to rent a car from Avis, and would have some luggage as well. As I read other posts, it is good to rent from somewhere near, and then drive out.

I need advice on whether I should go to some airport and rent and drive out, or sunday looks good from traffic perspective. I am very familiar with driving in US and have driven in boston, California, LA etc.

Thanks....

J62

On a Sunday I'd simply rent from a local Manhattan Avis office.

nytraveler

No - going to the airport makesno senseat all.

Your best bet is to pick up the car on the upper west side - Avis has an office on west 76 ot 78th St - I forget which. Just hop in a cab with your luggage and pick up the car there.

There is an entrance to the west side highway on 79th St- only a couple of blocks from the office. And from there you can take a variety of parkways or highways all the way to Boston. Just be sure you have an advance reservation - since NYC offices tend to run out of cars on weekends. They will have a lot by late Sun night - but I'm assuming you don;t want to leave at 10 or 11pm.

hawksbill

I'm sure I'll be the first of many people to bring this up, but... are you sure you really want to drive from New York to Boston? Is there someplace along the way where you're planning to stop? Both New York and Boston are cities where it will be easier for you to get around without a car than with one, and the trip between the cities can be done by bus, train, or airplane. I've driven between Boston and New York many hundreds of times, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for a visitor unless you're planning to stop along the way.

If you do drive, I agree that it makes no sense to go to the airport to pick up a car. Just rent it at the most convenient place near you. And note that the closest Avis location to you, on West 31st Street between Seventh and EIght Avenues, closes at 2 PM on Sunday.

NorthwestMale

And an even more sensible/economical move, is do whatever you can to NOT rent your car IN New York State.

Perhaps there is a commuter train to, say, Stamford, CT, which you could ride before picking up a rental car there.

NOT only should it save you heaps in rental fees, but you wouldn't have to drive in the heart/mess of the Big Apple.

The problem is your wish to drive out on SUNDAY, when such offices are more likely to be closed.

Whatever you do, PRICE the various options just to see how much money you're throwing at jacked-up fees for renting at AIRPORTS or in 'convenient' NYC locations.

tomfuller

Would you consider riding one of the many BOLT buses?
The fares are $21 to $25 per person from 34th & 8th NYC to South Station in Boston.
https://www.boltbus.com/
Another option would be to ride Amtrak to one of the CT stations and renting there for your trip into Boston.

lcuy

It is an easy and pretty drive from NYC to Boston, and easy to get a car from the Avis or Alamo up on 79th.

Still, I'd recommend taking the train into Boston if you are just traveling between the two cities. Last time we did this Amtrak was about $70 pp. The car was about $140 + a tank of gas for a one day, one-way rental. The fancy buses are way cheaper than either car or tain.

I like the train because it it comfortable, plenty of room for luggage and takes a fairly scenic route. it takes about 4 hours by train or by car.

If you will be using the car to tour Boston AND more of New England, or if there are more than two of you, then it would make sense to rent a car.

Ackislander

Agree about train, strongly.

And it makes no sense to have a car in Boston, and I am someone who does not find it at all daunting to drive there.

Essentially, nothing you want to see in the city is easily accessible by car. Having a rental car in the city would be like having a rental car in London, Paris, or Rome.

Rent the car when you are ready to go beyond Boston.

hstraveller

Thank you all for your replies. Let me clarify my situation more:

- I am actually not going to Boston city, but have to go to Bedford, and stay there for the next few days, have to work an office in Bedford for a few days that week, so anyways would need to take a car, if I dont take from NYC, would need to get off at Boston and then take a car.

- Cost is not much of a consideration, I rent on corporate discount, and given the fact I would rent anyways as soon as I arrive in Boston, so I would only save on a few hours and some gas.

- Cars are more convenient to me as I am used to long drives, and would probably not even enter Boston downtown and try to head straight to Bedford.

- Since my time is not fixed, when i want to get out of NYC and might get a little late, a pre-scheduled bus is probably not a good option for me, I might just miss it.

Thanks for all your messages, I agree with most people that taking the car for just driving from NYC to Boston doesnt make any sense, and buses are a far better option. But given the consideration that I would anyways rent in Boston and go to Bedford, and keep the car for the next few days, do you think that Car is a good option ?

I searched for an Avis Office on E 43 street, and booked a car there, (taking advice that they run out of availability), but can cancel, still have time. Please suggest if that is the best place to pick up.

And, am also seriously considering bus if I can fix up my time, and book for the last possible time I would get out of NYC.., but want to know whether it is easy to get a late night cab in Boston from the bus drop point to an Avis facility (late night, i might have to go to the airport).

hawksbill

Oh! In that case, I think renting a car in Manhattan and driving it to Bedford is absolutely the right thing to do. I've never been to the 43rd Street Avis, but that seems like the best choice. It's open until 10 PM.

You wouldn't need to reserve the bus far in advance, so don't feel like you need to have everything worked out in order to make that work. However, if you don't mind long drives, and cost is not a big consideration, the drive will be a much more relaxed option, in my opinion.

I recommend the following route:

Westside Highway N
Henry Hudson Bridge
Henry Hudson Parkway N
Saw Mill River Parkway N
Cross County Parkway E
Hutchinson River Parkway/Merritt Parkway/Wilbur Cross Parkway N
I-91 N
I-84 N
I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike E)
I-95/Rt-128 N
Rt-220 N

There are two places on that route where you might encounter traffic, depending on what time you leave. Do you know at approximately what time you might be leaving New York?

tracys2cents

There's an Avis in Bedford so that might be a good idea,if you have any problems with the car it will be easy to switch.

One of my credit cards won't cover collision damage if you rent a car and drive it in Manhattan. We took a bus to New Jersey once (20 min) where Hertz Local picked us up...because we saved $350.00 over renting in Manhattan.

yk

All I can say is that the drive between NYC & Boston is 4.5 hrs of constant heavy traffic, even if you take the Parkways. Since your company will be paying for it, if it were me, I'd take the Acela from NYC to Boston, and then rent a car when you get off the train and drive to Bedford.

tomfuller

If you didn't want to rent in Manhattan or Boston, take the Acela to Providence RI an go from there.

J62

The route described by hakwsbill will NOT be constant heavy traffic on a Sunday evening.

Rural/suburban rental car locations will NOT be open on a Sunday evening.

Given the totality of your situation, including that you are used to long drives, I'd just rent the car in Manhattan.

hawksbill

As J62 said, there won't be much traffic on this route on Sunday evening. The only two places where one might anticipate significant delays are on the off-ramp from I-91 to the Charter Oak Bridge, which connects I-91 to I-84 in Hartford, and on the first part of the Massachusetts Turnpike, which gradually loses a few lanes after Sturbridge. Depending on what time hstraveller is driving, those two spots might not even be a problem. And there are ways to bypass both problem spots, if necessary.

yk

I missed the Sunday evening part. I agree, traffic will be okay in the evening. However, if you're driving on Sunday afternoon, expect heavy traffic & delays at the merge from I-84 into I-90 at Sturbridge.

cw

I second or third Hawksbill's route. Best way to drive from NYC to the Boston area. You should be fine driving late on a Sunday evening.

Since you need a car anyway and are used to long drives, it's easier to get the car in NY rather than fiddling around with bus/train to rental car office.

hstraveller

Thanks all for your inputs. Reading everyone's suggestions, I've narrowed down on taking the car from downtown NYC and drive to Boston, and plan to start around 5 pm on Sunday, might get an hour late though. And, am booking right now so that I dont have to worry about trying out different Avis offices.

I'll also note down the route suggestions.

Cheers !!