Hi All,
Planning a visit to NYC in June with family (spouse+3 yr boy). I am thinking to stay in NJ (Dont want to drive in NYC)- at Days Inn Parsippany --main reason -free breakfast+free parking). My range is ~ $60-80/day. I am getting this hotel at $60/day.
Could anyone guide me about the public transport (bus or train) to manhatten/port authority from this hotel?
Is it nearby any busstops/station?
Also, suggestions on this hotel or any other are most welcome.
Thank you in advance.

This is a terrible idea. Main reason--it's too far from NYC and you will spend more than 2 hrs./day commuting back and forth with a 3 yr. old. You are going about this backwards. If you want to visit NYC, go to NYC or some place just outside. If you bid on Priceline for a 3* hotel in Jersey City (in the section with NYC airport area hotels) you will likely win the Hyatt Regency or the Doubletree Club--both are near the PATH train (like a subway) into Manhattan. They can be gotten for $60-100/night plus tax. (warning, not all the jersey city hotels are near the PATH train but these 2 which PL uses are).

Priceline info from biddingfortravel.com
http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelinean...abiddingfrm266

Another option is the Holiday Inn in Ft. Lee, New Jersey. This is right near the GW bridge. There is bus service into the city, but I understand it requires crossing a very busy highway to get to the stop. People have driven their own cars into the city from here, parked on the upper west side (iconparking.com) and driven back. Rooms here are usually around $100/night or less.

Anything that involves a bus ride from NJ will be a pain.

Thanks a lot mclaurie for advise.Main problem with priceline is that, you cannot cancel the reservation.I am not sure,how the weather will be during 15-30 June.Secondly, I do not prefer to travel in NYC.Thats the reason, looking something outside the city. I will search for Holiday Inn in Ft. Lee, New Jersey, as you suggested and see how much that will cost me.Thanks again.

mclaurie is so right! Parsippany is way too far from NYC to be manageable especially with a 3 yr old. Driving to/from there to NYC is about an hour (with moderate traffic)--by bus (and there may be connections necessary) may be 90 minutes each way. You would have to ask the hotel if there is even a bus stop nearby

It is going to be at least an hour on a bus to get to NYC from Parsippany and the buses are essentially commuter buses and not terribly convenient.

If you are dead set about driving in NYC, you need to get somewhere need a PATH station or at least NJ Transit. It's is possible that this can't be done for $60-80.

Thanks for all the "warnings". I may have to re-think about staying in days inn. Could anyone suggest few options for hotel (with free parking+free breakfast)?? Holiday inn do NOT give free b/f on weekends..thats too bad

Bring a light weight folding stroller for the child. If using subway, lots of stairs and NYC is lots and lots of walking. You will need to fold stroller for train or bus, but your child will not be able to do all the walking necessary in NYC.

We leave for NY on 5/23 and we'll also be commuting. MY BIL is graduating from West Point so the entire family is staying in Mahwah, NJ at the Marriott Courtyard. My FIL says it's the halfway point to NYC (more or less) and since he's paying that's where we'll be. We are taking our 4 yr. old and I just hope that taking the train into the city back & forth won't be too much for him. We'll see!

Thanks Elainee for tip.Yes, I have planned to carry a stroller.dhurtado: your hotels is too expensive for me ~180/day..checking out some cheaper options in the range 60-100 now (revised
thanks again/

Paaarsippany is nowhere near NYC. I live in the city and worked in Parsippany for a while and did the daily commute - but in reverse. And it takes a minimum of 50 minutes to the upper west side - longer with traffic. And longer to get to mid or downtown for many sights.

Going with traffic - as you will be - I would expect it to take at least 1.5 hours to get into the city.

With that budget I'm not at all sure that you can do even Priceline in Manhattan. But- you might be able to get somethingin Jersey that is MUCH closer to the city and right near either a train line or a ferry (both of which are much faster than going back and forth by commuter bus). Also - don't discount the cost of commuting in/out of the city when considering what you want to spend for a hotel - it's not cheap.

I don;t reco Fort Lee since the traffic over the GWB at rush hours is often hideous - it can take 30 minutes just from the bus stop in Jersey across the bridge. (There are short cuts - I can do it in 10/12 minutes - but not for the faint of heart - and you have to be comfy doing 75 on the West Side Highway.)

And parking on the upper west side in a lot will still be expensive. But - if you're willing to spend a little time looking it's not that hard to find a free spot on one of the sidestreets in the 90s and grab the subway from there. Just be very careful about alternate side of the street parking - signs are clear - but you MUST take them seriusly - since if they tow you it will be more than $1000 to get your car back.

Other places in NJ to try with better access to NYC are Secaucus and East Rutherford.

There are a few hotels in East Rutherford outside the Meadowlands sports arenas and along a bus route. In Secaucus there are a few hotels in the area of an office building/strip mall type complex.

Parsippany really is too far if you want to be visiting NY daily. I do not recommend the Fort Lee hotel as access to the hotel is only via the highway that goes directly to the Geo Washington bridge so it can be very inconvenient coming and going. Plus you will most like be visiting areas midtown and downtown which are more easily accessible from the Lincoln or Holland Tunnels. If you crossed the GW bridge getting on an express train for 20 min or more with a 3 year old and stroller back and forth would not be fun.

We're all being really honest with you for your trip here. Hotels in NYC and the surrounding areas are expensive, there is just no getting around it, and staying too far out and then try to visit each day with at least a 3 hour commute round trip is going to be difficult with a little one in tow.

You are also going to be eating up any savings with commuting costs which are going to be expensive, I'm guessing $5.00 each way at least pp so that's an extra $20 at least in commuting costs a day.

You really would be wiser to stay IN the city at somewhere like The Travel Inn, (which has free parking) and there are some amenities in room so you can get food for breakfast/lunch and save a bit on food costs.

Also the Hotel Grand Union might be another option which is on E. 32nd St, close to sites and shopping.

I'd also suggest www.hotwire.com, www.hotels.com, www.travelocity.com and www.expedia.com as well as priceline for suggestions on hotels. Hotwire says they are the lowest priced but shop around.

There are also a few B&B's in the city, one right up the street from me, that charges around $80 a night.

Also check the www.hotelgrandunion.com website and the Travel Inn website which changed recently and I will try and find the address for you and repost.

Have a great time while you are here.

www.thetravelinnhotel.com is the new site address. The site is showing rates as low as $125night, but you will probably have to call and see when those rates are available. Also the Travel Inn has a pool for guests and free parking.

Good luck with your trip.

IMHO, you shouldn't get too hung up on free breakfast and parking, and not even on hotel rates: Look at the total cost of these items per day or hour actually spent in NYC. Even if you have to shorten your trip by a day in order to afford a Manhattan hotel, the actual time spent in NYC will be greater that way, than if you spent hours and hours commuting from a distant but cheap hotel in NJ. With a toddler.

Thanks a lot all for the useful tips. (sorry for late reply, was OOO for some time). I agree with you and will revise the plan to stay in/near by city.
Thanks again.

Bad bad bad idea especially with a three year old.

Drive to New Jersey and take NJ Transit into Manhattan and stay in a hotel there.

What are you going to do when the toddler needs a nap?

What about bathrooms? Manhattan isn't the easiest place to find a clean public bathroom.

What about when you want to take a break in the middle of the day?

You are much better off upping your budget and staying in Manhattan.

$60-$100 per day isn't do-able in that area. You are asking for trouble.

Any hotel that isn't charging the going rate should be avoided.

You can reasonable find $129 before taxes but that is as low as I'd go. I would not stay in a New Jersey hotel for under that amount.

Try Apple Core Hotels.