We never use our car once we get into the city, so I'm hoping to avoid the $40/day hotel parking charge. Coming from Boston, taking the Amtrak from New Haven sounded tempting, but the $33-42 per person rate isn't a savings and will probably cost us a few hours over driving. Taking the commuter rail from New Rochelle looks like a good option since it's only about $11 for an off peak round trip ticket, but I have 2 concerns over parking - 1. What is the cost? The website is vague and says free weekend parking and $3 metered parking, how long is the meter - can we park for 2-3 days? and 2. Is there ample parking - If we get there late morning are all spaces taken by early commuters? If anyone could give advise on this or other alternatives to parking and getting into the city, I'd appreciate it!

Most towns close to the city have
meters and limited parking near trains.

May I suggest an alternative of a different order: the Essex Street parking garage, downtown, just below Houston, charges less than 20 dollars a day... they might even give you a good deal for a couple of days.

We parked there last week and were pleased.

No - New Rochelle has very limited parking - as have most of the commuter towns along that route. Generally - during the week - you need to be there before 8am to park - otherwise there is no room left. Also - esp in New Rochelle - some parts of which are very donwscale - it is not really safe to leave you car overnight.

Also, some of the car parks in the smaller towns require stickerrs that are only issued to town residents.

You might do better in White Plains - don;t know the details there, but it has a farily large car park and is not so downscale as New Rochelle.

With respect to the comments about New Rochelle, it is absolutely fine to leave your car overnight here. I live in the city, and although i live in the upscale area, I am always downtown where it is getting safer every day. There are always people around and the city is being reviatalized as we speak. Right next to the train station is a 20 story luxury apartment building with another one going up right across the street so how bad could it be?

Tell us what hotel, and I'm sure some Fodorites can tell you where you can find cheaper parking close by.

Why not drive into the city and park on 11th Avenue in the 60's where 24 hour parking will cost somewhere between $15 and $20. This wouldn't be too inconvenient if you will be staying in the midtown area.

If you drove down and stayed at the Travel Inn on W42nd St the parking there is FREE for guests. It's in a good location for site seeing and it's clean and well priced. Also if you are coming a little later in the summer, there is also a pool for guest use.

Have a great time while you are here.

Largescreen -

I hate to disagree with you about New Rochelle - and agree it is slowly being revitalized.

But until a short while ago a friend of mine workd in the office building closest to the train station. They had numerous break ins and muggings in that building - and the employer finally would not let employees leave alone after dark without an escort to their car. Several cars left in the lot - not overnight - but until late in the evening - were vandalized less than a year ago. I would not reco anyone leve their car there overnight when there are so many other choices.

Assuming you're not intimidated by driving into the city, you can find parking on iconparking.com Put in your dates/hours and look to see where the cheapest would be. IMO, it's got to be the cheapest/most convenient way to do this. Parking outside the city and having to drag luggage etc. isn't fun and the savings are minimal when you add the transport and aggravation. Garages all the way east (East End Ave/First Ave) and all the way west (10th-11th-12th aves) are usually cheapest.

When we lived in CT we frequently parked at the garage at the train station in New Haven and took the commuter train in from there. I think it's just under 2 hours (maybe I'm remembering that wrong, though) and parking was around $7/day.

If you really want to save - and its just for the weekend - just drive to your hotel, drop off the bags and then go park on the street in one of the residential areas.

For UWS and UES there is no alternate side parking on weekends - which means you can park for free on the north side of the sidestreets from Thursday afternoon through Sunday night. And it shouldn;t take more than 10 or 15 minutes of circling to find a place - esp in the summer - since many people take their cars to the country/beach on thursday after work. Or you can park on the south side of the sreet from Friday on (check signs for exactly what time - for many its 1pm)

White Plains isn't on the same line and so isn't a good option.

If you still want to park outside the city, get off the Amtrak at Stamford. There is a parking garage there where I'm sure you could park overnight. There are express trains from Stamford to Grand Central.

Well, taking a different view than others -- if you're coming from Boston, why not just use one of the buses? PeterPan or Greyhound often match the "Chinatown Bus" rate of $20 each way. Some of the buses are non-stop from South Station to Port Authority.

It depends what you drive. There are many safe residential neighborhoods where you can leave your car indefinitely. These are neighborhoods without the alternate side rules.

For example....One side of the street will say 'no parking Monday and Thursday 0800-0930' The other will say 'no parking Tuesday and Friday 0800-0930'.

Here is a great neighborhood...Get on I95 South. Cross over the Whitestone Bridge. Take the Whitestone Expressway to 20th Ave. Go East a few blocks. Go North a few blocks. The avenues will get lower. You are in Whitestone....No alternate side parking and very safe. The buses in that neighborhood all go to Main Street. That is the end of the subway. Get on an express subway from there to Manhattan.

Does anybody have a recommendation about an inexpensive place to leave one's car in New Jersey for a few days while one is in Manhattan? Ideally someplace that's a short train, bus, or shuttle ride from Manhattan?