We are driving across country to NYC next month and are thinking about using the Valet to park the car at the Crowne Plaza Times Square. We have never been to NYC and have heard different things about driving into or parking the vehicle outside of Manhattan. Here are my questions for you...

1- If we don't have a parking spot grouped in with our hotel reservation and we show up that day to the valet, will we have trouble having a Parking spot?

2- If we don't drive the rental vehicle into Manhattan, where is a safe place to park the vehicle for 4 days..




We want this to go as smoothly as possible and I am trying to be prepared. Thanks for any tips/advice you might have.

if you are coming from the west I would say park in new jersey and ferry/train to nyc if you are flying out of jfk perhaps drive there and use long term parking then take the train back

nyc parking will be $40 per day average

You mention rental car. Have you looked into returning it in NYC when you arrive since you won't need it for your stay there?

No, you will not have an issue getting a spot if you use the valet at the hotel. A cheaper option may be to see if your hotel has an arrangement with a local garage for you to self park. I've always found this to be the case, and in my 1-2 trips to NYC every year I've never had an issue finding a parking spot near my hotel in a paid garage.

I, too, would self park, especially if you are not planning to move the car while you're there.

But again, if it's a rental, can you return it in the city, or at an airport, instead of paying for 4 days of rental and parking? You could rent another car on your way out of town.

The Crowne Plaza daily valet parking rate is $60; self-parking is listed as $35/day.

I would compare that to the built-in drop fee for your rental and decide.

Personally, I would NOT pay for four days of a rental car which you will not need in NYC.

There's a self-park garage at the Port Authority (our main bus station), which is within walking distance of your hotel if you don't have a huge amount of luggage. You can almost drive directly into the garage from the Lincoln Tunnel. You only have to drive on NYC streets for a block or two at most. Then you can drive right out the tunnel to continue your trip.

But there are dozens of other self-park garages in NYC where you can park near your hotel for the four days you're in NYC. Or you can park in the garage at Metropark train station in New Jersey; that's going to be much cheaper, but then you will have to pay for round-trip train tickets for your family into Manhattan. But parking in NJ is actually quite difficult because the lots fill up with commuters. Princeton, for example, has a wait list for spaces. So it's not possible for non-regulars to park there. Metropark has the only garage I can think of that doesn't regularly fill up. (There may be a garage in Secaucus ... check on that.)

The only reason to return your rental car in NYC is if your trip is ending here. Otherwise, that's going to mess up any long-term rental rates you have. But I agree that if NYC is your last stop, then it's not worth it to pay for both parking and a rental car for that final four days.

You might want to check out parking options through www.spothero.com. I've used this for my last couple trips to DC and the cost was significantly below the hotel parking cost.

If you can clarify if your trip continues after NY - and where it goes - people can make better recos.

If this is the end of your trip continuing to pay for a rental car PLUS parking is close to madness if you are just going to drive it to an airport and drop there.

If you are continuing the trip I would decide where to park it based on where you are going next. But definitely do not pay $65 per night for valet at the Marriott - there are many cheaper options nearby.