Traveling from Boston to NYC
 

Hello, I'm hoping for recommendations specific to traveling from Boston to NYC this weekend. Some years ago, I drove most of the way, to a train station with a large parking lot, that may have been 30-60 minutes travel time to NYC. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the train line or station.

Basically, I want to drive the better part of the trip, then take the train in to the city. Can anyone recommend a station, or even a specific line?

In advance, thank you for your suggestions!

The Amtrak Northeast Regional has 9 trains per day from Boston South Station. Do you want to drive any farther than Mystic CT?
Including Amtrak link: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...mtrak/HomePage

There are also 2 Acella trains but the farther you go toward NYC the less time you would save with the faster train.

I believe Amtrak stops in Stamford CT which is most of the way to NYC and has a very large multi-story car park. If not - you could take MetroNorth New Haven line- but check that you don;t get a local.

But IMHO - if driving so far - why not just drive into the city and be done with it?

What you PROBABLY did is drive into Connecticut (or possibly Upstate New York), and parked your car at a station for commuter rail into New York. Here's a map of such stations:
http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm
and a page for getting schedules between Grand Central and any station north of NYC:
http://as0.mta.info/mnr/schedules/sched_form.cfm

Thank you all. Honestly, we are afraid to drive in the city.

My husband and I made that trip many times in the past year, and left our car in the Stamford, CT garage at the train station many times with no issues. The New Haven train takes longer, and we got hung up in both directions when we took it from there, although that was probably just rotten luck.

We liked driving ourselves most of the way far better than taking the train from Rte 128 or Boston--just a personal preference.

White Plains, NY has a large parking garage right next to the Metro North ( commuter train) station that goes to Grand Central. That's about the closest you'll get without going into the city itself.

Weekdays I think it fills up, it will probably have space if you get there on Saturday but if you are going on Friday and it is full you'll need a Plan B. I don't suggest driving in midtown or below this week but there are some garages you can get to easily from the Henry Hudson Parkway/Rt 9A. Get off near the Cloisters (Ft Tryon Park) or 181st Street. Driving in that area is not at all like driving in midtown. Google for the addresses of a few garages in that area in case you get to White Plains and that garage is full.

I'd probably choose Stamford over White Plains. Stamford is close enough to the city to feel you've come almost all the way, and you can take a cheaper Metro North train, which takes less than an hour (and trains run fairly often). Besides, White Plains is really out of the way if you are driving from Boston.

The advantage of New Haven is that both Amtrak and Metro North go there, and if you're willing to pay the extra price, all Amtrak trains to Boston stop there. However, Amtrak is considerably faster, albeit at least twice as expensive, as Metro North. And you're talking about a 2-hour trip instead of a 40-minute trip from Stamford.

We've done it both ways. Driving into the city is just not that bad and a lot easier and more convenient than bothering with the train, especially if you have luggage. Lately, though, we stay in Jersey City for visiting Manhattan.

Stamford is more convenient if they are driving I95 from Boston to NY but that is not the "best" route. The "best " route - fewer miles, less traffic, more scenic - is Mass Pike to I84 to I91 to the Merrit which becomes the Hutch. In that case White Plains is not out of the way but Stamford is. Either way works, I just would not take 95 unless I had to (you can take trucks on the Merrit).