Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)
-   United States (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/)
-   -   visit nyc stay upstate (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/visit-nyc-stay-upstate-302543/)

momjpom Feb 11th, 2008 09:00 AM

visit nyc stay upstate
 
My family of 6 wants to visit nyc but stay upstate, no more than 1 1/2 hours away from the city. Any suggestions of a place to rent a house with nearby activities?
Thanks

tchoiniere Feb 11th, 2008 09:18 AM

1.5 hours away from the city is not upstate New York...

momjpom Feb 11th, 2008 09:20 AM

I grew up in Syracuse. I know upstate is really there but most other people refer to upstate as anything north of NYC

tchoiniere Feb 11th, 2008 09:37 AM

Ok, I grew up on the New York / MA border so when I hear people say upstate NY while referring to close to NYC, it drives me nuts. Even Syracuse is still central NY...

nytraveler Feb 11th, 2008 09:49 AM

1.5 hours north of the city is still the fairly suburban - not a resort area. And I doubt you will find many places to rent a house short-term. Plus getting 6 people in and out of the city via train will be fairly expensive - as will parking your car in the city if you decide to drive in. (If you stay in the outer suburbs you will have to rent a car.)

Can you tell us when you plan on coming and for how long? And what sort of interests you have. (Do you want to stay upstate so you can go hiking and do outdoor sports? Or are you looking for sights like West Point Military Academy and FDR's house at Hyde Park?)

(You can probably get short-term rentals if you go to the Poconos - but that's more than 1.5 hours from the city - more like 2 or 2.5 hours, depending on traffic.)

lisettemac Feb 11th, 2008 10:19 AM

I can't imagine why you'd want to do this. That being said, you might look into Stamford or Greenwich. Both are an hour or less by train to the city. They have good restaurants, some shopping (high-end shopping in Greenwich), some waterfront, etc.

Annabel Feb 11th, 2008 10:21 AM

It's impossible. You will spend most of your time commuting. If you are taking the train, you will need a parking pass to park in the lot from suburbia (or at least I do to take the LIRR) and it gets quite expensive for 6 round trips. Also keep in mind 1 1/2 hours by distance does not include traffic. Sometimes it can take 45 minutes to go a mile. I assume you plan on getting an early start each day to NYC, which means you would be travelling during peak hours which also means most congested, most traffic, peak prices for train and no seats, you will most likely have to stand.

shoefly Feb 11th, 2008 10:21 AM

How about this place:
http://www.vrbo.com/89431

shoefly Feb 11th, 2008 10:23 AM

Oops. That appears to only be available in August.

Scarlett Feb 11th, 2008 12:13 PM

Look into the B&Bs or Inns in Rhinebeck/Hudson and that area. Even around Poughkeepsie, you might end up with a Holiday Inn express..depending on budget but it will get you closer to NYC and still north of NYC.

This will most likely mean leaving the hotel at around 9 am..struggling with traffic the entire trip, then having to leave before 4 or after 7 to avoid the same traffic..this is if you are in a car. Trains are full and then you need the station to be near your hotel..

I think your best bet is to decide where you want to go, New York City or Upstate NY.
And the season..prices for house rental within 2 hours of the City are extremely high and not usually just for one week.
The Berkshires which are about 3 hours north, are usually all booked by March /April for summer rentals..and not budget priced at all..
If you are from Syracuse..you must be familiar with this?

shoefly Feb 11th, 2008 01:45 PM

As I recall, and I could be wrong about this, the train stations in some of the towns along the Hudson (like Hastings) have parking that is limited to monthly pass holders.

Anyway, it might be worth checking out. No point in planning on taking the train in if you can't get to the station.

GoTravel Feb 11th, 2008 01:49 PM

I can't imagine a vacation having anything to do with a daily three hour commute.

That would wear me out.

Any reason you can't stay in Manhattan one or two nights and then stay outside the city when you want to sightsee outside Manhattan?

J62 Feb 11th, 2008 01:52 PM

I agree with the others. Stay in NYC when you visit the city, and stay upstate when you want to visit the countryside.

The commute from Poughkeepsie is 90min train ride to Grand Central. That's just travel time on the train, and does not include driving, parking, waiting, etc. Total travel time from your upstate hotel to your point of interest in NYC is usually 2 1/2 hrs total. Each way. Train fares are $10-12 per person, each way, plus parking.

happy_train Feb 11th, 2008 03:50 PM

You could look into Haverstraw or Yonkers. Both have ferries that run into Manhattan, which might make for a fun commute, if you're really interested in doing this. For a "resort" town, I would recommend Cold Spring, although it's not really resort. It's kind of a cute little "mountain"-ish town with some fun shops, and I know there are some nice cabins/houses for rent around there.

otto Feb 12th, 2008 05:52 AM

the logistics of this aren't favorable. the train is long, expensive, and you'd have to contend with the commuters in rush hour. your best bet is a hotel for a few nights in the city, and a hotel for a few nights outside of the city, for instance in westchester.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:20 PM.