OT - Trip to NYC

[SplashMom]

This is off topic but I'm hoping there are some other Canadians who have driven to NYC. We are thinking of driving to New York this summer and I'd love to stay in Times Square. I know that accommodations can be very expensive and I don't want anything outrageous, just clean, comfortable, and central. The problem is that we will be driving and I don't know about the parking situation. Are there any hotels that provide parking at reasonable rates? Does anyone have any other ideas? Can I park my car outside the city (safely) for a few days and use another means of transportation to go to Manhattan? We have never been there so I am just searching for ideas. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[ABCanada]

Cannot speak to vehicles although I do not think I would want to drive in Manhattan.

This small hotel is in a great location. It used to be a reasonable rate but I think has gotten more popular.

There was a nice continental breakfast and coffee, tea, etc. available throughout the day; wine and cheese weekday evenings.

http://www.casablancahotel.com/

 

[dvc deernut]

we usually fly out of buffalo. Usually $49 one way. Land at jfk in 45 min. Take cab to hotel near times square. I wouldnt want to drive there, and then pay for parking. Good luck.

 

[papertraveller]

We've been looking, and even places like the Courtyard Times Square are in the $250 range. You might try priceline to see what you can get.

About two years ago friends of ours did drive to NYC, and as I recall they stayed at a Red Roof Inn. I couldn't believe there was one in the city, since they seem more like suburban properties, but she said it was just fine.

 

[bev r.]

Driving in NYC is crazy. I have a nephew that lives just outside NYC in New Jersey. Parking is expensive. I think we paid almost $30 for parking at the Natural History Museum for an afternoon.

We've used the subway and ferries and found them convenient.

 

[SplashMom]

That's what I thought. I really don't want to drive in the city but my husband thinks it will be fine if we just drive to a hotel, park for a few days and walk everywhere, and then take our vehicle to leave. I suppose we could drive to Maine and then fly but we aren't exactly sure of our dates just yet. It's still a 12 hour drive to Maine and then fly but it may be the best option. Thanks for the input!

 

[Ham Ham]

We've driven to New York several times. There is no issue in driving to your hotel, parking your vehicle and using subways & taxis while in Manhattan if you follow a few simple rules.

We stay a Saturday night about an hour outside the city. We drive into Manhattan on Sunday morning, drop the bags off at our hotel and park our vehicle for the duration of our stay. Most hotels do not have their own parking but are affiliated with a lot than may be several blocks away. Expect to pay $25 to $50 depending on what arrangement your hotel has with its lot.

In Manhattan traffic usually moves pretty well. Sure it is heavy compared to most Canadian cities but your real problem is using the tunnels or bridges during rush hours. We usually trip to leave the city around noon.

We like staying in Manhattan because its easy to zip back to the hotel for a mid afternoon rest or drop off our shopping.

Here's some of my blog posts on our trip to NYC this past March.

Mississauga to NYC

Five Guys

NBC Today Show Visit

Our 2009 NYC Trip Report

 

[minnie56]

My daughter attends school in Manhatten and lives in Soho. Trust me, you DON'T want to drive your car there!!! We drove her there last August and our car cost us over $60 a day to park at the Hotel. That was with no taking it out, if we did, the charge time began anew! Driving there is nuts...my husband is a great driver and he was ready to throw himself into the Hudson after 4 days! Don't do it...fly Jetblue from Buffalo, register with Travelzoo for Hotel deals or even try Priceline. We just returned this past Monday and letting someone else do the driving is the way to go!!!

 

[Chip_Dale]

Stayed at the Comfort Inn Midtown (on W46) about 5 years ago and parking was 20 a day. The lot they use is a half a blook from the hotel. The car did not leave the lot. I have not stayed here but hte Travell Inn on W42 has free parking.

 

[SplashMom]

Thanks so much for all the tips. Flying out of Buffalo isn't really an option for us--we are in Nova Scotia so that would be a 24 hour drive. That's actually about 6 hours longer than driving to New York City. We could possibly drive to Portland (Maine) and fly from there. We had hoped to have our vehicle the entire way. I guess we'll have to do some thinking. Maybe we'll bypass New York and keep going to Disney, lol!

 

[SplashMom]

I like your suggestions Ham Ham...and your pics are great! Thanks!

 

[minnie56]

Thanks so much for all the tips. Flying out of Buffalo isn't really an option for us--we are in Nova Scotia so that would be a 24 hour drive. That's actually about 6 hours longer than driving to New York City. We could possibly drive to Portland (Maine) and fly from there. We had hoped to have our vehicle the entire way. I guess we'll have to do some thinking. Maybe we'll bypass New York and keep going to Disney, lol!

Yes, I realized that after...sorry
That would be quite the hike!

 

[Ham Ham]

Like most trips planning is key to avoiding travel surprises. Both times we've driven to NYC I checked with the hotel about parking. Neither had their own lot but had arrangements with a lot nearby.

One was $24 for 25 hours and the other was $35 per 24 hours. Quite reasonable for New York.

With the four of us flying doesn't make economic sense. We usually plan on something to see or do and the way in and out.

This past March on the way in we stopped in NJ to see the Cake
Boss and on the way out we hit the outlets near Rochester.

If driving into NYC you can also check the web for parking coupons and prebook and save.
http://www.centralparking.com/?gclid=CJC386Hms6ECFZdL5QodtBX2-w

As I posted earlier I try and time our entry and exit to Manhattan as not to clash with the rush hours.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Driving in Manhattan is not as bad as people imagine. It's actually less intimidating than driving in Montreal.

In 2002, we stayed at a place called Hotel Beacon (Broadway at 75th street -- 5 minute subway ride to Time Square). Like many hotels in Manhattan, they did not have their own parking garage -- they sent us to a parkade a block away, which cost us $88 for 3 days / 2 nights. It would have cost more if we were to go in and out frequently, but because we left it to get cheaper 24h rates.

Warning: Assume all parkades are valet, even if you parked yourself. We were told to let the staff know if we needed our vehicle at a specific time, since there was a theater nearby and during shows, the parkade staff filled driving lanes with cars -- we could not get out even if we wanted to.

 

[mollyseven]

Again, I realize you are coming from nova scotia and not ontario so I don't know the details but a friend of mine just drove to NY state and then got onto amtrak and took the train to penn station. They then stayed at the eddison hotel and I walked everywhere....it is right in the heart of the city and I think they paid 179 a night. The train is a great idea if you get somewhere to catch it....amtrak is really cheap, unlike Via.
Or.....fly from portland that would work also..

 

[SplashMom]

Thanks Molly! I never thought of the train--I'll check it out!

 

[MECH8T7]

We were there last summer during the week before Labour Day.

We are 2A, 3C, so finding reasonably priced accomodations is always going to be a challenge.

We had been looking at going to NYC for a couple of years and quickly identified the Doubletree Suites in Times Square as our preferred hotel (2 doubles in bedroom + sofabed in livingroom). But we were having difficulty stomaching $400+ per night, which seemed to be the going rate when we started looking at a NYC trip before the economic downturn. If you look at most sources, this hotel is one of the top NYC hotels for families, and a great location.

Last summer, the advance/prepaid booking rate for the Doubletree Times Square was around $220-260 per night. It was a no-brainer at that price.

We were debating drive versus flying but ultimately decided to fly because we were able to get $45 flights out of BUF from jetBlue. The valet parking would have been $45 per day and $35 for self park (same third party lot), which seemed reasonable and the lot was just around the corner from the front entrance of the hotel. On our next NYC trip, we are definitely leaning towards driving and just leaving it in the parking lot until it is time to head home or taking it out only for day trips out of Manhattan (e.g., Coney Island).

 

[Momtoemma]

Please do not be put off at all from driving to NYC. It really depends on what you are comfortable with. I have driven at least 5 times to NYC from Toronto with daughter. Things to consider in making the decision:

1. how many people are going- if only 2, flying may not be much more. For example to drive from toronto, cost is about $350 (including prkg) for 6 nights - not including a hotel outside of NYC for the first night- where we do outlet shopping. Flight from Buffalo- about $200 unless there is a deal, plus parking there ($50 for a week), plus transfers in NYC- est about $100 for 2. Difference is a bout $200, which to us is alost another night stay in NYC

Summary (this is of course from TO, about an 8.0 drive not including any gas or other stops, assume 9 hrs)

Drive: $350
Fly: $350
Time:
Drive: 9 hrs
Fly: 6 hrs
Drive- more flexible and we use car for outlets

2. car gives you flexibility- leave at the time you want, come home when you are ready that day.
easier to bring back lots more stuff

3. are you able to handle very busy multiple lane highways. I do not find driving in NYC itself hard (used to TO driving, which though not as busy), but the highways coming into the city are pretty intense depending on time of day

What we do is leave around 6am. Often a Friday or Saturday. Drive about 7 1/2 hrs to outlet mall (Woodbury Common) which is about 1 hr north of NYC. Shop (we get there by 2pm), stay there overnight, drive into city around 9:30 or so next morning. Takes about 1 hr. Check in, leave luggage, park car.
I always find my parking at
www.iconparking.com, find a cheap lot not too far from hotel (but if really cheap will take a short taxi, or subway back to hotel) cheap parking means under $30/night. I don't think I have paid more than $35/night and I usually pay about $27-$30/night with tax

You need to really compare all costs and benefits in making the decision. ie gas, parking, lose of a day driving, cost of parking at airport, taxi, bus etc into the city, time at airport etc

For us flying really is 6 hrs door to door (1.5 hr flt, 3 hrs at airport, 1.5 hrs to/from airport at each end total.) Plus we live to outlet shop.

Hotel:
Check places like travelzoo, quikbook, expedia
often sales
I think they had the Millenium Broadway on for about $169
Hampton Inn site has deals there too for CAA (about $179/night at
Hampton InnTS North)- this was for early July

This time (July) we are staying at the Courtyard by Marrioot in Jersey city where prking is $12/night for $160/night, which is right at a PATh stn (10 mins to the city, it is a subway but NJ subway, connects to NYC subway). If you do go back to your hotel during the day or do a lot of niightlife, Jersey City not such a good idea
Debbie

 

[SplashMom]

Thanks so much Momtoemma! This is what I wanted to hear. There are four of us going so airfare is high from here--well over $500 a person. Even if we drove to Portland (14 hours), it is still over $200 each and we still need to stay overnight and pay to leave our vehicle. The cost to drive from Portland to NYC is minimal--gas for 3-4 hours driving and parking for 4-5 days. I think we are better off driving. We have driven the I95 from Maine through to Florida so busy highways aren't too bad. We even drove through NY and although it was slow, it was Saturday mid-day. We may give it a try!