Is there a hybrid solution where we drive into Jersey outside the city and take some other transportation into the city?
We’re going to NYC next week for the weekend, just one night. The plan at the moment is to drive up (flying doesn’t seem to save enough time to be worth the money for a family of 4; train doesn’t seem to save much time at all). We made reservations at the Waldorf Astoria. They charge $50 a night for parking. I won’t be using the car in the city, just to get there and get back out.
We’re leaving early Saturday morning, four-hour drive, should arrive 10-11.
The PATH runs into different parts of Manhattan from Jersey City, Hoboken, Harrison, and Newark. There is a big (pay) parking lot at the Harrison station.
I grew up in New Jersey, and used to take public transit into the city all the time. What you take depends on where you are in Jersey. But many places have bus service to the Port Authority terminal. If you’re near a commuter rail line, you can take a train into the city. If you’re near the lines that use them you can also take the PATH tubes into the city: http://www.hudsoncity.net/tubes/gatewaytubepage.html
There are also some Water Taxis that can take you into the city:
I once took one from LaGuardia to Midtown Manhattan. A nice and scenic ride. according to the link, you can get them from elsewhere, as well.
For me, the bus was best – there are a LOT of buses from New Jersey to Manhattan, and vice versa – many more than you can get with any other means of transport. That flexibility on choosing your return time is a real plus. And it’s about the cheapest way, too.
You should be able to find parking cheaper than that fairly nearby. There’s a parking lot in Hoboken right next to the Path station but with a family of 4, luggage, etc., it would be more trouble than it’s worth IMO. Plus you have to get from the PATH station to the Waldorf.
One thing you can do is drop eveyone off at the Waldorf, drive uptown 20-30 blocks, park in a garage up there and take the Lexington Avenue subway (4,5,6) back down. It might be 20-something for over night. Since it’s the weekend you might even find a space on the street for free.
The thing is, if you park in NJ it’s more likely than not going to cost something. Plus mass-transit in and out of the city X 4, plus the time spent, plus a measure of aggravation and anxiety thrown in there. When all is said and done you might be lucky if you save a few bucks over taking it easy on yourself and just cruising into the city and parking at the Waldorf or nearby. And believe me, the second you step into a taxi cab you’ve blown any money you would have otherwise saved.
Sorry, third post on this. If you come in at ~11 am and park in a garage then you’ll pay for most of Saturday plus overnight so it will be more than the $20-something I said earlier.
I think I’ll just bite the bullet and park at the hotel. For one night, it’s not worth the added inconvenience. If I were going to be there a week it would be a different story. Thanks, all!
The parking tax in NYC is close to 20%, but the hassle of parking in NJ and bussing 4 people into the city and back along with subway fare would just add up to a whole lot of PITA time in exchange for a slight dollar savings.
For four people, it’s probably cheaper to drive, but the point of the train isn’t that it saves time; the point is that instead of having to drive for four hours plus traffic delays, you can relax in the bar car while the rugrats run around amusing themselves.
Central Parking has around 100 facilities all over the city. They have coupons on their web site for each location that make parking a lot more reasonable. I usually download one whenever I have to park in Midtown.
I see a coupon for Centrals 154 East 53rd Street location which is $35.00 for 24 hours including the tax.
You could also consider parking in the city on the street. Midtown would probably be out of the question but there are many areas of Manhattan (east village, murray hill) where you should be able to land free parking in 20 minutes or less.
I spent the last two weeks of August visiting two children who live in Brooklyn and, especially on weekends, on-street parking wasn’t hard to find. What I would do is drop the family at the hotel, go off the Brooklyn and park and then take the subway back.
Staying at the Waldorf and pinching on parking?!? Bite the bullet and park at the hotel. Transportation into the city back and forth would be much more.
Secaucus Junction parking is $10 a day, $5 on weekends, but the lot is not a large one (it was not part of the original plan). Metropark is basically at the junction of the NJ Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway and has parking for $9 a day and has a much larger lot. Slightly higher ticket price to Penn Station than Secaucus, but probably easier to get to from the main drags. From Penn Station to the Waldorf is not that far, and if the E Train is working at Penn, it is a quick subway ride or a cab for less than $10.