Good to know - must have been the commuter rail I took those times I went to Jersey.
Now that I look at the websites, though, they seem to be the same price: $2.75 for PATH, same for the Metro. I’d still give the edge to staying in Queens and jumping right on the subway.
ETA: If the OP’s brother lives in Manhattan, surely he’ll have some good advice. If the brother live up in Inwood the OP should stay somewhere different than if he lives in Battery Park.
My brother does live in Manhattan. I figured that asking people that venture into Manhattan might be better than asking him because you guys approach it from a variety of circumstances. You’ve all given me a lot to consider. It gives me some places to start. I will be asking my brother and his wife too, but I’ve read so many conflicting things online it just helps to have a variety of experiences to influence my decisions.
I wouldn’t make this the major factor in your decision, but there are multiple PATH (subway) stations in Manhattan and only one for NJ Transit (commuter rail), so PATH might be sightly more convenient depending where you want to go and where your brother lives.
My boyfriend lives in Hudson County NJ, which also happens to be where I work. I live in Brooklyn and am from Manhattan.
The jitney buses are $3.00, $2.50 if you buy tickets in advance. PATH fare is $2.75, exactly the same as the NYC subway. PATH accepts the NYC Metrocard.
PATH runs 24/7. The jitney buses start at 6 am and run until at least midnight. It wouldn’t exactly be a tragedy if he had to take the PATH at 2:00 am then had to Uber it to his hotel because the jitney bus from Port Authority that stops a block from his hotel wasn’t running.
The hotel is for sleeping, showering and changing clothes … not for a life experience.
I live in Brooklyn. A friend recently stayed at the Super 8 in Park Slope, Brooklyn when visiting NYC. It was less than $150 a day and has a parking lot. The rooms are small, but clean. Free wifi, continental breakfast, refrigerator in room. The subway is right outside the door - less than 10 minutes to Manhattan 24/7.
Check out the website for other locations convenient to and in Manhattan - some are less than $100 day, and there are specials.
As others have said, there are plenty of free/cheap things to do, see, and eat. Enjoy your visit.
Damn, when did the PATH train get so expensive? You used to be able to get on that thing for a buck, back when everyone wore onions on their belts, because that was the style at the time.
I live in downtown Jersey City, and am in Manhattan almost every day. It is only 15-30 minutes by PATH, and the PATH runs 24/7. It’s also much more pleasant than staying in Queens. Parking is most likely doable, too.
This map here explains how convenient the PATH is to Manhattan:
http://www.panynj.gov/path/maps.html
I remember back when it was .50 cents.
For a long time it was cheaper than the subway. I often hopped on a PATH train to get around if my points A and B were near two stations.
I was born in Queens then grew up in Brooklyn and live in NJ now. I agree with you. It’s much easier to get into Manhattan from any of the five boroughs than from much of NJ. Cheaper in most cases as well. The NYC subways are a pain in the ass in some ways but also very easy to use.
Sure, not all of NJ is convenient to manhattan… but if you’re actually on the PATH, its a shorter trip than from many, many locations within the 5 boroughs.
OP, I think you might want to consider staying in the Hudson valley, north of NYC. The Springhill Suites/Mariott Tarrytown has free parking and a complimentary shuttle to the Metro-North train station (takes you to Grand Central in about 40 minutes).
I’ve stayed in hotels in mid-town Manhattan and it is VERY convenient to return to your hotel once or twice a day when sight-seeing. Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park etc. etc are all within walking distance.
Yeah, the PATH, jitney buses and NJ Transit buses from Hudson County are a straight shot into the city. It’s less than 15 minutes from my boyfriend’s house to Port Authority.
We took the PATH from a friend’s place in Hoboken this weekend into the city for dinner. 6 minutes to get to Christopher St.
I prefer to stay in Harlem. All sorts of interesting, affordable lodging there. The Harlem Flophouse is my favorite. With the Subway, you can get around Manhattan quite easily. Heck, I don’t even like to drive to NYC. Plane or Train for me.
It’s been 3 years since we’ve been there. We stayed at the Pennsylvania which isn’t great but isn’t horrible. It’s across the street from Madison Square garden. We took a shuttle from La Guardia and quick taxi rides to every place that wasn’t walking distance which most places were.
If money is an issue buy slices of pizza from corner shops. It’s just as tasty as the pie you’ll pay 60 bucks for at a sit down in Little Italy.
Definately go into China Town and try some duck vagina!
Fly into Newark Airport in NJ and take the train to NYC. Don’t recommend you drive.
Pizza AND duck vagina!!! I can’t wait!!!
I’ve never been on a plane (yeah, I know that’s weird at 37 years of age), so this whole thing is a big ordeal to me. Lots of planning ahead with flight times and ticket prices and all of the various buses and cabs and trains and subways and zip lines for all I know. Plus trying to find a hotel that I can actually afford that preferably has private bathrooms, and rearranging my work schedule, and I’m tired just thinking about it all.
If I take a week off of work and spend most of it up there, even with driving to save money over flying I’m looking at probably around $3000. That seems crazy to me. We got the cost down to somewhere closer to $2000 or just under if we fly and work it to where we take a Friday and Monday off and just stay basically a long weekend.
A friend told me that I should just offer him and his wife $1000 to come down here to Indiana. That’s starting to sound like a good idea, lol.
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I do really appreciate them all and am still investigating all of the options.
I respectfully disagree. First of all, if your goal is Manhattan, there’s no reason to specifically choose Newark over JFK or LaGuardia. The train from Newark to Manhattan is definitely more expensive that the subway from JFK, and a taxi would be significantly more expensive. Second, driving into Manhattan, leaving the car in a lot for a couple days, and taking public transportation around the city will probably still be cheaper than flying, at the prices the OP originally mentioned. However, I’m not entirely sure if the numbers quoted in post #36 include money lost by taking time off work, which is certainly something to take into account. If not, I’d be very curious to know where the $3,000 figure came from.
There are inexpensive options for getting into Manhattan from Brooklyn, Queens, and New Jersey: subways, MTA buses, NJ Transit buses, jitney buses, or Path trains. NJ Transit trains would be the most expensive option, and that would probably still cost less than parking in Manhattan. I live and work in Manhattan, and I’ve had coworkers from New Jersey, Queens, and Brooklyn with commutes shorter than mine. I do see how it can sound very confusing when you’re not from the area, though.
justanothermike, if you do decide to drive, I think it would be helpful to know roughly where in Manhattan your family lives. If they live in lower Manhattan, I’d probably recommend staying in Brooklyn. If they live on the East Side, I’d suggest Queens. If they live on the Upper West Side, I’d suggest Newark or Hoboken, but if they live farther uptown I would look for a place in NJ that would allow easier access to the buses that go over the George Washington Bridge.
The benefit of having access to your car while you’re in the area is that you could easily take a day trip somewhere outside the city, if you like. You can also pack as much as you want, and come and whenever is most convenient for you. The benefits to flying are that it will save you time, and you can stay wherever you like without having to consider parking. You will also perhaps get a slightly more authentic experience, because most Manites (at least among the ones I know) don’t actually own cars.
In conclusion, there are pros and cons either way. If you choose to drive, I’d be happy to help you figure out the best area to stay in, and how to get from there to where you want to be. If you choose to fly, enjoy your flight and remember to put your tray table up. Keep us posted!
My family (five of us) went on a great trip to NYC a couple of years ago. My mother was the planner (she’s great at it) and after looking at options, she got a house in Corona, Queens from VRBO. For five people, it ended up being much cheaper than trying to get hotel rooms. Except for a taxi ride to and from the airport, we walked/subwayed/bussed it everywhere and it was WONDERFUL! (I know the house had parking but we didn’t use it; we flew in from Texas.) A really great time. We ate in small local restaurants nearby in Queens and made some meals out of stuff we got in bodegas. Hit the Carnegie deli as the quintessential tourists and we really did do it in the Phrase family style—CHEAP!
Also check out The Museum of Sex! It’s fun!
@ trapezoidal jellyfish
You’re right in that my $3000 number does include lost wages. My wife and I clean houses for a living, and we’ll lose $1400 at a minimum in work. Plane tickets look to be $700 or so round trip for both of us. Lodging looks to be $100 nightly for even the most sparse accommodations. It appears that private accommodations would start around $150-200 nightly the closer to Manhattan you get, even for the lowest end places. I’m guessing that food and various entertainment plus all of the public transportation costs will be several hundred dollars easy. If we drive instead of flying we’re looking at $200 or so in gas, but maybe another $200+ to park.
I found a Red Roof Inn in Secaucus at a good price $100 nighly or so depending on where I book it. It appears to have parking, though they haven’t responded to my email. I have no clue how to best get from there to 98th and Riverside, which is about where my brother lives. I don’t know what it will cost per trip or how long it will take.
I’m a guy with social anxiety, as well as general anxiety. So places like hostels or shared baths really aren’t my style. Heck, planes aren’t my style and neither are crowded subways, but I know I have to do things that aren’t in my wheelhouse at times. I’m willing to do lots of potentially uncomfortable things to visit, but figure that having a hotel with a private space including bath will give me a home base to return to if things get kind of overwhelming.
The Museum Of Sex sounds interesting, more so than the whole duck vagina thing.
Be careful about air bnb and VRBO and such in NYC. Whole apartment rentals for less than 30 days are illegal in NYC (all boroughs) and you run the risk of being tossed out while you’re there, or the “landlord” getting shut down right before you’re going to arrive, leaving you to scramble to find emergency housing and paying big money just to have a place to sleep on short notice. Or if it’s against the property rules and the real landlord finds out and shuts it down. Also scams and things like the air bnb host backing out at the last minute or suddenly not having availabilty. Personally, I wouldn’t risk it. I think the New Jersey laws do allow short term rentals though.
The Trip Advisor forums often recommend Long Island City, Queens hotels near a subway line (just one subway stop to midtown) for budget travelers. Country Inn & Suites is often mentioned. Some include parking. If not, you can check www.bestparking.com for places to park. If you stay in Queens or Brooklyn you can get a $31 unlimited 7-day subway/bus pass (MetroCard) that should cover all of your transportation needs. Compare that to how much you’d spend commuting from Jersey every day (plus you’d still probably need the 7-day unlimited card on top of that.)
I’ve also seen that Super 8 in Park Slope recommended as decent but that’ll be a hike from there to 98th & Riverside.