I’ll be taking a family of 5, mostly adults, from the Patterson, NJ area for a day trip to NYC. The plan is to visit some of the major attractions in NY, mostly sticking with mid to lower Manhattan.
I’m wondering if it is better to drive into NY and park (tolls ~$15) or to try to take mass transit in. Anyone have a rough estimate on what I’d pay for parking in mid-town Manhattan for all day parking? Or the chances of finding street parking?
Any opinions on whether it is better for a family of 5 to take mass transit into the city from Patterson or would it be just as easy to drive? We can leave a little later than rush hour to avoid the worst of the traffic and return after the evening rush.
Just based on what I’ve seen, mass transit would run around $10/person each way, so driving and parking seem easier all the way around. I’m just not sure how difficult parking will be and how expensive. I’m guessing around $50 for the day, but if anyone has a better idea please let me know!
Take the PATH train. When we took our daughter into the city for auditions we parked at Jersey City, where we never had a problem finding parking.
You are not going to find on the street parking anyplace you want to be near (if any place at all) and will wind up with a hike to the nearest subway stop. I forgot what
Google Parking rates New York City. I’m seeing a range of prices from $25 to $50 for midtown. As I said, you are going to need to use the subway anyhow.
We stayed for three weeks in the Upper East side, and we didn’t even think about bringing our car. And we never missed it.
As for what to do, you are not going to be able to do more than one or two things. I like museums. Check if any exhibits interest you. Besides the usual ones I’m fond of the Morgan Library, which had a Frankenstein exhibit when I went. There is a tenement museum in Lower Manhattan where you go on a tour of a restored tenement. There are several tours available. If you get there early enough, the New York Public Library has a free tour. Space is limited, but it wasn’t jammed when we went. And of course there are the usual suspects like the Met.
But it strongly depends on your interests.
Day trip? From Patterson? I would not drive in. It will probably cost you more between tolls & parking & could very well take you longer if there’s traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel when you want to come in or leave. At rush hour it can easily be over an hour delay.
You’re close enough that NJT buses or train are also an option in addition to the PATH. Your quoted $10/person actually gives you 3 rides - PATH in to lower Manhattan, subway up to midtown, & then PATH back to your starting point from midtown. If you don’t do any subways, PATH is $5.50 roundtrip/person.
You probably need to factor in some parking cost near a PATH station but it will be less expensive than Manhattan. Given the tunnel toll is equal to three of your PATh tickets, it’ll still be less expensive, faster, & less stressful.
BTW OP, I’m curious. Are you new to Patterson? How many times have you been in the city?
When I lived in Princeton and near Princeton I went to NY all the time. I took my car maybe twice. If I lived in Patterson I’d be in NY all the time.
Yes, I suppose you could take the PATH in. But why start your visit to NYC on the wrong foot by locking yourself in a metal tube underground with all the other Molemen, C.H.U.D.s, and Morlocks?
I’d recommend taking one of the NJWaterway ferries instead of the PATH. It’s a bit more expensive (around $9 per person), but it’s a lot more relaxing and you get really nice views of the city. They leave from Weehawken, Hoboken and Jersey City, mostly near the PATH stations, and take you to Midtown or Battery Park. From Midtown, the ferry has free shuttle buses that will take you cross town at various places.
To each their own, I guess. The free shuttles sound appealing, but I’ve taken a train in from Hazlet on Black Friday and it was still pretty relaxing, it’s not like it’s a subway where you can be standing around toe to toe with everyone. And as someone who does not live in a metropolis, a train and/or subway is an experience for me whereas I could probably find pictures of the same sights I could see from a boat online.
New to Paterson, yes. Not new to New York. I grew up north of the city about 30 miles outside it in Westchester county. I moved to the west coast almost 30 years ago. When I was living in NY and would go it was a split between taking the train and driving in.
Thanks for all the tips. I’ll check these options out. Seems like it will take well over an hour by mass transit to get in, though.
It won’t take “well over an hour.” NJ Transit train from Newark to NYC is about 15-20 minutes, and you can get from Paterson to Newark in probably another 15-20 mins.
And I’ll add that if it’s the weekend, you should drive in. Trains are slower and traffic is much better. Sunday is best–you can park many places for free (i.e., on the street) in NYC on Sunday.
And have a plan on what to do if you get separated. We didn’t have that plan in October and I got jammed up by the N train door when I should have just let it go and catch the next one. Result: two cracked ribs on my first day of vacation.
“We are going to take the 4 at 59th to Union Square where we’ll transfer to the N and get off at Barclays. If we get separated before we switch, we’ll wait for you at the platform where we get off at Union Square. If we get separated after that, we’ll meet at the top of the Flatbush exit.” Woulda saved me a lot of agony.
And I loved the Tenement Museum enough to go back for a different tour this summer/fall!
I’ll check out the Tenament Museum. Looks interesting! The problem is that my kids have never really seen a huge city like NY. Not really. So some of the standard touristy stuff would be fun, like the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty. I don’t deny these are highly tourist trap spots, but for people that have never been it seems fun to go see. Not sure we’ll actually go to Liberty Island, we might just take the ferry ride. Tickets to the crown are sold out for our travel date.
Go earlier than originally planned but go to Liberty State Park. Take the boat to Statue of Liberty; you can then make the trip off of Liberty Island to NYC instead of back to LSP. At the end of the day, take the ferry back to Paulus Hook & about ½-¾ mile walk back to the SoL parking lot in Liberty State Park.
You’ll still get to Manhattan at about the same time, but having already visited Liberty Island.
If they haven’t seen a big city, take them to Macy’s Herald Square. They’ve seen many department stores, but no department store like this one, I bet.
And go to Times Square and walk up Broadway.
Empire State Building is a good choice. I think Liberty Island would take too long for what you get. Liberty State Park and the ferry have good views.
If you want an East River view, there is an inexpensive ferry from near Wall Street which takes you to Roosevelt Island. You can see the UN very well from there, and take the subway back to the city.
And if the kids are dinosaur lovers, there is the Museum of Natural History, though one of the dinosaur rooms was closed when I went in October, so you should check.
They have a whole T-Rex exhibit going on now. We took the kids a few weeks ago and they loved it. (My two year old daughter keeps saying “tee-recks!”)
If the OP is feeling more advanced, the Bronx Zoo has a whole “dinosaur walk” thing with a bunch of life size animatronic dinosaurs. It’s pretty cool. Although the Bronx Zoo is really an all day thing by itself.
If you’re doing Macy’s. Do NOT take the elevators, take the escalators instead; they’re wooden. Only place I know of with wooden ones.
ETA: There’s nothing wrong with the elevators, just the escalators are way cooler.
We did this in December, from Port Imperial/Weehawken, and it was flawless, and spoiled my notion that everyone in New York City is an asshole, from the boat people to the shuttle drivers. Parking was cheap and safe, the boat was fun, seeing the city from the bus was interesting, and overall, highly recommended.
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island might be bucket list items, and they’re good to do once because of that, but personally, I’d never take that tour again. It takes much, much too much time.
I wasn’t planning on going to Ellis Island, so hopefully the Statue of Liberty visit doesn’t take too long.
The last time I was in Times Square the Toys R Us store had a ferris wheel in it. I think it was a toys R us. That made an impression. As did the flashing, huge billboards. I see that is gone now, but I’m just pointing out the things that can amaze and be different for a trip like this.
I’ve been to the Bronx Zoo and the Museum of Natural History many times myself. Taken the kids there when they were younger, too. They are awesome and amazing, but we’ve been to zoos and seen natural history museums. Seeing an icon like the Empire State building and the view of the city from the observation deck is unique to NY, though.
I like the idea of the ferry ride into NY. Sounds like a great way to get a view of a skyline that is really unique.