New York City Travel Answers

Just from my experience last year: 1. Train from NY to Boston is very easy and very pleasant imo (and quicker than flying once you have factored in time/to from the airport, check-in & baggage reclaim etc). Fares rise as departure nears, so best to book in advance (the Quiktrak ticket machines make collecting pre-booked tickets very easy indeed). www.amtrak.com 2. My hotel was in Midtown Manhattan. I found it an excellent base for exploring on foot and by public transport (and for onward travel to New Haven and Boston). Easy walking distance to Times Square, Central Park, Empire State,Grand Central etc, very good for buses and subway to other parts of the city & to/from airports. I'll stay in that area next time I go to NY. 3. Can't advise about the car from personal experience, but the thought of negotiating NY traffic as well as the potential one-way charge means I'd go with the train (which may anyway be faster than driving & dropping off car somewhere).

DON'T drive to NY. Just a huge problem. The good thing about NY is that if you stay in the city, you will be close to everything. Get the best deal for a hotel in the city and you will be set....

out of state dropoff charges for rental cars are prohibitive, and the highway from boston to new york is very congested with traffic jams, particularly as you near new york. prefer the train - shuttle flights are into laguardia typically which means poor public transit or the cost of a taxi into midtown while the trains go directly into the city.

well here comes the road warrior, car is heavens, best way to travel. YOu already said hire a car so take the plunge. Done the route many times in the past as had family in Brighton Boston, the NY Thruway is fine if have done any city driving before. check the routing using www.mapquest.com park by Madison Square Garden ,you have all the parking places help here http://nyc.bestparking.com you can use an address, neighborhood or sight for the parking closer to you. as hotels never stayed lived 13 off it, but the area north of MSG towards Central Park all is good.Hope it helps your planning

Since you are renting a car in Boston, why not just drive to NYC? Its about a 4-5 hour drive each way. You will be paying for the car rental and if you fly you still have to pay for the rented car, plus the air fare and all you save is on the parking in NYC. If you were to drive, you save on the airfare, you could stay outside the city if you so desire, drive in every day for the short stay, park and pay for the parking and still save about one airfare if not more by taking this route. Or stay in the city, pay for the parking in a parking lot and still save about the cost of one airfare or more, plus make use of the rental car. OR, rent the car after your NYC trip and take the train to NYC or use one of the cheap buses such as boltbus(time is about the same as driving). Then when you get back to Boston rent the car and use as you wish in New England. This way the car rental will be cheaper overall and you do not have to worry about parking in Boston area or NYC area.

Take the train. That way both of you can enjoy the scenery on the way. It's probably cheaper anyway with the price of car rental and fuel. There aren't many places in the US that trains are truly useful, but the eastern corridor is one of them so use it and enjoy! Have a great trip.

Take megabus from Boston to NY. I've taken it twice, and it's not some half-baked Chinatown service. It's much cheaper ($40 or so R/T) than Amtrak. DON'T drive, not only because of the traffic, and the costs of the gas and tolls, but because garage costs are high. You "could" find Alternate Side of the Street parking, but that's more time and trouble than it's worth. Vacations are about relaxing, no?!

Thanks for the advice! Could you give me an idea of which district of NYC would be a good area stay. We are planning on doing the main 'tourist' areas of Times Sq, Broadway etc. I've taken your advice and booked the bus from Boston to NY, my partner can't wait to get there!

I stayed in midtown, in a hotel just off Herald Square. About 5 mins walk from Times Square, less to Penn Station, less than 10 to Grand Central station, maybe 10 mins from the Empire state building and within walking distance of Central Park (though as temps were 100+F I took a bus for that exploration!). I found being in the middle of Manhattan very, very convenient for getting around the city on foot as well as by bus & subway and would recommend it for a first visit.

There really is no bad location to stay in Manhattan once you are below 96th Street IMO. Above 96th is also great, but for easy access to the tourist locations, just get a hotel below 96th. The subway and buses can/will get you from place to place without much effort(just be prepared for the crowds.) I work in nYc and am all over(lower Manhattan/West side/East side/etc) daily seeing clients. The key is getting a Metrocard which you use for the subway/bus and have a somewhat plan. I say somewhat because you don't want to just run from location to location and miss out in just walking around and experiencing the city/people.

A few years ago I flew into Boston to meet up with my friend for a few days then went to NYC. We chose to take a bus to NY which was perfect for us because we took the subway everywhere or just walked. We wouldn't dare try to drive around the city, especially since we don't know it that well and it is sooo crowded