question about driving into new york city

I will be in Cooperstown for about a week and then driving into NYC for a few days and then flying home. I need to know what the best way to go about checking in my rental car and getting to my hotel without driving in the city anymore than I need to.

Thanks!

question about driving into new york city

What rental car company?

You could always drop it at LaGuardia Airport and then hop a taxi into Manhattan.

Maybe I am crazy but I love driving in the city (as long as the traffic is not horrendous), not sure why people are so afraid. I much prefer it to being on a highway with morons driving 90 MPH, shaving, putting on makeup, on the cell, who knows what else.

I digress, to each his/her own.

question about driving into new york city

There are locations in Manhattan for every major car rental company. Look up the nearest one to your Manhattan hotel. Drive into Manhattan (it%26#39;s not that difficult) and if you tell me the location of your hotel, I will give you exact directions, Drive to your hotel, drop off your luggage and one person returns car to rental company. Others check in at hotel. Driver walks or takes taxi to hotel depending on how far away drop off location is to hotel

I%26#39;m staying at the Hotel Pennsylvania. I%26#39;m not sure what rental car service we are using yet. Seriously, I come from a town of 7000 people. My husband STRESSES driving in bigger cities. We were in Memphis (not near as big as NYC) last weekend and he was not happy. LOL

Then I would definately drop the car at LaGuardia and take a taxi into the city - if he is that uncomfortable no need to push the issue.

Good luck.

I drove to NYC and Manhatten during rush hour about 10 years ago. Very slow, then once in NYC, it was like a race course with the taxi drivers. Got lost driving to JFK, got off the expressway in Brooklyn. May I suggest not to drive.

If you drop the car at Laguardia Airport coming from Cooperstown, you still have to drive through the Bronx and Queens which in my opinion is not easier than driving in Manhattan. Dropping off the car in Manhattan will be much easier and a lot less time and expense (taxi from Laguardia). Where is your hotel in Manhattan? You will probably have a short drive in Manhattan.

Agree, going to one of the major airports is the wrong option. To get there you%26#39;re going to have to deal with a lot more than NYC.

Take a breath, it really is not as bad as everyone might think. Unless you are going way downtown everything is a square and is very logical.

You also have to remember that most of the major rental companies position themselves near the major entry and exit routes to the city. Also, your hotel is right across the street from Penn Station, if you wanted you could slide down to Newark airport which is pretty easy from Cooperstown and then take NJ transit right to Penn Station.

Lastly, I thin you can bus it from Cooperstown, check Pine hills trailways I think they do service twice a day..... forget the drive, leave the car in cooperstown and leave the driving to them.

Do you know how much a ride on the bus from Cooperstown into NYC might be per person? Do you know what times they leave Cooperstown? I want to get to NYC as soon as I can! So excited!

My gut reaction is go for it and drive directly into Manhattan to ditch the car. There are a variety of roads that lead into Manhattan from the north (e.g. Henry Hudson Parkway, Sawmill Parkway) - none of them are paradise, but they will get you here.

In conjunction with previous replies and suggestions, I STRONGLY recommend getting a Triptik from AAA (Automobile Club.) If you are a member, register on their website and get free maps and route advice for free.

www.aaa.com

Much better than Mapquest, in my experience.

Go to Triptiks on left side of webpage. For example, I selected ';Attractions';, then ';Natl Baseball Hall of Fame'; then I picked a random hotel - Marriot Marquis Times Square. The result is SO COOL!!! They even give you road construction updates! Too bad it%26#39;s a graphic and I can%26#39;t cut-n-paste it in here!

Once you%26#39;re south of Peekskill, tune your radio to either 1010AM or 880AM for traffic reports every 10 minutes. (Of course, you probably won%26#39;t be familiar with the highway names and numbers, but who knows, it might help? )

I agree with NYC Girl, I would much rather drive in NYC than in most other cities. For instance, leaving the Detroit metro airport and heading north on I-275 the average speed has to be 90 miles an hour with everyone chatting on their cell phones, including semi-truck drivers. Terrifying! Tomorrow I have to endure Atlanta driving which is completely harrowing!

If your hubby refuses or stresses over driving in Manhattan, I would ditch the car at Newark Airport. The airport is directly next to the New Jersey Turnpike and is relatively easy to navigate. Coming from Cooperstown, it is easy to find and does not require you to navigate through the Bronx and Queens (although I must admit it isn%26#39;t that difficult although the interchanges right near LaGuardia require me to keep my wits about me so that I can read all of the signs) Still, I think I would take the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan, exit on the West Side Highway (is that what it is called at the north end of Manhattan) take is straight down the west side of manhattan and turn on the appropriate cross street. You will avoid much of the mid town traffic and it is really not difficult. Drop the car off immediately upon entering Manhattan then take a cab to your hotel. Just my two cents... Moms