Staying in New Jersey while visiting New York

I would like to have some comments about staying in New Jersey while visiting New York.

How is the commuting ? How long did it take to go to New York ? Better to take public transportation or the car ?

Would you recommend staying in New Jersey ? Is staying in New York worth the extra money ?

Staying in New Jersey while visiting New York

www.broadwayfocus.com/nj_nyc/

Staying in New Jersey while visiting New York

Simply saying New Jersey is very broad. There are some hotels in Jersey City right near the PATH trains. PATH is excellent, if the cost savings are significant I%26#39;d say go for it, PATH is just like the subway. Don%26#39;t drive a car into Manhattan if you don%26#39;t have to.

There are also hotels in Secaucus which involve taking the bus to Port Authority. It all depends what the cost savings are. Right now there are some excellent hotels offering great rates in Manhattan. If you are coming in May and you can%26#39;t find anything below say 299 in Manhattan but can find a nice place in Jersey City for 129 then I%26#39;d say definitely do it. If its the difference between 159 in NJ and 169 in Manhattan (January / February off-peak weekends) I%26#39;d say spend the extra ten bucks.

I do not suggest driving in NYC at any time.

If you unfamiliar with streets/locations you will be a hindrance to taxi%26#39;s and those who legitimately have to drive in the City.

Parking would also be difficult and expensive.

Public transportation is the way to go.

If I had my druthers, staying in NYC would be my choice.

Most convenient way to see the city without the hassle of commuting.

Poppa

The pros and cons of staying outside NYC to visit the city have been debated many times before (although frankly I can%26#39;t easily find any of the previous posts on the subject).

Ease of commuting depends on where you stay. The easiest commutes are by train--either a subway from say Queens or Brooklyn or a PATH train (like a subway) from New Jersey. In NJ, that means Jersey City is more convenient than say Secaucus which requires taking a bus. (And some hotels in Secaucus are more conveniently located than others).

Just keep in mind that staying outside Manhattan either means you won%26#39;t be able to go back to the hotel to rest or change for the evening OR you will make 2 roundtrips a day. This isn%26#39;t a bad option if you%26#39;ve got kids with you and won%26#39;t be spending nights out anyway. But if the kids are older and you plan to do things in the evening, the logistics could be a challenge.

Bottom line is there%26#39;s not one answer for everyone. If you spend the extra money to stay in Manhattan, what will that mean for your trip? Shorter trip? No theater? Only you can decide. If you%26#39;re driving down, free parking in NJ in addition to cheaper hotel prices is certainly appealing. How old are the kids and how long is the trip for? Have you looked at the Travel Inn (free parking?)

I thought that you had already booked the Comfort Inn Chelsea for $275.00 per night including breakfast. What sort of deals are you looking at in New Jersey to make you want to cancel that booking? Five breakfasts, minimally, will save you $25.00 per day and commuting from New Jersey to Manhattan will probably cost you more than that.

I would be interested in the deals you are looking at for New Jersey.

Helen in Aus

141

The only place in NJ to stay if you want to visit NYC would be near a PATH train station. The cost is $3 round trip per person and the ride takes less than 1/2 hour. The trains run frequently durring busisness days, and less so at night and weekends, but do run 24/7. Consider the following thoughts: Going to the theater, for an 8 PM curtain time you would have to leave the hotel about 6:45 to get to the theater district in time (more on weekends) If you were staying in Chelsea you could leave the hotel at 7:30. Since there are 5 of you, figure an additional $30 per day for 2 round trips to your hotel and the loss of about 3 hours of time daily. Taking a car is worse and more expensive, as one parking ticket can cost $100 and the traffic rules here are different than everywhere else. Parking lots cost about $30 per day (no in/out privlidges). But if you are driving here from Montreal than you%26#39;ll be paying that anyway.

If you are planning a lot of nitetime activities than the trip back to NJ will not be fun (it%26#39;s safe, but time consuming) but if you save a lot of money it can be worth it.