Driving from Boston to Manhattan

Taking the Breakaway in two weeks. Plan to drive on Saturday but do not want to go into the city. Any good suggestions for places to stop along the way, not too far from the pier? Thnx

Taking the Breakaway in two weeks. Plan to drive on Saturday but do not want to go into the city. Any good suggestions for places to stop along the way, not too far from the pier? Thnx

Could you clarify exactly what you're asking? Are you looking for hotels? Are you planning on parking at the pier?

The best place to stay outside NYC is the Stamford/Greenwich area in CT. Hotwire currently has rates under $100 for your date. You want to pick a 3* or higher hotel. We do this all the time and have stayed gotten the Hampton Inn, the Sheraton, and the Holiday Inn Express. All these hotels were great, but the Holiday Inn and the Sheraton do charge for parking. Last weekend we got the Holiday Inn Express and we just parked the car on a side street directly across from the hotel instead of paying $12 for valet parking (or $10 for self park).

If you do stop in Stamford, it is really important that you get yourselves on the Merritt/Hutchinson River Parkway to go into Manhattan. If you get on I95 in Stamford, you must take I287 west to cut over to the Hutch. On a Sunday morning it should take you no more than an hour to get to the pier.

Basically the Breakaway sails from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal which is on the Hudson River in Manhattan in the west 50's. If you don't want to park at the pier, it becomes much more complicated to find a place to leave your car and get yourself to the cruise terminal.

From New England it is actually very easy to get to the Manhattan Cruiseport with only a block of driving on NYC streets. You will be on cars only roads from Meriden CT to the Cruiseport. Here are the directions.

If you come out the Mass Pike, you pick up I84 west in Auburn and I91 south in Hartford. You take exit 17 marked W Cross Parkway. This becomes the Merritt Parkway wt Milford.

If you come down I95 there is a cutover to the Merritt at Milford CT exit 38. At Rye NY there is another cutover to the Hutchinson River Parkway South exit 21 immediately after exit 1 in CT. This cutover is longer than the one at Milford and involves getting off onto I287 West and following the signs to the Merritt/Hutch. You get off onto a service road, go through a few lights and take the turn for the Hutch south.

The Merritt Pkwy becomes the Hutchinson River Pkwy at the NY/CT line. From the Hutch take exit 15 in New Rochelle to get on the Cross County Pkwy. Stay in the middle left lane, which will become the left lane when the road "scrunches". This leads onto the Saw Mill River Pkwy South which becomes the Henry Hudson Pkwy at the NYC line ($5 toll). Stay on the Henry Hudson to where it ends at the Manhattan Cruiseport. The toll is worth every penny. If you don't have an EZPass, they will bill you.

When we sail out of NYC, we stay at the Stamford/Greenwich Hyatt Regency. Easy on/off Rt 95 and close to reasonably priced restaurants [Oriental and Italian] at a Riverside shopping center. Shopping plaza has a post office and CVS.

Hyatt does not charge for parking, though their web site appears to indicate otherwise. Once, we left the car there in their back parking lot and took the metro line into the city....never charged for parking. If you consider this property, be sure to join the Hyatt Gold Passport program for perks - it helps.

Darcy

Did you leave your car at the Hyatt for the duration of a cruise? If so, that sounds like an excellent option. For a 7 day cruise it's $280 to park at the NY pier. It's $9.50 one way off peak from Greenwich to Grand Central, so two people could get to the pier for about $35 including NYC cab fare.

Thanks for your thoughtful answer. I am researching parking at the pier. It seems pricey but most suggest it. Yes, I was looking for hotels. That area sounds perfect.

Hope it works out for you. I have been very happy with my experiences with with the 3* and up Hotwire hotels. Many years ago I stayed at the Super 8 which I do not recommend. The La Quinta also does not have the best reviews. I'm not familiar with the Hyatt in Greenwich, but it certainly looks like a place I would stay. We stay in the area at least once a year and I've been very happy with the Hotwire hotels.

Re: Hyatt Greenwich

Once we left the car there for the week. We were there for a Saturday night, then the hotel provided van transport to the train station. We left the car in their parking lot and when we got back to CT, post cruise, we simply got a cab back to the hotel's back parking lot. We "took care" of the concierge/door man to facilitate this. Other times, we have simply spent the night, had dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant, and the following morning drove to NYC and parked at the pier.

Yes, Carol, it's a very nice hotel. The interior courtyard is beautiful, water features, relaxing lounge for a drink or two, indoor pool, etc. Complimentary morning coffee is provided on each floor of the hotel - urns are set by the elevators. Somehow, DH manages to get us the buffet breakfast thrown in. Best hotel breakfast we have ever had.

Once we stayed at La Quinta and left after an hour - the mold spores were more than my immune system could handle. When it was a Marriott property is was cleaner, but nothing great.....then it went down hill. That was how we discovered the Hyatt. I have always had good experiences with Hyatt properties.

Darcy

When all is said and done, the easiest, most convenient, and when you add up all the additional expenses, probably costs the least would be to drive in the morning of the cruise and park at the pier. Any place "not to far from the pier" is going to be in the city anyway, and traffic on a Saturday isn't really all that terrible.

Watch Hill, was this an official arrangement with the front desk to leave the car there or an arrangement with the door man? I guess would just like to know in advance that I could do this, rather than get there and find out I can't. It would be a far better deal to leave the car there than to park in NYC, even at $10/night the website says.

You can park at the Stamford train Station if necessary.

TRANSPORTATION CENTER GARAGE (Owned & Operated by the State of Connecticut)

Open 7 days; 24 hours per day.

For additional information contact the Transportation Center Garage manager's office (Republic Parking Systems), 48 Station Place, 203-327-7998. Call for current rates.

Re: Hyatt CT. I'm at the Hyatt in Richmond VA as I type. When I called the Hyatt Regency, they transferred my call to the "door man" who said it was no problem and to see him. DH may have spoken with him, can't recall. However, when we first got to the hotel, and saw the parking lot - it was massive and adjacent to a few businesses. I just parked in the far back and the car was still there when we returned. The hotel web site seems to indicate no extended parking, but a phone call is another story. Given it's so close to transportation into the city, I can understand the difference between web site and phone call information. Why not call? And as 138 said, the train station is another option, one we also considered.

That hotel daily rate is nuts! Nobody collected anything. Weddings, sales functions, businesses in the area all share the parking lot.

Hope I make sense.....just returned from yet another of the VA wine tours!

Darcy