Hi all,

I'm heading to NY on Saturday (first visit, though I've been to the US several times) and I just have a few questions I couldn't answer by searching...

Firstly, JFK to Midtown (Grand Central Station) - is there an easy bus or train service which doesn't require several changeovers? Alternatively, I'm told a taxi should be about $45USD?

Secondly - any recommendations for somewhere to buy a portable GPS? I was thinking Best Buy (or similar), but if someone has recommendations, I'm all ears.

What would be the best way out of New York (heading towards say, Virginia) from Manhattan (Budget on E 87th St) on a Friday morning? Any tips or routes to avoid?

Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap but decent places to eat around Midtown (near Grand Central Station)? No specific style of food...just somewhere decent. :)

In general, booking things like "Top of the Rock", Statue of Liberty, Empire State etc... is it best just to book through their websites, or will there be cheaper options once we actually arrive?

I think that's about it for now...thanks. :)

Cheers,
- Febs.

Hi all,

I'm heading to NY on Saturday (first visit, though I've been to the US several times) and I just have a few questions I couldn't answer by searching...

Firstly, JFK to Midtown (Grand Central Station) - is there an easy bus or train service which doesn't require several changeovers? Alternatively, I'm told a taxi should be about $45USD?
Yes. There's a bus which should be OK on a Saturday. http://panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/airports/html/ken_bus.html
Secondly - any recommendations for somewhere to buy a portable GPS? I was thinking Best Buy (or similar), but if someone has recommendations, I'm all ears.
J&R Music World.
What would be the best way out of New York (heading towards say, Virginia) from Manhattan (Budget on E 87th St) on a Friday morning? Any tips or routes to avoid?
Depends on what time of the morning. Generally, you're heading opposite rush-hour and shouldn't have much trouble. I'd probably take the Lincoln tunnel, but if traffic looked backed up would head downtown to the Holland.
Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap but decent places to eat around Midtown (near Grand Central Station)? No specific style of food...just somewhere decent. :)
Not a part of the city I frequent - I'll let someone else chime in.
In general, booking things like "Top of the Rock", Statue of Liberty, Empire State etc... is it best just to book through their websites, or will there be cheaper options once we actually arrive?
I believe there are some discounts available - check out the NYC Pass and the mta website (mta.info).
...

Enjoy your visit!

Secondly - any recommendations for somewhere to buy a portable GPS? I was thinking Best Buy (or similar), but if someone has recommendations, I'm all ears.Second the vote for J&R. It's on Park Row near City Hall and takes up an entire block. Walking distance from Chinatown and the site of the World Trade Center.

Second the vote for J&R. It's on Park Row near City Hall and takes up an entire block. Walking distance from Chinatown and the site of the World Trade Center.

Not to mention the Brooklyn Bridge.

J&R Music and Computer world nowadays.

How far east on 87th is Budget? Depending on that, I'd eihther do Lex down to 39th, right to 10th, into the tunnel, or FDR to whatever the next exist after 53rd street is (44 I think), over to 2nd, down to 39th, right to 10th, into the tunnel.

Food in that area? Is Sushi Yasuda out of your budget? There's a great oyster bar in GCT itself, and you might want to check out the GCT marketplace.

The members of this forum wrote a FAQ on airport transportation that should answer your JFK-Midtown questions more precisely:

http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/NYC_Airports_to_Manhattan_Transportation_FAQ

Midtown is a big place to ask for food recommendations. There are hundreds of places to eat. You should probably get more specific with what you want (budget, location, cuisine, atmosphere, etc.).

What would be the best way out of New York (heading towards say, Virginia) from Manhattan (Budget on E 87th St) on a Friday morning? Any tips or routes to avoid?


It all depends on time of day.

IIRC from my days living up there the Budget is over around 1st Ave. Even if it were at Lexington, I would recommend against traveling through midtown and across to get to the Mid-town tunnel unless is it before 8am. Either go across up-town and then drive down the west-side highway, go down the FDR and out the Holland tunnel, or go up and out across the GW and then deal with I95 in NJ.

Before 8am traffic won't be an issue for the most part.

But still don't go all the way down Lexington unless someone can confirm that the steam-pipe repair work at 41st & Lex has been completed. Last Tuesday it was still only 2 lanes getting by, and I haven't been back to the office since then to see if they are done yet.

You have plenty of answers to the question of how to get out of Manhattan by car, but I would also suggest you look into the idea of getting out by train and then renting the car once you are well out of NY. It will be vastly cheaper to do it that way, not to mention a lot easier if you are unfamiliar with driving in/around Manhattan.

If you're planning to head south towards Virginia, it would be a great plan to take Amtrak as far as possible--it goes right down from NY to Washington and beyond. I would, in fact, suggest that you take Amtrak to my town, Wilmington (Delaware), where there are Hertz and Budget rental car counters right in the train station and a super-easy route to get onto I-95 southbound. Almost every Amtrak train stops in Wilmington, and it's one of the smallest cities on the route, very manageable.

It all depends on time of day.

IIRC from my days living up there the Budget is over around 1st Ave. Even if it were at Lexington, I would recommend against traveling through midtown and across to get to the Mid-town tunnel unless is it before 8am. Either go across up-town and then drive down the west-side highway, go down the FDR and out the Holland tunnel, or go up and out across the GW and then deal with I95 in NJ.

Before 8am traffic won't be an issue for the most part.

But still don't go all the way down Lexington unless someone can confirm that the steam-pipe repair work at 41st & Lex has been completed. Last Tuesday it was still only 2 lanes getting by, and I haven't been back to the office since then to see if they are done yet.

Down the FDR to the Holland maybe (are you suggesting taking the Bklyn Bridge exit or going around the bottom of the island?), but definitely not up-and-around, that's nuts at anytime when there's traffic to/from the GWB.

Down the FDR to the Holland maybe (are you suggesting taking the Bklyn Bridge exit or going around the bottom of the island?), but definitely not up-and-around, that's nuts at anytime when there's traffic to/from the GWB.You don't need to go up to the GWB to get to the West Side Highway. Just cross on 85th, pop out on 86th, and jump on Riverside Drive.

Thanks for all the responses guys. We ended up taking a shuttle which took us to GCT (1 block away) - $15ea.

It will be vastly cheaper to do it that way

Funnily enough everyone told me that, and I looked into it extensively (even including options such as flying to DFW and renting from a non-airport location there, as well as renting from a NUMBER of locations outside of NY), but the difference was negligable at best. I did end up getting a very decent rate with my corporate discount, including waiving the U25 fee, a heavily reduced one-way fee, and no fee to drop off at SFO (not sure if there usually is an extra fee for airport dropoffs, or just for airport pickups?) Either way, we're happy. :)

Thanks all.
- Febs.

I did end up getting a very decent rate with my corporate discount, including waiving the U25 fee, a heavily reduced one-way fee, and no fee to drop off at SFO (not sure if there usually is an extra fee for airport dropoffs, or just for airport pickups?) Either way, we're happy. :)
Good stuff. I had no idea you were looking for a rental car to drive all the way to SFO! Generally, if you rent a car in Manhattan (and, presumably, return it there) the daily/weekly rates are exorbitant in comparison with other locations. All the other charges that you are incurring for the long-distance and one-way rental probably smooth that out somewhat.