Shanye2233

So heres a little background and any help is very much appreciated.Im travelling with my wife and 2 girls aged 4 and 6 I booked a trip to land in YYZ start of july this year with my goals of seeing niagara falls , new york city and some relatives in cleverland.

I arrive on a midnight flight from SFO and have booked the HI for that night at YYZ the 9th july. The next day i have all day to spend to but i must be in new york for a reservation on the 11th the day after. My plan was to sleep the night in YYZ Holiday Inn rent a car on the 10th and drive it to niagara falls and sleep there that night in the Hilton. The following day drive from niagara falls to NYC and stay there until the 16th . What im going to do in NYC for 5 days im not sure yet. Then depart New York and drive towards cleverland probably stopping half-wayish . I dont have to be in cleverland until the 20th july so i have 4 days to kill . Then i have a reservation for cleverland for two nights and then drive back to toronto on the 22nd stay in toronto city for the night and depart early on the 23rd july.

Im going to rent the car from hertz i have some free day cert's i would like to use instead of paying cash. So my first few questions are you allowed to drive the rental from canada into the USA without any papers. Do i need A internantional drivers licence. Secondly is there anywhere cheap to park the rental in new york or would it be better to rent the car o/w using my hertz gold points.

Any suggestions as to what to do in new york for 5 days? I was going to see the statute , central park maybe head out to the factory outlets for some shopping. Im spending one night in time square and the rest at the hyatt on wall street. Im pretty much free to do whatever i want and i dont want to miss out on much.

Ask any questions if you need.

Ta

VT_hawkeye

Lots and lots of questions here...

You'll be able to drive a rental car from Canada into the US just fine, but you do need to inform the counter agents you're taking the car into the USA. There may be insurance complications; that's something you need to consult with your auto insurance carrier and probably a travel insurance carrier about (at the US border, they may ask you for proof of insurance, and this will absolutely be the case if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident in the USA).

In theory you should not need an IDP, and you've paced your driving schedule fairly well overall, though it won't take you four days to get from NYC to Cleveland (and there's NOTHING AT ALL worth seeing between the two -- I-80 across Pennsylvania is one of the most desolate drives in the Northeast USA). I'd give NYC an extra day and not be shocked if you get to Cleveland a day early even with that. Note that with a Canadian rental car, you will need at least US$50 cash for tolls on your route.

Other questions are much better suited for the NYC forum, but in the interests of giving it a go...

I'm not sure I understand why you're switching hotels in NYC for just one night. This will be a tremendous pain for very little gain, especially with children. Ride the subway up from Wall Street for that night if you want to be in Times Square late.

Avoid driving in Manhattan if at all possible. Very few Americans even are comfortable driving there, and you'll be driving an unfamiliar car with the steering wheel on the other side from what you're used to. It's a highly aggressive environment with little care for superficial vehicle damage, especially to others; I'd be terrified to take a rental in there without every insurance cover known to man. I also doubt Hertz will do a cross-border one-way rental on points, though.

Least hassle but expensive will be driving in and parking at your hotel (though again, some exposure to Manhattan driving, moving hotels will be frustrating, and you will be trusting a rental car to an NYC valet). My preferred alternative would be finding a safe (preferably enclosed) lot that permits overnight parking near a train station in New Jersey and leaving the car there for your NYC stay, but this may be tough with the whole family and luggage. Again, NYC forum is a better place for this.

Shanye2233

I'm just going to take out personal travel insurance and il keep a copy of it when travelling , thanks. What is IDP and how do I aviod all these toll charges ?

I'm also not bond to these locations I could go down to Washington or across to Chicago if its worth the drive and stop along the way . And is there anywhere nice to stop half way between Toronto and New York ?

The reason why I'm switching hotels is I booked a best rate guarantee in New York for one night in time square and then switching to Wall Street as I got a really good rate of $150USD per night and used a suite upgrade certifcate at the andaz . Also to aviod traffic what's the best time to enter into New York City itself and parking options ?

MoreMilesPlease

Driving in NYC is a nightmare. I hope you have budgeted lots of money to park a rental care for the entire time you are in NYC. Honestly a car is a big liability in Manhattan!

It sounds like you have already booked flights into Toronto. If not I would seriously consider booking them into Buffalo. Buffalo is only 15-30 from Niagara Falls and you would save a bundle on renting the car.

Make sure the Canadian car rental company will accept whatever type of third party insurance you are using. Also make sure the reservation spells out that you will be driving the car primarily in throughout the US.

I think the IDP refers to an International Driving Permit which you won't need. Your Aussi driving license is in English so should be go to go.

I always think that Washington D.C (as opposed to the State of Washington) is a great place to visit. Again a car is a liability and you will simply be paying for parking and either walking or using public transport.

Your drive from Niagara Falls to Manhattan will be 7-8 hours. Maybe more depending on how often you stop.

No real way to avoid the tolls. You will want to drive the toll roads to get to where you are going. Just make sure and pay them with cash since your Canadian rental will probably not have a US Fast Pass and would still tack on a premium for tolls.

Shanye2233

Yeah i have already booked the flights into yyz using US Airways on *A so no way to change them really. I did look into flying from yyz to lga but the taxes were around $300 just too much one way.

I was just going to leave the car parked at the andaz until time when i need to use it like going to the theme parks or to the shopping outlets. Im guessing about $30 per day for the carpark which isnt too bad compared to sydney here around $60.

I will inquire when i book the car i can use it and insure it within the USA. Driving from toronto to Manhattan i will stop and sleep somewhere nice for the night just need to work out where nice is between these two places.

i59bravo

A few suggestions:

- there is an enormous outlet mall in Niagara Falls NY that may fulfill your discount shopping needs. Leaving Manhattan to go shopping for the day is a bit counterintuitive. I have never been myself, but Century 21 is the famous lower Manhattan discount store

- not too far west of Cleveland is the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky. It's a mecca for roller coaster aficionados and would be a fun place for kids, possibly for several days

- I'd like to echo the other comments about driving in Manhattan being a living nightmare. Once you get there, park the car and walk or take taxis or take the subway. With kids in tow, I would take taxis everywhere. There are garages throughout the city where you can pay ($$$) by the day. You leave the keys and a car jockey tucks it away somewhere - many places use elevators to rack and stack the cars. Why pay for the car by the day and parking by the day? Just return the rental and use the money you save for cabs.

- Central Park and the Top of the Rock observation deck are musts for you. I thought the World Trade Center memorial was very tastefully done. The High Line Park is cool. The Staten Island Ferry is worth a trip just for the views. Tom's Restaurant at Broadway and W112th St was the inspiration for both the diner in Seinfeld and the Suzanne Vega song. No soup nazi, though.

- Toronto has its own charms, believe it or not. I would take kids to the excellent zoo in nice weather or the Ontario Science Centre if it's raining.

tentseller

MEH to Niagara Falls outlet.

All the women in my life, including but not limited to: wife, daughter,mother, MIL, aunts, wife's friends and girl friends, Woodbury Commons for a day is a must do of any NYC trip.

i59bravo

I defer, good Sir, to the NYC shopping experts in your family and withdraw my Niagara Falls recommendation.

MoreMilesPlease

My comment was directed at not flying into Toronto at all. Flying to Buffalo and using that area as your staying place. It would have been a domestic flight into Buffalo.

Shanye2233

I understand having the car sit in NYC and not use it plus pay for parking . However the costs of a one way return from yyz to NYC and then back again are far more expensive .

I have heard of the Woodbury factory outlets and perhaps that's something I could use the car for. Where is the best place to stop and explore between Toronto and NYC ?

i59bravo

I'm tempted to say nowhere...but you could go to the Finger Lakes region.

I've driven between Toronto and NYC a few times. Don't take the Thruway - it's longer, has tolls and lots of state troopers. Go via Binghampton and Scranton to I-80 and then into Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel. You will still pay tolls on the NJ Turnpike and for the tunnel.

Shanye2233

Great idea ! Surely this long drive there must be somewhere decent to stop at a nice hotel walk around have a shop and a bite to eat?

tentseller

The pro's Toronto to NYC route

The are places to stop and refuel the vehicle and bodies but nothing that fits your wants along I81 via Syracuse/Binghamton or the full toll I90 Thruway.

For a nice stop you need to go through the back roads of the Finger Lakes region

Shanye2233

So the best drive is to go along the I81 freeway which runs from Toronto all the way into NYC . And the reason I go this way is because its the cheapest and quickest.

Any suggestions for parking in NYC ?

i59bravo

There are parking garages all over the place. There are some garages that you can find on Google (and even reserve online) and some that you will only find by driving by and seeing the sign. On my last trip, we didn't plan anything, we just found the apartment where we were staying, unloaded the car, and parked in the nearest garage at the end of the block.

Street parking is possible in some areas, but the rules can be tricky and the parking ticket cops are swift and merciless.