We are making a last minute trip to NYC to see all the holiday lights. First thought was to take a train from our suburb to downtown PHL, then take Amtrak. Between the times, local parking and last minute train costs, that does not look attractive.

Next idea is to drive from home to somewhere where we can park overnight for a reasonable cost and take transit into Manhattan. The long term parking near EWR is affordable, but not sure of the transit logistics from there to 57th St.

Where would you park? I'm definitely not interested in driving into Manhattan, as I don't have all day to spend in traffic, but equally don't want to complicate things too much with multiple transit changes.

Other options?