Best way from EWR to downtown Manhattan
 

hi,
we'll arrive on 12/28/2008 (sunday) to EWR on CO 29 fron LHr.

we are three (my wife and our daughter, 15 years old).
we have 5 bags, (two suitcases and three cabin baggages)

we have to go to hotel elyseè downtown manhattan.

what do you suggest? van? bus?
i don't think the train could be a good option because the bags...

thanks

With three of you, I'd probably just opt for a taxi, unless you're really concerned with saving money. Last time I took a cab I think it was around 50 bucks - not sure if it's recently gone up.

With that sort of luggage, I wouldn't take the train either. Hope in a cab. It will probably run you about $60 with tip and tolls. Super Shuttle is an option but is notoriously unreliable. Taxi would be the most direct and time efficient route, if that's an issue for you.

I say a cab or reserve a car ahead of time.

Cab fees and car fees are for no matter how ever many people you put in the car and all your luggage, the bus or shuttle will be per person and probably cost more.

Car service all the way.

It is a minimum $15 charge to go to/from NY to NJ (either way) in a taxi, as they have to go back empty. And you have to pay tolls for the taxi for the return. I learned that the 11 miles trip from my Chelsea apt to EWR one early saturday morning, even though the actual fare was ~$30, the tolls and the surcharge for going into NJ in a NYC taxi brought the charge up to ~$60. Car service (212 444-4444, 212 666-6666, 212 777-7777 for examples) can take all three of you for a fixed rate, no surcharge for going into NJ and one way on the toll + tip. I think the fee starts at ~$45 ish + tip + toll. You might find a coupon in the plane magazine or at the "transportation" cards in the baggage claim area in the airport. You can call when you arrive at the airport and they arrive in ~10-15 minutes.

First of all the only Hotel Elysee that I know of is in mid town at 60 E 54th St. That's not downtown.

But I always use a car service and much nicer than a taxi and the same price here is a link to the one I use http://www.dial7.com/rates.html

Sam

If you're looking for a car service other than the taxis (yuck) or Dial 7, I've got a local car service that might work better. PM me for details.

If at all possible, avoid the local cabs at EWR. The drivers tend to be quite surly and give the cab driving profession a really bad name. Your phone should work just fine (roaming charges will apply) on a GSM/GPRS network. 212-777-7777 is pretty reliable, but so are the 666's and 333's and even the 444's if I'm not mistaken. Don't pay in advance, as there are times you'll want to switch co's last minute (ie they tell you it'll be more than 5 minutes, say no thanks and try another company).
Enjoy the city, nice place this time of year.

Another vote for a car service or taxi, with a slight leaning toward car service since EWR cabs can indeed be pretty unpleasant.

If you were arriving on a weekday and budget wasn't an issue, I'd say helicopter to E 34th St. But I don't think the helicopter runs on Sundays.

Also, as noted, your hotel is in Midtown, not downtown.

Oh, and secretsea18, the fee structure you describe is for NYC taxis going to EWR, not for EWR taxis going to NYC. The EWR fee structure is here (although I'm not entirely sure if that page is up to date--fares may have gone up).

Take the train at 5pm on Tuesday?
 

I have used both train and car service. Arriving EWR around 5.30 pm on a Tuesday...assume traffic into Manhattan (Chelsea) would be bad and the train is the best choice? Or if the traffic flow mostly out of Manhattan?

NJT for sure on this one.

Yup...thought so. Thanks for confirming....

While car service is more pleasant and private, traffic into and out of NYC is standstill at that time of day. It can easily take 2 hours. Great if you have conference calls or other work to get done, but otherwise a boring muck.

do you book in advance?

You can, tho you have to call when you land and after you get luggage and they kind of just send the next car at the airport to you then anyway. But it helps if you don't have an account to get into the system, reserve the car, and give them the address you are going to, and a coupon code if you have it...