Hello, My friends and I are visitin New York for a couple of
days on an "around the country" drive. We are not
desperately keen to drive into New York. We are instead
thinking of staying at a motel at Newark Airport for there
is bound to be plenty of parking there, and then get public
transport to Staten Island ferry each day. We do this so to
avoid all the traffic jams, and so we can use the Staten
Island ferry - the idea of entering New York this way has
been a vision of ours.
Our questions:
1-Could I just check that there is plenty of accomodation
near Newark airport?
2-How long would it take to get from Newark to
Staten Island ferry? We're prepared for about 1 hour max. Is
it longer than this?
3-What kind of transport runs between Newark and Staten
Island ferry? Can you get a subway train?
4-Would we be better to drive from our hotal/motel in NEwark
to Staten island Ferry? IS there a car park? Is it safe?
I've heard that part of Staten Island isn't terribly safe.
Answers to any or all these questiosn gratefully received.
Thank you,
David(and friends).
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so newark is in new jersey, just west of manhattan, and
staten island is an *island* south of manhattan. as far as i
know, the only way to get from newark to staten island is
-through- manhattan anyway. there is plenty of accomodation
in newark, and there is frequent and easy transport from
there to manhattan (path train $1). however, newark is not
really a sceninc place where you would want to be located.
perhaps somewone can post a better suggestion for a place
outside manhattan to stay (since you are right to try to
avoid driving/parking in nyc). you could then take a side
trip on the ferry for the experience. enjoy.
You can get cheap rooms in secaucus nj and take the
weehawkin ferry over to the city.
newark is NOT an easy trip into NY - at least 1.5 hrs.
i suggest you head into nyc and lock the car for a few days.
there are many reasonable parking lots which go for about
$20 a day. if staying at the chelsea hostel there is a cheap
lot on 26th between 8th and 9th avenues.
the ferry is at the extreme tip of manhattan. its free and a
nice ride by the statue of liberty and ellis island.
another option is to try staying somewhere on the PATH train
line - you would be on the Jersey side of the river and have
a quick train ride into manhattan. these towns would include
hoboken, and jersey city. check out the port authority web
page for the path route.
http://www.panynj.gov/
check the Village Voice when you get into town. there are
many party cruises/music cruises around the harbor which are
tons of fun and go closer to the sights and also head up the
river a bit.
have a fun trip.
David, you have a great idea in entering New York by the
Staten Island Ferry. What a thrilling way to approach New
York for the first time! You can relive the experience of a
couple of million immigrants, entering New York Harbor and
sailing past the Statue of Liberty. Go ahead and get
emotional, I always do. After that, the approach to the
southern tip of Manhattan and its magnificent skyline is
simply the greatest.
Speaking on a practical level, however, you should really do
this only once, and you'll need your car to do it since
I believe mass transit connections between Newark and
Staten Island Ferry Terminal are non-existent or else too
inconvenient to take seriously. Have a map and drive from
Newark over the Goethals Bridge to Staten Island, and head
for the ferry dock on the northeast tip. You can park your
car there and take the ride and spend the day. DO IT!!
If you remain in Newark, I think PATH subway trains are
convenient, or else there's frequent and regular bus
service from the airport to downtown Manhattan if you're
staying at that cheap Howard Johnson's Hotel, if it's still
cheap.
Glad you're doing this. Us romantics are getting rarer all
the time!