staying in the poconos

family of 4 staying in the poconos for one week..we are wanting to visit NYC 1 or 2 days...we probably will not stay but drive back. it appears to be about 1:30 drive..kids are 21 and 17..their first time to NYC..should we stop outside of NYC and take the subway or should we drive on into NYC and park...we are staying 6/6 thru 6/13..we are also planning on going to philadelphia 1 day..suggestions for food and other activities would be great...kids would like to see Statue, Time Square, Wall Street. Yankee Stadium ..thanks for your help!

staying in the poconos

The subway only runs within New York City itself. With four people, you may as well just drive in and leave the car at a garage you pre-book here:

www.iconparking.com

What you want to avoid doing, however, is driving into the city between 8-10am, or you%26#39;ll spend a lot of time in traffic.

What kind of food are you interested in? And what sort of budget per person?

And are you going to a Yankees game or on a tour of the stadium? If not, it%26#39;s an awfully long way to just look at it--it looks pretty much like every other stadium from the outside.

Take a look at this page on Must-see%26#39;s and Must-do%26#39;s from the FAQ:

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60763-s409/New-York-鈥?/a>

staying in the poconos

The Poconos are a large area and most of it is more than 1:30 drive to Manhattan. Have you looked at the route on maps.google.com from your specific location?

You say you won%26#39;t stay but mention 1 or 2 days. Doing this drive more than once is crazy. If budget is an issue and you%26#39;re closer to Philadelphia, I suggest staying overnight in Phildadelphia and then heading to NYC. If you%26#39;re in a car and there%26#39;s no game at Yankee stadium, you can stop at the stadium on your way into Manhattan.

Incidentally, there are commuter buses from the Poconos to NYC for $15/person roundtrip, if that%26#39;s something you%26#39;d be interested in. More info here:

http://www.mahcon.com/aj/schedule.html

I have no idea where any of the listed places are in the Poconos, but it looks like they plan on 1:30 from the Delaware Water Gap (which is on the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border) to Manhattan.

staying in swiftwater pa...we are not going to the yankee game , probably just a stadium tour..we like italian food, bar food mid price range..we could stay 1 night in nyc if it really appears to be a better option. i would assume that hotels in nyc would be less exspensive on the weekend? is there a close area that would also be a good option for 1 night ?...but we have already paid for a nice condo for the week in the poconos..we may stay a night in philadelphia on the way out or back. anymore info would be great!

Advance stadium tour tickets are SOLD OUT!

www.mlb.com/nyy/ticketing/stadium_tours.jsp

According to

maps.google.com

NYC is actually a bit closer to Swiftwater than Philadelphia. You have to decide what makes sense for your family/budget. I%26#39;ll just say it could take 2+ hrs. in each direction and would make a long day for whoever is driving.

Hotels are not nec. less on weekends. It depends on the hotel and where it%26#39;s located. Hotels downtown in the financial district may be less and you%26#39;d certainly have less traffic once in Manhattan on a summer weekend, but traffic on the roads could be worse on a weekend.

The Travel Inn is the only hotel in Manhattan with free parking and is a good budget hotel with rooms for 4 (2 double beds) and has a fairly rare outdoor pool. It%26#39;s right near Times Square. The Skyline is another hotel near there with $10/parking (considered cheap) and an indoor pool. Yet another option with a car is to stay in New Jersey, just across the Hudson River. The Holiday Inn in Ft. Lee, NJ is very good value but you%26#39;d have to drive your car in and out of Manhattan over the G Washington bridge and park it.

iconparking.com

lets you reserve a spot in advance and know what you%26#39;ll be paying. They have garages all over the city.

Travelzoo.com has some hotel specials and quikbook.com and kayak.com are also good places to check.

Decide how/when you want to make the trip...on the way home...on the way to Phil. etc. and then we can help.

Since you have a car, I agree that driving in and parking is the best way to go. If you decide to take a hotel in NJ the Fort Lee Hilton or the Fort Lee Holiday Inn will be excellent choices, you would just drive in over the George Washington Bridge (literally a minute away) and follow signs for 9A South to get into midtown manhattan. The signage can be a bit confusing, just pay attention and you%26#39;ll be OK.

Bridge traffic will be light by 10:00 am, probably even reasonable by 9:00 although I don%26#39;t go in that way myself. The toll for bridge or tunnel is $8 inbound only (free outbound).

Take a look at the family travel section at tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60763-s401/New-York-鈥?/a> for ideas on what to do

Keep in mind that if you do the Natural History Museum/Central Park you would drive down 9A to 79th and park around there. You could leave your car all day and take the subways around town, then come back to pick up your car.

One more thing, that Fort Lee Hilton is now a Double Tree (I drove past it this morning). You may have to look it up as ';Ft. Lee'; or ';Fort Lee';

Ask a NYC driver for directions to 9A and he (she) would give you a blank stare. There are signs announcing Route 9A but it is better known as the Henry Hudson Parkway in the city. Follow the signs that say Henry Hudson Parkway Downtown and you will soon arrive at 79th St.. (158th St., 125th St., 96th St., then 79th St.

database