Newbie question - big cities?

[Vic2021]

Hi all,

We are now full time in our van.  We are in Vermont and planning some slow travel down the East Coast.  We hate to miss some stops at the larger cities just because we have a large difficult to park vehicle.  In particular we are thinking about stops at Boston and New York City.  I'm wondering about different ways to handle these cities.  Two options come to mind.

1) Find a place to park the van - maybe airport parking?  And get a hotel in the area of the city we will be spending most of our time.

2) Get a hotel as close in that has parking for the van plus has public transportation available.  This seems like the most cost effective option but I can't think of an easy way to find a hotel like this.

Are these decent strategies - any other thoughts?  In a few cities in the south we found campgrounds that were close enough in to the city.  The KOA in San Antonio was particularly nice.

Thanks.

Vicki

[D&J]

When we visited Boston we stayed 45 miles away south in a CG and drove in parked and used the shuttle, we parked in their lot. When we did NY City we stayed in Jersey City at Liberty RV Park and walked 6 blocks to the Path subway and took it into Manhattan. 

Denny

[2gypsies]

This couple has a 40' motorhome when touring New York City.  Read about how they did it.  Note there are a few posts on it as they went multiple times.  They give excellent details with photos!

https://wheelingit.us/?s=liberty+harbor

.... and this is how they did Boston:

https://wheelingit.us/?s=boston

[Star Dreamer]

Find a campground nearby and rent a car for the days you want to go siteseeing. I think Enterprise will still pick you up but not sure with the Virus if they are still doing that. Or stop at a rental car place before going to the campground, one  of you drives the van the other the rental car to the campground and do the reverse when leaving the area. 

[Twotoes]

You stated that you have a Van. It should be small enough to go anywhere a car can go and shouldn't be a problem. 

[bobsallyh]

Many parking garages in the Big Apple have signs just as you are ready to enter "No Vans". Don't ask how I know!

[sandsys]

4 hours ago, Twotoes said:

You stated that you have a Van. It should be small enough to go anywhere a car can go and shouldn't be a problem. 

My van was 24 feet long. It didn't fit in a typical parking space. Drove through cities just fine but parking? Not so much. Unless I found two spots front to back (and paid two meters).

Also, it was a high top so didn't fit in any parking garages, anyway.

Linda

[GR "Scott" Cundiff]

We get a campground an hour or so from a fringe mass transit location.  We then take the subway/train/etc on into the city.  Worked great the big eastern cities.

[jjwicklund]

Parking in NYC sucks.  I have stayed in NJ at a motel near the airport took the motel shuttle  to the airport and from there a bus into the city. 

Did drive into the city once but parking came with the hotel room or guaranteed available.

A good pair of walking shoes and a subway map should get you to all the sights worth seeing.

 

 

 

[MadeItToFT]

On 10/12/2021 at 5:12 PM, D&J said:

When we visited Boston we stayed 45 miles away south in a CG and drove in parked and used the shuttle, we parked in their lot. When we did NY City we stayed in Jersey City at Liberty RV Park and walked 6 blocks to the Path subway and took it into Manhattan. 

Denny

We also stayed Liberty RV Park, not a great place but location wise felt couldn't be beat.   Nice walk around the water nearby and the kitschy coffee shops/stores and like Denny caught the Path minutes walk away into the heart of NYC.    You can also catch a ferry from the RV.  Good pair of walking shoes we did 3 days of 7 miles, 9+ miles and 8 miles walking.   Tired YES, Memorable, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!   Did Central Park, Times Square (awesome singer stages everywhere when we were there) Catching free ferry to get close up view of Liberty Statue, Slapped the bulls butt, did Little Italy, shed buckets of tears in the Chapel near the Twin Towers, walked over Brooklyn Bridge, Coney Island and so very much more.   Finished up in Long Island in the RV afterwards.

Boston we overnighted 2 nights in a carpark without event, and caught an Uber into the heart and back again.   Worked perfectly for us and again walked miles and miles around Boston main attractions, including one Casino night.

To each their own but this worked best for us and "if" we can we'd do it all again the same way as before.

Edited October 20, 2021 by FULLTIMEWANABE

[sandsys]

28 minutes ago, jjwicklund said:

A good pair of walking shoes and a subway map should get you to all the sights worth seeing.

I once walked into a shoe shop and told the clerk I wanted a pair of "tourist" shoes. He offered precisely what I needed--leather tie shoes with gum soles. That was before the days of ubiquitous tennis shoes but I would still choose the shoes I bought that day if I still could. I did go back and buy more later but they are gone now.

Linda

[Humus07]

On 10/20/2021 at 9:39 AM, sandsys said:

I once walked into a shoe shop and told the clerk I wanted a pair of "tourist" shoes. He offered precisely what I needed--leather tie shoes with gum soles. That was before the days of ubiquitous tennis shoes but I would still choose the shoes I bought that day if I still could. I did go back and buy more later but they are gone now.

Linda

I started a running program years ago and by far this is the best advice I received early on. It was from a running shop shoe salesperson and at first I thought it was just to get me to buy more shoes but he was absolutely right. My feet are grateful.

[RV_]

If you are military retired there are three military famcamps bearby NYCity: https://www.armymwr.com/programs-and-services/outdoor-recreation/camping-rv-parks/new-york