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Do You Need a Rental Car in New York City?

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Short answer: no — and this time it is not close. The subway runs around the clock, Manhattan traffic moves at walking speed, garages charge like hotels, and driving into the busiest part of Manhattan now carries a congestion toll as well. A rental car in New York City is a bill looking for a reason.

Every airport is covered by transit

• JFK — AirTrain to the subway or the LIRR into Penn Station and Grand Central
• LaGuardia — free Q70 bus links to the subway (it is closer to Manhattan than most first-timers expect)
• Newark (EWR) — AirTrain plus NJ Transit or Amtrak straight into Penn Station

When a car actually pays off

• The day you leave the city: Hudson Valley towns, the Hamptons and Long Island beaches, the Catskills, or an East Coast road trip onward to Boston or DC
• If you do rent, pick up outside Manhattan — or even in New Jersey — on your exit morning. Rates, tolls and sanity all improve.

Where to stay on a first New York trip

This is the decision that actually matters. Midtown Manhattan is the first-timer default: Times Square, Broadway and Fifth Avenue on foot, the direct subway web everywhere — at the city's highest prices. Downtown and the Financial District go quiet on weekends, which means Sunday deals, with the Statue of Liberty ferries and the 9/11 Memorial at your door. Brooklyn — Williamsburg or Downtown Brooklyn — feels like a neighborhood instead of a theme park, runs cheaper, and is one or two subway stops from Manhattan. Long Island City in Queens is the value play locals recommend: ten-odd minutes to Midtown, newer hotels, and easier airport runs. Stay near an airport only for a very early flight or a one-night layover.

See stays in New York