disgusting
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Iām a big āavoid valet at all costsā guy. Mostly because as a guest at clubs Iāll often arrive early and just hang out in the car and wait for the right time to head in.
With valet I lose that hang out time.
Newark was necessary for points usage with Qantas.
The flights are locked in, the rental cars can be changed, but as it stands the plan is:
Wed 6am ā land at Newark, airport bus seemed to be recommended as the best way into Manhattan. 9am pick up rental car from Midtown, drive out to LI, playing St Georgeās that afternoon. Am I a moron for going into Manhattan to get the car? It was substantially cheaper than EWR or Jersey City but if my life is going to be easier that way Iāll take it.
Wed-Fri golf on LI.
Fri 4pm ā drop the car at JFK, meet my wife, into Manhattan for four days.
Wed 7.30am ā pick up car from car rental near our hotel, drive out to GCGC, back to JFK by 5pm and depart. Rental car was $75, which seemed to trump a taxi/Uber/Lyft.
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Totally understand EWR being necessary - happens to us all at some point.
Geting a rental car in Manhattanā¦certainly NOT a moron, Iāve done it, but it requires a certain les effairs attitude, or maybe more of a rainbow road mentality. Beware of e-bike delivery drivers passing on the right, especially when you are turning right. Sometimes they are in the bike lane, but they tend to weave all over the place, and squeeze between cars and lanes.
One other thing to note is that we have congestion pricing now, so avoid driving into Manhattan 5am-9pm M-F. Picking up the car and driving out of Manhattan should be fine - they will charge you plenty of taxes anyway. Iām impressed itās cheaper than Jersey City, thatās great.
How much easier is my morning going to be if I just bite the bullet and get the car from EWR rather than taking public transport into Manhattan and then driving out of Manhattan to LI?
Iām totally comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road in a big city, more just the flow of EWR > LI vs having to engage with Manhattan in that 7-9am weekday window?
If you get a car at EWR, your best move is to go through Staten Island, which will be slow because of rush hour traffic into Manhattan. Once you get into Brooklyn and take the Belt Parkway to the Southern State Parkway you should be ok.
If youāre eager to get from EWR to Long Island and on the golf course, maybe thatās the right move. You probably save 30 minutes, maybe an hour if things go your way. But you might pay more for the car, and the bridge tolls are steep.
I think āhow much easier is your morning going to beā depends on how much you like driving in slow traffic even if it actually saves you time, vs sitting on a train/bus that takes a little longer.
So Iāll ask a variation on the question I ask of tradesmen during renovations:
If this were your holiday, what would you do?
I would probably get a car at EWR since youāve got your luggage and clubs. I was wrong about going throught Staten Island - the map sites say that you would go North, over the GW Bridge, across Manhattan and out to LI, and that seems best to me.
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I second @clarkie.
Airport to bus to bus stop to rental car location to LI
vs
Airport to Rental Car to LI
Less steps = less chance of something going wrong.
Not to mention the traffic from Manhattan to Garden City at 9am will be significantly worse than Newark to GC at 6/7am. NYC Rush Hour traffic starts at 7am and doesnāt end until about 9pmā¦ Seriously, it doesnāt let up mid day
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I would get the car at EWR, I travel a lot with clubs and its very annoying to move them around via public transportation. If you are getting a car, might as well just get the car and control everything. If you have time you can go to the hotel and drop stuff of, if you donāt you can just head straight to Long Island. Coming from NJ to Queens often, just use Google Maps, or Waze, or Apple Maps, or MapQuest and do what ever it says because it changes by the hour.
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This is a great point.
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Iām gonna go against the grain and say abandon the rental car idea and do LIRR from Penn and Uber. I work in LI and a colleague daily commutes to our office from Staten Island; it took him over 3 hours today because of car accidents along the way. Since youāre going opposite direction of commuter traffic, it should be easy to get on a train and sit down with your clubs.
LIRR will, at the very least, be more reliable for staying on schedule; GCGC is very close to Garden City and Mineola stops, and St Georgeās is similarly close to Stony Brook stop. Train also means you can nap and relax, but it eliminates the extra driving, headaches and extra costs from the rental car. Picking up and returning, driving through traffic and tolls, plus parking it somewhere in the City will add up very quickly.
Depending how burnt you are / plans with your hosts, you can grab dinner in LI and take a late-night Uber back into the City for 1/2 the price it would be during peak hours.
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I agree with this 100%. The LIRR stop at Nassau Blvd actually runs up against the far side of the Garden City Country Club property and is about a 3-5 min ride to GCGC. And plenty of good dinner options there. Or go to Leoās and grab a pint and you can walk a block and a half to the Garden City LIRR stop for the ride home. Donāt forget to switch at Jamaica! LOL IYKYK
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Iām very invested in learning your eventual decision and outcome of that decision whatever way you go now, lol. Iāve personally gone back and forth on what to recommend. I commuted daily on the LIRR for HS, and have used it many times for golf travel from manhattan. Itās quite easy. However, I totally understand the convenience and personal comfort of having your own vehicle. Traffic will suck tho, thatās a guarantee, just depends how much.
Oh and the golf at both spots is 10/10, congrats and enjoy!
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For what itās worth, the rental car pick up at EWR and the drop off at JFK are not good. Both will add time to the trip. If youāre going to take the car route, a Lyft/Uber is quicker and will probably cost just as much or be a bit cheaper than renting a car for a day
Just to be clear, on arrival day I head from EWR to St Georgeās, but then Iām staying in the Hamptons for two nights and playing golf out that end of LI for Thur/Fri.
Friday afternoon my wife arrives at JFK and thatās when we have the four nights in Midtown Manhattan, and final day of the trip I leave from Midtown, go to GCGC and then JFK to fly home. Sounds like I might benefit from LIRR that final day (although I will have all my luggage so might be a pain?) but driving myself around LI the first three days of the trip seems like the only sensible plan IMO.
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I can see my questions further up might have conflated two portions of the trip and confused people about what Iām trying to achieve.
To clarify my trip, itās essentially in three parts:
PART ONE
I arrive three days ahead of my wife so I can play golf. Land at EWR at 6am on a Wednesday and need to get to St Georgeās for golf that day and then staying in Hampton Bays for two nights and playing golf out the far end of LI Thurs/Fri. Part One ends Friday afternoon/evening when my wife lands at JFK. For this stretch I have rented a car for the three days. I can pick up from EWR, Jersey City or Manhattan (or another location that someone might recommend), but it will make sense to return it to JFK cos thatās where Iām meeting my wife.
PART TWO
Head into Manhattan with my wife and we have Friday evening until Tuesday night together before her conference starts the following Wednesday. No golf or travel out of NYC during this window.
PART THREE
Wednesday 8am my wifeās conference starts and I fly home 7pm that night from JFK. Playing golf at GCGC that day, so need to identify the easiest/best/most reliable way to get me, my golf bag and travel bag and suitcase from Midtown to GCGC and then to JFK. At this stage I have a rental car (pickup is about two blocks from our hotel) but am intrigued by LIRR option as our hotel (47th/Ave of Americas) seems pretty handy to Penn Station).
Ah yea, if youāre continuing out east from St. G, car for sure. Iām originally from East Quogue, little town next to HB. Lmk if you need any reccos for out there.
Going to be in NYC in early June. Does anyone know when / estimate when they will shutdown Bethpage for the Ryder cup?