Toronto to New York end of February....where to stay???

[CRUISNDIVA]

Hi everyone, DH and I will be sailing out of New York at the end of February, we plan on driving from Toronto over a 2 day period with a majority of the driving being done on the first day. Question for you all I've never done the drive from Toronto to New York before and we aren't sure where we should stay overnight on our first driving day. We would prefer an Inn over a Motel/Hotel and we would like it to be no more than 4 hours away from the pier in New York. So for anyone that has done this trip before or anyone out there that is familiar with the area we are looking for some advice and suggestions on where to stay and on the best driving route. By looking at the map I was thinking maybe somewhere in Skaneateles or Ithaca but I'm really not sure and right now these are just names on a map~lol

 

Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Cheers!

[nybumpkin]

I think it depends on how you map your trip. Skaneateles and Ithaca are not on major highways, and you'll be driving out of the way to get to them - but they do have some nice inns. You'll probably be driving right through Syracuse no matter which way you travel - it's at the junction of I-90 and I-81. Syracuse will give you a range of accommodations - motels, hotels, inns. You can then drive down I-81 to Route 17, across to I-87 (the NY thruway) and into the city that way. Syracuse is probably just about 4 hours out from NYC - maybe a bit longer. If you want to be closer, you might consider driving south to Binghamton (at the junction of Route 17 and I-81) before stopping for the night. That would cut off about 45 minutes. Hope this helps!

[506canuck]

Are you crossing the border at Buffalo or the Thousand Islands. I think you will have more choice of Hotels if you stop in Scranton which is straight south on Interstate 81 which you would take from the Thousand Islands or it crosses I-90 in Syracuse. Scranton is about 4 hrs from Kingston or 2 hrs from Syracuse. From Scranton it is a simple trip on I-380 to I-80 right to New York, probably take 3 hrs or so. Have a good trip.

[CRUISNDIVA]

Hi everyone, thanks for your help/suggestions!

 

Mapquest directions tell me to go the Buffalo route and use these highways:

 

-I-190 SOUTH

-I-290 EAST

-I-90 EAST

-1-49

-I-690 EAST

-I-81 SOUTH

-I-380 SOUTH

-I-80

....and then some other exits once we get into New York. Total hours shown by Mapquest is 9 hours and 1 minute, that's straight driving, no stopping and no bad weather.

 

What about the Poconos are there any nice places to stay there?

 

Hopefully someone from Toronto who has done this drive will read this message and be able to help me out a bit.

[greatam]

Hi everyone, thanks for your help/suggestions!

 

Mapquest directions tell me to go the Buffalo route and use these highways:

 

-I-190 SOUTH

-I-290 EAST

-I-90 EAST

-1-49

-I-690 EAST

-I-81 SOUTH

-I-380 SOUTH

-I-80

....and then some other exits once we get into New York. Total hours shown by Mapquest is 9 hours and 1 minute, that's straight driving, no stopping and no bad weather.

 

What about the Poconos are there any nice places to stay there?

 

Hopefully someone from Toronto who has done this drive will read this message and be able to help me out a bit.

 

Absolutely gorgeous places to stay in the Poconos. However, you will be there during ski season, the prices will generally be high (except weekdays), and you will have to book WELL in advance. The Poconos are a popular place for honeymoons, with lots of places with heart shaped hot tubs, etc. etc. etc.

 

Also, if you take 81 to 380, you will miss some of the better Pocono resorts. You would have to take 81 S all the way to I-80 to get to a couple of decent resorts.

 

Try Stroudsberg, PA. Just past the junction of 1-380/80. Hampton Inn is just off the interstate, clean and decent for one night. Definitely not upscale, but clean. Wake up in the morning, about 2.5 hour drive to the Port.

 

YES, I KNOW it is only 78 miles to the GW Bridge. But the traffic will get VERY heavy when you reach Exit 34 in NJ any time after 5:30AM until about 10:00AM. The traffic will continue until you cross the GW Bridge and head south to the port.