Have a tight budget? Booking your hotel in New Jersey when travelling to New York City can prove to be a great way to save on lodging. It's a great choice as you'll have an easy commute from Jersey to Manhattan because there is reasonably reliable, affordable, and readily available public transportation. Don't drive or hail a taxi because you'll either sit in traffic forever at the Holland Tunnel or you'll burn through your budget paying the exponentially higher taxi fares when crossing the state lines.
If you are "subway/train commuter fluent" go to the following links for your public transportation options and their schedules:
However, if you are like most of the people who ask me for help, continue reading below.
Here are your options in the order of my preferences:
1. PATH trains
PATH stands for Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation, and it is a subsidiary of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey which is a bi-state agency devoted to managing and maintaining the various transportation modes connecting the two metro areas including seaports, airports, bridges, tunnels, bus terminals, and the PATH train.
There are two hotels to stay at in Jersey City, New Jersey that put you within the shortest walking distance to the PATH Pavonia/Newport station to catch the train with a short commute into Manhattan:
- Courtyard by Marriott in Jersey City
- Doubletree Suites in Jersey City
Note: There is a Westin Hotel being built next door to the Doubletree there in Jersey City. The Westin's grand opening is slated for Spring 2009. (See my post "Westin In Jersey City Going Up.")
See map below:
The Courtyard by Marriott is literally next door to the PATH Pavonia/Newport station (see map above) making it the hotel that's closest to the PATH train. The Courtyard has nicely appointed rooms and a cafe downstairs if you wish to have a full breakfast. What I also like about The Courtyard in Newport is they have a washer/dryer on each guest floor which I have always found very convenient. The front desk will even give you laundry soap and dryer sheets complimentary. I've always found the front desk to be very helpful and friendly. There are rooms with an uninterrupted view of the Manhattan skyline as well. Additionally, you will find next door a Starbucks with "sort of" a harborside view of the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline.
The Doubletree is across the street also on Washington Blvd. and several blocks from the PATH but has larger, suite style rooms with microwave/minifridge amenities as standard. The beds here are some of the most comfortable I've ever slept in, and I always love the warm chocolate cookies upon arrival. Penthouse rooms (for HiltonHHonors members) offer a nice (but somewhat interrupted) view of the Manhattan skyline, as the Doubletree is located across the street from some harborside condos.
Both hotels the last time I stayed there (as of October 2008) have comparable valet parking charges around no more than $20/day.
Both hotels have close proximity to the Newport Mall as well as a few decent restaurants along Washington Blvd. Click here for a map.
The Hyatt Regency at Exchange Place is another option. Overall, I would say it is a little bit more upscale than the Newport hotels (with the new Westin to be an exception). Having said this, the valet parking at the Hyatt will cost you over $30/day, so beware of it compared to the Newport hotels. There are not as many restaurants and convenience shops within a close walking distance from the Hyatt as you will find in the Newport area. However, the Hyatt is adjacent to the PATH Exchange Place station, just a short walk right outside the hotel lobby, and taking the PATH train from here will put you into the World Trade Center and lower Manhattan in but only a few minutes. Yet if you stay at the Hyatt and want to take the PATH further uptown in Manhattan, you will need to switch trains. Alternatively, you can take the PATH into the WTC, then switch to the NYC subway for points uptown.
For the first time visitor to the NYC/NJ metro area, the PATH train system is easier to navigate than the NYC subway. There are just five PATH train lines that operate with varying schedules.
PATH SYSTEM DIAGRAM:
- NWK/WTC line - RED (7 days a week)
- JSQ/33rd St. line - YELLOW (weekdays until 11pm)
- JSQ/33rd/HOB line - YELLOW & BLUE (runs after 11pm weekdays and all day weekends)
- WTC/HOB line - GREEN (weekdays only until 11pm)
- HOB/33rd St. line - BLUE (weekdays only until 11pm)
PATH trains are as follows:
- NWK/WTC line (Newark and World Trade Center) - 7 days/week. Click on map and refer to the RED line. The NWK (Newark) train runs from the World Trade Center PATH station in lower Manhattan all the way out to the PATH Newark station which is within the Newark Penn station where you can switch to either Amtrak or NJ Transit trains and buses for Newark Liberty International Airport as well as other destinations. Points served in between are the following stations in New Jersey: Exchange Place, Grove Street, Journal Square (the main transportation hub with connections to local buses, taxis, services such as shops, restrooms, parking etc.), Harrison.
If you need to go to places in New Jersey along this line from points East, you need to take the NWK train outbound. Look for "NWK" on the train as it approaches the platform into the station. If you need to go to places along this line from points West, you need to take the WTC train and look for "WTC" on the train.
However, if you need to go further uptown in Manhattan (as most tourists want to do), you need to take the 33rd St. train, and can switch to it at either PATH Journal Square or Grove St. stations. Look for "33rd St." on the train. Coming back from NYC into Jersey, or from Jersey beginning at either the Hoboken (HOB) or Pavonia/Newport stations, look for "JSQ." Remember you can switch onto the NWK/WTC line at either Grove or Journal Square stations.
- JSQ/33rd St line (Journal Square and 33rd Street in Manhattan) - Monday through Friday 6am to 11pm. After 11pm service is via JSQ/33rd St via Hoboken line and you just have to remember there is an additional stop made at the Hoboken station, so it takes a little longer to travel. Click on map and refer to the YELLOW line for JSQ/33rd and YELLOW & BLUE line for JSQ/33rd/HOB line. Points served in between are the following stations: Grove, Pavonia/Newport, (Hoboken after 11pm and weekends/holidays), then in NYC Christopher St (b. Greenwich & Hudson), 9th (@6th Ave or Avenue of the Americas) , 14th (@6th Ave or Avenue of the Americas), 23rd (@ 6th Avenue or Avenue of the Americas), and 33rd Sts. (@ 6th Ave or Avenue of the Americas and betw 32 & 33rd Aves.)
Except for Christopher Street, all PATH stations in Manhattan have 6th Avenue as their cross street. (FYI nobody in NYC calls it "Avenue of the Americas.") Streets in Manhattan run east/west, and avenues run north/south, with exceptions in Greenwich Village and lower Manhattan. This is how you get directions in Manhattan; you are given a cross street. For example, 23rd & 6th means 23rd Street at or near 6th Avenue, and the establishment is somewhere along 23rd near 6th Avenue. Or you will be given a location that is between two streets or avenues, such as 23rd b. 6th & 7th which means the establishment is on 23rd St. between 6th and 7th Aves.
The 33rd St. train is what you want to take from Jersey if you wish to go into Manhattan and places such as Greenwich Village (Christopher St. and 9th St. stations), Union Square (14th St. station), Flatiron/Gramarcy/Madison Square Park (23rd. St. station), Empire State Building (33rd St. station), and points further up in Midtown (ie. Times Square) either by walking or switching to the NYC subway. Note that the different PATH stations in Manhattan offer you different NYC subway line connections. Click here for PATH schedules by line. If you do not want to have to navigate the NYC subway system (which is much more extensive than the PATH but not impossible to figure out), then I suggest you walk to your final destinations once off the PATH and into the city (unless you are visiting the museums uptown or going way downtown to Wall St./Battery Park). A perhaps more helpful link for figuring out which NYC subway line to take is Hopstop.
Going crosstown in Manhattan, I always just walk the distance. Crosstown is travelling "avenue blocks" whereby one avenue block is equivalent to three street blocks. Yet the city buses will take you crosstown but the "running" joke is that you will walk faster than the bus snarled in Manhattan traffic.
When you need to come back to Jersey, take the JSQ train from any of the above listed PATH stations in NYC being 33rd, 23rd, 14th, 9th, and Christopher Sts. Your stops in Jersey are Monday through Friday - Pavonia/Newport, Grove, Journal Square. After 11pm Monday through Friday and on weekends/holidays your stops are first Hoboken, then Pavonia/Newport, Grove, and Journal Square. Alternatively, you can also catch the PATH at the World Trade Center station, taking the NWK train anytime and it will stop at Exchange Place, Grove, Journal Square, or go as far out as Harrison then Newark Penn station at the end of the line. From the World Trade Center PATH station, you can also take the HOB train Monday through Friday until 11pm, and it will stop at Exchange Place, Pavonia/Newport, then Hoboken at the end of its line.
- HOB/WTC line (Hoboken and World Trade Center) - Monday through Friday 6am to 11pm. Click on map and refer to GREEN line. Stations in between on this line are Pavonia/Newport and Exchange Place. After 11pm on weekdays and on weekends/holidays, you need to take the JSQ train from Hoboken to Grove, then switch at Grove to the WTC train in order to get to either Exchange Place or the World Trade Center.
Just remember that the HOB/WTC train runs ONLY during weekdays. If taking the PATH on weekends, you will ride either the JSQ/33rd St.via Hoboken train, or the NWK/WTC train.
- HOB/33rd St. line (Hoboken and 33rd St. in Manhattan) - Monday through Friday 6am to 11pm. Click on map and refer to BLUE line. Again this is another line that runs only on the weekdays Monday through Friday, connecting Hoboken and Midtown Manhattan bound passengers. After 11pm on weekdays and on weekends/holidays, you will be served in the Hoboken station by the JSQ/33rd St/HOB line (click on map and refer to the YELLOW & BLUE line).
Just remember if taking the PATH after 11pm on any night, you will take either the JSQ/33rd/HOB line or the NWK/WTC line, and you can switch to the other line at either the Grove St. or Journal Square station.
Click here for official PATH system map. Click here for PATH schedules by line.
2. NJ Transit buses
The options here are numerous depending on your starting point! NJ Transit operates train, bus, and light rail lines throughout New Jersey. When I think about staying in Jersey and commuting into New York City, my top choices for lodging and transportation are in Jersey City. Those options I've already discussed above. Yet there are two additional areas in the Jersey suburbs I would recommend:
- Secaucus
- Rutherford/Meadowlands/Lyndhurst
Both Secaucus and the Meadowlands area will allow you to use NJ Transit bus commuting options.
Secaucus - Recommended hotels here are:
- Hampton Inn
- Hyatt Place
- Embassy Suites
- Hilton Garden Inn
Reviews for Secaucus NJ hotels in TripAdvisor
The bus from any of these hotels you will need to take into the city is the NJ Transit no. 320. Taking this bus will put you into the Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT) in NYC (8th Ave. at W. 42nd) on average in about 30 minutes. Be advised that during rush hour, many buses are standing room only. Yet after 10am the bus passenger loads do lighten until later again in the afternoon/evening rush hour commute. Once at the PABT, you will be within walking distance of Times Square and Midtown Manhattan. However, at the PABT you can take the NYC subway for points beyond.
Coming back from NYC to Secaucus, you depart from the PABT at Gate 231 from 6am to 10pm, and Gate 320 from 10:01pm to 1am. Take the no. 320 to the Harmon Meadows stop nearest your hotel. Click here for a complete schedule.
Rutherford/Meadowlands/Lyndhurst - Recommended hotels here are:
- Renaissance Meadowlands Hotel (suitable for both business and leisure travel with on-site steakhouse called CK's)
- Courtyard by Marriott in Lyndhurst (located just across the street from the Renaissance)
Reviews for Lyndhurst NJ hotels in TripAdvisor
Reviews for Rutherford NJ hotels in TripAdvisor
Both hotels have a number of NJ Transit bus options inbound. The buses no. 191 (LOCAL only except at 6:45am), no. 192 (LOCAL only!) and no. 195 (LOCAL only!) all stop at the Lyndhurst stop (Polito Ave.) right outside both hotels and are headed for New York City, into the PABT. Each of these buses also depart from the PABT at varying locations and times for the Lyndhurst (Polito Ave.) stop. Click here for the no. 191 schedule. Click here for the no. 192 schedule. Click here for the no. 195 schedule.
Note: All NJ Transit buses operate on a less frequent basis on the weekends. See the above respective schedules for departure times.
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