Renting a car on the east coast USA

Upvote:1

I have been to NYC a couple of times (from Providence, RI), but just on Saturday day trips.

The first time, I guessed the traffic would be terrible and parked at a suburban rail station in Connecticut, getting a train the rest of the way to Grand Central Station. I was surprised how quiet Manhattan seemed to be.

The next time, I resolved to drive into Manhattan. The traffic similar to my earlier trip. It was OK, certainly no worse than, say, London or Paris, but parking was hard to find and quite expensive. Negotiating the freeways around the city was difficult - I'm used to European style signage and things like "Rosedale Avenue" or "Webster Avenue" meant nothing to me when I was expecting clear signage for "Downtown" or "Manhattan Island". I imagine it could have been a lot more difficult if it had been mid-week instead.

Is it feasible? Yes; but it could be stressful if you are not used to big city driving, and expensive if you want to stay in Manhattan for more than a few hours.

As for under 25, it will cost you more for the rental (but I guess you know that already), and I guess a "cool" car will also cost more and might be a greater target for theft, but I very much doubt the rental company will levy extra charges because you dared to drive in NYC. All the same, make sure you have sufficient insurance coverage.

I realise the journey itself and seeing some of the USA, may be the purpose of your trip, but curious why you are choosing to fly to Boston and drive 600+ miles to Virginia, and another 600+ miles back, when there are plenty of airports closer to Virginia that would avoid the need to pass through NYC at all.

Upvote:3

Fancy or "cool" cars will be highly-priced for any renter, and may be unavailable to you because of your age.

Having a car in New York city is a serious challenge, particularly in Manhattan: there's little or no street parking with arcane regulations, and paid parking is expensive. I've traveled there many times, and always returned the rental car before entering the city.

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