kodi

I'm helping a young friend at work to plan a trip to NYC. She is having guests visit her from Australia. SO there will be 8 young people on a very tight budget, looking for somewhere to stay.
They don't really like the idea of hostels. They'd worry about their stuff all day.

Does any one have any other ideas for 8 young people where there stuff will be safe all day. If they rented a room, would thay always have to say how many are staying? Or are there college dorms? I'm grasping here. But they think I can help them because I've travelled a bit.

I'd really love some ideas..
Also they will be piling into to cars and need some where to park them while in the city. I've already told them it will cost them a bundle to take them into the city. Are there safe alternatives?

Any way to help these young poeple would be greatly appreciated.

espagnabound

Why are they driving cars if they are on a tight budget? Where are they coming from? Australia? You can't drive from Australia to NYC!

How long are they staying?

They should probably split into two groups of 4 and rent two apartments.

They should not try to fool the landlord by not revealing how many people are actually renting the place. They could get booted out in the middle of their stay.

jlm_mi

How young is young? Most hotels (maybe all?) will not allow them to rent a room if they are under 21.

Also, have you or they checked into security at the hostels? Many that I've looked at lock up completely during the day so that no one is allowed in.

They might look into rooms at the YMCA also.

For alternate parking ideas, where will they be driving in from?

One last thing - do they have an idea of what type of budget they have for room(s)? Total per night, and how many people are willing to share a room? They might do well with an apartment rental, depending on how many days they'll be there. That would also allow them to save money on meals. www.newyorkhabitat.com is one option. Another is Radio City Apartments.

espagnabound

http://www.1871house.com/

skateboardmom2

I once stayed in an upscale hostel called Hotel Habitat or Habitat Hotel. Tiny rooms, shared bath, but super clean (marble baths!) and I felt very safe there on my own.

Neopolitan

What's the deal these days at the YMCA? Private, lockable rooms and shared baths.

janisj

Can you give us a bit more info?

How many days? When? How young is young? And finally why on Earth will they have cars in NYC??

kodi

I will have to go back to my freind to get more answers. But to start, I also asked why they were driving when the airfare is so cheap. But with eight of them, piling into a couple of cars is cheaper. They are driving from Toronto.
SO I agee, driving is cheaper for them, simply because there are so many of them. I'm not sure how many day.s Probably 3 or 4.

My young friend is 21, but I'm not sure of the others visiting from Australia.

They aren't sure how safe there stull will be at the hostels...

I do not travel this way, but because I do travel they've asked me to help.

Perhaps the Y is worth checking out. And I also thought of college dorms.
I haven't got a clue where they could leave their cars, but do agree it's cheaper for them to drive from Toronto.I'm wodering if they cold leave them outside the city somewhere without having to worry.

Thanks for the web sites. I will check them out. I appreciate the ideas.

nytraveler

Yes - they could leave cars outside the city at one of the major train stations and then take the train into town - better than paying $30+ per night for parking. They just need to understand the risks in leaving cars overnight in deserted stations.

If they're under 21 they will have major problems - esp with so many of them. Hotels simply won;t rent then rooms - or will require very large security deposits on their credit cards.

There are some very inexpensive european B&B type hotels downtown - but they may have to share baths - but again - we need info on how much they can actually spend.

I rarely reco this - but they may be better off staying in very inexpensive places in Jersey and commuting in by PATH or ferry. But again - any hotel will be hesitant to rent to so many kids and will put large holds on their credit cards.

A hostel is really best - and being so many perhaps they could get one or two rooms to themselves they can lock.

wantsomesun

I would doubt they will be able to rent a car either, probably the best way would be to take the bus from Toronto, and probably will save them money in the end, gas is also EXTREMELY expensive this summer.

Most of the car rental companies require the driver to be over 25. Also since they are coming from a Australia, it would be immpossible to check out the drivers liscense.

They might look into flying on Jet Blue out of Buffalo, which also might be a cheaper alternative.

kodi

Thank you so much for all the great advice, even though it may not be what my friend wants to hear ( Sorry for all the typos last night...I was too tired).

I didn't realize they would have trouble getting rooms because of their age. I was hoping they woulnd't have to stay outside the city.

I'll ckeck to see how old they all are.

I at frist thougth of them flying, but it' but it works out more for 8 of them. My friend has her own car, so I don't think it involves renting any cars.
I'll find out more today, and hopefully someof them are older.

Thank you.

gail

I do not know any car that will hold 8 people. And there may be insurance issues with young people from outside US/Canada to US. (3 issues - age, nationality, across border).

Bus? Train?

gail

And regular hotel rooms in NYC, in addition to being expensive, are generally on the small side - whereas in some places you can easily put 4 people in a room, this is less possible in NYC.

mclaurie

We really would need more details to provide help.

How long are they planning on staying in NYC?
Ages
Accomodation budget
males and females (there are women's residences but not for men)

Assuming they're 21, staying across the river in New Jersey is one option. Hotels there have parking.

The Travel Inn is the one hotel in NYC that has free parking. Great location for them and budget hotel with large rooms. Not sure about under 21s and it gets booked quickly.

Check insurance costs for young kids from Australia renting cars in Canada. May not be so economical. Alternate idea is driving to Buffalo and flying from there depending on cost of rental.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

For 8 young people on a tight budget, a hostel is exactly what they should use, and at the HI/AYH facility, they and their belongings should be safe.

http://www.hinewyork.org/

Tha facility at 103rd & Amsterdam is 2 short blocks from the 103rd/Broadway stop of the 1/9 subways. There are electronic cardkey locks on the doors. They should be able to get a room big enough for all of them (and only them) so no one else will be in the room. Take padlocks and use the lockers if some extra precaution is needed about their "stuff". In addition, they would each have their own bed. No one except registered guests are allowed in the dorm areas. It's a safe place with good deals for young travelers ... discounts at various stores, restaurants, museums, and organized activities focused on younger peoples likes.

I'm better then twice their ages and have used the facility.

There is, or was, a "Chinatown bus" serving NYC and Buffalo & Toronto, worth looking into. Even if they do drive, it would be best to leave the car at a station outside NYC and take commuter rail into the city.

nytraveler

Second the hostel on 103rd. I live not far from there and often see european kids staying there trekking around. They seem very happy with the accommodation - and it's close to the subway, a bunch of buses and Central Park.

kodi

Thank you all again. I'm really tring to help these young folks. I now have more information.
There are 8 in total, male and female. Three are Canadian and have cars. They are expecting company ( five people ) from Australia. SO, there won't be any added expense of renting cars. They will pile into the 2 cars owned my Canadians. I usually would suggest flying too, but I have to admit, for 8 of them on a tight budget, piling into 2 cars is really the cheapest way to go. Except for the parking. If they could find a reliable spot , that problem would be solved. McLaurie,I'll check out the Travel Inn.

I mentioned today to my friend that since there are 8 of them, perhaps they could get a hostel room to themselves.
I don't think they even know their budget, only that coming all the way from Australia ( the 5 of them.) they really don't want to miss NYC.

Two of them are 22, the rest 21 and under. SO hopefully the 22 year olds would not have a problem booking something. I honestly didn't know it was a problem for young people.

As for how long? I think 3 or 4 nights.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. It's certainly enough infor to get them started.

nytraveler

They need to get started soom. Decent inexpensive places in NYC get grabbed up VERY quickly - and they don;t want to be sleeping in the Park.

suze

I don't understand the concern about leaving their stuff in hostels. What do they have that is so valuable? For a short trip like this I assume only clothing?

I don't see how they can park two cars within theh city on a tight budget. That's just not reasonable. I really think you need to find a place outside the city for the cars, if not for the kids themselves!!

The best hostels fill up quickly, so if they decide to go this route, I'd move quickly. You might check the forum at the Lonely Planet website which is aimed at younger budget travelers (similar in format to this one).

I would not recommend trying to sneak people into a hotel room. But they could try to find 2 'quads' in a low-end hotel somewhere.

bardo1

You don't need to be 21 to reserve a room at a YMCA. Here's the West Side YMCA (at Central Park & W 63rd St.). It's very nice.

http://www.ymcanyc.org/sub.php?p=abo...est/guestrooms