Take the train, wear a shirt that says “D🚫n’t Shank”

Try Megabus. https://us.megabus.com/

Drive to New Haven. Take Metro North. There are other station options but for ease, I would park in NH.

We park at Darien CT and then take the metro north express train into Grand Central. Parking is $4/day @Darien

This is the answer. A bus will be marginally slower than car or train but far cheaper when you factor in gas/tolls/parking/fare, etc.

I think generally they drop off at Penn Station but that's an easy walk to Union Square.

Park in Seymour or beacon falls on the Waterbury line for free then transfer at Bridgeport it’s like $17.50 for off peak I think $20 for on peak

the wife and I did a bus trip to NYC yesterday. Left from W. Hartford. We do it all the time. Gives us opportunity to visit relatives in Manhattan instead of doing the bus trip plan if we decide to deviate from it. Very cost effective.

From your area take 84 and go to Purdys or Goldens Bridge on the Harlem line on MetroNorth (near danbury) should be around $25 round trip and free parking. Don’t drive down to New Haven, parking is very expensive and the train costs more down there and it’s out of the way for your location.

Once you get to Grand Central you just take the subway (4/5/6 train) to 14th street/Union Square.

Drive down. Park at the cruise terminal off the West Side Highway. Grab a cab to Grand Central or wherever you are going.

Another option is to take the train from Hartford to New Haven and then switch to metro north. The train to New Haven from Hartford should be less than $10 round trip (it’s $7 from Berlin). As long as the times of those trains work for you, it’s easier than driving and parking and having to drive home an hour after you are tired from a day walking around the city. Also, you can probably take the bus or Uber from your house so you don’t have to worry about paying for parking.

If you don’t mind driving a little, parking at Berlin station is like $2 for the day.

As much as I want to enjoy a train ride into NYC, I find its usually cheapest to just drive and park for the day somewhere. You need to pay per person for train/bus tickets but gas and parking is just charged once.

You can take a train from Hartford to New Haven and transfer to Metro North to GCT.

Edit: you can take the 4/5/6 train from GCT to Union Sq.

I’m scared! There are four times as many people in NYC as in my home state.

Drive to west haven or Stamford depending on if you are going high traffic time . High traffic go west haven …no traffic (non rush hours) go Stamford .

It's $8 from Hartford to New Haven. I just went for 90's Con earlier this month.

I take the train from Bridgeport to NYC a lot. It's just under $15 for off peak and just under $20 for on peak (week days only).

Take the CT Rail from Hartford to New Haven, and switch to a Metro North train for NYC.

If you only want one train I would drive down to Milford (no offense, but it's nicer than New Haven and West Haven). I take the Metro North out of Bridgeport. It's very nice in that specific area, but kind of a drive for you guys.

This is random, but here's a list of public bathrooms in NYC.

Between the train station and Times Square

Grand Central. Downstairs. Multiple options. There's usually a line, but it moves fast. Cleaner than expected, but not great.

Bryant Park. It's this random building at the edge. It's actually really nice.

The New York Public Library. Somewhere upstairs. They have signs to follow.

Disney Store in Times Square.

M&M store in Times Square. I have seen it be closed before though. It's usually dirty.

Over in Rockefeller Center

FAO Swartz. Top floor. Clean, but small.

The American Girl Doll Store. Bottom floor. Very clean.

Bottom of Central Park

If you walk into the park at the bottom, toward the middle, and just kind of keep going there's this random public bathroom. It's a big grey building near some play systems. It's hard for me to explain. I kind of just know where it is when I get there.

There's another public bathroom across from The Central Park Zoo. I remember the food court attached to the zoo had a bathroom, but after COVID sometimes it kept being closed. Either way you can go to that one across from the zoo.

Below 42nd Street

The Harry Potter store. If you go down 5th Ave to around 22nd street the epic Harry Potter store is there. The bathroom is on the bottom floor. The bathroom is single person, so there's always a line. You see the Flat Iron building first, walk slightly past it, and there's the Harry Potter store.

Macy's on 34th over on 7th Ave I believe it is, has a bathroom. You have to go up a certain amount of floors. There are signs to follow.

I go to New York a lot. Many of the people are very nice. Do not interact with the CD sellers or the fake monks. If they try to hand you something, don't take it. This usually happens in Times Square.

Install an app like spot hero and parking panda and find a parking deal near the place you want to go. Park there, enjoy New York and drive back. I think this might be most cost effective way if you are planning this coming weekend. You can also try the train or bus like the other members mentioned- you didn’t mention your group size.

Also you can take the bus or subway or a cab once you are there

Between the tolls and the risk of parking tickets if you park in the wrong place (which is pretty likely for a first-time NYC driver who’s admittedly nervous about the whole idea), I don’t think that this is the cheaper option at all.

Drive. Use the Icon parking app or SpotHero. Nine times out of ten the Cheapest and you are on your own schedule.

CT rail from Hartford to New Haven for a few bucks, Metro North to Grand Central(trains run every 30 minutes), take the 4/5/6 downtown to Union Square, don’t even have to leave Grand Central

There's a bajillion lots that are like $30 for a day.

We actually drove to MSG last Saturday and found parking ahead of time through Spot Hero. It was surprisingly easy to get in and out. First time we ever had driven in. We always take the train

I love Darien! The best part is if you are coming back late at night, it’s super safe (and I say this as a woman traveling alone)

Just drive to NYC it’s an hour and a half depending how fast you go if you don’t want to be shank in the train,bus etc. and park in a lot

I live in west Hartford

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I’m not afraid of being attacked or anything like that (the shank comment was a joke that fell flat). I’m scared of driving in the city: one way streets, not knowing the layout, etc…

Rather than scared, let’s say intimidated.

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Thanks for all of the advice, everyone!

Wow! Thank you!

This also depends on how many people are going. Train works going by yourself. But if there are 4 of you, that $7 ticket turns into $28 and you would be better off driving together.

Yes as long as someone is willing to drive. Sometimes the convenience of not having to worry about driving is worth the $7 a person.