<p>We plan to visit Vassar and Barnard in a couple of weeks, with the visit spanning a Thursday-Friday. Amtrak is just too expensive for two tickets from the D.C. area, so I plan to drive to Vassar early Thursday to arrive in time for the mid-day info session and tour. I think we'll spend the night in Poughkeepsie and then head into NYC on Friday morning, in which case I think we should leave the car and take the commuter train in, right? If that sounds like a good plan, should I leave the car in Poughkeepsie, or drive to a closer station? We'll return to get the car late afternoon on Friday.</p>
<p>It it were me, I’d rather stay over in NYC or maybe a close-in suburb . Then on friday drive to a garage near Barnard, and leave to DC from there. It’s a heck of a lot closer to DC from Barnard than from Poughkeepsie. Just try not to leave anywhere near rush hour, fighting jersey traffic over the GW Bridge is sometimes not fun.</p>
<p>Barnard is way up on the West side, usually not caught up in the brunt of NYC nightmare traffic. They can probably get you a list of nearby garages.</p>
<p>If you wanted to do something in between you could stay over near Bronxville - there must be a motel near there someplace, preferably near the train station- and see Sarah Lawrence. If there was any interest.</p>
<p>But maybe you want to stay over in Poughkeepsie to check out Vassar nightlife, that makes some sense. Still, I personally would drive to barnard, not go back & forth to Poughkeepsie.</p>
<p>It sounds scary to be driving in NYC, but usually to Barnard is not a huge deal.
I offer no guarantees however.</p>
<p>Maybe some people on the Barnard and Columbia sub-forums have some other ideas about logistics and where you might stay.</p>
<p>If it were me I’d stay in a closer suburb. There are two hotels with a parking lots in New Rochelle that are within walking distance of the train station. I can’t think of anything in Bronxville, but Sarah Larence is easy to get to from most of Westchester.</p>
<p>… but if you don’t care to stop at sarah Lawrence, then no reason to go all the way east to Bronxville or New Rochelle, better to stop in Tarrytown, Dobbs ferry, etc.
There might even be a respectable and cheap motel to say in in riverdale (north Bronx, short hop to Manhattan), I bet the people at manhattan college might know.</p>
<p>Or stay in Poughkeepsie if you want, it will just be a long drive in the morning.</p>
<p>If you get off-peak tickets to NYC from Poughkeepsie via Metro North (NOT Amtrak), it’s pretty cheap ($28ish roundtrip), and parking at the train station is generally quite easy as long as it’s not a holiday weekend. </p>
<p>Have fun visiting Vassar!! I’m a rising junior and I love it. I visited Barnard, but after touring the campus, I looked at my dad and told him I had to leave, couldn’t even stay for the info session.</p>
<p>We stayed at a Courtyard in Poughkeepsie, saw Vassar in the afternoon, had a nice relaxed evening, and drove in to NYC in the early am. I was very nervous about driving into the city, but it wasn’t bad at all. The Barnard area is very sane and manageable, and, as someone said, there is parking there (almost across the street, as I remember). Spend some hours at Barnard and the surrounding area (esp. Columbia of course) and then drive out of the city before rush hour, back to D.C. </p>
<p>Worked great for us. We had also looked at Bard, before Vassar, and after NYC, we went quickly to Sarah Lawrence. But a trip to Vassar and Barnard, only, sounds great. Hope you all have a good trip, however you do it!</p>
<p>You should get a list from them of nearby garages though, because one time I went there that particular closest garage was full. Driving around aimlessly on the upper west side looking randomly for a garage can at times be a pain in the butt, even for me, and I’m from not far away.</p>
<p>So you can stay at courtyard in poughkkeepsie, and then have 1.5+ hrs drive to barnard on Friday.
Or you could drive over an hour south on Thursday, stay at someplace like La quinta Inn Elmsford, or Hampton Inn & Suites Yonkers, and then have only about 1/2 hour to get to Barnard on Friday. Assuming driving, and no Sarah lawrence.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I think if I can find a decent hotel (I’m okay with tiny, but want it clean) near Barnard, I might drive into the city on Thursday night. Despite compmom’s success, I don’t think I can deal with the stress of driving into NYC on Friday morning and I agree that this back and forth to Poughkeepsie is not worth it. We won’t factor Sarah Lawrence in since they do not have D’s intended major. I appreciate all of your advice!</p>
<p>Second the idea of getting a list of parking garages for the upper westside. There are only two that I know of anywhere near Columbia (just put parking garages nyc into google). I doubt they’ll be full Thursday night unless something is going on. They were all full the Saturday I had to take mathson to take a science test for Columbia’s Science program for high schoolers though!</p>
<p>The train trip from Poughkeepsie to NYC is not short at all, and doesn’t leave you (or leave from) anywhere near Barnard, and Poughkeepsie is at least an hour, maybe more, father from DC than NYC by car. It’s sort of a ridiculous idea to finish your visit to Barnard and then spend at least 2 hours, maybe more, travelling north on public transportation, at a cost that exceeds the price of a day’s parking in NY, to retrieve your car and retrace your steps heading south.</p>
<p>There are lots of fairly reasonable, perfectly nice hotels on the Upper West Side, and some of the deals may have parking included. Driving in that part of NYC is not that difficult. New York is fun; Poughkeepsie is not fun. So if it were I, I would come down from Vassar to New York on the first night, stay in New York, and then drive back to DC from there. You can probably save $50-$100 by spending the night outside of New York City if you want, and then driving in early.</p>
<p>Here’s an additional idea. Make time to visit the Storm King Art Center, along the Hudson between Poughkeepsie and NYC, just north of West Point. A sensational outdoor sculpture museum, in its own way as impressive and overwhelming as MOMA.</p>
<p>Perhaps the OP is nervous just about driving in NYC. It’s really okay. If I can do it, you can. The bridges and feeds are a bit hairy so study them in advance for confidence, and then it’s easy.</p>
<p>Barnard will feel different once you realize that it is easy to get to.</p>
<p>There are many suggestions on Barnard threads about reasonable places to stay in the are if you use the search function.</p>
<p>Ha I was just at Storm King a few weeks ago. It is kind of neat. if the weather’s nice. </p>
<p>Closer to Barnard, The Cloisters is a nice visit, there are even some lodging places listed near there but I know nothing about them, or the parking situation at them. Not everything in the Bronx and upper Manhattan is necessarily a place one wants to stay overnight though, so it would be good to have a reference. I know I’ve read posts about Manhattan lodging on the Barnard or Columbia boards.</p>
<p>If you want NYC nightlife Thurs night then perhaps better to stay further south in Manhattan if an affordable place exists, or a close-in suburb with access very near an MTA station, then you can easily take the train into Grand Central & back Thursday, to do something on the town, and still have a short drive friday morning.</p>
<p>Just before you leave for home you might want to stop at : Zabar’s, H& H bagels, and/or, easiest with a car: Fairway at 125th street.</p>
<p>I don’t think driving in NYC is that hard - numbered streets keep you from getting lost, nearly everything runs north/south or east/west and most streets are one way making left turns easy. The hardest part is getting off the bridges.</p>
<p>Well it’s not that hard directionally,but the traffic can make it stressful, particularly for someone who does not know where they are going. Fortunately the traffic near Barnard is not typically a problem. There can be the occasional tie-up on the West Side Highway / Henry Hudson Parkway coming in or out though. In fact some delay approaching the GWB is quite common. I would try not to come in, or out, during rush hour, for sure.</p>
<p>There is a parking garage at the corner of Broadway and about 122nd Street. If you go to Barnard on a weekend there is usually plenty of on street free parking between Amsterdam Ave. and Broadway at around 118th/119th available.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! We’ll drive in on Thursday evening and spend the night at the Morningside Inn which is walking distance to Barnard. They have assured me that there is reasonably priced parking nearby. We’ll want to leave town before rush hour starts on Friday, but should have a bit of free time, so I appreciate the suggestions of other things to do. Thanks for the hand holding while I get over the stress of facing NYC driving for the first time.</p>
<p>Rush hour going into the city is never as bad as going out of it. You should be okay. Just stay away from the Cross Bronx Expressway! I’d come down the Taconic to the Sprain, pick up the Cross County for the Saw Mill South which turns into the Henry Hudson Parkway which runs down the west side of Manhattan. (I see google has you pick up 87 and cut over a little later, time seems to be the same.)</p>