Can anyone give me a heads up about taking the ferry from New London Connecticut to Long Island? S24 will be going in early August driving down and wants to leave his car parked and then walk on the ferry. Wondering what the parking situation is on the Connecticut side and if it’s the type of thing where at this point it is impossible to find a place to park?
My recollection is that there is very limited parking at the ferry terminal and it’s first come first serve, no reservations. There is a parking garage across the street but I’m not sure how long you can leave a car there. Hopefully others will be able to chime in.
How is your son planning to get around LI once he arrives there? There is a nearby train station on the CT side, but not on the LI side.
Be sure to make the ferry reservation well in advance. August is a busy time of year and the ferries do book up.
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Thanks. He will be picked up y his friend who lives about 30 minutes away from the ferry on LI. So he def does not need his car. If it is a total pain I may just suck it up and drive him but I would rather save myself the nearly four hour round trip from MA twice in three days…
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Can he bring his car on the ferry?
He could but won’t need it and seems easier to buy a walk on ticket.
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Well if it was me who would have to drive back and forth from MA to CT, I’d rather pay the higher fare (and save some gas/tolls). We are in NJ, daughter goes to school in Boston, her boyfriend is from LI, these aren’t nice rides.
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Another thing you need to check…can a car be left overnight at the parking in New London…and how much will that cost for three days. We have taken the ferry from Bridgeport…but the parking we use cannot be overnight…or even very late. The place is locked up at a certain time.
It might be easier to just take the car.
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I’ve parked on the New London side and walked on to the ferry to Orient Point for day trips without any issues. If he’s particularly concerned about finding parking, though, he may be able to make a reservation at the Water Street garage near the ferry by contacting Laz Parking: https://go.lazparking.com/search-results/New-London-USA.
If you do find yourself in New London and want to do something more than just drive there and back, the Connecticut College Arboretum is worth a visit on a nice day.
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Perhaps the OP will clarify, but I don’t think this is a day trip. They mentioned three days. I would want to know if parking long term like that is available.
One option might be to find available/safe parking a distance away… then Uber to the ferry.
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I have to think and they can call but that the area lots must have overnight parking
Additional info from the ferry website, with a number to call: Limited on site parking is available at $10.00 per calendar day at the New London ferry terminal, first come first served. Additional parking is available at the Water Street Parking Garage in New London, directly across the street from the ferry terminal. The parking garage rates are $6 per calendar day Mon-Thurs. and $15 per calendar day Fri-Sat-Sun & Holidays. Rates are subject to change without notice. Please call (860) 443-1775 to verify parking garage rates.
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Yes it is three days, 8/10-8/12
@Ciciz do you know if these lots allow overnight and multiple day parking?
are you close to an amtrak stop in MA? My D20 took the amtrak up to New London to go visit a friend on Block Island last summer. The train station is basically across the street from the ferry terminal. could not have been easier.
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From the posted rates, it does appear that the Water Street Garage allows overnight/multiple day parking. It could end up being somewhat expensive. And it gets bad reviews on Yelp and Google for exit card pay machine issues.
Funny I was just on Amtrak website and realized the same thing. I think we may have him do the train instead. His ferry terminal I think is different than where the Block Island ferry is but still looks less than 10 minutes away from the train station. We can easily get him to South Station or Back Bay.
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Sorry, I don’t know, @thumper1 - it’s why I provided weblink and phone # so OP could find out. But it appears that they’ve found an elegant solution in Amtrak, which is great!
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Amtrak’s a good option. I’ve found that rates go up as the trip gets closer; booking at least 3 weeks in advance gets you the lowest fares. But those go quickly, so it’s worth booking as soon as his trip dates are known.
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