We will be going to NYC from MN in June. We aren't sure what to bring as far as car seats. We are flying into Laguardia and will be staying in Manhattan. We are bringing our 3.5 year old and our then 11 month old. So we are wondering how to go about getting the kids safely to the hotel.
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you can have a car service pick you up that has car seats. that's what we do because we don't have a car. we use this one:
http://www.legendslimousine.com/
then in the city you can take public transportation.
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What @Mrs. Bee: said, or just bring your own and install in an Uber or car service (as long as you are comfortable installing curbside at the airport, and I like uber/car service more than a taxi when I need to use a carseat because they are generally more kind, patient and helpful than a taxi driver).
Once you are in Manhattan you should be able to walk or take the subway anywhere. Where are you staying in the city? -
@SweetiePie: definitely true you will get much better service from uber/car service. but uber from the airport is generally very expensive... more than a car service and way more than a taxi. we took one to jfk and it came out to over $100! uber is best for short distances. long distances really charge you a lot.
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@Mrs. Bee: True, but we tend to go with convenience over expense. We haven't used a car service in a really long time because it's so much easier to get off the plane and open the uber app!
I guess I also don't think it's THAT much more, but we tend to fly mostly out of LGA where there isn't a flat fee. I took an uber from our UES apartment to LGA on Thursday and it was $37, which I don't think is THAT much worse than a cab. Maybe $10 premium? -
Definitely second the uber-family/legends car service recs, don't bother trekking around your own.
If you do bring your own though-- always keep a door open while you're installing: drivers take closing the door as a signal that you're ready to go and will start driving away before you're ready. I've had them start driving while I do have the door still open and a leg out the door too though-- another reason to prefer uber over yellow cabs!
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@SweetiePie: yah we always fly out of jfk, but are also coming from brooklyn. it's a lot closer from the ues.
when we lived in ny, i lived by uber!
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@nana87: I was going to say uber family too - but I think they only have 1 forward facing car seat and that's it. That was the only reason I didn't specify Uber Family, since she has 2 LOs. I've never actually used it but I've considered it. Have you used it? Do you like it?
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@SweetiePie: aah you're right, it's only one seat and forward facing! We've used it several times and I do like it. I'd prefer lo to be rear facing, and she is when we drive ourselves, but we only take it for short trips (like, it's a 15 min drive between my dad's and our apartments but 45 mins on bus+subway) and it's better than nothing
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@nana87: yeah, now that he's older and hefty I'm not super super nervous about FF for the occasional uber trip. He's RF in our car as well, but I figure FF is better than putting him on my lap in a taxi! He's still never been in a taxi because of my anxiety about that. Our friends think I'm nuts. But I still (for some reason) have been afraid to use uber family just because of the unknown. I would love to break out of our 15 block radius for outings!
Also, the one time I tried to call one it said like 16 mins and I was in a hurry so I cancelled and got a regular uber and used my own seat. Do you find that there are plenty available all the time or only certain times? Or do you just need to plan in advance and figure a good 15 mins for the uber to arrive? -
@Mrs. Bee. How much would the car service...ballpark?
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We went to NYC with our LO when she was 21 months and we didn't bring our car seat. We took a bus from LGA to Manhattan (the Q70, maybe?). Then walked or took the subway everywhere else. The bus was sort of a PITA but it was cheap and worked fine.
ETA: We did bring a stroller.
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@SweetiePie: I don't think we've actually had to wait that long for it-- I don't remember it being longer than uberx? We're on the uws and my dad is on the ues, I would bet more hang around those neighborhoods than others
I have taken lo in normal taxis as well, particularly for really short distances that don't involve the highway (like, today there was a 20 min wait for a bus to go 25 blocks down a single avenue with no traffic so a 5 min drive)Eta when lo was in an infant car seat I always lugged it around when we took taxis, but when we stopped using it at about 1 year I just made the transition to taking uber family or car services if we're going to the airport. The convertible seat is just too much of a pain!
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@Jone0603: I took legends Last December and it was $60+tolls+tip between the upper west side and laguardia. Definitely more than a cab (which is maybe $40ish) but worth it for me at least. The drivers I've had through them have also been the nicest drivers I've ever met in the city. One put on Barney videos from his phone for lo for the entire drive, lol
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@nana87: @Mrs. Bee: I've never heard of Legends, this is so good to know! Are the seats installed already when they arrive or do you have to wait for the install/install yourself?
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@SweetiePie: the seats are already installed when they arrive. it's about $80 from brooklyn (since 2 car seats) and often they play cartoons for the kids on a dvd player! the experience is just so much better, and no way could I lug around 2 car seats anyway. although now that they're older, i just travel with the seat belt vests.
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Eastern is another Brooklyn car service that can almost always get me both an infant and toddler seat in one car. With many car services if you book ahead/online, they have discounted airport rates.
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Agree with the others about a car service. When we lived in NYC, we only ever used a car seat if we rented a car ourselves. The rest of the time we used services with a car seat.
I have taken lo in normal taxis as well, particularly for really short distances that don't involve the highway (like, today there was a 20 min wait for a bus to go 25 blocks down a single avenue with no traffic so a 5 min drive)Reply
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