"Brian Wickham" wrote in message
news:32lph151o1hbraj9u29tj6tuo7sbicvcdv@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 05 Sep 2005 19:46:53 -0000, msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:
>
>
>>> Albany is a good alternative, so is New London , Connecticut. We
>>> rented a car in Albany last year at well below the cost in NYC plus it
>>> was a very nice car. The only hitch is that all the car rental
>>> agencies are at the airport. ...
>>
> snip
>>
>>Albany -- which is the state capital -- is itself a fair-sized city,
>>with 100,000 people in the city proper and a sprawling metropolitan
>>area. All the major rental companies will be there, but I don't know
>>about convenient locations for an arrival by train (for that matter,
>>I don't know if the train station is in the city or on the outskirts,
>>as a few of them are).
>
> All are at the airport, as I originally posted. The train station is
> in Rensselaer across the river from Albany. The worst that can happen
> is a cab ride to the airport (not very far).
>
> snip
>>On the other hand,
>>Metro-North is cheaper and significantly more likely to be punctual,
>>especially for the trip back to New York (if your train from Albany to
>>New York started in Buffalo or Chicago, say, it's already had hours to
>>incur delays).
>
> Trains from Albany to NYC originate in Albany and leave every two
> hours. They are not overnighters from elsewhere.
>
> Brian
I did a google on car rental albany, and there appear to be a lot of in-town
car rental places, as is true for most towns. A lot of those in Albany are
Enterprise locations, and they'll pick you up (within reason). Thrifty,
Budget and Hertz all have in-town sites. I see Enterprise and AI in
Rensselaer, too. I don't know where any are relative to the train station.
Albany is a great starting point. The Northway (I-87) north from there is
one of America's more splendid highwys, and you might plan a trip that takes
you across Lake Champlain by ferry to Burlington, VT, a very nice place in
its own right, and from there you can take highway or byway down through VT,
maybe into New Hampshire and Massachussetts for awhile, then take Rt 2 West
across northern Mass and back to Albany.
While in VT, try to cover at least some of the distance on Rt 100, one of
the world's most scenic roads. Actually, for a foliage trip, its a good
move, since many of the state's major ski areas are close to Rt. 100, and
there are a lot of lodging and dining opportunities close by the ski areas.
The entire region will be full of travelers in October, so do plan well
ahead.
Keith
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