It has happened to all of us: you have the perfect vacation planned, with all the destinations planned to arrive in your car, and two days before, your car decides to break down. You take it to the mechanic, and the prognosis is not good, so it will take about a week there.
For many, this means the end of their vacation. However, spending your vacation without a car can change the way you perceive your surroundings. You’ll enjoy the sights more, be able to relax better and even visit places you wouldn’t normally visit otherwise.
Of course, you will need to plan your trip better, but that won’t take away from the excitement. We recommend that you use a destination planning website and get ready to vacation in a way you’ve never done before. Click here for an example.
Travel Outside New York City
For many, the best destination is to travel out of the city and relax your mind from the constant hustle and bustle. After all, a metropolis like New York can tire our minds and getting away from it will help refresh them.
The first thing to do is to take a look at the options outside the city and get ready to book a room. A great recommendation is to take a tour of the wonderful lakes found in the state, where you can enjoy a natural reconnection while staying in several inns with all the comforts.
One of our top favorites is Lake Placid. Watch this to get a glimpse:
Traveling outside of New York City without a car doesn’t have to be difficult: just get organized, choose a public means of transportation, and dedicate yourself to enjoying both your trip and your stay.
Explore The City
Being completely immersed in our jobs, we sometimes forget that the city has a lot of places we have never explored. Best of all, we can get to them using public transportation, so exploring them is fun.
If you love art, a nice recommendation is to walk around Brooklyn and see the murals and graffiti in that area. You will surely see unique designs that will surprise you with the ability of these street artists.
On the other hand, if you like to sit back and relax watching a movie, going to the movies is surely something you have in mind. New York is full of indie movie theatres where you can spend hours sitting and enjoying the best movies ever made with other movie lovers.
Places like the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the Videology Bar & Cinema or Cobble Hill Cinemas will allow you to sit and enjoy several films.
What Else Can I Do If I Don’t Have A Car On My Vacation?
Traveling by public transportation to different destinations may not be your thing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your vacation. Remember that vacationing doesn’t necessarily mean traveling. It means giving yourself a well-deserved rest and reward.
New York is a city full of upscale restaurants, great bars for everyone and even relaxing places like Central Park. Just take a little bit of your time, and dedicate it to yourself.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram