Our first holiday abroad....New York city..... December 2013

y2blade

y2blade

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Hi all.
I am in the early stages of planning our first proper holiday abroad, We will be going to New York for 10days December 2013 (For my Birthday).


We Would like to visit all or most of the following:
Grand central station
Times sq
Downtown Manhattan
Central Park
Yankee Stadium
Empire state building
Prospect Park
Rockefeller center
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park
Chrysler building
Brooklyn Bridge
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Madison sq Garden (Hoping to catch a Knicks game)


Any pointers as to the best way to book this sort of trip?
Am I better off going for a package or should I book flights and hotel separate?
What area should I look at staying and where to stay Hotel wise?

Budget of around £4k (But flexible upwards for the right place if needed) for Flights and Accommodation.

tbh it all seems a bit daunting.
All info great-fully received as I'm a total Newbie when it comes to foreign holidays.


Thank you
Chris
 
First of all you will have a great time :beerjug: last time I stayed in Times Square which gave great access to restaurants, theatres, Central Park etc. I like to walk cos you see more and I found that most of the places you want to visits are easily accessible on foot or via the subway. Felt very safe in the 'known' areas. I have a biker mate who lives in the city and will speak to him about contacting you. He's a great guy and will be a good source of information. Have a great time and I'll send you his details once I've had a chance to get hold of him :beer:
 
I booked on Expedia when Euan and I went to NY.

Stay in a central Manhatton hotel DO NOT go for the cheaper option of staying near one of the airports as you'll spend a fortune of fares and waste time. We didn't use the subways instead favouring taxi's. It was more expensive but we were sight seeing as we went places.

MSG and the knicks game is a must, fantastic. Booked tickets on line for about £40 each and picked them up there. Also did the MSG tour the afternoon before the game.

Empire state and Statue of Liberty were good fun. Central Park is great to spend an afternoon or morning in.

Landing at JFK all the taxis charge a fixed price (think it was $40) to any central hotel .... and it's a scarey introduction ride to NY (well it was in the fucker we got in).

Our hotel had a really nice food supermarket / deli over the road and we used to walk over, get a hot breakfast and take it back to the room. They were quite happy with this and walking through reception with pizzas in the evening.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/fourpoints/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1408&language=en_US
 
5 boroughs bike tour it's on push bikes big organised event, pretty good fun really safe...cos of the numbers...:thumb2

We stayed in lower manhattan near the three ways? there's a big bar, loads of drink and ribs china town more drink and food. Greenwich village up the island on the left good fun but abit odd....

Alphabet City....:eek: it's sort of opposite Greenwich Village.... if you like an air sucking chest wound have a look!

We walked everywhere and had a pretty good time, but it's a big city....:augie
 
Do NOT rent a car!! They cost more to park than to hire.

Last time I went, you can't get further into the Chrysler Building than the lobby (but that's pretty good!).

What's the score on the Statue of Liberty? I thought that you can not longer access that.

Greg
 
If you are doing all the tourist bits look at getting a New York Card or pass, it gives you huge discounts at most of the attractions and you even get to queue jump at some of them. Enjoy!
 
I had already thought that about car rental.

But tbh will probably book a car for a day, Hertz have the new Dodge Challanger RT so it would be rude not to spend a day tooling around in it.

Need to look into that a bit more as the insurance on Hertz is the bare minimum as i understand it, the equivalant of our third party only cover.... So i'd want to be fully comp.
 
To be honest I think 10 days will be too long.

You can visit the places on your list in a couple of days.If you want to go for 10 days perhaps rent a car and explore New York state or drive up to Boston for a few days.

Also bear in mind it can be REALLY cold in NY in December and if it snows the whole place can grind to a halt very quickly,though snow is more likely in Jan/Feb.
 
Ellis and Liberty Island are a must, not sure if you can get inside the statue these days but still worth going there.

Going up the top of the Empire State can mean queuing so see if you can pre-book or get there early.

Me and wifey took a tour of Central Park in one of the horse drawn carriages - very informative and good fun.

You might also visit the USS Intrepid (decomissioned aircraft carrier) which is where one of the Concords is displayed.

We took taxis and used the subway, eating out is not expensive and the portions tend to be mega sized.

We took in a Broadway show - that Mel Brooks one which has the dancing Nazis - oh gawd what's it called again - anyhoo it was hilarious. We also went to see The Hothouse Flowers in a club - great night out that was.

Go for a walk to Little Italy and Chinatown.

Fab city, oh make sure you visit Ground Zero as well:thumb
 
Take a trip on the Staten Island ferry, fantastic views and it's free. Best view of the Manhattan skyline for nowt :D
Walking around Manhattan isn't scary at all, we did it with the kids in prams when they were 5 months and 2 years old respectively. Amazing how many people stopped to chat and say how gorgeous the kids were. Freaked me out a bit at first, but it was nice.
Lots of superb little diners for breakfasts, and if you get some local tips on where they are there are some real gems to be discovered.

Enjoy :D
 
NY Deli pastrami and pickle sandwiches... yum yum. Most areas will have one... just ask at the hotel where the locals go! :beerjug:
 
Love NY.
Its everything you think it might be,and a lot more.If your staying central,theres so much you can get to on foot,and with a street map Its almost impossible to get lost.
Take up Panthers offer,a bit of local knowledge is worth its weight in gold.
Enjoy:thumb2
 
Pantherman said:
First of all you will have a great time :beerjug: last time I stayed in Times Square which gave great access to restaurants, theatres, Central Park etc. I like to walk cos you see more and I found that most of the places you want to visits are easily accessible on foot or via the subway. Felt very safe in the 'known' areas. I have a biker mate who lives in the city and will speak to him about contacting you. He's a great guy and will be a good source of information. Have a great time and I'll send you his details once I've had a chance to get hold of him :beer:
Click to expand...

Please do, that would be great...thank you :thumb2

You can't put a price on local knowledge.

Arsey said:
To be honest I think 10 days will be too long.

You can visit the places on your list in a couple of days.If you want to go for 10 days perhaps rent a car and explore New York state or drive up to Boston for a few days.

Also bear in mind it can be REALLY cold in NY in December and if it snows the whole place can grind to a halt very quickly,though snow is more likely in Jan/Feb.
Click to expand...

Trippy said:
Agreed, we were there for 5 and planned right that was plenty.
Click to expand...



I just thought it rude not to hire something like this while there, even if just for a day:

6195427451_37ef7d5e4b_z.jpg


or

2012-Ford-Mustang-GT.jpg


Hertz have both...for around £100 for the day.
Just a thought that was all.

No biggie.


BUT From what I've read today Considering the weather/temperate and decent sounding public transport options.
I Will pretty much scrub the "Car hire" idea out for this trip, but it was well worth airing the options it as we Had looked into Driving Route 66 during the summer of 2014, but from what I've read it is pretty much dilapidated and potholed to buggery and not really worth bothering with.


We have also looked at driving the West-Coast on highway 101 on 2014.

OOOOPs derailed my own thread.
:rolleyes:


Back on topic:
Hmmmm We both (MissB and I) thought 7days would be the minimum needed, with perhaps 14days being too long!
So 10 days in NYC may well be too long, so Maybe we'll break the Trip in two then! few days in NYC and a few days elsewhere.
Or maybe just shorten the Holiday to 7days at the most!

Will have a chat with her when she gets in from work.

Any other shouts with regards to hotels in NYC? or at least what area of the city to aim for?
 
When i went a while back, Gray Lines were doing a boat ride round the whole of Manhatten Island...good fun and good value....might be a bit nippy in Dec though!
 
Lord Snooty said:
Ellis and Liberty Island are a must, not sure if you can get inside the statue these days but still worth going there.

Going up the top of the Empire State can mean queuing so see if you can pre-book or get there early.

Me and wifey took a tour of Central Park in one of the horse drawn carriages - very informative and good fun.

You might also visit the USS Intrepid (decomissioned aircraft carrier) which is where one of the Concords is displayed.

We took taxis and used the subway, eating out is not expensive and the portions tend to be mega sized.

We took in a Broadway show - that Mel Brooks one which has the dancing Nazis - oh gawd what's it called again - anyhoo it was hilarious. We also went to see The Hothouse Flowers in a club - great night out that was.

Go for a walk to Little Italy and Chinatown.

Fab city, oh make sure you visit Ground Zero as well:thumb
Click to expand...


Will definitely visit USS Intrepid, thank you.
Horse Drawn Carriages around central Park will be done too, thank you.
I'm hooked on Man v Food the Carnivore Chronicles...I like my meet :thumb2
Can't believe I missed the 9/11 Memorial site off my list...thanks.
Plenty of walking around/exploring will be done.

franco said:
Take a trip on the Staten Island ferry, fantastic views and it's free. Best view of the Manhattan skyline for nowt :D
Walking around Manhattan isn't scary at all, we did it with the kids in prams when they were 5 months and 2 years old respectively. Amazing how many people stopped to chat and say how gorgeous the kids were. Freaked me out a bit at first, but it was nice.
Lots of superb little diners for breakfasts, and if you get some local tips on where they are there are some real gems to be discovered.

Enjoy :D
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, notes made.

Canuck said:
NY Deli pastrami and pickle sandwiches... yum yum. Most areas will have one... just ask at the hotel where the locals go! :beerjug:
Click to expand...

Local info is always best :) thanks

JPR said:
Love NY.
Its everything you think it might be,and a lot more.If your staying central,theres so much you can get to on foot,and with a street map Its almost impossible to get lost.
Take up Panthers offer,a bit of local knowledge is worth its weight in gold.
Enjoy:thumb2
Click to expand...


Thanks a lot :thumb2


will come up with more questions after dinner I'm sure.

I want to experience some massive meaty feasts in NYC
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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