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

Have been told to look at Vacation rental apartments as opposed to hotels, any experiance of these?

Some of them look smashing.
 
y2blade said:
Have been told to look at Vacation rental apartments as opposed to hotels, any experiance of these?

Some of them look smashing.
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hmmmmm have just read this:
Unfortunately the majority of vacation rentals in New York City are illegal if you stay under 30 days, and even if they weren't illegal, there are a lot of scams out there.

As far as renting an Vacation apartment you should be aware that in NYC it is illegal to rent an apartment for less than 30 days. That being said, it is done frequently but there is a risk involved in 1) not knowing it is a "real" apartment (some people advertise and take your money), 2) being turned in by a neighbor in a particular building. I am not recommending breaking the law (although it's really a stupid one) but you can find apartments for rent and personally, if I found a place with plenty of reviews by other renters, I might consider it. (I have rented apartments/houses in many places around the world without any hassles and love the option!)

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Having read a bit more into it we'll be sticking to Hotels.
 
I'd be doing some driving up to Boston for a change of scenery and get a feel for the country - New York city is a bit overwhelming for 10 days

Upstate New York is a very nice place in the Autumn - you should try an go earlier, it'll be feckin freezing in December:thumb2
 
Kaister said:
I'd be doing some driving up to Boston for a change of scenery and get a feel for the country - New York city is a bit overwhelming for 10 days

Upstate New York is a very nice place in the Autumn - you should try an go earlier, it'll be feckin freezing in December:thumb2
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Not all of us are scared of cold weather ;)

The weather and time of year are a part of the appeal of visiting NYC, can't wait to see all the christmas lights!
We are hoping for snow.
 
y2blade said:
Not all of us are scared of cold weather ;)

The weather and time of year are a part of the appeal of visiting NYC, can't wait to see all the christmas lights!
We are hoping for snow.
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you mis-understand.

Autumn is the time the leaves change colour - its a big thing over there. ...and the drive to Boston thru New England would be a really nice thing to do to see the colour changes.

http://gonewengland.about.com/cs/fallfoliage/a/aadaynyc.htm

http://gonewengland.about.com/cs/fallfoliage/a/aafalltrvelplnr.htm
 
Kaister said:
you mis-understand.

Autumn is the time the leaves change colour - its a big thing over there. ...and the drive to Boston thru New England would be a really nice thing to do to see the colour changes.

http://gonewengland.about.com/cs/fallfoliage/a/aadaynyc.htm

http://gonewengland.about.com/cs/fallfoliage/a/aafalltrvelplnr.htm
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Ah sorry, Yes I did.

I see what you mean....thanks.

We Have settled on 7days in NYC for my birthday flying with Virgin and have decided on what hotel we will use too.....can't book it until Feb 1st 2013 though.


Thanks all.

:thumb2
 
If you are going to any sport event use Stubhub to buy tickets, much cheaper than buying from the venue and totally kosher.

There is a great bar, 230 on 5th, rooftop joint a few blocks away from the ESB, good place to go at sunset. They give you an overcoat and have patio heaters.

You could go to NY for a year, not see it all and never get bored.

Have a great trip.
 
omen said:
If you are going to any sport event use Stubhub to buy tickets, much cheaper than buying from the venue and totally kosher.

There is a great bar, 230 on 5th, rooftop joint a few blocks away from the ESB, good place to go at sunset. They give you an overcoat and have patio heaters.

You could go to NY for a year, not see it all and never get bored.

Have a great trip.
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Excellent I like the sound of that :thumb2

Thanks for the heads-up on the sporting event tickets...Knicks game at MSG is hopefully on the cards.

will bump this thread up next spring once bookings have been made.

Thanks all
 
Also stayed at the New Yorker. Excellent location and 24-hour diner on the ground floor.
My suggestion would be to do the Rockerfeller Plaza during the daytime - to get views of Manhattan, Central Park and the Empire State. Then do the Empire State at night. Excellent views and no queues.
B B Kings Blues Bar for dinner and a band.
And at Grand Central Station check out the whispering gallery effect under the main concourse. Mrs R thought that was spooky.
Helicopter tour cost me an arm and a leg, but I'd never flown in one before and the views are incredible.
 
Top tip ...

... but depends on when your birthday is; book outward leg on Christmas Day, it was about 30% cheaper, we also returned on New Years eve :rob
 
Big Apple Greeters is a must for your 1st trip.
It's free and they'll meet you at the hotel and take you around whatever part of NYC is of particular interest to you. I would suggest Little Italy.......
Most importantly they'll explain the subway, how to use it and how the routes work. Once you understand the subways you'll get around so much quicker, thus giving you more time to spend wherever you choose to be.
Walk as well though. You can't beat Manhattan for atmos..
If you're there in the lead up to Christmas watch Miracle on 34th Street before you go, then go to Macy's and watch the magic on kids faces as they wait to meet Chris Cringle.
Tiffanys is also worth a look, but don't limit yourself to the ground floor, the higher you go up in the store the higher the prices go up.
We took in a netball game at MSG on one of our trips, it was the Knicks v The Mets. Never been as bored in all my born days. But it ticked a box.
Spend a couple of days having a fleeting look at everything you think you want to see then the rest of the time doing the things you realise you really want to see.

Ellis island totally blew me away but it's very much 'horses for courses'.

Whatever you do, wherever you go, you'll have a cracking time.

Jealous? Me? Errrrrr just a fecking bit.
 
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Bumping an old thread (which has been very useful) and on the cadge for some Noo Yoik info if possible. Hope nobody minds a thread hijack ... if they do, I'll close this and start again but others might find the earlier bit of the thread useful :D

We (the wife and I) are off to NY next week. Staying 10 nights on West 40th Street (midtown). Weather might be a bit damp (boo). Browsed a few threads on here and got a guide book and been on trip advisor etc etc. Loooaaaaddds of stuff to see so we're not short of ideas. However, any recommendations for absolute must-see options, particularly if off the beaten track, are welcome.

Also, a couple of specific questions.

Q1 any recommendations for attraction passes? There are loads and they all seem to operate slightly differently. I've read reviews of all the options and I'm not sure I'm any the wiser. We will visit lots of stuff and we usually spend a long time everywhere we go (reading almost everything and the wife loves an audio guide!), but we realise we might need to be a bit less detailed on this trip (to avoid getting worn out if nothing else). I get the impression that some passes have limitations in that you can't upgrade for 'extras' which you could if you booked direct. Just after a flavour of whether others had bought passes but not used them as much as they thought or felt they were limited or whatever.

Q2 is about using a mobile phone over there. I've been on MSE and see that buying a sim card over there is probably the cheapest option. I'm a bit of a phone luddite and view them as a necessary evil and I'm only just savvy on the basics. Can anyone recommend (a) a place or places to buy and (b) a particular sim card/provider that can be bought easily and not cost the earth to buy or use? We will just want it for local calls to check times/buy tickets/make enquiries etc - no overseas (ie from the USA) calls planned. I've got a blackberry and the missus has a Nokia 710 (I think) windows phone. I meant to buy a used iphone before we left but I've left it a bit late :blast

Q3. Also can anyone recommend a paper street map? I realise there will be gazillions to choose from but just wondered if anyone used one they thought was fab. All the boroughs would be handy, not just Manhattan.

Q4 - is it possible to load a map of New York (or anywhere for that matter) on to an ipad and use that for navigating offline? I've got an ipad air (wifi only) and thought that might be useable? I realise there is a school of thought that if I need to ask that kind of question without working it out for myself, I'm arguably too stupid to own an ipad, but there we are ...... :D

:thumb2
 
We are going to NYC tomorrow. :bounce1
Re the phone, I have the TU Go app on my iPhone which means as long as you can connect to wifi, calls and texts are taken off your normal allowance. I also put 2 map apps on it as well which both work off line. Ulman citymaps2go and Ulman New York.
 
It's not my fav city but if you fancy a sundowner on a nice evening head to 230 Fifth.
That's the address-230 Fifth Avenue.Stunning views and a nice place for some evening sun.

What a lot of people who've never been to NY don't realise is that it's so built up with skyscrapers that down on street level you tend to be in the shadows the whole time so it's great to get up and above and into the fresh air and sunshine,especially whilst downing a beer looking over the Empire State and beyond.
 
Davy F said:
We are going to NYC tomorrow. :bounce1
Re the phone, I have the TU Go app on my iPhone which means as long as you can connect to wifi, calls and texts are taken off your normal allowance. I also put 2 map apps on it as well which both work off line. Ulman citymaps2go and Ulman New York.
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Nice one. Ulmon maps downloaded (or uploaded). Not tried em much yet, but look good. Subway overlay in particular looks handy.

Arsey said:
It's not my fav city but if you fancy a sundowner on a nice evening head to 230 Fifth.
That's the address-230 Fifth Avenue.Stunning views and a nice place for some evening sun.

What a lot of people who've never been to NY don't realise is that it's so built up with skyscrapers that down on street level you tend to be in the shadows the whole time so it's great to get up and above and into the fresh air and sunshine,especially whilst downing a beer looking over the Empire State and beyond.
Click to expand...

Yes, I had read that midtown is a concrete (and high) jungle where the sun can be absent for long periods due to the skyscrapers. We'll be on trips a lot of the time so heading away from the high rises. 230 fifth looks good. Maybe a bit swanky for a pleb like me, but we'll give it a look.

Cheers both.



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