6 days in New York - help me with an itinerary please

[BigSandyBalls2015]

We're going for Easter next year with two teenage DDs (mid-teens).

I haven't been for 25 years. Most of our holidays involve getting up late and chilling by a pool/the beach with a few watersports or a mooch round a village after lunch, so this is very different and I don't want to waste it, so I'm thinking an itinerary would be good.

Can you give me some ideas of 'must do's' re: sightsteeing etc and also where to eat. It's DH birthday whilst we're there so a plan for that would be good.

Something that I don't think has been mentioned is the Transit Museum in Brooklyn, which is fascinating

We spent hours there

www.nytransitmuseum.org

Seconding Mozz's suggestion about airbnb.

In my experience booking accommodation for family etc who visit, hotels anywhere decent are v expensive, especially now the exchange rate isn't as favorable from a GBP perspective.

NYC hotels can be small and grim and fleece you for extras such as internet connection and a $20-$25 a day resort / hotel fee. In bigger places this can be so you can access the spa / gym etc for free which is a bit given I always think it should be included

There's heaps of airbnbs that offer way better value and you'll get an entire apartment. One thing to note here is some may be v small so a kitchen might only be a hob and microwave and fridge, especially in the city. Most apartments also don't have washer / dryers in them if thats a consideration

One other thing to note - the price you see on the majority of stuff won't be the price you pay at the till. NY has an 8.75% tax on most goods, with similar exemptions to UK VAT

I thought air b&b was illegal in NYC?

Anyone been in summer holidays? Trying to work out if it would be too hot for all the sightseeing we'd like to do - although the outdoor public swimming pools look great.

Nope; what they have done is tightened restrictions up so you can't rent a place out if you don't live there whilst its being rented and / or its a multi dwelling building (which is 3 or more apartments)

A lot of rentals can be through people who own brownstone type houses with what is called a grandma apartment, which is usually a small flat / studio in the basement or upper level with a separate entrance. That sort of thing is still legal (as long as you declare the income and ensure the building is up to code with fire alarms etc)

stripy its regularly 35-43C in the summer with 90% humidity. In the city it can be disgusting, and many locals are nowhere to be seen as a result as they head out to the beaches on Long Island etc.

It makes it good and quiet for sightseeing, but you;d be hard pressed (imo) to last more than 45 mins outside without needing some air con. because of the high rises, the heat and humidity gets trapped and its like being in soup!

The swimming pools are often / mainly private membership only. The outdoor city pools are free but they're very basic in terms of amenities -probably 1 in 3 times I went there'd be an 'unsanitary incident in the pool...'

We went to a basketball game at Madison Square Gardens, fantastic fun, teenagers loved it, even the one who doesn't like sports.

misssmilla I think 45 mins is a bit unreasonable. I went end of July then toured a bit and came back in August last year and managed to walk miles without feeling the need to escape into aircon. I guess it depends on your tolerance for heat and humidity...
Definitely 9/11 museum and memorial. I'm failing to understand posters who were unmoved or who for other reasons say don't go.
Walk everywhere - the suggestion of the length of Broadway was a good one.
Go to a show - I'd suggest something less obvious - we went to Waitress which is really funny and sad, and also Finding Neverland which was more obviously 'Broadway'.

card I live in NY and have done 6 summers in NYC and Brooklyn, and it can get hotter than satan's ballcrack, hence my comment.

3 weeks ago it was 42C and 97% humidity- I'm pretty sure most ppl would have a tough time with that without regular pit stops.

I walk from port authority to midtown east at 7am and need a shower when I get to work because of the humidity. It's bloody hot and the only escape is to jump into a building (all of which have Ac).

Fekko Its worth paying more to fly into Newark. The TsA agents are actually nice. Don't worry about being flagged. I fly home for a long weekend every 3-4 weeks and I am flagged every single time on my return from the UK. The best is when I arrive on a Friday morning with the baby at Manchester airport and they flag me because I'm a single parent coming in with a baby. Forget the fact you can see a pattern that I have been coming and going every 3-4 weeks for the past 2 years and have various numbers of children with me.

Going into the US I never have a problem. It's only going into and out of the Uk.

Missmilla there's no way we could cope with that heat/ humidity and actually enjoy being out in it so it looks like it will have to be an Easter Trip one year! I went years ago Easter time ish - and it went from freezing cold to lovely and warm in the space of 3 days!

Place marking (sorry).

Easter's a bit iffy - it's been known to snow in early April!

Best to wait for a late one Next year is early (Sun 1st) but 2019 is lovely & late - 21st

Do the Met and Moma.

Top of the Rock and World Trade Centre - and while you're down there, visit the memorials and the museum.

If you can, fly to Newark - immigration is done with a smile and you get the best, side on view of the skyline.

Go to a deli, preferably in the West village - in fact, go to loads of restaurants there.

Central Park is OK - but we love Bryant Park more. We were there last month and they had free Broadway type shows - amazing.

Have Oysters at Grand Central.

Something cheesy and touristy that I love is Ellen's Stardust Diner on Broadway.

Walk the Brooklyn bridge.

Something I observed this year - as a regular visitor, is that Manhattan has become quite sleazy after many years of a cleaned up act. Loads of rough sleepers and panhandlers. Avoid Times Square for this reason and the awful 'Desnudas'.

Fab fab thread! We're going in Oct and there's so much advice here. Thank you to all of the contributers.

Thanks for all the suggestions - we're going in October too Science

Anyone who's thinking of an October visit, Halloween is MASSIVE here. There's a large parade in NYC and lots of the residential areas dress up their front house stoops with full on displays of stuff, usually themed. There's areas we found in Carroll Gardens and Park Slope that went all out - one guy had his front yard done up with the equivalent of a tesco delivery truck bursting out with a life size zombie invasion!

Two other random tips;

1. be prepared to take your passport anywhere that needs photo id. Lots of places demand scannable ID so overseas driving licenses don't work well. Its a massive ball ache and is in places like madison square garden where everyone gets carded for booze even if you look way over 21

2. lots of museums will not allow you to take in backpacks / rucksacks big bags (including shopping bags) we once wasted 1 hour in MOMA in the cloakroom queue, so worth planning accordingly

My last tip is make sure you have very good health and trip insurance; you do not want to be forking out for emergency US healthcare without it! A trip to out of hours will cost you circa $250-300+ just to get seen (thats without any X-rays, prescriptions etc)

Lots more lovely ideas for me to think about, thank you.

Although having spent yesterday in London with my teens I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't have just stuck to a beach holiday again .... moaning about walking, feet hurting, bags too heavy

This thread is so helpful.

OP can I suggest you ask to have it moved to the travel section otherwise it will disappear in chat.

Good idea. How do I do that?

Walk the High Line
Do a Circle Cruise - amazing views of the whole of Manhatten
Show obviously - Hamilton if you can get in
Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem
Top of the Rock
Statue of Liberty
Spend some time in the Village and eat there
Spend a day walking around Central Park

Definitely agree with oysters at Grand Central station - look for the whispering gallery.

download the subway app if you want to use the subway- it's great.
Food places I love that aren't as touristy.
Grey Dog for breakfast- small chain (soho, west village etc) with a more local atmosphere. Excellent quality.
Korea town for Korean barbecue. West 32nd I think- its close to Macy's.
Hill country chicken is good value. Fried chicken and pies! It's near the flatiron building.
Try the 1 dollar pizza places.

Nordstrom rack union square for good bargains and century 21 if you can handle it!

BonChon for Korean fried chicken.

Hello folks, we're just going to move this very useful thread over to travel.