Tell me all about your time in New York

[Crookairroad]

Planning a trip is one thing that is keeping me going during furlough and homeschooling.

If you’ve been, please tell me all about it. What you liked, didn’t like, must do trips, food etc etc.

I can’t see travel being possible this year but do hope to go next Spring.

Book as many tours as possible
One fine dining restaurant
Street food look videos on YouTube
Defo central park hire a bike/boat
Afternoon tea plaza
Coney Island beach
MoMA
Broadway show
Get a discounted train ticket

We stayed out at Long Island city. 15 mins to Central Park on the metro but massive hotel room and much cheaper.

We bought the sight seeing passes and then booked onto things we would never have done if we’d had to actually pay for them. As well as doing all the things we wanted to do. We found that the sight seeing buses were good but very slow.

We bought lots of take away food and ate in Bryant park or Central Park rather than eating in.

Freshly cooked pizza from the box in Bryant park listening to some live music was a lovely evening.

And our hotel also included breakfast which was good and you could grab food and take it back to your room. Plus free coffee and tea in the foyer too

Please do a tour with this man:

famousfatdave.com
It's a food tour and it is brilliant!! He's such a lovely bloke and really interesting.

Ellis Island
Ellen Stardust Diner (cheaper that a Broadway show and amazing milkshakes).

Ahh I've been a few times and even got married there a few years ago.
YouTube is a great resource for things to eat, see and do.
Also it depends what you're into, do you like to do all the 'touristy' bits like tours and open top buses, or would you prefer to see the real New York?

loved the staten island ferry for great views of the statute of liberty if you dont want to go to liberty island (we didnt as we couldnt get crown tickets)
we done a night cruise on a boat round both rivers and down to the statue for pics at night
911 memorial was quite sombre so keep it in mind when planning we done it at dusk so the lights in the fountain we more prominent - never done the museum

im planning on going back as soon as possible (should have been last june, then this june) and my main things are
walking brooklyn bridge
spending more time in central park
statue of liberty/ellis island hopefully with crown tickets but thats not a deal breaker this time

just remember you cant do it all in one trip so prioritise what is your cant miss things then work round them going by the area they are in - we tried to cram way to much into the 5 days we have and i was exhausted by the end of it plus nothing worse that wanting to see one thing at the top of manhattan and one thing at the bottom on your last day and rushing about
get onto google maps and plot what you want to see and then make your planning better imo and allow extra time as you will get sidetracked/distracted by things you pass you didnt realise was there or going in and out of shops

look closely at the city passes - i found they just gave you the basic entry and i wanted the enhanced entry then it wasnt worth it but dont rule them out if there is a lot you would use on them

food wise we ate cheap like of mcdonalds, hotdogs, pizzas think the most expensive meal was in hard rock cafe

oh and lastly - good comfy shoes - even using the subway (get a weekly pass - much easier than topping up when you need it)
you will walk a lot

i cant wait to go back, i know june isnt happening and ive booked time off work for other weeks this year in the hope things open up and i can get back

Thanks. Gives me something to research today.

Regarding passes such as city passes, are they really worth it? I am sure I read, but now can’t find it, that your pass puts you in one queue and you need to then be given a ticket and that ticket finally gets you into the attraction? I’m wondering if it’s just as easy but a little more expensive to book straight with the attraction?

@JackiesCrimbleCrumble

Ahh I've been a few times and even got married there a few years ago. YouTube is a great resource for things to eat, see and do. Also it depends what you're into, do you like to do all the 'touristy' bits like tours and open top buses, or would you prefer to see the real New York?

A bit of both really. ESB, TOTR, SOL and then things like the Brooklyn Bridge, DUMBO. Central Park for a while but yes, definitely want to see some real New York. What would you suggest? Hopefully going for 6 nights.

We aren’t into museums really. I’d consider the Met but mainly for the roof top bar views 😂 and to say we’ve been.

@Blueuggboots

Please do a tour with this man:

famousfatdave.com
It's a food tour and it is brilliant!! He's such a lovely bloke and really interesting.

Thank you. Will definitely look.

I would highly recommend Ellis Island, which you can combine with the Statue of Liberty. I found the Ellis island museum fascinating. I also did a tour of the unrestored hospital which was brilliant.
I’m not a musical fan but I’ve seen a couple of brilliant plays on Broadway, on half price tickets from the booth in Times Square.
We enjoy the open top bus tour, buy your tickets online. Good for getting your bearings.
Central Park is lovely for a quiet wander (I’ve only been in early spring so it may not be so quiet at other times).
The cafe in Ralph Loren’s store is a lovely peaceful oasis for a sit down!
If you are with a teenage girl a pilgrimage to the Glossier store is a must, it is a beautiful shop, to be fair.

You will walk miles, be aware that walking pace is quite slow compared to the U.K., I found it quite irritating how slowly everyone walked when I was trying to actually get somewhere.

Last time I was there we stayed in Jersey City, much nicer hotel than we could have had in Manhattan and a great view of the skyline.

We stayed mid-town which gave us a base in the middle of Manhatten to start exploring.

We went to see the NY Yankees (bit of a ways out but had allocated the morning for that). Went to Top of the Rock for the views, again, first thing is quiet and jet-lag coming from the UK works in your favour here. Got tickets for a Broadway show from TodayTix, good app. Got Staten Is ferry (not much to see at the other end), walked around Central Park. Go and see the Tenements living museum on the Lower East Side, well worth a visit. On one of the evenings we went to drag bingo in Greenwich Village, loved it.

Food wise, we ate bagels, enjoyed (a chilly, it was April) Al-Fresco bottomless Sunday brunch, fancy steak dinner, so a bit of everything. DM me if you want any names linked to the above. Very jealous, would love to go back.

We loved New York, we did 5 nights back in 2019 and will definitely go back one day.

We did the main touristy stuff as it was our first trip. There’s so much to do, you can make a trip fit whatever you’re in to, whether art and museums, shopping, foodies, sport, music or just normal tourist stuff.

I was organised and we did fit a lot in, we decided what we wanted to do in advance and did everything in the same area on the same day, although we still covered 50miles on foot during our time there so comfy shoes are a must!

Some of the things we did included:
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis island tour (book well in advance to get Crown Tickets).

Walked the Highline
Visited the Vessel at Hudson yards, it’s free booked in advance.
Walked the Brooklyn Bridge
Central Park - we are runners and there’s some lovely routes to enjoy.
One World Observatory - even on a cloudy day the views were amazing and it’s a great experience.
We went up the Empire State Building at night.
Joined a 9/11 tour booked through 9/11 tribute museum (different to the main memorial museum) the tour was taken by 2 survivors and we won’t ever forget listening to their stories.
We also visited places by walking a lot including 5th Ave, Public Library, Grand Central Station, China Town, Wall Street etc. (we got the subway maybe 4 times the whole trip)

We watched two Broadway shows - we weren’t fussed about particular shows so both were booked the day of the show at TKTs office and we managed to get great seats for a good price.

We ate in a mixture of places, from picking up typical a New York pizza slice to more fine dining at the Loeb Boat House in Central Park and Rainbow Rooms Bar 65 at the Rockefella. The only restaurant we were slight disappointed in was the Oyster Bar at Grand Central.

Our hotel was located centrally near to Times Square and included breakfast and we were really pleased with our choice.

As you can tell, I could talk a lot about NYC! Enjoy your planning, it’s a brilliant trip!

Thank you.

I’ve had a look at flight times and think we will probably arrive in Manhattan around 3 pm. It will be a case of dumping our bags and possibly heading straight for the open top bus and do a circuit of that to get our bearings.

I’ve read that TOTR is better than the ESB but we will do both. Definitely one at night, probably TOTR.

Food Weiss, definitely doing local rather than big brands such as Macdonald’s and Bubba Gumps.

If you arrive at 3 I would suggest getting out in the daylight as soon as possible and staying up as long as you can (your eyes will be trying to close by early evening if you are anything like me). Don't try to do too much in the first evening. Last time I was in the US I went to the theatre (on the second evening) and fell asleep half way through. The play had taken a very unexpected turn when I woke up and I was very confused! You will be awake at the crack of dawn for at least the first day.

@Chemenger

If you arrive at 3 I would suggest getting out in the daylight as soon as possible and staying up as long as you can (your eyes will be trying to close by early evening if you are anything like me). Don't try to do too much in the first evening. Last time I was in the US I went to the theatre (on the second evening) and fell asleep half way through. The play had taken a very unexpected turn when I woke up and I was very confused! You will be awake at the crack of dawn for at least the first day.

Thanks. Yes, I expect an early start will happen which is why I think in the first full day it will be either the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty.

If you’ve not been before do all the traditional tourist stuff, you won’t regret any of it. Last time we went we visited the United Nations which was excellent value for money.

Been a few times. I enjoyed:

ESB at night
911 museum & memorial
Staten Island Ferry
Watching NY Yankees with a hotdog & beer
Brooklyn Brewery
Brunch at Pershing Diner-great pancakes.
Concert at Carnegie Hall
Brunch at Katz Deli
We had some amazing meals out-NY is fantastic for restaurants

Will you be taking DC and if so what age @Crookairroad?

We go to NYC regularly due to family nearby and our trips are always different, depending on how long we've got and the ages of our DC at the time.

Last time we went our kids were 8 and 12 and they loved the ESB and the more touristy stuff. We did a boat tour around Manhattan with Circle Line (you can get a joint ticket with the ESB that saves money), the High Line, Hudson Yards and The Vessel. The time before that we went to the 9/11 memorial (not the museum), which is dramatic and very moving, Chinatown is fun, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, the American Museum of Natural History, The Met and MoMA are great if you have either have little, easygoing kids or older ones who are into art/museums (mine aren't ). A carriage ride around Central Park is fun and 'iconic', I haven't been to ToTR, Rockefeller Center is fun though and whatever season you go there is often some kind of display or something going on, Greenwich Village is nice for a wander and has some lovely restaurants, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty I'd say don't bother to visit unless you/your kids are particularly interested in the immigrant experience - it's not really for little kids IMO - might be better to do a Circle Line tour and see them that way.

Who are you taking with? Children or just partner?

It can be way cheaper to stay just across in Brooklyn, eg Duffield St, has a Sheraton, A-line and other good hotel, handy for several subway lines, diners, etc, and for.less-crowded shopping.

Ellis Island is awe-inspiring especially if you have any US immigrant relatives (even if they didn't go.tnrough EI.)
United Nations tour
Southern half of Central Park before it gets flat and boring
A walk along Broadway or similar
A quick peep into Grand Central Station.

Don't fly to LaGuardia.

It’s 3 of us including DS who will be 13 or May be closer to 14 depending on Covid etc.

We have direct flights into JFK and Newark so no LaGuarida!

My top tip: wear comfortable shoes, and break them in before you go! You'll walk for miles and miles each day.

Also, don't plan every day to the nth degree. Our best day out was getting a bit lost in Greenwich, finding an amazing place for brunch and wandering around aimlessly. We still talk about this after eleven years!

We went and didn't actually enjoy it much. It was really hot the first week in July, maybe that impacted on our enjoyment. It was also crap for accessibility so that didn't help. But I can certainly say what to avoid!

Ellen's stardust diner was horrible. Far too busy, too dark, too loud. We didn't stay so can't rate the food but from the menu it didn't look anything to write home about.

How good the bus tour was, very much depended on who was giving the narration. One guy was good, all the others seemed to want to be anywhere other than doing that job. It was also absolutely rammed at most points of the day. Still worth doing though.

You will struggle to find toilets anywhere so plan wisely!

Definitely go for WTC memorial tour - again get there early as the queues do build up. Also the One WTC building was good to go to the top of. DD and DH also did Empire State Building.

Definitely research food options. In places like London and Paris we found it easy not to plan and just find somewhere to eat. That was surprisingly difficult in Manhattan.

We ended up at O'hara's restaurant and pub near to WTC quite by accident, it was a decent lunch. You'd have thought there would be loads of places to eat round there but there weren't many.

Very odd, on threads I’m on, I can see others have posted messages for me but now I’m in the thread I can’t see them!