New york in dec

[Bobbinsbop]

I want to take dd 17, to new york in dec. I have no idea where to start!

can any one recommend decent places to stay and the best way to book things. She wants to do a few different activities.

I have seen one option that seems a good price.
hotel Riu Plaza Times Square flights and band b for 4 nights £1260 pp. the flight has a stop for 1hr 30mins and i think direct would be better.
Has anyone stayed here?
thanks

I stayed there last December. Actually there are 2 Riu Plazas near each other, we were at the one between 7th and 8th Aves. It was good value, comfortable, centrally located. Can't complain at all.

Ah that's really helpful thanks.

the things she wants to do are

Brooklyn bridge
Ferry to see statue of liberty
9/11 memorial
Empire State Building
Christmas tree and lights
Go to central park

is theres somewhere to stay thats well placed for these? How many days would this be do able in?

Go mid December if possible and for either 4 or 5 full days.

I would also look at what BA and Virgin have to offer in terms of hotel and flight deals. Booking direct with either is a good bet.

Re flights go direct into either Newark or JFK. Do not bother with stopovers of 90 minutes (presumably the return leg has this stopover too).

You may both like to also see the Rockettes Christmas show at the Radio City Music Hall.

Hi OP, we’re considering similar this year, for me, DH and DD’s (18 and 12 by then). We can’t go until school breaks up, so looking at 21-26th Dec.

DH and I have been before, (twice, once at Christmas) but nearly 20 years ago now. We stayed very close to Times Square, which a lot of people don’t recommend, but we found it really convenient for our first time. Yes, it was busy, but it was great for us. I do think we’ll look slightly away from there this time though, perhaps nearer to Central Park or more in the Grand Central area.

Your ‘to do’ list looks fine over about three to four days, just try and group things together by location to minimise going backwards and forwards.

Where will you be flying from? We’re looking at Manchester with Aer Lingus. The outgoing flight has a couple of hours stop in Dublin, but you clear US immigration there, saving time on arrival in NYC. Return flight is direct. I would normally only consider direct flights, but am tempted by this because US immigration can take a couple of hours anyway. I would only ever do a direct return flight as they’re almost always overnight, so are very tiring anyway.

Hope this helps! We loved NYC and can’t wait to take our girls…!

Those places are pretty well spread out, you can't be close to all of them.

Riu Plaza was an easy walk to the last 3 on your list, and close to very good subway connections for the others. (Though we were happy to walk downtown, for 9/11 for example, even though it took the best part of an hour because you see so much more).

You could do your list in 4 days, easy. Don't forget the Christmas markets and ice skating, Bryant Park is the best. You might want to add a night time activity such as a Broadway show, or a NBA/NHL game at Madison Square Garden.

When deciding where in Manhattan to stay, we mostly considered what we'd be doing at night, because we wanted to have a short easy trip back to the hotel when it was dark and freezing (and wanted to avoid the subway at night. )

The first three of those are all downtown so you should look at staying in the Financial District - it's cheaper and safer than Times Square.

Clearing customs in Dublin is absolutely worth it if you have the option. I wouldn't stopover somewhere else though if avoidable.

For me I like the Upper West Side and would avoid Times Square but that's just personal preference.

It's so cold, please make sure you have proper thermals. If not seriously wrapped up you'll have a miserable time. You can get passes that get you into multiple tourist attractions from getyourguide. We used it for 4 days and went to all the places you mentioned as well as the Guggenheim, the met and the Smithsonian. I'd try and see some galleries if you can. Soho is incredibly handy but not cheap.

I agree with allfur. FiDi is great, and one of the cleanest, safest and nicest parts of NY. Super close to the first three items on your list and good options for food and drink. Times Square is worth a visit but I wouldn’t necessarily want to stay there.