Can New York be done in 2 days?

[colie]

I understand we may not be able to see all the sites but do you think 2 days is ok for it. I was thinking more of the length of flight and then only having 2 days there.

Don't want to leave the kids much longer.

Anyone know how long it takes to fly there and any recommendations of hotels etc,what to do once there.

What is the shortest length of time anyone has stayed for?

It is for dh's 40th in October.
Thanks.

You could do the basics & get a feel for it in 2 days but remember you'll all be quite tired after the flight & if you're trying to pack it all into 2 days you'll spend the whole time yawning!

Flight about 7 hours.

Hotel we stayed at (Marriott at the WTC) is now sadly no more. There's a Marriott in Times Sq where we went for drinks & it looked q. nice.

We did this last November for our wedding anniversary. Completely mad but great fun - we flew out on the Friday, had Saturday and Sunday in NY, flying back Sunday evening to arrive Monday at Heathrow.

We soaked up the atmosphere, visited 5th Avenue, St Patrick's Cathedral, Central Park, Empire State Building,Ellis Island and found time to do some shopping for pressies for the dcs. It was exhausting but we kept going on the Friday night, trying to go to bed NY time and seemed to survive. As we never really dealt with the jet lag on the way out it wasn't a problem when we got home!

We stayed at Hotel Muse, just off Time Square, so we were central for all the sights. The hotel was great and we got a good deal through Late Rooms (i think).

You won't be able to do it all, but you can squeeze in a lot if you try! Length of flight depends on where you're flying from...As to hotels - what are you looking for? Fancy/low-key, In the tourist zone/off the beaten path?

As for the what to do when there - what are you two interested in? I lived there for a year, might be able to give you a good list of things to do based on what you'd like.... ie. museums/shopping/restaurants/etc. One of the first things you should do is plan on using the subway for transport - it's the quickest and cheapest way to get around the City - $2.25 each way, or you can get unlimited fare cards for a certain period of time. You can get pretty much everywhere in NYC by subway - taxis are overpriced and take forever because traffic is horrendous due to NYCs pedestrian culture. Collect a subway map from the station agent - it overlays the subway lines w a city street map - many tourist attractions are even pinpointed on it. Also, buying a subway pass (even a 1 day pass) gets you free bus rides all day too. See here for fares and maps.

i have been for the weekend several times but not tried that + sightseeing (more to see friends)

I would think if you identify what you want to do there in advance and stay nearby that would be the best way
eg if you want to do empire state, rockerfeller and central park stay in the E 40s or 50s as you can walk it all

(sundowners at the Rainbow Room at the Rockefeller highly recommended)

We are going for our honeymoon in October - Flting Friday morning, coming back Monday night so slightly longer than you - the main thing we have done is made sure that we booked direct flights as we live in Scotland and didnt want to waste a day each side stuck at Heathrow.

Of course you wont see everything but IMO you wouldnt see all of any major city in 2 days, you just need to plan the things that you do eant to see, and make the most of your time.

Anyone reccomend any hotels btw as I still havent booked mine!

I have done day trips for business (flying out night before coming back on red eye at end of day). You will wake up very early (get out and see the city while it is still quiet, and will start to flag mid-afternoon but keep going. Travelling to the US is not too bad for short trips, you will however be shattered when you get back.

We went for 10 days and we didnt see all the sights so just plan in advance what you deffo want to see and you can plan everything around that.

Second the idea of buying subway pass, we bought the weekly pass for $24(that was 2 years ago though) and it was great, so much quicker to get around by subway and most hotels/stations have maps which tell you what line to take/station to get off for most visitor attractions. By the end of 10 days we were old hands in the subway and knew the lines/ stations and way around them really well.

We stayed in upper west side on 79th street(right next to natural history museum) and from leaving hotel, to subway at broadway and to times square took no more than 10 minutes.

2 days is fine.

I've been to New York several times and never more than 2 nights.

Would recommend the Washington Square Hotel - Greenwich village within walking distance. Stayed there last year.

really not long enough, but you will at least get to see some of it.

If you are only going for that length of time, then you MUST stay at the Chelsea hotel.
www.hotelchelsea.com/

Personally I've never been to NY shorther than 2 weeks, but when going on shorter breaks to (eg) Barcelona, we've always written our personal top 5 list then aim to get three of them done - depends if you want just want to see sights or see some of the city too? Manhattan is pretty small so it's doable to do sights in the centre then go the East Village for out of the way restauarants and bars not full of tourists