Everything & Anything New York City

PeacefulWaters

Grublet wrote: »

I am taking my girlfriend on a surprise trip to New York in March 2015 for her 30th. I've been watching the price of tickets for a few months now and they haven't changed that significantly.

I can get direct flights for £420 each right now. Based on peoples experiences is it likely to get any cheaper if I wait until January or should I snap these up now?

I'd go for it now and then don't check the price again afterwards.

They rarely get below £400. The often go higher.

If you're booking with a mainstream airline see if there's a rebate via TopCashback and price up booking hotels at the same time as the flight. You can sometimes get a decent saving in a very expensive city.

SW17

Grublet wrote: »

I am taking my girlfriend on a surprise trip to New York in March 2015 for her 30th. I've been watching the price of tickets for a few months now and they haven't changed that significantly.

I can get direct flights for £420 each right now. Based on peoples experiences is it likely to get any cheaper if I wait until January or should I snap these up now?

If the price is one you can afford, would suggest taking it. It's possible they would go lower, but not by much, and more possible that they will go up. £150 of the price is taxes and airport charges, which won't change much regardless of the total price, the remaining £270 is the fare (inclusive of any carrier surcharges). That's not likely to get a lot lower.

The airline sales have already started and are running to end Jan, so BA/Virgin at least are not likely to suddenly launch new major promotions after Christmas, though of course the fares are constantly under review.

If you are interested and can stretch your budget at all, there may also be some relatively inexpensive upgrades (one or both ways) to Premium Economy.

PeacefulWaters comment about looking for flight+accommodation deals is also very solid advice, you should at least check that out.

vanilla8

In my eyes £420 is a good flight price and would second above comments. Have you looked at BA holidays, can sometimes get good flight/hotel package deals with them, or expedia/lastminute.

Grublet

Thanks for the quick advice, I decided to pull the trigger and buy the tickets. Got myself 1.5% cashback from TopCashBack too whoop!

hieveryone

Eeeekkkkk!! Have just booked to go to NYC next April, cannot wait!

I have been to NY before (infact, worked there for a while!) and have since visited, but have not been since the ESTA/VISA rules have changed.

Can anyone point me in the direction of where to get the ESTA and how much this is?

Thanks

Teahfc

hieveryone wrote: »

Eeeekkkkk!! Have just booked to go to NYC next April, cannot wait!

I have been to NY before (infact, worked there for a while!) and have since visited, but have not been since the ESTA/VISA rules have changed.

Can anyone point me in the direction of where to get the ESTA and how much this is?

Thanks

All here .. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/esta-usa-visa.

Have a great trip, will be there on St Pats day parade weekend myself .. Gotta love NYC.

hieveryone

Quick question, and my sincere apologies if this has been answered many times before. I am currently on page 234 of the thread having stayed up 'till 3am last night, so may have forgotten if I have read it.

We want to go to the Statue of Liberty and go up into the crown. Should I book online before we travel to NYC, or book in advance once we get there? i.e. for weather etc.

Thanks

Claremac

Sales for Crown tickets open about 3 months in advance and they can go very quickly if it's a busy time when you will be there. If you know you want to go up into the Crown (it is fantastic if very small!) I would definitely say that you should book in advance but only through the official website which I think is https://www.statuecruises.com. Don't forget you need to take ID with you e.g. passport.

hieveryone

Claremac wrote: »

Sales for Crown tickets open about 3 months in advance and they can go very quickly if it's a busy time when you will be there. If you know you want to go up into the Crown (it is fantastic if very small!) I would definitely say that you should book in advance but only through the official website which I think is https://www.statuecruises.com. Don't forget you need to take ID with you e.g. passport.

Thank you, we are going in April which I understand to be a busy/popular time in NY.

I'm just slightly concerned about booking and then the weather being unsuitable etc. Will have a think about pre-booking though, thanks.

SW17

hieveryone wrote: »

Thank you, we are going in April which I understand to be a busy/popular time in NY.

I'm just slightly concerned about booking and then the weather being unsuitable etc. Will have a think about pre-booking though, thanks.

It's a bit easier if you avoid weekends, when there are a lot more domestic tourists around. Been many years since I did it, so don't know how much prebooking is necessary, but unless it's pouring or stormy, weather shouldn't be a major issue for a visit to Liberty/Ellis Islands.

IIRC, the view from inside the crown isn't that amazing, but it's more the experience of doing it and I would still say it's worth it.