[Closed - see new thread] New York Q&A

darich

markymoo wrote: »

if you pay everything by mastercard / visa debit, you'll get charged 2.75% per transaction.. i take cash.. cash is king!

Not necessarily - NAtionwide don't charge for foreign transactions or cash withdrawals.
My OH's parents set up a Nationwide account to get a card for their trip to Australia.

darich

smudgemanc26 wrote: »

Ive heard a trip to the rockefella centre is better than going to the empire state is that true? I also know to book for the statue of liberty and get there early so we dont have to queue for ages.

My brother lives in Queens (has done for 18months now) and has visited NYC at least a dozen times prior to moving. At least one of my sisters has been up ESB and RC and my parents have too.
All have said RC is better than ESB.
That said, i wouldn't miss out on the ESB if you have the time.
I should say that I've only been up the ESB, not the RC - I'm only going on their recommendations.

smudgemanc26

Yeah i dont think i can go to NY without seeing the Empire State especially having seen it on all those films! Im gonna do both ive decided.

I better get some comfy shoes on my feet for all this travelling about! haha

Oh can you tell me what kind of temperature to expect at the end of November? Im packing winter gear not too much though as have to leave room for my shopping. Is it going to be freezing?

M4RKM

darich wrote: »

Not necessarily - NAtionwide don't charge for foreign transactions or cash withdrawals.

You will use if you use mastercard as nationwide don't offer a mastercard!

M4RKM

http://vacation.new-york-apartment.com/en/descriptionbig/1622290-G16/#imgbig

i'm a bit worried about the living room of this apartment on that website... not my cup of tea, and not really useful in winter is it!!!

as for vacation rentals, they are GREAT if you are travelling in a group, as a solo traveller, they are probably a lot more expensive..

darich

You're right MM - a larger group definitely makes the apartment more attractive than for a lone traveller.

darich

smudgemanc26 wrote: »

Yeah i dont think i can go to NY without seeing the Empire State especially having seen it on all those films! Im gonna do both ive decided.

I better get some comfy shoes on my feet for all this travelling about! haha

Oh can you tell me what kind of temperature to expect at the end of November? Im packing winter gear not too much though as have to leave room for my shopping. Is it going to be freezing?

When i was there last November the temperature was cold enough that i needed a good fleece or a decent jacket. Hat and scarf weren't required but some chose to wear both - i did occassionally wear a hat.
I think the real cold weather hits in January and February.

GlennTheBaker

We went up the Empire State Building on our first visit to NYC in 2002 and it was fantastic. Last year we went to the 'Top Of The Rock' (Rockefeller Center) and I think the view is a bit better than the ESB. For a start, you get the whole skyline including the ESB from the Rock and you can also see the whole, perfectly rectangular, shape of Central Park too.

If you have the time, do both!

hammy_the_hammer

bootman wrote: »

Hi

I am going to be working at the NY State Fair at the end of August. My boss has left it to the last minute to arrange the travel and hotels!

He seems to think it will be fine for us to fly to JFK and drive to Syracuse it's around 4 hours.

I also need to find an okay hotel. All the obvious ones at the fairground are booked up, I suppose a drive to one each day is no big deal if he is happy to drive 4 hours after a flight. Any suggestions, I am fussy and like clean hotels.

Any advice on the drive, area would be much appreciated.

i'll be at the state fair on the 2/9/2007 ...driving to it as a visitor was straightforward i don't remember being in queues before or after ....people tend to arrive and leave at various times but last year the weather wasn't brilliant but the site got quite busy (btw a few years ago a tornado whistled through the middle of it !!!)
a lot of people camp onsite ...would you be up for that ? hire a motorhome or something.
otherwise you may just have to cast the net a bit wider for a hotel.
as for getting to syracuse from new york have you considered flying ? continental have a hub at newark and certainly serve syracuse...if you decide to drive it might also be worth flying to newark as you'll be the right side of new york to access interstate 87 then 90 to get to syracuse...the road bores me **************** but i've probably done it too many times. you can also go I87 then rt17 (fut86) then rt81 .
depending on the day you travel , the time and how stressful and tiring your trip from the uk is likely to be determines whether you want to drive 200 miles (from newark )
if you get a day off and haven't been take a trip to niagara falls (about 175 miles each way) .

snugglepuss_2

My recommendation would be to fly from JFK to Rochester, and drive from there. I have relatives in Rochester, and I believe my cousins went to college in Syracuse. I think its only an hour or so drive, possibly 2 from there. I think 4 hours was being very optimistic for the drive from JFK. My cousins have always said that from Rochester, NYC is a good 8 or more hours drive.

I wouldn't even bother with the Amtrak from Penn Station - the views you get from the train are great, but sitting for about 7 hours (I thihnk that is how long it took) in a train carriage that smelt like it had been used as a toilet was not fun.