NYC in 2 days (first visit)

azzap

pompeyrich wrote: »

If you're flying into JFK, the subway is possibly as quick as a taxi and a lot cheaper, although I suppose arriving in a taxi you would get a better view of the skyline. The Airtrain from the terminals to the subway interchange costs $5, then $2.75 for the Subway into Manhatten.

I've heard this re. the subway though we will have quite a bit of luggage as its part of a much bigger trip. I also like the idea of the view driving in from JFK. We land around 5pm which is rush hour though. Will maybe skip Washington Park then in favour of more time at a Central Park, I guess we are short on time. I've heard the subway will be hot in July but is much faster than taxis to get down town. This is also my issue with a tour bus, it's a lot of time on a bus / stuck in traffic.

snit_girl

I was in New York 2 weeks ago and we got the Airtrain / subway when we arrived. Very cheap and so much quicker thana taxi. We go the taxi going back to the airport and I did it both ways last year and you don't really see anything. We were driven through some rough looking and industrial areas, I'd pick subway every time now.

Top of the Rock is much better than ESB. We showed up after lunch, bought our ticket and got right in. Brilliant views of Manhattan and Central Park.

We also took the subway everywhere. Not a problem and very fast. Did Statue of Liberty last year so just did the Staten Islan Ferry this time and I thought it was great. Brilliant views and no long lines to wait in. SoL was good but waiting in the queue for a couple of hours just to get off the island completely ruined it for me.

You can use the subway to get to Chinatown easily for lunch and our best day was taking it to the top of Central Park, grabbing a NY bagel for breakfast in the park then walking down to the Natural History Museum, spending a good few hours in there, finding a random place for food when we came out (best burgers and hot dogs ever) and just kept walking down to Times Square and hitting the theatre at night.

pogofish

Another thing to watch out is any local events/media pages - Central Park and the Plaza at its SE corner are often used for outside broadcasts - Usually free but you may have to get-up rather early. Last time we rose at 5am and saw three world-class acts performing for major US TV shows and my partner got herself interviewed for one of them before breakfast!

I can't remember the site she used but it was one of the major NY events sites that comes-up high on google.

Airtrain/Subway from JFK is indeed easy but we had kept it to one case each and a small travel bag as hand luggage the two of us. If you have a lot of luggage it could well be more work.

callum9999

pogofish wrote: »

Another thing to watch out is any local events/media pages - Central Park and the Plaza at its SE corner are often used for outside broadcasts - Usually free but you may have to get-up rather early. Last time we rose at 5am and saw three world-class acts performing for major US TV shows and my partner got herself interviewed for one of them before breakfast!

I can't remember the site she used but it was one of the major NY events sites that comes-up high on google.

Airtrain/Subway from JFK is indeed easy but we had kept it to one case each and a small travel bag as hand luggage the two of us. If you have a lot of luggage it could well be more work.

They had a big free outdoor event programme in Harlem last year too (I got the impression it takes place every summer). I got dragged along to a circus-type performance and it turned out to be pretty good.

EDIT: It was called SummerStage Kids and takes place from 7th June - 19th August. The name implies it's mostly for kids, but the circus show was definitely good for adults (who were over half the audience) - I'm not sure about the rest of the festival.

SW17

azzap wrote: »

I've heard this re. the subway though we will have quite a bit of luggage as its part of a much bigger trip. I also like the idea of the view driving in from JFK. We land around 5pm which is rush hour though. Will maybe skip Washington Park then in favour of more time at a Central Park, I guess we are short on time. I've heard the subway will be hot in July but is much faster than taxis to get down town. This is also my issue with a tour bus, it's a lot of time on a bus / stuck in traffic.

The traffic from JFK will not be an issue, you will be going in the opposite direction to most of the rush hour traffic. While the subway is definitely the moneysaving option and not difficult (I personally prefer the overground train from Jamaica to Penn, but nothing wrong with the subway and Penn is not that convenient for your hotel area), to get to where you are staying you would almost certainly have to change trains or walk several blocks to your hotel (assuming you are somewhere around 55th and 7th Ave).

NY subway stations tend to have plenty of steps, so changing lines with a lot of luggage may be inconvenient. If funds permit, I'd get a cab on arrival (you will have just negotiated the flight and US immigration..), straight to your hotel. About USD 65 including tips and tolls.

By the way, the subway stations will be very hot in July if the weather is hot, but the trains themselves are almost all air-conditioned.

azzap

Subway / Skytrain is not an option. We will have at least 3 large cases (this brief visit is part of a bigger trip). Hopefully coming from JFK we will get some kind of view coming into Manhattan, can we request a particular route? With our limited time I think forgoing the SoL and simply doing the Staten Is ferry would be the better option. Also, the events sound good though again if our time is limited maybe going over to Harlem to catch one should be for another time. We are staying near Central SE (Plaza hotel) so will keep an eye out for these broadcasts, will likely be up during these early hours due to jet lag

SW17

azzap wrote: »

Hopefully coming from JFK we will get some kind of view coming into Manhattan, can we request a particular route?

You can ask, but it's a flat fare from JFK to Manhattan, so the driver will want to take you by the quickest route. Most likely they would take you via the Queens/Midtown tunnel, which should give you some decent views of midtown as you approach it on the I-495 Long Island Expressway (have a look on Google Streetview).

The other bridges would be slower, so the cabbie may not be too keen unless you offer a fat tip, and won't give you necessarily better views unless you want to see the downtown skyline (which you'll see from the Staten Island or Liberty ferry anyway).

azzap

Ok, I guess we will stick to what's quickest. 'Some' decent views will be suffice. Thanks