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First timer New York visit - advice and hotel choice
aj9648
Posts: 1,378 Forumite
Hi
going on our first trip to NY at the end of October for 5 nights. 2 adults and 2 children 10 and 14
Firstly any recommendations for hotel - there are so many and I’m not sure what to look for and what location. We are aiming to do the usual stuff - empire state, etc etc
secondly for all this touristy stuff - is it better to buy tickets in advance or just buy on the day and are there any deals to be had
any other advice much appreciated
going on our first trip to NY at the end of October for 5 nights. 2 adults and 2 children 10 and 14
Firstly any recommendations for hotel - there are so many and I’m not sure what to look for and what location. We are aiming to do the usual stuff - empire state, etc etc
secondly for all this touristy stuff - is it better to buy tickets in advance or just buy on the day and are there any deals to be had
any other advice much appreciated
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Comments
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Maybe tripadvisor would get you more advice.
It's a long time since we visited New York (we went up the Twin Towers) but we really enjoyed the Intrepid Sea Air Space museum. Intrepid is a decommissioned aircraft carrier.
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We went some years ago, stopping over before moving on to a relatives for Thanksgiving. Stayed at Hotel Elysee which was walking distance from Central Park, Grand Central station was local. Suited us very well.I suppose it depends on what you plan on doing - theatres, shopping, general sights. We got about to all the sites on the subway.Perhaps use a TripAdvisor type site, filter in your budget and the preferred base and see what it throws up.0
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If you plan on staying in Manhattan there are hundreds of options and you are going to have to do some work to narrow them down.Go to the Top of The Rock for great views of Central Park and in the other direction a view south looking at the Empire State building and Statue of Liberty in the distance.Things that are differerent: draw & drawer, brought & bought, loose & lose, dose & does, payed & paid0
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Everything about NYC is overwhelming. We visited a couple of years ago for five nights and it isn't long. Sights are spread out so if you don't want to spend ages travelling around make a basic plan of what you want to see in the different areas.
We stayed at the Hilton Midtown Manhattan on 6th Avenue, 53rd street , its the largest Hilton in NYC and well located.
Day one Central Park in morning. Afternoon Grand Central Station, Chrysler building and we booked for One Vanderbilt at sunset (there are plenty of options for skyscraper visits, we did this one as its one of the newest and is a destination in itself). The view from them all is similar so take your pick!
Day two, southern Manhattan Island. Battery Park, Staten Island Ferry, free and views of Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, World Trade Centre area
Day three we escaped Manhattan and visited the Brooklyn area. Park Slope, Prospect Park walking back over the Brooklyn Bridge. Brooklyn Museum is huge.
Day four A visit to Queens to watch the Mets baseball game
Day Five. 5th Avenue, Empire State, Flatiron, High Line, Hudson Yard etc
We walked a lot. 5-10 miles a day. Visited Times Square, Rockerfeller and other areas around the hotel.
So we did lots and missed lots! There are different NYC visitor attraction cards which offer discounts and beat the lines, but if you buy a card you need to visit lots of attractions to maximise the benefits. We just bought One Vanderbilt and baseball tickets before we visited. Most other things we did were free.
Subway is straightforwards once you realise it works on train numbers and not lines. You can now pay using contactless cards and phones. Flat fare no matter how far you travel.
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Re where to stay -
I'd just do a standard chain or whatever comes up on the comparison sites in your budget and desired amentities. The vast majority are very 'standard' with very few quirky ones, mostly if you go up in price or further out in area. Check the map and anything that looks fairly central in Manhattan should be fine to either walk or take a metro for ~$3 a journey.
Re tickets & what to do -
Make a list of the attractions you want to see (and that's manageable in 5 days). Note many of the museums etc are huge, so could easily take up half a day. Check for overlaps as well, eg do you want to do two viewpoints over the city?
Once you have a list, then check the main ticket prices.. you have to cover quite a lot for the multi passes to really work out.. for myself and any friends / fam that have visited, it generally worked out as breaking even, so preferred to pay as you go rather than being locked in.0 -
saajan_12 said:Re where to stay -
I'd just do a standard chain or whatever comes up on the comparison sites in your budget and desired amentities. The vast majority are very 'standard' with very few quirky ones, mostly if you go up in price or further out in area. Check the map and anything that looks fairly central in Manhattan should be fine to either walk or take a metro for ~$3 a journey.
Re tickets & what to do -
Make a list of the attractions you want to see (and that's manageable in 5 days). Note many of the museums etc are huge, so could easily take up half a day. Check for overlaps as well, eg do you want to do two viewpoints over the city?
Once you have a list, then check the main ticket prices.. you have to cover quite a lot for the multi passes to really work out.. for myself and any friends / fam that have visited, it generally worked out as breaking even, so preferred to pay as you go rather than being locked in.
do you need to book advance for some of the sights eg ESB or the edge ??0 -
Things that are differerent: draw & drawer, brought & bought, loose & lose, dose & does, payed & paid0
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I'll put my cards on the table that to me NYC is just a poor version of London but I've spent a lot of time there with work (well both technically).
Plan your itinerary first and look at location for the hotel after. The "classic" NYC tourist activities tend to be heavily based in Manhattan so unless you are very price conscious then your best based there rather than losing lots of time each day travelling back and forth.
There are a reasonable number of budget hotel chains with not so budget prices and many more higher tier options with even higher prices for the more well heeled0 -
aj9648 said:saajan_12 said:Re where to stay -
I'd just do a standard chain or whatever comes up on the comparison sites in your budget and desired amentities. The vast majority are very 'standard' with very few quirky ones, mostly if you go up in price or further out in area. Check the map and anything that looks fairly central in Manhattan should be fine to either walk or take a metro for ~$3 a journey.
Re tickets & what to do -
Make a list of the attractions you want to see (and that's manageable in 5 days). Note many of the museums etc are huge, so could easily take up half a day. Check for overlaps as well, eg do you want to do two viewpoints over the city?
Once you have a list, then check the main ticket prices.. you have to cover quite a lot for the multi passes to really work out.. for myself and any friends / fam that have visited, it generally worked out as breaking even, so preferred to pay as you go rather than being locked in.
do you need to book advance for some of the sights eg ESB or the edge ??0 -
This might be stating the obvious but have you sorted out ESTA's for your family?On other forums, a number of people complain about a strong smell of weed when going around NY. Take that as you wish.Also on other forums, people say the tipping culture has gone awry in the whole of the USA. Some places offer the ability to tip at self-service places. See this article in the Washington Post for some ideas:This thread on Head for Points is about a budget trip to NY. This may not be your intention but there are some good ideas (and moans).Be aware. the site is for people who reduce the cost of trips including flights and hotels by gaining points on more than one loyalty scheme/credit card scheme.This site, I think in of their daily chat threads had comments about tipping, but I cannot find it at the moment.Ensure you have mobile connectivity whether that be with an e-sim or another solution in case you are asked to confirm transactions in your app. If your bank/credit card company send texts for confirmation, ensure you have mobile data.The last time I went to the USA was in 2012 and then you still needed to complete an immigration form before seeing the immigration officer. You needed a pen which they would not provide. But I believe the process is much improved now, but don't know what it involves. I may have heard of a Global Entry scheme or a mobile passport scheme. You can investigate thos if you wish. Personally I would take a ballpoint pen just in case.0
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