Who's been to New York

[JNG]

Hello all,
My wife and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary on Monday and she kinda threw out the idea about going to New York for just a few days. With her just thinking of this today sounds really cool, but I have no idea where to stay or what to do. I'm guessing we would like to go see the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center. Hey!!! help a brother out with some suggestions. She also mentioned Chicago, but nothing like being by the ocean. I thought about posting something on Facebook, but I will leave that to my wife.
Thanks, Jerry

 

[FinsUp]

Firstly, CONGRATS!!!

Secondly, last minute trips like this are great!! Anywhere you go in NYC will be fun. So I'd say find a hotel, plane tix, and decide on daily activities after you get there. Talk to the people at the front desk of your hotel when you check in, explain that this is a spur of the moment anniversary trip, and ask them for advice on what to see and where to go. Most hotels will have a concierge who can do the legwork for you (make restaurant recommendations & reservations, get you tix to the Statue, etc).

 

[reefkoi]

hotels in the city are so expensive even the $200 ones are ghetto LOL other than that its an awesome place and be sure to check out manhattan aquariums store they have a huge display and probably the longest rimless acrylic frag tank in the USA LOL cool place, also look up coral theory in brooklyn its a hole in the wall store with lots of hot corals

 

[bubbarockies]

Carnegie Hall is actually pretty cool if you're into that kind of thing. I got to perform there once nd its just awesome.

 

[JNG]

Thanks Cindy, been going some reading and I am quickly getting overwhelmed. Of course I was thinking about going to Chicago just so I could go to the Shedd Aquarium. My wife just mentioned that I could finally taste the world famous White Castle burgers at either place if we go :hungry: would be cool to catch a play, good idea Bubba

 

[FinsUp]

yeah, trying to fully plan out a last minute trip is certain disaster. Pick a few things that you'd like to do, and let the rest shake out as you go. It'll be great! Just like with life, the fewer expectations you set, the happier you'll be.
And Reefkoi is right- NYC has its own idea about the value of a dollar.

 

[JNG]

my wife found a good hotel in Staten Island which said only a ferry ride away from plenty of things to do.

 

[jahmic]

Re: Who's been to New York

Born and raised. Give me a call or just ask away...way too much to type lol

edit (I'll be less lazy): you'll be cheating yourself staying in Staten Island...also...eww (and I was born there lol). Check out Brooklyn for less expensive hotels; stay on the west side and Manhattan is just across the bridge and easily accessible by train or cab. Battery park is close too...and the ferry rides from there to Ellis island and the statue are much, much better.

FWIW...If I'm not staying with family or friends, I always stay at the Sheraton in Brooklyn when I go back to the city now. It's right at that $200 mark but is clean and conveniently right off the highway...makes for a less expensive ride from JFK in a cab. The hotel is right off Flatbush too, tons of shopping if you want to wander and get a taste of the "real" side of NY in a safe area.

 

[FinsUp]

Born and raised. Give me a call or just ask away...way too much to type lol

edit (I'll be less lazy): you'll be cheating yourself staying in Staten Island...also...eww (and I was born there lol). Check out Brooklyn for less expensive hotels; stay on the west side and Manhattan is just across the bridge and easily accessible by train or cab. Battery park is close too...and the ferry rides from there to Ellis island and the statue are much, much better.

FWIW...If I'm not staying with family or friends, I always stay at the Sheraton in Brooklyn when I go back to the city now. It's right at that $200 mark but is clean and conveniently right off the highway...makes for a less expensive ride from JFK in a cab. The hotel is right off Flatbush too, tons of shopping if you want to wander and get a taste of the "real" side of NY in a safe area.

Dude, you have lived in all the cool places

 

[JNG]

Right on Khalis, I'll give you a call. Man ohh man, that Sheraton is $400 plus a night. not staying there I guess :smile-new:

 

[jahmic]

Re: Who's been to New York

Right on Khalis, I'll give you a call. Man ohh man, that Sheraton is $400 plus a night. not staying there I guess :smile-new:

Ouch! Last minute booking I bet...I usually pay 220 max, usually much less.

 

[JNG]

Yeah. the flight isn't bad. but the hotels are a different story

 

[daverf]

so this is a weekend trip? few thoughts (although Khalis will give a better insight rundown I'm sure)...

skip the statue tour where you go up to the torch. total waste of time. take a cruise from the 16th street seaport around the harbor...perfect way to see the city, statue, brooklyn bridge. could do as a night cruise too (heck even a booze cruise) if you prefer. walk over from there to battery park and ground zero (if you care to see it). this is your "downtown" tour. if you're really on a shoestring budget, you could take the ferry to staten island and back to see all sights (free...just be the first to get there so you can run to the top outside deck and actually sight see for the trip).

go to times square, maybe saturday morning and go to the ticket booth in the middle of the square (forgot the name but concierge or someone can tell you). can buy same day tix to a broadway show (depending on availability), will save you a ton of money (unless you want to prebook a specific show you have in mind). after you get tix and while you wait for your show, go up the empire state building to the viewing deck. also if you have time, walk/cab around midtown (to carnegie hall and all that jazz, today show if you care, 5th ave for shopping, or head up to central park). this is your "midtown" tour.

that will get you all the main touristy sites covered and a tourist flavor for the city. some time in your life, go back for a week, see everything else (museums, zoos, aquariums, city neighborhoods, other boroughs, long island, more of the 3000 restaurants, sport venues, landmarks, etc etc).

by the way - wow! 20 years! big round of applause for that! how many marriages in this day and age last that long!? that's great.

 

[daverf]

if you do chicago, it is also a great city and the lake is massive (it feels like the ocean a little ) so you'll get your water on there too. not as cosmopolitan as NY but plenty to do there. magnificent mile (michigan street), han**** tower, navy pier, millennium park are the main must sees. you'd have time to take in more of chicago in a short visit.

if you want to do water, how about boston or san francisco? two cities i love to hate for various reasons, but they are the most European (and IMHO unforgettable) cities to visit in the US. i would do those before chicago. chicago = denver x 5 (in all measures) - mountains + lake + hundreds more cabs.

 

[JNG]

Good info Dave. taking a water tour and heading to time square sound fun. I have been to San Francisco which I thought was very cool. I definitely will be heading back there some day. we both agreed that ground zero would be a definite must do. thanks

 

[JNG]

My wife booked our flight just moments ago. Don't know what we're gonna do, but we're going to enjoy NY. We fly out Monday night lane:

 

[Badgervet]

You guys may already know this but if you are heading down to one world trade center and the memorial, you have to have tickets (which you can get online or the morning of (not recommended)). I was just there two weeks ago, definitely something to see. They are strict about not bringing any backpacks or anything larger than a purse. Also, don't know if you guys are getting a rental car (driving in NY is a pain in the ***) but you can get a metro card at the airport and get to pretty much most of the "hot spots" via the metro.

 

[JNG]

Thank you Badgervet, I figured you could just walk over there and see the memorial. I will check into that now. We will be taking a taxi or public transportation wherever we go. Is it cheaper purchasing a pass online/ airport out just paying as we go.

 

[jahmic]

Depends on how long you'll be there, and how often you plan on using the subway. They have a 7-day pass for unlimited fares if you plan on doing a lot of travel; I looked up the recent price and it's $30. Fares are 2.75 and discounted to 2.50 if you use a card. The card is really a matter of convenience, since you don't have to go buy a ticket every time you wanna hop on the train; they also have "pay as you go" cards now, which I don't remember seeing when I lived out there. That'd be worth looking into so you don't have to hit the kiosk every time you enter the subway.

I guess you could save some coin with the 7day pass if you'll be riding the subway more than twice a day and plan on being there for a few days. I'd recommend just taking the subway from the hotel to a part of town you'd like to spend the day in, then cabbing it from there...it's unlikely that you'd burn through enough trips on the 7 day unlimited pass to make it worthwhile, but I could be wrong. They used to have passes with like 5 fares or 10 fares on a ticket that were perfect for short stints in the city...looks like they phased those out though.

 

[bmb527]

I lived there when I worked for JetBlue. I love the place! When you get to the airport, buy your bus/subway pass. it is much better than trying to drive in that town! The WTC site is a must see, Statue of Liberty has to be done, just to say you did it. For food, skip the trendy places and just find local eateries. You cannot find a bad pizza in NYC, or Queens! Maybe try to get tickets to see Letterman. That was cool when I did it.
I see you already bought plane tix. I was going to say to check JetBlue. Direct flights and great service, and huge legroom and free TV for the flight.