Vacation in NY City

[ghostman]

Originally posted by: Nithin
thanks guys for all the replies. i wasn't planning on going to staten island. is there anything to see there?

No, nothing much to see in Staten Island. But the Staten Island Ferry is free and passes by the Statue of Liberty, so there's some photo ops there. It won't actually stop at the statue or Ellis Island, but I see tourist groups go on the ferry. It's a 30 minute ride to SI, then a 30 minute ride back. Snacks and beer can be purchased on the ferry (the only public area I know that actually allows public drinking).

Not much to do in Brooklyn either except perhaps walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (great view, especially at night), Brooklyn Botantical Garden, Prospect Park (horseback riding, BBQ and peddleboating) and Grimaldi's Pizza (so good...).

I can't say much for Bronx and Queens since I don't frequent those boroughs. There's Yankees/Mets games, Bronx Zoo...

Manhattan has Broadway (TKTS for half-off prices. You may be able to find better discounts at broadwaybox.com and playbill.com), Central Park (boating, small zoo, biking, etc.), various museums (The Met, Natural History, MoMa...), Times Square/42nd St(Broadway shows, oversized stores, etc.), Herald Square area/34th St (clothing shopping area, Empire State building), SoHo/Greenwich area (more shopping), WTC (it's just a contruction site now), Rockefeller Center area (NBC area, but no tree or rink at this time), 5th Avenue/50th St area ($$$$$ shopping, like Saks, Tiffany's, Feragamo), Wall St. (NYSE... kinda boring), South Street Seaport (shopping, Bodies exhibit, excellent view)...

 

[Vonkhan]

Great, just what we need ... another goddamn punk azz tourist

I'm in favor of a NYC law that would entitle NYC residents to slap tourists with a rolled up a newspaper / magazine for any of the following offences:

1. Walking slowly
2. Looking up & walking
3. Standing in the middle of the pavement & looking up
4. Standing and gaping like an idiot around places like the GMA studio
5. Getting into a subway with full cups of coffee
6. Expecting people to stay out of your way while they & their litter pose for photographs
7. Not knowing what coffee they want even after getting thru the entire line

I'm pretty polite when people ask for directions, but when they pull crap like the above it just p!sses me off

and now for the part that'll help you:

Where to stay:
I'd reccomend staying in the city - the amount of time and money you'll spend driving to & from a motel in crapass NJ just isn't worth it. You'll also be paying Go to priceline.com and you should be able to find a decent place. As long as it isn't in way way in Upper (northern) NYC, you'll be fine. I don't think there are in motels in Manhattan per se, although there are a couple in Brooklyn and Queens that I know of. You'll be better off spending a few extra $s for a place in the city.

How to get around:
Subway 1 Day pass. The subway goes practically everywhere in NYC. Alternatively, you can hop on a cab for short hauls - be nice & tip the cabbie. Renting will give you more grief in NYC than you can imagine.

What to see:Depends on what you're into. You can do the usual touristy things like a bugeyed retard, but most of it is way overrated. Instead, go the MET or MoMA, grab a Broadway show, check out some of the restaurants (some of the stuff they do with food is crazy), hit a few clubs and chill in Central Park. The worst thing you can do is try to see it all - because it just isn't going to happen. Heck, I've been here for years and I still haven't seen it all.

Where & what to eat:
I'm guessing that you like Indian food. Lexington Ave 24th Street & upwards has some cheap & good Indian places. Everything from traditional North Indian, South, veggie, Indian-Chinese fusion, you name it ... Also, there's Tamarind at Park Ave & 22nd, which is fine dining and has amazing food. If you opt for street food, stick to the posted (painted) menus on the sides of the carts. If you ask them to mix and match stuff, they'll rip you off. Don't leave NYC w/o wolfing down some pizza tho. The proper way to eat a slice of pizza is to sprinkle garlic on it, fold it lengthwise in half and walk out with it.

Enjoi!




P.S.: Don't look people in the eye

 

[blackdogdeek]

1. do NOT rent a car
2. for the best experience i'd say try to priceline a good deal in or around times square. if you have to stay away from touristy areas due to the price you could always look for cheaper hotels in the other boroughs or even in hoboken and take mass transit into the city for your daily excursions.

Originally posted by: Nithin
thanks guys for all the replies. i wasn't planning on going to staten island. is there anything to see there?

the manhattan skyline

 

[rh71]

I'm from LI and thought taking the car out to just 1 area and parking there to walk around, then parking in another area to walk around would be a decent idea. Wrong. Couldn't even do that without mumbling profanity under my breath. Mid-day... the traffic going up and down the streets are horrendous. I think I got 3 blocks max before I hit another red light. Parking for like an hour was $25 too.

I usually go out by LIRR but I wanted to try it... never again. It's just a lot more freedom and less hassle to travel by subway. The 1-day funpass is the way to go.

BTW, I think pricelining a hotel in NYC is your best bet.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Nithin
thanks guys for all the replies. i wasn't planning on going to staten island. is there anything to see there?

The most inappropriately named landfill in the world:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_Kills_Landfill

 

[WobbleWobble]

Check out these passes, if the attractions interest you.

New York CityPass

The New York Pass

 

[Nithin]

Thanks guys. Lot of info here. I will try priceline today and stay in the city if possible.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: Nithin
safeway, are you talking about "quote your own price"? The normal search was just like any other site.

Yea, quote your own price. It really works. 89

 

[LegendKiller]

Look into doing a Grayline tour. They are absolutely the best tourline in the city and are also nationwide. They have several "loops" which will bring you everywhere important in the city, from the museums all of the way downtown. There are packages that include the Top of the Rock (which, IMHO, is much better than the Empire State Building), and the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island. There are ones for Brooklyn and a night tour also. Prices are 50+, but you get a double decker bus and it's walk-on-walk-off with a lot of stops all around the city.

 

[O2Deprived]

Nithin, I had a trip there in early May. Like others have said, don't waste money on a car. We got 1 week passes for $25(?) to ride busses & subway as much as we wanted/needed.

Don't just limit your hotel search to Manhatten. I saved a ton by getting a room at the HoJo (figured I'm just sleeping there, so no need for really nice stuff) just outside Manhatten inside Queens. To get back & forth, we spent about 15-20 minutes on the #7 (purple) train to go back and forth. It saved so much that we were able to spend another night and take in a show (recommend Avenue Q; but buy tickets online. searching got them them about 1/2 price).

 

[Nithin]

thanks o2. will keep that in mind.

 

[Nithin]

How is North Bergen area? The super 8 over there has a 90 $ per night rate. It's right next to the Lincoln Tunnel.

I'm not finding anything closer at a reasonable price. There were a few with shared baths!!

 

[ZippyDan]

from bergen or anywhere in jersey side you will be able to take a bus into the city for about $6 or $7. expect to have to wait for the bus and wait for it to get into the city. this will probably knock off about 2 to 4 hours of time each day.

i think you will be better off both from a transportation and time perspective if you can find a place to stay in brooklyn or queens near a subway line. then you can just jump on a subway line and be in manhattan in no time. not to mention there is plenty to see in brooklyn and queens, especially brooklyn (by the harbor)

definitely visit DiFara's pizza. Its south Brooklyn almost to Coney Island. Just off Ocean Parkway at Ave J and 15th St. Its the best argument for having a car as getting there by subway is not so easy. Its unlikely you will ever have pizza this good in your life. Only a few spots in the world are its equal or better. Its been #1 in zagat the past 2 or 3 years.

For eating, pick up a zagat. The Restaurant guide first, the Gourmet Marketplace guide second.

 

[EKKC]

i am a new yorker. don't come. it's a hell hole. we are a traffic nightmare, terrorist target, and random manholes and steam pipe explode at will, not to mention rolling blackouts. we sure don't need no stinkin tourists to add to the list

j/k.

tip: if you don't mind, stay in a motel/hotel not within manhattan, but in queens, brooklyn or northeastern jersey. find one that is close to public transportation (subway, path trains, commuter trains) and you would save lots for hotel

 

[Riceckr]

Had to register to reply...1st post!!!!

anyways I just got back yesterday from vacation in NYC. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Brooklyn it was a package deal from priceline. I think it equalled about 285 for 3 nights. the people there where great and had a pretty decent breakfast, the location I was most concerned about which it was 1/2 a block from the union street station in brooklyn. Area wasn't the greatest but to be honest I didn't meet anyone in New York that was overly mean everyone was actually nice..bad stereotype.

Do not rent a car, you are there to enjoy yourself and trying to get around and pay for parking will just ruin your vacation. get the unlimited metro pass each day $7 dollars for unlimited rides for that day..you can't beat that. we printed out a subway map and dotted the sites we needed most and took off. be prepared to do a lot of walking. If you want to plan everything out step by step then I suggest going to hopstop.com it's like mapquest for nyc and it tells you which trains to take and what not. the one problem we did have were the train schedules and weekend schedules be sure to keep a tab on connecting trains that are running they usually have signs up.

Here is what we did it may give you an idea of what to do.

Broadway Play- we saw Beauty and the Beast and purchased advanced tickets, but I hear you can try to take your chances and there is a ticket booth on broadway which you can get tickets for 1/2 and in some cases 1/3 of the price. we paid 200 for our tickets.

Times Square- sorry to other posters but I couldn't help but walk and look up even at 1AM there were tons of people.

Gray's Papaya- great hotdogs.. recession special 2 hotdogs and a drink for 3.50, can't beat that.

Battery Park to see Statue of liberty- almost a must to do..unfortunately it is a must for everyone else too. if you plan on going inside the statue of liberty make sure you get there early or do it in advance. or you could do the circleline in the same area 2 or 3 hour tour wich goes all the way around Manhattan.

Grimaldi's Pizza- great Pizza in Brooklyn right below Brooklyn Bridge great photo opportunities there.

top of the rock- most people say it is better than Empire State Building we thoroughly enjoyed it.

that's just some of the stuff we did sorry for the long post but when I was doing my research I wish someone did this for me! PM me if you need anything else.

 

[Nithin]

hey thanks riceckr. This is a big help. will try to fit all that in our schedule.
i am thinking of getting the one week unlimited metrocard. i was reading somewhere that you can get just 1 card for two people?
is this true?

N.

 

[bigrash]

Originally posted by: Nithin
hey thanks riceckr. This is a big help. will try to fit all that in our schedule.
i am thinking of getting the one week unlimited metrocard. i was reading somewhere that you can get just 1 card for two people?
is this true?

N.

you can't use the unlimited card for two people (well, you can but you'll have to wait I think 18 min after each use to use it again). The non-unlimited ones, you can use for as many people because you're paying per use.

 

[Riceckr]

na you can't do that. the 7 day is 24 dollars and each entrance is someone sitting in a booth watching you. well maybe not watching you but they are there and are somewhat helpful if you are lost. the people that drive the trains are the most helpful though, it does inconvenience everyone else at the same time.

oh another place we ate at was Carnegie Deli. Frickin huge sandwhiches, be sure to take cash they dont accept Cards. actually most places we went to didn't accept credit/debit.. weird.

Look up restaurant week which is what is going on now and see if it will be going on when you are there. they have prix fixe lunches and dinners and they make it affordable to eat at the fanciest restaurants. I think all the top ones are there like Gotham bar and grill, mesa grill, Mario Batali's place cant remember the place.

here is the link:
http://www.nycvisit.com/conten...40538&CFTOKEN=14625735

 

[ZippyDan]

grimaldi's is good, top 3 very likely. but pales next to difara