Our first holiday abroad....New York city..... December 2013
Discussion
Hi all.
I am in the early stages of planning our first proper holiday abroad, We will be going to New York for 10days December 2013 (For my Birthday).
We Would like to visit all or most of the following:
Grand central station
Times sq
Downtown Manhattan
Central Park
Yankee Stadium
Empire state building
Prospect Park
Rockefeller center
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park
Chrysler building
Brooklyn Bridge
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Madison sq Garden (Hoping to catch a Knicks game)
Any pointers as to the best way to book this sort of trip?
Am I better off going for a package or should I book flights and hotel separate?
What area should I look at staying and where to stay Hotel wise?
Budget of around £4k (But flexible upwards for the right place if needed) for Flights and Accommodation.
tbh it all seems a bit daunting.
All info great-fully received as I'm a total Newbie when it comes to foreign holidays.
Thank you
Chris
I am in the early stages of planning our first proper holiday abroad, We will be going to New York for 10days December 2013 (For my Birthday).
We Would like to visit all or most of the following:
Grand central station
Times sq
Downtown Manhattan
Central Park
Yankee Stadium
Empire state building
Prospect Park
Rockefeller center
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park
Chrysler building
Brooklyn Bridge
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Madison sq Garden (Hoping to catch a Knicks game)
Any pointers as to the best way to book this sort of trip?
Am I better off going for a package or should I book flights and hotel separate?
What area should I look at staying and where to stay Hotel wise?
Budget of around £4k (But flexible upwards for the right place if needed) for Flights and Accommodation.
tbh it all seems a bit daunting.
All info great-fully received as I'm a total Newbie when it comes to foreign holidays.
Thank you
Chris
Hiya Chris! 
10 days is a long time in New York (in my opionion!) as you'll see all of those places well within the time frame and may end up getting a little bored.
I've been a few times now but I'd say 4-5 days would give you enough time to see all the sights, take in the Atmosphere and sample various restaurants, bars and the night life.
If you wanna have a nag over it we really should meet up for beers and see if we can get the PH resident Stig along (Graham).
Edited - because I didn't answer any of your original questions.
We always book the flights and hotel seperately as it works out much cheaper for us. We normally wait for a Virgin sale to crop up (saving up those Virgin airmiles you see!). We've stayed in the Hudson, we've stayed in a smallish hotel around the Great Neck area and more recently we've stayed at a hotel called The Warickshire which is situated around 4 blocks away from Central Park.
The best value for money out of all of them was defintely The Warickshire and it was also located in the best spot out of the others we have tried. Be aware that most New York hotels have very small rooms and are not cheap but we found a deal online and were pleasantly suprised with the room size.
Christmas time will make things more expensive for you but it should be a lovely time of year to see the city, just make sure to wrap up warm.
10 days is a long time in New York (in my opionion!) as you'll see all of those places well within the time frame and may end up getting a little bored.
I've been a few times now but I'd say 4-5 days would give you enough time to see all the sights, take in the Atmosphere and sample various restaurants, bars and the night life.
If you wanna have a nag over it we really should meet up for beers and see if we can get the PH resident Stig along (Graham).
Edited - because I didn't answer any of your original questions.
We always book the flights and hotel seperately as it works out much cheaper for us. We normally wait for a Virgin sale to crop up (saving up those Virgin airmiles you see!). We've stayed in the Hudson, we've stayed in a smallish hotel around the Great Neck area and more recently we've stayed at a hotel called The Warickshire which is situated around 4 blocks away from Central Park.
The best value for money out of all of them was defintely The Warickshire and it was also located in the best spot out of the others we have tried. Be aware that most New York hotels have very small rooms and are not cheap but we found a deal online and were pleasantly suprised with the room size.
Christmas time will make things more expensive for you but it should be a lovely time of year to see the city, just make sure to wrap up warm.
Edited by Robatr0n on Tuesday 28th August 11:13
Robatr0n said:
Hiya Chris!
Just make sure to wrap up warm.
That. Wait until spring and then hit the sales to buy some properly warm coats. It can get very, very cold indeed in New York. Just make sure to wrap up warm.
Edited by Robatr0n on Tuesday 28th August 11:13
If you are really shifting you could probably manage most of your list in a day. However, I've managed to spend about 3 weeks in New York altogether and still haven't managed to tick anything of the list of things that I want to do. I enjoy just wandering around and taking in the New York-ness of it all.
If you are there on the morning of December 5th, it would likely be worth your while getting up early and enjoying the Manhattanhenge - one of four days in the year when the sun is in alignment with the NY street grid.
Also well worth a visit is the Grand Central Library IMO.
In winter I like to ride the A-train all the way out to Coney Island and walk on the beach. Very cold, but if it's sunny it's really quite pretty.
Hi Rob: Yes we will definitely get together for a chat...(probably a silly question) Are you guys doing a Christmas Drinks this year?
FaceBuuuuke message me if you like re:drinkies...will need to get Graham the slag out too
Another thing:
We want to hire a car for the day, looked on Hertz last night they have the New Dodge Charger RT for cheap as chips day rate BUT the insurance they provide is bare minimum, along the lines of Third Party Only!!!!
I'd want to be Fully Comp so need to look into that.
I know parking will be an issue hence only wanting a car for a day, rude not to spend a few hours tooling around in a V8 while there.
New York all decked out in Christmas lights is something We've wanted to see for years (We f
king love Christmas) plus We'll be there for my Birthday too.
Can't wait.
FaceBuuuuke message me if you like re:drinkies...will need to get Graham the slag out too
Another thing:
We want to hire a car for the day, looked on Hertz last night they have the New Dodge Charger RT for cheap as chips day rate BUT the insurance they provide is bare minimum, along the lines of Third Party Only!!!!
I'd want to be Fully Comp so need to look into that.
I know parking will be an issue hence only wanting a car for a day, rude not to spend a few hours tooling around in a V8 while there.
New York all decked out in Christmas lights is something We've wanted to see for years (We f
king love Christmas) plus We'll be there for my Birthday too.Can't wait.
Edited by y2blade on Tuesday 28th August 12:24
y2blade said:
Another thing:
We want to hire a car for the day, looked on Hertz last night they have the New Dodge Charger RT for cheap as chips day rate BUT the insurance they provide is bare minimum, along the lines of Third Party Only!!!!
I'd want to be Fully Comp so need to look into that.
I know parking will be an issue hence only wanting a car for a day, rude not to spend a few hours tooling around in a V8 while there.
If it's your first time abroad then hiring a car in NYC would be a really bad way to learn to drive on the wrong side of the road! NYC traffic is even more mental than London, and parking a nightmare/garage fees are sky high. You'd probably spend a good portion of your day stuck in traffic or trying not to crash We want to hire a car for the day, looked on Hertz last night they have the New Dodge Charger RT for cheap as chips day rate BUT the insurance they provide is bare minimum, along the lines of Third Party Only!!!!
I'd want to be Fully Comp so need to look into that.
I know parking will be an issue hence only wanting a car for a day, rude not to spend a few hours tooling around in a V8 while there.
New York was the only place I left my car outside the city and used public transport when I lived in the 'States. The subway is a much better way to travel, or brave a yellow cab... I have spent a lot of time in New York, including a whole month out there working in Janaury and the weather can be all over the place - from -10oC up to 17oC was my range in just a month, but it was dry most of the time and there were plenty of sunny but cold days. The wind chill can also be a big factor, so do take plenty of winter clothes!
I would repeat what other have said though - 10 days in New York is WAY too long. It will grate on you eventually - I know I spent most of my weekends getting out of the city as it just drove me mad after a week! I would seriously suggest you look at jumping on the Amtrack from Penn station and going up to Boston or down to DC for 2 or 3 nights to break up the trip nicely.
As for your list of stuff to do - it looks as though you're on the right lines.
Other tips would be the Upper West Side - Amsterdam and 96th ish (lots of good restaurants and local not touristy) and get stuck into the Hell's Kitchen area (fairly central again) for as many good places to eat and drink as you could imagine!
But I would seriously recommend getting out of New York for a few days to one of the other cities on your doorstep!
I would repeat what other have said though - 10 days in New York is WAY too long. It will grate on you eventually - I know I spent most of my weekends getting out of the city as it just drove me mad after a week! I would seriously suggest you look at jumping on the Amtrack from Penn station and going up to Boston or down to DC for 2 or 3 nights to break up the trip nicely.
As for your list of stuff to do - it looks as though you're on the right lines.
Other tips would be the Upper West Side - Amsterdam and 96th ish (lots of good restaurants and local not touristy) and get stuck into the Hell's Kitchen area (fairly central again) for as many good places to eat and drink as you could imagine!
But I would seriously recommend getting out of New York for a few days to one of the other cities on your doorstep!
chazola said:
y2blade said:
Another thing:
We want to hire a car for the day, looked on Hertz last night they have the New Dodge Charger RT for cheap as chips day rate BUT the insurance they provide is bare minimum, along the lines of Third Party Only!!!!
I'd want to be Fully Comp so need to look into that.
I know parking will be an issue hence only wanting a car for a day, rude not to spend a few hours tooling around in a V8 while there.
If it's your first time abroad then hiring a car in NYC would be a really bad way to learn to drive on the wrong side of the road! NYC traffic is even more mental than London, and parking a nightmare/garage fees are sky high. You'd probably spend a good portion of your day stuck in traffic or trying not to crash We want to hire a car for the day, looked on Hertz last night they have the New Dodge Charger RT for cheap as chips day rate BUT the insurance they provide is bare minimum, along the lines of Third Party Only!!!!
I'd want to be Fully Comp so need to look into that.
I know parking will be an issue hence only wanting a car for a day, rude not to spend a few hours tooling around in a V8 while there.
New York was the only place I left my car outside the city and used public transport when I lived in the 'States. The subway is a much better way to travel, or brave a yellow cab... BUT I Will definitely take your advice on board and will give it some proper thought before booking a car.
Edited by y2blade on Tuesday 28th August 12:51
miln0039 said:
I have spent a lot of time in New York, including a whole month out there working in Janaury and the weather can be all over the place - from -10oC up to 17oC was my range in just a month, but it was dry most of the time and there were plenty of sunny but cold days. The wind chill can also be a big factor, so do take plenty of winter clothes!
I would repeat what other have said though - 10 days in New York is WAY too long. It will grate on you eventually - I know I spent most of my weekends getting out of the city as it just drove me mad after a week! I would seriously suggest you look at jumping on the Amtrack from Penn station and going up to Boston or down to DC for 2 or 3 nights to break up the trip nicely.
As for your list of stuff to do - it looks as though you're on the right lines.
Other tips would be the Upper West Side - Amsterdam and 96th ish (lots of good restaurants and local not touristy) and get stuck into the Hell's Kitchen area (fairly central again) for as many good places to eat and drink as you could imagine!
But I would seriously recommend getting out of New York for a few days to one of the other cities on your doorstep!
Hmmmm We both (MissB and I) thought 7days would be the minimum needed, with perhaps 14days being too long! I would repeat what other have said though - 10 days in New York is WAY too long. It will grate on you eventually - I know I spent most of my weekends getting out of the city as it just drove me mad after a week! I would seriously suggest you look at jumping on the Amtrack from Penn station and going up to Boston or down to DC for 2 or 3 nights to break up the trip nicely.
As for your list of stuff to do - it looks as though you're on the right lines.
Other tips would be the Upper West Side - Amsterdam and 96th ish (lots of good restaurants and local not touristy) and get stuck into the Hell's Kitchen area (fairly central again) for as many good places to eat and drink as you could imagine!
But I would seriously recommend getting out of New York for a few days to one of the other cities on your doorstep!
Other poster's have said 10 days in NYC may well be too long, so Maybe we'll break the Trip in two then! few days in NYC and a few days elsewhere.
What other Cities in that area do you guys recommend?
y2blade said:
Hmmmm We both (MissB and I) thought 7days would be the minimum needed, with perhaps 14days being too long!
Other poster's have said 10 days in NYC may well be too long, so Maybe we'll break the Trip in two then! few days in NYC and a few days elsewhere.
What other Cities in that area do you guys recommend?
Boston is brilliant and is much more manageable in terms of the size (you can actually walk from one end to the other with little frief!).Other poster's have said 10 days in NYC may well be too long, so Maybe we'll break the Trip in two then! few days in NYC and a few days elsewhere.
What other Cities in that area do you guys recommend?
DC is a great city and there is a LOT to do in terms of museums, but I prefered the "feel" to Boston.
I've not tried Philly but that would also be within range.
hedgefinder said:
a hire car for a holiday in NY... seriously?? virtually everything is within comfortable walking distance, being bumper to bumper half a day then spending the rest of it finding parking... maybe you will need 10 days afterall..
We are Looking at hiring for ONE day....I thought it rude not to hire something like this while there:
or
Hertz have both...for around £100 for the day.
Just a thought that was all.
No biggie.
I was going to ask where you would be driving to. I seem to recall that we brought a sight seeing ticket that gave free travel on lots of big red buses.
We did a two city break. It was scorching in Florida and bloody freezing in New York. I think I was the only person walking around with bad sun burn for the three days that we were there.
Also agree that 10 days is far to long really. I would have 3 days in New York then 7 days somewhere hot.
Though I had said in the past (and got flamed) that I really don't rate New York as a city to visit. London is far better.
We did a two city break. It was scorching in Florida and bloody freezing in New York. I think I was the only person walking around with bad sun burn for the three days that we were there.
Also agree that 10 days is far to long really. I would have 3 days in New York then 7 days somewhere hot.
Though I had said in the past (and got flamed) that I really don't rate New York as a city to visit. London is far better.
Boston is lovely. 
Again, not a huge amount to do but we saw more than enough of the city in 3 days. The buildings are fantastic and the locals are a very friendly bunch. They do some lovely tours around the city even by the hop-on/hop-off bus, open top bus or the duck tours. If you like seafood there are plenty of places for you to try, especially the Barking Crab if you get the time.
As we were in town we decided to go and see a Boston Red Sox game. Didn't really have much of a clue as to what was going on but we went with a couple of friends who are from upstate New York and they talked us through the rules. It was slow to get going (really slow) but things heated up towards the end got better. My brother went to see a Basketball game and said that the atmoshere was just immense and the game contained end to end action.
Anyway, it's option Chris should you and Vicky fancy seeing somewhere else.
Again, not a huge amount to do but we saw more than enough of the city in 3 days. The buildings are fantastic and the locals are a very friendly bunch. They do some lovely tours around the city even by the hop-on/hop-off bus, open top bus or the duck tours. If you like seafood there are plenty of places for you to try, especially the Barking Crab if you get the time.
As we were in town we decided to go and see a Boston Red Sox game. Didn't really have much of a clue as to what was going on but we went with a couple of friends who are from upstate New York and they talked us through the rules. It was slow to get going (really slow) but things heated up towards the end got better. My brother went to see a Basketball game and said that the atmoshere was just immense and the game contained end to end action.
Anyway, it's option Chris should you and Vicky fancy seeing somewhere else.
I'm liking the way this is going.
Hmmmm maybe we'll Hire a V8 and drive it to Boston?
Rob are you at Aston Martin this Sunday? ....I'll see you there if so.
I'll park my Diesel Volvo next to something flashy.
Or maybe i'll take the Manky beater Golf tdi full of horse st just for Aston Martin!?
Hmmmm maybe we'll Hire a V8 and drive it to Boston?
Rob are you at Aston Martin this Sunday? ....I'll see you there if so.
I'll park my Diesel Volvo next to something flashy.
Or maybe i'll take the Manky beater Golf tdi full of horse s
t just for Aston Martin!? Robatr0n said:
As we were in town we decided to go and see a Boston Red Sox game. Didn't really have much of a clue as to what was going on but we went with a couple of friends who are from upstate New York and they talked us through the rules. It was slow to get going (really slow) but things heated up towards the end got better. My brother went to see a Basketball game and said that the atmoshere was just immense and the game contained end to end action.
Sadly Baseball will be a non starter in December, it's a summer sport for the Yanks!But a tour of Fenway Park should be on your list if you go to Boston. Amazing stadium.
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