America - city break or winter sun?
Discussion
Hey PH, due to a new job I have a quite a bit more savings than before and Norwegian air prices to the US around Feb/March/April are all very tempting.
However I'm torn between sightseeing in New York or some winter sun in Florida. At the moment it looks like I'd be flying solo, but in any case for those who have been to either location what would you recommend in terms of things to do/places to eat etc especially if on your own and as someone who has never been. Anything to watch out for? Thanks in advance!
However I'm torn between sightseeing in New York or some winter sun in Florida. At the moment it looks like I'd be flying solo, but in any case for those who have been to either location what would you recommend in terms of things to do/places to eat etc especially if on your own and as someone who has never been. Anything to watch out for? Thanks in advance!
New York in late winter/spring is lovely. The weather can be very cold and maybe snow.
Book yourself on lots of tours, go to the top of the Rock, ride the subway, visit ground zero, walk through SoHo/TriBeCa, eat out at fabulous restaurants, take the Staten Island ferry across the bay, walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to eat Pizza, ignore Times Square, take a stroll through Central Park, there are endless things to do most of them iconic. Take lots of photos.
Book yourself on lots of tours, go to the top of the Rock, ride the subway, visit ground zero, walk through SoHo/TriBeCa, eat out at fabulous restaurants, take the Staten Island ferry across the bay, walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to eat Pizza, ignore Times Square, take a stroll through Central Park, there are endless things to do most of them iconic. Take lots of photos.
Challo said:
If your on your own head to New York, great city and so much to see and do.
Florida is great but might get a bit boring on your own. Where would you be headed?
Orlando or Tampa are my two options for Florida. Florida is great but might get a bit boring on your own. Where would you be headed?
With regards to New York I know I have more options with things to do sightseeing wise; museums, empire state building, times square etc. AirBnB not too bad price wise either compared to hotels.
I’ll add my vote to New York as well. As a solo traveller you’ll want stuff to see and do, and for a first trip New York has stuff to do in spades.
As mentioned , it could be rather cold at that time of year (later is better for walking around, until you reach high summer!), so that’s my only note of caution.
As mentioned , it could be rather cold at that time of year (later is better for walking around, until you reach high summer!), so that’s my only note of caution.
Not so fast, sonny!
Something rather special is happening down here in sunny FL in mid-March of 2019.
Sebring International Raceway hosts the eponymous Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring sportscar race - but this year there will be a WEC endurance race too.
That is to say, two world-class races in one weekend and a great party throughout. Gates open Weds March 13th WEC race is Friday 15th, IMSA race starts Sat morning.
You can head to NYC anytime (and risk the weather) - the Sebring double-header is probably a one-off event and our weather in March is usually perfect.
Something rather special is happening down here in sunny FL in mid-March of 2019.
Sebring International Raceway hosts the eponymous Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring sportscar race - but this year there will be a WEC endurance race too.
That is to say, two world-class races in one weekend and a great party throughout. Gates open Weds March 13th WEC race is Friday 15th, IMSA race starts Sat morning.
You can head to NYC anytime (and risk the weather) - the Sebring double-header is probably a one-off event and our weather in March is usually perfect.
Edited by Matt Harper on Saturday 13th October 18:50
New York in February is our favourite combination, in fact we've done it 8 times now in the past 15 years.
It's comfortably the driest month of the year and it's also frequently completely clear blue skies. Of 40 or so days spent there in Feb we've only had two days of rain, two of snow and only a couple more than that of overcast days in total.
Compared to pretty much any other time of year it's lovely and quiet (relatively speaking) in terms of tourists. Yes it can be brutally cold, but also surprisingly mild all in the same week, the swings in temperature there can be incredible from one day to the next. This Feb just gone we took our 3 year old, one day we could barely feel our hands or feet, the next we spent a lovely evening sat outside in Brooklyn Bridge Park in our t-shirts eating ice cream!
It's comfortably the driest month of the year and it's also frequently completely clear blue skies. Of 40 or so days spent there in Feb we've only had two days of rain, two of snow and only a couple more than that of overcast days in total.
Compared to pretty much any other time of year it's lovely and quiet (relatively speaking) in terms of tourists. Yes it can be brutally cold, but also surprisingly mild all in the same week, the swings in temperature there can be incredible from one day to the next. This Feb just gone we took our 3 year old, one day we could barely feel our hands or feet, the next we spent a lovely evening sat outside in Brooklyn Bridge Park in our t-shirts eating ice cream!
75Black said:
Hey PH, due to a new job I have a quite a bit more savings than before and Norwegian air prices to the US around Feb/March/April are all very tempting.
However I'm torn between sightseeing in New York or some winter sun in Florida. At the moment it looks like I'd be flying solo, but in any case for those who have been to either location what would you recommend in terms of things to do/places to eat etc especially if on your own and as someone who has never been. Anything to watch out for? Thanks in advance!
How long are you going for? Been ny maybe six times, last time four years ago on NY to LA trip in the summer.However I'm torn between sightseeing in New York or some winter sun in Florida. At the moment it looks like I'd be flying solo, but in any case for those who have been to either location what would you recommend in terms of things to do/places to eat etc especially if on your own and as someone who has never been. Anything to watch out for? Thanks in advance!
Florida for me has to be south beach Miami and the keys. In fact this Xmas a week in Miami and the keys then flying to LA for a three week motorhome road trip.
I like the sun so that’s for me, but NY is great.
David Beer said:
How long are you going for? Been ny maybe six times, last time four years ago on NY to LA trip in the summer.
Florida for me has to be south beach Miami and the keys. In fact this Xmas a week in Miami and the keys then flying to LA for a three week motorhome road trip.
I like the sun so that’s for me, but NY is great.
Planning to go for 7 days, between the 15th-22nd March so shouldn't be too cold. Might not be going solo after all, my dad recently retired so he's thinking about coming with.Florida for me has to be south beach Miami and the keys. In fact this Xmas a week in Miami and the keys then flying to LA for a three week motorhome road trip.
I like the sun so that’s for me, but NY is great.
With regards to airlines, I looked on skyscanner out of curiosity and it was showing BA surprisingly enough as the cheapest at around £275 return in economy basic. I would be going with a slight upgrade to economy standard/plus or whatever it's called so I have baggage/meal included. For a long haul who would you recommend - Norwegian or British Airways? I've flown Norwegian to Croatia and had a very good experience and I'd be on the 787 Dreamliner, however BA flies with the 777 or 747 depending on which aircraft is assigned to the flight.
Another vote for New York, i went last year on my own, it's a city you can do alone and nobody will notice. It will be cold, if they have an especially cold snap it could be as low as -10. Bear in mind though aside from the sights etc New York is a dirty, stinking city, ticket touts everywhere, sometimes 5 or 6 on each street corner around the tourist areas, check flight prices and hotel prices, i booked it separate as my father paid for my flights and i booked the hotel 2 days before i went, got a good deal on Times Square. You can get a lot better deals buying flight/hotel together especially if you're going just for a few nights.
There some lovely areas, Central Park, The High Line, a lot of the neighbourhoods between Penn Station and Wall Street are really nice to walk around, tourists don't really go there so it's quiet and there is plenty of coffee shops, restaurants etc. From personal experience i would do the Sun and Stars experience at Top of the Rock, you can do it during the day and again at night within 24 hours, Everyone goes to the Empire State, but for me it's seeing the Empire State Building that counts, you can't see it if you're at the top of it.
Can't really beat this view
There some lovely areas, Central Park, The High Line, a lot of the neighbourhoods between Penn Station and Wall Street are really nice to walk around, tourists don't really go there so it's quiet and there is plenty of coffee shops, restaurants etc. From personal experience i would do the Sun and Stars experience at Top of the Rock, you can do it during the day and again at night within 24 hours, Everyone goes to the Empire State, but for me it's seeing the Empire State Building that counts, you can't see it if you're at the top of it.
Can't really beat this view
75Black said:
Planning to go for 7 days, between the 15th-22nd March so shouldn't be too cold. Might not be going solo after all, my dad recently retired so he's thinking about coming with.
With regards to airlines, I looked on skyscanner out of curiosity and it was showing BA surprisingly enough as the cheapest at around £275 return in economy basic. I would be going with a slight upgrade to economy standard/plus or whatever it's called so I have baggage/meal included. For a long haul who would you recommend - Norwegian or British Airways? I've flown Norwegian to Croatia and had a very good experience and I'd be on the 787 Dreamliner, however BA flies with the 777 or 747 depending on which aircraft is assigned to the flight.
I only fly Virgin to the states, I have a good deal through Amex With regards to airlines, I looked on skyscanner out of curiosity and it was showing BA surprisingly enough as the cheapest at around £275 return in economy basic. I would be going with a slight upgrade to economy standard/plus or whatever it's called so I have baggage/meal included. For a long haul who would you recommend - Norwegian or British Airways? I've flown Norwegian to Croatia and had a very good experience and I'd be on the 787 Dreamliner, however BA flies with the 777 or 747 depending on which aircraft is assigned to the flight.
If you do NY you must do ground zero, but book in advance, otherwise you will wait in line for hours.
You can also get good flight deals to Boston which is worth checking out, LA too if you don't mind the extra 3 hours of flight time.
I've found that Norwegian isn't that cheap once you start adding things like seat selection and food. Always pays to use Google Flights to search for alternatives.
I've found that Norwegian isn't that cheap once you start adding things like seat selection and food. Always pays to use Google Flights to search for alternatives.
David Beer said:
I only fly Virgin to the states, I have a good deal through Amex
If you do NY you must do ground zero, but book in advance, otherwise you will wait in line for hours.
Now that you mention Virgin, flights are pretty cheap there too. Damn you cheap flights to America by multiple airlines, I can only fly with one of you! If you do NY you must do ground zero, but book in advance, otherwise you will wait in line for hours.
Ground zero was on my list to do so good to know
75Black said:
Thanks all for the advice, New York it is! Hopefully March shouldn't be too bad weather wise, I've had a look and I'm planning to catch the St Patrick's day parade along the way, and the other touristy bits.
We went in Jan 2012 and it didn't get above 0C. We had a great time. Weather didn't bother us at all. My point is don't worry about it at all. I turn 40 in a couple of years and I'm hoping we will do NYC again or maybe Vegas as I've never been on an actual holiday there.
Matt Harper said:
mikal83 said:
we had sleet a few years ago just outside Tampa in Feb, it gets bloody cold!
Kind of unusual though.In contrast, this was lower Manhattan on April 2nd, this year.
Depending on the choice of airline, why not do both - using New York as a 'stopover'. A lot of the US airlines use NY/Newark as their hub airports, so it is possible to split the journey.
Our first visit to NY was as a stopover on the way home from San Diego, and its a good way to see a bit more of the country..
Our first visit to NY was as a stopover on the way home from San Diego, and its a good way to see a bit more of the country..
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