New York City Travel Answers

There are beaches right in NYC, although maybe not the nicest. The nicest beaches in the area are in Central and Southern New Jersey. The towns themselves can be reached by bus, I don't know how you would get to the beach from the bus station as I have always used a car. Your post makes me curious- are you really going to cover all those 8 places in 8 days? Seems crazy to me- you will be spending most of your time traveling and not enjoying the areas. In fact Washington and Philia. are so far removed from Montreal and Quebec I'm wondering how that is possible.

August is a great time to be in NYC. There will be street fairs every weekend all over the city. Re what else you can do, here are some suggestions: -LIRR getaways...http://www.mta.info/lirr/getaways/ -Metro North getaways....mta.info/mnr/html/outbound.h... -You can literally spend a day walking through Central Park, down 5th avenue, into the Village and back up just exploring. -Brooklyn: walk over the bridge and spend most of the day in the Brooklyn Heights/Boerum Hill/Fort Green/Park Slope areas. -Central Park Summerstage...depoending on your dates: http://www.summerstage.org/ -Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park(schedule to be announced): prospectpark.org/visit/place... -Time Out NY magazine for additional events. Take a look just before your trip: http://www.timeout.com/newyork -Day/overnight trip to Atlantic City: http://www.atlanticcitynj.com/ There are so many things to do in and around NYC. And re shopping, you can spend a full week shopping in the city....

Take a daytrip using Metro North or Amtrak to New Haven, home of Yale: they do guided tours daily http://www.yale.edu/visitor/tours.html The town is full of history and its historical centre is very pleasant to wander around. Amtrak trains from Penn station take around 1.5 hours (best to buy your tickets well in advance online, because prices rise as departure nears). www.amtrak.com Metro North trains from Grand Central take around 1h 45m. There are much more frequent departures and fares are cheaper than Amtrak: as0.mta.info/mnr/schedules/s...

I too am wondering more about that 8-day tour than the prospect of getting bored in New York and the surrounding areas. That package sounds like a nightmare. I presume it would be on a bus, and the only way to do it and spend any time at all in the cities you're visiting would to drive overnight and sleep on the bus. The drive time alone, round trip from NY, would be a whopping 39 hours over the 8 days--and that's without pit stops. Yuck! If you do feel like getting out of NY, you can take plenty of trains to the surrounding states/towns. Metro North and NJ Transit can get you to towns in NY state, New Jersey, and Connecticut: http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm njtransit.com/pdf/rail/Rail_... There are lots of places that would make fun day trips.

Take the LIRR getaways...http://www.mta.info/lirr/getaways/ and go to Long Island for a day trip to the beach. Unless you rent a car, I don't think commuting to a beach in New Jersey is worth it. It is very common for new Yorkers to get away from the hustle bustle of the city and enjoy a nice day at Jones Beach for example(there are many others). It takes about 1 - 1.5 hrs to get there from midtown - train ride + bus ride to the beach. Check out summer concerts online - especially summer stage in central park. Enjoy!

I can't say I was ever bored in New York. I couldn't get excited about the MOMA, although we visited. I liked Boston Zoo, the Circle boat trip to the statue of liberty, seeing shows on Broadway at night, finding really cheap places to eat, visiting the library for free email, shopping at Macy's (see my pages about tax free shopping) visiting Ground Zero, Battery Park, taxi riding just for fun, talking to the natives. Empire State Building, actually I lost count. They say Fire Island is worth a visit. The most fun I had was on a Sunday wandering around with every one else on closed pedestrianised streets at walking parties. Everyone was up and around, walking dogs, dragging kids, eating, yakking, listening to music. Best to check what street stuff is on while you are there. To coin a phrase... if you are tired of Paris (New York) you are tired of life.

> I liked Boston Zoo I think you liked the Bronx Zoo, unless you made a special trip to Boston just for the zoo! I agree on the basic point that you'd have to be a pretty dull person to be bored in New York, no matter how long you stay there. Some people live their whole lives in New York! Imagine!

I really enjoyed Central Park. Yakking to dog owners is one of my favourite pastimes. Dog people are good people.

I would find it hard to spend "too many days" in NYC - it's such a vibrant city, there is always so much to do! The first time we went we planned to spend two of our three weeks in the city and surrounds and then travel out in the third week, but somehow we never got round to that! Just buying a sandwich at a deli and taking it into Central Park to people watch can easily while away half a day ;-) I always recommend the East Side Tenement Museum - even if you think you're not into museums, this one is so well done you'll probably be hooked! Read my review here: "Lower East Side Tenement Museum" - Lower East Side Tenement Museum Tip by toonsarah To get a way from the crowds, take the ferry to Staten Island and actually get off - you can wander some typical suburban neighbourhoods, or take a bus to Richmond Town, an old pioneer village (visitstatenisland.com/attrac... As others have said, check listings to see what is on when you're in town, and look out for free street markets etc. Take a Circle Line boat tour, go to Ellis Island, go up the Top of the Rock and/or Empire State Building, wander the different neighbourhoods - try the Bowery for a sense of what the Village might once have been, go to the Meatpacker District for edgy art and fashion, to Little Italy for pizza and cheesecake, to Soho for the wrought iron buildings and fashion, to ... but there is so much!!

Also, explore Chinatown first thing in the morning. GREAT experience. South Street Seaport in the summer is always fun(forgot if someone already mentioned it.) While you are down there, you can check out this exhibit...... bodiestheexhibition.com/newy...

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and back for some great views of the city. Go to Grand Central Terminal, get yourself a coffee and just watch the commuter rush. Central Park: yes. Wander, wander. Buy a package of hot nuts. Take pictures of the Lennon memorial at Strawberry Fields. Catch some buskers here and there. Cruise the Villages and Chelsea. Have a sit-down in any cafe that looks interesting and watch the people. Go to St Paul's Chapel (near Ground Zero) and see where George Washington worshipped before his inauguration, and countless volunteers fed and cared for the recovery crews at the Trade Center site for months and months. That it even survived the blast is amazing. Take the free Staten Island Ferry for a ride and wave at Lady Liberty. Have an al fresco lunch in Bryant Park So much to do..... :O)

-Catch an NY Mets or Yankee game if you are a sports fan. -If it's really warm/hot and you exit Central Park, check out the shops at Columbus Circle in the Time Warner building... theshopsatcolumbuscircle.com... -Request a tour of the Bloomberg world headqtrs on 59th/Lex right across the street from Bloomingdales. You can walk from Central Park down 59th Street, pass the Apple store and you will be there....

Wow, and I did spend A LOT of time inside the museums......!!!!!! And also in central park..... I also enjoy being there A LOT. But I wouldn't have thought of many of the suggestions listed here -- in fact I also would have thought that 2 weeks were too much to spend in NYC LOL!!!! Nobody mentioned wandering around Times Squre, or did they?? I can't recall... but I also enjoy that a lot, I don't know why! There are many shops to just take a peek at, restaurants, cheap sites for internet access... and I also enjoyed walking around the area where the UN building is located. There is a gorgeous cupcake shop a few streets away from UN that was also very close to my hotel so I was a frequent visitor hehehehehehe

Laura, that cupcake shop is probably the Buttercup Bakery on Second Ave. The owner formerly was one of the owners of the famous Magnolia Bakery on Bleeker Street.

I meant to say Buttercup Bake Shop not bakery. My favorite thing there is the coconut cake and second is the German chocolate. Having places like that around really make it hard to give up sugar which I am forever trying to do. http://www.buttercupbakeshop.com/

That is the one, Forestqueen!!!!!!!! A local friend (and VTer) took me there and I became a huge fan!!!! I had a banana pudding to die for and some red devil cupcakes..... yuuumm!!!!!!!!!

many thanks everyone! I got a land package that will cover all these places. We wll still sleep in a proper hotel, not in the coach! Hah! BTW, anyone knows how to get from Jersey Gardens to Garden State Plaza cos we are thinking of spending time there shopping which is tax free for clothes/shoes. Though we will still go to Wrentham (from Boston) and Woodbury commons for shopping, I reckon my friends would still prefer do some more afforable shopping in New Jersey Gardens and Garden State Plaza. I know that port authority in NYC do have buses heading to respective places, but I could not find any details on the net regarding traveling from jersey gardens to garden state plaza which are both in new jersey. Anyone got any clue on this? P/S: We do not drive so can only rely on transport. But if taxi is an option (if not unreasonably expensive), please do advise too. Thank you once again and would appreciate your help. :)

If you are going to Woodbury then you do not need to waste time on Jersery Gardens or GS Plaza. Woodbury has plenty of inexpensive brands in addition to the high-end ones. I hope you actually see something in the US/Canada that is neither an interstate highway nor a shopping mall.

Hi Travelmad478, Thank you for your fast response. I read quite a number of reviews on woodbury commons which mentioned that the clothes there are pretty off season, quality is poor and expensive and some even commented that woodbury can be missed and therefore jersey gardens and/or garden state plaza is a preferred choice. That's why we are having this research. Other than shopping, the rest of the trip is NYC is hopefully well planned (imo) and tidying up will be done later :)

Woodbury Commons and Jersey Gardens are outlet malls. Clothing at a true outlet mall is always going to be off season. The inventory they get is shipped there from the regular stores after the season is over--hence the hit-or-miss aspect, and occasional stained or ripped item--but the savings on the same items vs. what they would have cost in the regular stores can be phenomenal. If you want high-quality clothes for much less than they would have cost originally, this is the place to go. (Both Woodbury and Jersey Gardens also have "outlet" locations of big brands that are not true outlets, but instead stores that sell cheaply made clothes tagged with the same brands. That appeals to some people, but it's not what I would bother buying. Jersey Gardens in particular is full of these, which is why I don't go there.) Garden State Plaza is not an outlet mall, but just a regular shopping mall, so the stuff there will be current-season.

I also agree that Woodbury is the better choice....