New York City Travel Forum

I am travelling with my 2 teen daughters to NYC for the first time. We intend to spend a few days in NYC before leaving for Washington to stay for a few days, and then travel back to JFK to catch an int'l flight to Singapore. Is train more reliable than taking domestic flight from NYC to Washington DC, and vice versa? If we buy a return ticket for train from NYC Penn Station to Washington DC, we end up in Penn Station on the way back, and will have to take the bus or taxi to JFK. Does anyone know if the return leg can end in JFK? Amtrak website does not seem to give that alternative.

I'm coming to NYC to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday. When I asked him what he'd like to for his birthday he said he would love to go to a Giants or Jets game. The Jets are playing at the Giants stadium on Dec 28th at 1pm. We have tickets for "In the Heights" that evening at 7pm. Do you think we'll have enough time to get back from the game to make the show? And what would be the best way to get to the stadium from Manhattan?

Thanks!

Hi there!
I'm a norwegian man and I'm visiting NY in a week!
I'm really looking forward to the trip, but I'm wondering what to do regarding currency exchange. I'm probably going to spend around 3500 US Dollars, because I'm doing a lot of private lessons (drums) over there. Therefore I'm wondering what's the best and the safest way of dealing with my money.
At first I was thinking about getting money from NY ATMs, but the Norwegian Kroner (Norway's currency) is going crazy these days, so it's going up and down in a fast tempo. Therefore I've been thinking about traveler checks, since then I know what I have, but I haven't used those before - are they recommended?
Do I need to pay a lot of fees when cashing them out in NY?

What do you guys recommend? I could go to the bank and get a lot of cash, but that's very scary to carry around with me...! Help me out here - it's my first time traveling alone, so I'm hoping to learn the best way to handle my money, before I actually go!

Thanks! :)

Yours sincerely,
Zorlee...

I've done the LGA/JFK transfer before, but has many hours to do it leisurely.

However, I have an international arrival monday morning (6:15am) next week into JFK and a domestic departure from LGA 3.5 hours later.

Problem is that my inbound & outbound connections are only once a day, so I have to do this or kill one more day that I can't afford to do.

I know its cutting it close, but honestly speaking, do any of you have great concerns? Is there road construction en route, abnormal traffic, etc.? Still enough time to take the shuttle, or must I take a taxi?

Thanks!

Hi, we are planning on going to the Coheed & Cambria concert this Friday at 7 at Terminal 5. We are driving from Albany.

1. Should we drive into the city, or is there a good subway / train station to park at on the way, say in NJ or NY north of the city and take a train or subway in. We're thinking this might avoid the hassle of driving in NYC and paying a lot for parking. It seems like it would be better to park & ride in. We'll probably be there until midnight or so, then need to leave to go home to Albany again.

2. If we should drive in to the city, is there a good place to park?

3. If we drive into the city, what's the best way to go?

To the virtual world,

Hi I am coming to NYC from Dec 26-Jan 1 to celebrate turning 30. This plan has been in the works for 2 years...Decided while drunk one night with some friends. There are 4 of us girls going and I have planned a jam-packed itinerary but we can't find anything to do for NYE. Don't want to be near the ball drop or go to any of those $200 dollar crammed bar things that seem to pop up whenever I type NYE NYC into the search engine. We want to enjoy ourselves...any good restaurants? Walks? Neat Jazz bars? Little out of the way places that we can enjoy ourselves...4 girls from Canada...

Hello,

I was hoping to get some information on booking a reasonably priced apartment in New York City in November for 5 people. We are coming from Ireland on the 20th and will be staying for 6 nights. We would ideally like to stay in Manhattan if possible, but would appreciate any information at all. We have been having some difficulty with finding appropriate accommodation so far and a few arrangements have fallen through. We are therefore keen to get it sorted as soon as we can.

Thanks in advance....

Hi!

i would like to ask for help. would you know if there are any remarkable celebrations in New York within the period of December 30, 2008 to January 30, 2009.i am planning to go there within that period.

Thanks a heap.

Hi everyone,

I have never posted in a forum before so I am quite excited about what response it might generate. I really need some help from a New Yorker, or some one who knows New York very well. I am planning to travel to NYC for the first time in May 09 and while I am there I plan to propose to my girlfriend.

I want her to pick out a ring so if she says yes I plan to whisk her off in a yellow cab to a jeweler. I have done a great deal of research about jewelers in the city, but it is very difficult to tell over the internet. I am looking for someone to recommend a couple of shops that we could confidently look at. I am looking for somewhere that will make my girl feel special, it is her dream to be proposed to in New York so I want it to be something she will remember positively.

My budget is around $3500 USD so Tiffany is out of the question sadly but if anyone could recommend a place I would be forever grateful, the name of the business, location and any testimonials would be perfect. Thank you all so much for helping me to make this special for my girl.

Hope to hear from you all soon.

i'm flying in on xmas day but just curious as to whether the taxi's are available easily from jfk and if they charge differently on xmas day?

thanks.

I'll be visiting in February 2009 and am wondering whether there is any news as to when various renovations will be finished. Three that spring to mind are:
Riverside Church - covered in scaffolding last May.
New York Public Library - wrapped up in protective sheeting.
Atlas (opposite St Pats) - completely boxed in!
Any news would be much appreciated.
Also, I notice that the Queensborough Bridge will be celebrating it's centenary in 2009 - are there any celebrations planned?

Has anyone ever used one? From what I gather, one can be requested by dialing 311. How responsive are they? What other companies offer wheelchair accessible airport transfers? I need to get from JFK to Secaucus, NJ as quickly and cheaply as possible. From what I can see, the wheelchair accessible for-hire transport industry in NYC is obscenely expensive. How much should I expect to spend?

Hi,

My fiance and I are due to be in New York this New Year, from 30th Dec - 6th Jan as part of our honeymoon.

We've already worked out quite a few of the things we'd like to do and have made reservations at Gordon Ramsay and bought tickets for The Lion King for during our stay.

However, what we're struggling with is where to go on New Years Eve....

We'd like to be close to Times Square (typical tourists I know!) so that we can see the ball drop etc but don't fancy standing around outside for hours waiting for it. Because of this we have been hoping to get tickets for one of the restaurants/bars that do party nights on the night, including food, open bar, music and a reserved spot on the pavement (sidewalk) from where to watch the ball drop. With this in mind I'd be grateful if you guys could help with a few questions:

- Any particular restaurants or bars you'd recommend?

- Can we expect everywhere (even ticketed nights) to get busy very early, meaning we have to be there for 6pm or earlier if we plan on eating? Is it worse in close by places like TGI Fridays or does it depend on the restaurant?

- Does anyone have any experience of Olive Garden or TGI Friday at Times Square who would care to let us know how it was?

- Does anyone have any experience of Rosie O'Gradys at 7th Ave & 52nd Street? I know this is further away from Times Square but I've heard it's good...not sure if you can see the ball drop etc tho?

- As these events are ticketed is it easy to purchase them online and be guaranteed that they're genuine? We don't arrive in NY until late on the 30th and likely won't be able to visit the restaurant/bar before the party starts...will they be ok with us just turning up and expecting to have a reservation etc?

I'm sorry about the long email but because it's our honeymoon and our first time to New York / USA I'm trying to get everything as perfect as possible.

Many thanks,

Gordon

Hello!

Has somebody had dinner there? I'd like to receive your comments vs price, service and food quality. thanks

Hey Guys!

Basically will be visiting NYC and will be staying in the Washington heights area, could anyone recommend great spots to check out in Washington heights? hang outs? parks? museums?

thanks for any info.

Now I'm normally quite good at this, I have maps that I've bought, there's Google Maps and their amazing Street Views as well as a whole host of online sites dedicated to New York buildings but this one has me stumped. All I know is it must be very close to the Dylan Hotel (54 E41st Street) but I'd like to know the name of it. Can anyone put me out of my misery? Thanks!

IT's here by the way: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/nic.brokenshire/WhatIsThisBuilding#

What is best to wear in Winter, February? ie are jeans a good idea? If not what pants are? What sort of comfortable walking boots should i get?

Hi everyone.

I am looking into flying into JFK and staying at the YMCA in Flushing, Queens. The nearest station is Flushing/Main St on the 7 and LIRR.

I have looked at the subway map and it looks a bit of a nightmare to get there, 2 changes in total at Jamaica and Woodside. Can anyone suggest better way.

The alternative is to fly into Newark, catch the Airtrain to Penn Station then go on the 7 to Flushing/Main St at the end of the line.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Clare

Which NYC helicopter tours company is better, Liberty Helicopters or New York Helicopter Tours? For the record I would like to take the most complete/longest tour available.

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Is Halloween a good time to visit NY?? How's the weather in October?? Will it be cold during the daytime?? Are the halloween parties fun? I would be coming from Los Angeles, first time in NY. I know hotel and flight prices are fairly cheap this time of year, (as far as new york goes). Thanks.

Hello! I will be in town for Christmas and NYE this year and was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for dinner on both nights? I read through the forums but only found a few suggestions. It's getting near to the deadline to make holiday reservations and I want to get them in soon.
For Christmas I'm hoping to find a smaller more intimate kind of restaurant, any cuisine is fine. For new years I'm thinking some place close to Central Park so we can walk over and watch the fireworks. Or what are your thoughts about one of those dinner cruises? Too stuffy?

By the way, can you bring a bottle of champagne into the park?

This will be my 8th visit to NYC and the way the economy is going, might be the last in a while. So I want to make it a memorable one!

Aloha,
Jonathan

I'll be in NYC in December, and I was wondering what types of clothes I should buy. Coming from a warm and humid climate where it only gets nippy in the winter, I doubt I have the necessary clothes. Specifically, I was wondering about jackets. I have a North Face Denali Polartec fleece jacket and a lined leather jacket. Which is best?

Hi

I will be in NY for a 7 full days from Oct 25th with my husband and 16yo son; it will be a first for all of us! Having read tons of pretty useful stuff on trusty VT pages over the last few weeks, I now have information overload and am in need of some guidance please! Hoping any VTNY experts out there can help with my queries as listed below!

1. As my question title suggests, we cannot decide whether to try and 'do' just ESB, or TotR instead, or should we aim for attempting to fit in both?

2. I've read on the ESB website that the 102nd floor Observatory closed on Sept 29th this year for refurbishment!! Does anyone have any idea if it's likely to be open again by the time we visit? It simply doesn't give any indication of probable timescale on their website!

3. On one VT tip (though it was written in 2003) it states that we will need our passports to enter the ESB; is this still the case?

And finally number 4. Tickets (of course!) I've read so many variants on whether to purchase online in advance, or go with the flow and wait what could be housrs, or even to buy a City Pass to be fast-tracked on 2 of the lines, or (for ESB) to buy online at more than twice the regular price with no concession for my teenage son (and still need to pay more on top on the day for the 102nd floor, if it's open by then), tickets that will get you to the front of all 3 lines!!!! I have to admit I am tempted with the latter as, after all, I don't think it's something we'll be doing on too regular a basis so it may be worth the cost....

HELP please!!!!!
From 'confused but excited' of England!!

Deal vertuel tourists :-),

Please give me some links for the cheapest flights from Brussels to New Your and the cheapsest hotels in Manhattan

thanks everybody for the advise in advance

Hello everyone!

I'm planning to come on holiday to NY City in the beginnig of december. Can anyone recommend good and cheap hotels/ motels where also dogs are welcome? On Finnish travel sites people don't have experiment travelling with pets in NY, so there I don't get any help unfortunately :(.

I really want to go to Shake Shack at Madison Square Park after hearing great things about it. My question is, will it be open in February or is it only open in the warmer weather?

Me and my girlfriend (30-somethings) are going to stay at the Waldorf Astoria in NY between 22nd of December and 2nd of January. We'd like to make dinner reservations for the 24th and 25th of December in some good restaurant, and also a restaurant/lounge for the 31st of December. Preferably a restaurant in combination with a lounge/club so that we don't have to start changing places in the evening. In addition, we do not want to wander off Manhattan.

However, it's really hard to know which restaurants and clubs are "in" and which ones are fading out, so here I am asking for some tips. For the xmas-dinners I'd be willing to pay around $100-$200 per person plus wine and for the new years an admission fee of $150/person is perfectly fine.

Any other good restaurant and lounge bar recommendations for the other days? Our music preference is more towards lounge, trip-hop and club and we dislike hiphop.

hi,
can anyone tell me about this hotel KAMWAY LODGE 4036 77th st, flushing ny 11373 in queen new york.is it close to metro stop.I need a hotel in queen close to subway stop and la guardia just a clean room.tq

We will be in NY in mid January for 3 nights (via JFK) and a friend said that she always stays in New Jersey and takes the train into the city to save money. Is this a good idea? How cold and what is the chance that it will be snowing? Any other tips greatly appreciated.

My beloved has realised that portions in New York are, very often, enormous and much bigger than she can manage. She's now concerned that when we go to an upmarket restaurant she will be paying anything up to $150 for a meal but may well only eat a quarter of it before she is full. Our question is, how easy is it to go into a fairly well to do restaurant and ask to say share one main course? Are there some restaurants that will do this as a matter of course or is it something that is frowned upon? We don't want to end up looking like cheapskates but, at the same time, we'd prefer not to waste money if at all possible.