NYC

Old Jul 18th, 2014, 07:28 AM
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NYC

There are 4 of us going to NYC for the first time. We will be there for 5 days and 5 nights. While there we are taking in a Yankees game and a NFL game in New Jersey.

We currently have a hotel reservation in NJ right at the Lincoln Tunnel. It's a great rate that includes breakfast, parking (2 people are driving) and WI-Fi. What I am wondering is how easy or how difficult it is to commute between NJ (Tonnelle Stree) into NYC via subway? Also, what is the cost? With 4 of us travelling into NYC daily, depending on the cost of transit it might be better to find a hotel in NYC. Any thoughts on this.

Also we are planning to visit the following places (see below) and are wondering if we should get a NYC Pass as well as a hop on hop bus pass?

Central Park
Brooklyn Bridge (going to walk it)
Financial District
World Trade Centre
Century 21
Rockefeller Centre
Top of the Rock
Macy's, Saks'
Staten Island Ferry to view the skyline
Times Square
NBC Studios

Also, can anyone recommend some good restaurants that are not to fancy and not to pricey? We aren't picky eaters and no food allergies. We all love pizza.
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Old Jul 18th, 2014, 07:56 AM
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"Subway" is a specific term - it means the New York City Subway system. No NYC subway train goes to New Jersey. There are various commuter trains that go from Secaucus Junction to Penn Station (NJ Transit) or from Hoboken into NYC (PATH).

The hop on/hop off buses are expensive and slow. I don't use buses in the city because the traffic in Manhattan is ridiculous.

>

What's pricey? State in dollars. And the fact is that there are tons of restaurants all over Manhattan that serve an immense variety of food types. What do you like other than pizza (which is ubiquitous)?
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Old Jul 18th, 2014, 08:01 AM
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There are pizza by the slice places and sit down restaurants with both personal sized and large pizzas.

There was a protracted discussion just last week on the HoHo buses. Maybe someone can find it.

Try to get a hotel near the PATH line (commuter line from NJ) which could use most days.
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Old Jul 18th, 2014, 08:24 AM
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The New Jersey Transit will take you from New Jersey to New York and a one-way ticket for an adult is somewhere around $20, so maybe you should do the math and see if you are really saving money by staying in New Jersey.

I wouldn't use the hop on hop buses. They're too expensive and useless. I think it's better to explore the city by foot.

O would also include in your itinerary Manhattan and Empire State Building.
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Old Jul 18th, 2014, 08:36 AM
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Unfortunately your hotel is located is an extremely inconveninet area for gettig to Manhattan except by driving - which woud mean high rates for garages and a lot of time wasted. It is also a very unpleasant area - and you couldn;t pay me to stay there.

If you provide a nightly budget people can make hotel recos in better places - but the only hotel with free parking in Manhattan is The Travel Inn on the far west side.

There are hotels in NJ that are near the PATH, which will get you in and out of Manhattan for $5 per person per day - but I fear they will cost a lot more than the notel motel by the Tunnel.

Do NOT buy the City Pass - it's practically impossible to get to enough plaes to cover the cost - and the HoHo buses are alo very expensive for what they provide. You spend a lot of time sitting in traffic - they run rarely (every 30 minutes or so versus 5 for the subway or city bus) and when they pull in may already be full - and you have to wait another 30 minutes. IMHO much better to just walk or hop on the subway and go see what you actually want. Hopstop.com will give you directions by any type of transit between any two addresses/places in the City.

For basic inexpensive restaurants there are hundreds everywhere. Just make sure they are crowded and check the prices on the menus outside. Avoid all chain restaurants - its' the same awful micronuked food you would get at the local mall - but prices are much higher since real estate costs and taxes are so much higher in NYC.

If you want to explore some interesting places go to Ninth Ave in the 40s and lower 50s - they have a ton of modest places with good, fresh food of many different ethnicities.
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Old Jul 18th, 2014, 08:44 AM
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I would group your activities by location, so on one day you could combine

Financial District
World Trade Center
Century 21
Staten Island Ferry
and possibly the Brooklyn Bridge .

Central Park -- You can spend a lot of time here, and also visit museums which abut the Park.

On another day:

Rockefeller Center
Top of the Rock
Macy's, Saks'
Times Square
NBC Studios

Macy's is about 10 blocks from Times Square.

Most people advise against the NYC Pass.

Here's a link to The Great Hop On Hop Off Debate mentioned above.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...off-or-not.cfm
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Old Jul 18th, 2014, 08:46 AM
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Meant to say Central Park could be either its own day, or combined.
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Old Jul 18th, 2014, 09:03 AM
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I agree with nytraveler. I know exactly where those hotels are and that's a very inconvenient (and not very pretty) area to stay in. Basically it's in a very industrial area with a heavily traveled truck route. There's no sidewalk to walk anywhere there and I wouldn't walk there at night because of it. It is loud and noisy at all hours -- this is the truck route from Newark Airport. There is also no bus stop near any of those hotels as far as I know, so I'm not exactly sure how you would get to NYC besides driving. These hotels are mostly used by tour groups, which have big buses to take them into the city.

I always suggest staying in Jersey City hotels, as a former JC resident , and if you want to stay in New Jersey this would be the best place to do it. You would be adjacent to the PATH train, which is the underground train that crosses the Hudson River. There's several: Courtyard by Marriott, Doubletree Suites, Westin. They're all very close to each other and to the PATH station.

If those are too pricey for your budget, there are other choices. The Secaucus-Meadowlands area has a lot of hotels. They are not super-convenient to visit NYC (these are mostly for people going to the football stadium at the Meadowlands), but I have seen tourists take the NJ Transit commuter buses to and from. But since you say you will be going to a game in New Jersey, I'm guessing it's the Giants at the Meadowlands. So maybe that would be best for you, I don't know. You'd have to research.
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Old Jul 18th, 2014, 03:09 PM
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http://www.kayak.com/Newark-Hotels_P...8252.hotel.ksp
You can search like this for Path option hotels.

or...

It looks like NJTransit bus 108 goes to NYC from around the Tonelle area with a small walk to the bus stop.

or...

You can find a hotel near any NJTransit Light Rail Line. We stayed in a NY Homestay hotel near the Newark Broad Street light rail station and it was $5 and 20 minutes and we were in New York Penn Station. (My ticket was half off, only $2.50 with a military ID )
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Old Jul 19th, 2014, 02:27 AM
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http://www.johnspizzerianyc.com/ is recommended by many folks.
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Old Jul 19th, 2014, 04:29 AM
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When looking at hotels in NJ be aware that while NYC Is the safest large city in the country there are areas of Newark that are very dicey (an understatement) and NOT appropriate for tourists. There are some hotels that rent by the hour.

Definitely check about neighborhood and transport here before paying for any hotel in Newark.
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Old Jul 19th, 2014, 06:02 AM
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If you are still staying in the Tonnelle Avenue area of New Jersey your best option to get into NYC is to make use of the North Bergen Park and ride station.

It is the NJ commuter daily lot. Ask your hotel for driving directions, you are very close.

It is very safe and a very convenient option to driving into the city.

http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0320.pdf

-john
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Old Jul 19th, 2014, 08:52 AM
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The adult RT from that park and ride is $8.25 as far a I can tell = so only $ 33 plus parking for the car. The problem is that this is for commuters - and if you are staying in the city for the evening - broadway show or club or whatever - the service may be very scarce or nonexistent (it runs mostly during morning and evening rush hours).

Not sure how log it would take to drive there from the Lincoln Tunnel area - or how early the lot fills up (not sure about this one - but I know some do fill)
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Old Jul 19th, 2014, 08:04 PM
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I read recently that travel inn was going to start charging a small amount ($10?) For parking. Not sure when that goes into effect.
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Old Jul 20th, 2014, 05:04 PM
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I second the idea of trying to stay in either Jersey City or even Hoboken. The PATH into Manhattan from Hoboken is easily doable I just don't know what the parking situation would be.
Newark would be a definite NO for me. I don't know where you live but Groupon has recently had some 24 hr Parking coupons for $25 per. There are many garages in all areas of Manhattan that are on this Groupon. Well worth it if you decide to stay in NYC.
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Old Jul 20th, 2014, 06:13 PM
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I cannot imagine driving in NYC. Why the car? NYC has such great public transportation. I would add Top of The Rock to my list. Great views. Need prices on what you want to spend on food before recommendations can be made. You can eat cheaply or pay a lot in nYC. I would get a NYC walking book and check out the neighborhoods. Hop On/Hop Off bus looks interesting but traffic is terrible and you get stuck in it a lot.
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Old Jul 20th, 2014, 08:46 PM
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I think they are arriving by car. Hope they are able to find a hotel in the city and then park the car in a garage and leave it there for the duration. Shar, it isn't so hard to drive in the city.
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Old Jul 20th, 2014, 08:50 PM
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Just expensive to park and once you park you need public transportation to go to a second place. It is too expensive to see the sights by moving the car from place to place.

Also if it a rainy day, the subway by far and away is the best way to get around town.
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Old Jul 21st, 2014, 05:08 AM
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Still $10 a day versus the usual $35 or $40 is a good deal and I undertand most of the rooms are OK for 4 adults.
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Old Jul 22nd, 2014, 06:20 AM
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Oh, dear.

Another post about staying in New Jersey to see NYC. Another chance to spend an hour each way, if you include getting to and from the Jersey end of the transit and having the NYC end of the trip not near where you are going to or coming from. Another chance to be forced to quit the City That Never Sleeps before you miss the last ride to Jersey. Another chance to add additional transit costs to the "cheap" hotel room, with the off chance of needing to grab a cab for $$$$ if all does not go as expected for you. Another chance to be stuck in Jersey instead of being in the the greatest city in the Western Hemisphere.

No one has ever posted a trip report here on how nice it was to sleep in Jersey for a New York City vacation. Stay in Queens if you can't afford Manhattan. Avoid the Jersey delusion. You have been warned.
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