Davisman

Hi , I need some help with an itinerary for a trip to NYC with my two Granddaughters that are being celebrated with this trip..they are graduating from HighSchool in June.
This will be their first trip to NYC...very excited.
We arrive around 3:30 pm to LaGuardia airport and will be staying on 82nd near 1st.

We only have that evening and three full days.

is the HOHO bus a good idea?

I would like to go to the MOMA and possibly the Met Museum..

I know we should plan the trip around "neighborhoods" and hope some of you could please help us get the most out of this trip.

We have tickets for the Gershwin theatre one night..and I understand it is near Times Square..would that be a good time to see TS after the theatre?

We would also like to do one of the night time harbor tours that includes sighting of the Statue of Liberty..can we take a picnic aboard..what do you recommend?

Want to see 5th Ave, SoHo, the Mac cosmetic makeover, bike tour of central park (only 2 hours)..

There will be seven of us..me, the grandmother, 3 daughters and 3 granddaughters..
have any of you taken the super shuttle from LaGuardia? or what would you recommend?

Any help with an itinerary and suggested places to eat would be so appreciated.
Thank you.
Davisman

nytraveler

The Supershuttle in NYC is a really bad idea. they don't leave until they are full and drive people around in traffic (either from or to the airports) dropping people one at a time and often taking forever. there have ben reports of people missing their flights since they were driven to so many different places before heading to the airport. If it were me I would just grab 2 cabs. LGA is very close to the upper east side and I think 2 cabs - or even one large car service car - would be cheaper and much faster than Supershuttle. The cab fare should be only about $30 or so per cab - so a total of $60 or so. You can;t do 7 Supershuttles fares for that.

You don;t mention it - but if this is a graduation gift for thee two young women they should e doing a lot of planning for the trip - what they want to see/do and where they wold like to eat. Have them look at some Let's Go student guides and the Thorn Tree section of the Lonely Planet web site.

Also, all 7 of you probably won;t want to be joined at the hip the whole time. I would assume the young women might want to stay out later at night - for some trendy downtown shopping and perhaps sitting in a sidewalk cafe in an area where they might see "someone" - like the Village or the West Village - while the more mature members of the party might hve other intersts - dinner with jazz for instance?

A couple of notes:

The view of the SoL is not great at night - I would do this during the day instead.

The HoHo bus is IMHO a really bad idea. It is very expensive and allows you to see only the outside of plces. If you get off to see/do something you can have a very long wait for another bus. They are supposed to run every 30 minutes (versus every 3 too 5 minutes for the subeay or regular city bus) but it can be longer. And sometimes the bus comes and is full and you need to wait for another. IMHO much better to just pickout what you want to see and go do it.

I think the Met is a must see for everyone - but do look at the website in advance so you can pick 3 or 4 departments - it's really not possible to see more than that at one time. MoMA is great if you like modern art. If that is not your taste you might consider one of the many dozens of other museums. I think the Tenement museum is fascinating - portraying as it does the melting pot that has made NYC - and the US - who we are. For that you would need reservations.

As for places to eat - what sort of cujsines do you like or dislike? And what is your price point - actual dollar amount please - since moderate or modest can mean so many different things in different places/to different people. NYC has a couple of dozen really excellent restaurants and many dozens of good ones - as well as samples of almost any cuisine you can name. Do you want to try something trendy like Vietnamese sandwiches, go for upscale traditional French - or casuale American. Just, whatever you do avoid any chain places - they have the same awful micro-nuked stuff they do at the local mall - but at probably twice the price.

SiteC_er

A few suggestions:

MOMA- a must

Met- a must...they have a free 60 minute tour that covers a lot of ground (check website for times/details)

Top of the Rock or Empire State Building (night is great time to avoid lines)

Take subway to Batter Park to see Wall St, Ground Zero, etc...go on-line for tickets to Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty

mclaurie

With a group your size, given the amount of money you'd spend to all do the hoho bus for everyone (~$45 x 7 or $315), I'd put that money toward getting a private tour either from a co. like onboardtours.com or hire a private guide to take you around and do/see what YOU want without riding around with a bunch of strangers. If you want suggestions for a private guide, post back.

The Met is not far from where you're staying. Get used to plotting things on maps.google.com You just have to type the names followed by NYC (ie Marmara Hotel NYC to Metropolitan Museum NYC) and you'll get a driving map. If you click the train icon, you get a subway map with directions or click the person icon for walking directions.

Greenwich Village is usually a highlight for most tourists. Foodsofny.com does a popular tour of the area which is one way to see it.

Yes, the Gershwin theater is just north of Times Square and the night you go to the theater is a good time to see Times Square. You should book a restaurant for dinner before the show. Capital Grille in the Time Life building is not far and has a pre theater 3 course dinner for $39. Toloache is good Mexican that's nearby and Thalia is good American.
Menupages.com
is a good place to start doing research for restaurants. Your hotel is in the east 80's (east 70's are also close).

Don't know what you mean by THE Mac Makeover. Mac has several stores of their own plus they're also in a lot of the dept. stores.

Forget Super Shuttle. Use dial7.com for transportation.

Bowsprit

Where is this large group staying?

Austin

I think the girls would like Grenwich Village and a table outside at lunch or brunch to people watch.

Davisman

Thank you all so much for the wonderful tips and advice..
I am having trouble booking a restaurant..guess I have waited too long..just didn't. Realize it would have to be so far in advance..the ones that are available so far are too expensive for us.
Would it be a good idea to just get some food from a deli and sit in an interesting place? Any creative ideas would be appreciated.
Also, on the transportation, super shuttle has an exclusive service from and to the airport ..only our party..it was very reasonable compared to some of the others..have any of you ever used it?
Thank you so much for your help..New York is a challenge..have traveled all over and have not found it so difficult to make what seems like simple arrangements.
D..

Bowsprit

Davisman, I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. First, use dial7.com as suggested for transport; just a much better idea. Capital Grille, Kellari Taverna, Becco are all good pre-theatre dinner choices. You can make reservations on opentable.com. If all else fails, head to John's Pizzeria for affordable fabulous pizza and pasta. What is your budget per person for dinner?

Where are you all staying?

nytraveler

It would b e easier for us if you gave us more info. It;s very hard to make suggestions on places to eat without knowing your budget and what types of food you like/dislike. (There are a lot of ethnic places that offer excellent deals, esp at lunch time).

nytraveler

Sorry - about Supershuttle - I don;t believe a word that they say. They may or may not be there to meet you when you arrive - and they may or may not put other passengers on the bus with you - and may or may not drive you around the city. If they are much cheaper - they are cutting corners somewhere to make it possible.

Davisman

Hi thank you so much for your advice..I have been researching like mad and was finally able to make a reservation for pre theatre dining at Carmine's..hope it is good . The girls wanted NY Italian food..I could not make the res online so called the restaurant directly . Was told by person taking reservations that the "open table" site can only do limited reservations.
I liked what I read about Becco, called them..they only take res a month in advance and was told by a very helpful young lady that if I called back in a few days when it is a month away that she would be sure to get us in..so looks like a choice between Carmine's and Becco. Thank you for the restaurant recommendations.
On the super shuttle, I have used them in Houston, Denver, Atlanta, and San Francisco..never any trouble except when traveling alone it seemed the ride was long..today I am going to call the dial 7 service and probably change to them on your advice..this is the first I have heard of them..sounds like super shuttle has a bad rep in NYC.
So far, we have theatre one evening , and then the circle line twilight harbor tour, another evening e..top of the rock, maybe a guided shopping tour for the girls in soho and bike and roll in central park , 2 hrs...
We are staying in a VRBO , Upper East Side, looks like a good location, near the park, Met and other
NY highlights..will visit times sq after the theatre..
We are selecting neighborhoods , trying to do something special in each one and leaving time to explore.
I want to see the Asian collections at the Met and visit Moma design store for sure.
THANK YOU for taking the time to help me..it is a challenge to travel with this many people...loves that they are.

travelbuff

First welcome to NYC and you are going to have a great time, so just relax.

Must sees imho are the Met, Central Park, Top of The Rock, Macy's and Herald Square, Times Square, The Village, Staten Island Ferry (at dusk, and touring the Wall St area, and World Trade Center, with a stop for shopping at Century 21).

Get a Zagat guide, so you will have restaurant info in your hands. It is all the restaurants in the city, with ratings so you will have a good option wherever you happen to be.

We have over 10,000 restaurants in Manhattan, so don't worry it's easier to find a good one, just wandering around.

Granddaughters will love shopping around Macy's (Daffy's across the street for good inexpensive designer clothing), Century 21, Canal St (bargin shopping), Chinatown for dinner and desert in Little Italy (Peking Duck House on Mott St, can handle all of you easily).

The hoho buses are great if you have a week but 3 days you will see more traffic than attractions, use the city bus if you want a view of the city from place to place and use the subway, it is the fastest way to get around. You won't be able to use 1 cab with your group, they can only take 4 people. Get a few metro cards when you get here and load them up with money so you can take the bus and subway. One swipe of the card on the subway and you have a free bus transfer (good for 2 hours).

Where you are staying is close to the Met, so you might do that for your first full day and you can even have lunch there. Or stop at one of the local delis and get lunch for a picnic in Central Park.

Hope this helps, and hope you have a GREAT time.

nytraveler

I note you said you are staying in a VRBO property - and hope that you have fully investigated it to be sure it is legitimate. Short-term sublets are illegal in NYC - but perhaps this is an a parmtnet in a privately owned townhouse - which could be legal.

If you haven't investigated - I would do so now. (Check it out on google earth and ask a local what type of building it is - if you give the exact address a lot of people will know where it is and if this is a legal rental.)

I assume you have checked with previous renters and have a 24 hour land line to call in case of any problems.

Austin

You say there are 7 In your party. Does Dial 7 have vans?

sf7307

>>

Why a guided shopping tour? Can't they just wander in and out of stores without a guide?

Bowsprit

Short term apartment rentals for less than 30 days are illegal in New York City. Once you cancel that reservation you can check out the Affinia properties, among others, to find an apart-hotel or suite hotel with kitchen facilities.

Becco over Carmines, hands down!