Here is an NY itinerary. We are 2 adults and 2 adult children coming from UK in July. We'll arrive in NY ( Penn Station) from NJ ( will take a train early morning). We'll stay for 2 nights.Our hotel is on 38 west, 31st St so will drop luggage there. Its 11 min walk. I am not sure which attractions to be seen on first day with minimum time spent in going from one place to another. However I tried to plan in such a way that attractions which are near to each other can be seen in one go.
Day 1:
After dropping luggage at hotel we'll probably take subway or uber to go to central park ( aim to be in park by 10.30). We'll spend 2 to 3 hours there followed by lunch.
Then will take subway or uber to get to Highline.
Then will go to Vessel as its next to Highline ( will prebook ticket).
From Vessel will go to hotel to freshen up ourselves (again will take subway or taxi).
After some rest will go to Times Square at night ( its 16min walk).

Day 2:
Will go to Statue of Liberty ( pedestal reserve) as crown tickets are booked. It will take 3 to 4 hours. We may book ticket for 10am (will take subway or uber).
After that will visit WTC as its 15 min walk from Battery Park Cruise. Then will have lunch.
After that will go to Summit one ( ultimate experience) will pre book ticket for 5pm. Then will go to ESB ( its 13 min walk).
Then will come back to hotel as its only 5 min walk from ESB. It will be hot so going back to hotel to freshen up ourselves will be a good idea. My adult children are not very keen of tourism so they start getting tired n need a break🙂.
Now I have a question if should we go to see Brooklyn bridge after some rest followed by Dumbo or we just pend it for 3rd day? If we pend it on 3rd day we'll check out from hotel and leave our luggage there n go to Brooklyn Bridge n Dumbo but we have to come back to hotel to pick up luggage n then will make our way to Penn Station. Hotel to Brooklyn in 20min subway.
Subway is cheaper n quick then uber. Is it easy to travel through Subway? Our sense of direction is not very good and we always avoid London's tube stations 🙂 so afraid we may get on wrong train.
Also if we load Monzo on our Samsung wallet and Apple pay, can we pay though that on subway? It will be one Monzo card but will be loaded in wallets of all 4 of us.
P.S. Two of us have health issues so too much walk results in joint pain and gets heat rashes and skin allergy due to exposure to sun (we'll be having umbrellas, sun creams and sun glasses etc with us though). That's why we want to come back to hotel.

I'll tackle the subway questions:

Subway is cheaper n quick then uber. Is it easy to travel through Subway?

- The subway is much cheaper and faster as it avoids all the street traffic that you would encounter using uber or other street transportation. Your hotel is on West 31st St between 5th and 6th Avenues. The nearest subway is at 6th Avenue/Broadway (these 2 avenues meet and cross) at West 34th St-Herald Square (notable street landmark is Macy's Department Store). There are 8 routes at this locations in 2 separate sets of platforms (with common street entrances) - the N, R, Q and W (Broadway line - shown as yellow with black lettering on signs and subway map) , B, D, F and M (6th Av line - shown as orange with white lettering). Note if you will be here on a weekend the W and B lines do not operate (more on that shortly). One thing to note - the colors are for easy identification. We call the lines by the letter or number.

Direction of travel - Uptown means northward, Downtown means Southward. On the NY Subway on many stations the entrance to uptown trains is on one side of the street and entrance to downtown trains is on the other. The signs above the stairway will indicate the direction (example: Downtown and Brooklyn, Uptown and The Bronx) If a direction is not indicated than trains in either direction are available - just not the signs above the stairs leading to the platforms. I recommend you download and just look over the subway map just to get an idea of the relationship of all the various routes/lines (it is nothing like the London Underground). https://www.mta.info/maps On this page select "Subway Diagram". It is a pdf file so it will automatically download to your device. The main page for the MTA is https://www.mta.info/

The subway fare is $2.90 per person - regardless of how many stops you travel and regardless of what method you use to pay.. Transfers between various subway lines/routes is free when done at stations where the lines intersect (see the subway map for locations). You may pay by several methods (I saw your intended method but I mention all of them available for general information):

MetroCard - these are purchased from large vending machines located near the turnstiles in each station. These machines accept cash, debit/credit cards but not cashless payments. There is a one-time charge of $1 for a new MetroCard. A MetroCard can handle up to 4 people (as long as you put enough money on it) and can be refilled if needed at MetroCard Vending machines. Since you will have 4 people I recommend that you put at least $11.60 which will cover 2 fares for each of you (plus the one time fee will bring it to $12.60 (4x $2.90 = $11.60). If using cash use small bills such as $10 or $20 as the maximum amount of change the machine will return is $6 prompting the machine to suggest a higher value on the card. In using the MetroCard you slide (called a swipe) through the slot on the top. You can then pass the card back to the next person. Don't swipe too slow or too fast or the turnstile won't release. Just hold the card with the yellow side toward you and wipe firmly. Please note that there is daily 2 transaction limit system-wide when paying with a debit or credit card at these machines.

OMNY (Contactless) - This is relatively new and will be replacing the MetroCard by this time next year. It can be handled in 2 ways:

1) Direct payment at the turnstile using a contactless credit, debit or Smart Device. I don't know if Monzo would work but Samsung Wallet/ApplePay should. Just hold the card/device up to the screen at the turnstile. The light should go from blue to white to green and the screen will say go. HOWEVER, since the card/device will be "new" to the system the light might go to red meaning the system is contacting your bank to verify that the card is valid. The verification usually takes only a couple of minutes after which you should be able to touch the card/device to the screen again and get the green light. You may pay for up to 4 people at a station using this method (although it may do do a verification each time). If for some reason the Samsung Wallet/Apple method does not work (no matter how many times you try then use #2 below.

2) Purchase an OMNY Card - at the present time the MTA is still in the process of installing OMNY Card Vending Machines (OCVM) in stations so it may not be available at the entrance you use (but all turnstiles are equipped to contactless payments). Entrances with OCVMs will have a yellow sign at the street level entrance. You can purchase an OMNY card with cash, debit/credit cards or smart devices) At present a new OMNY card will cost $1 (it will go to $5 once the MetroCard is discontinued). Like the MetroCard it can handle up to 4 people. You just touch the card to the screen and like above the colors should go from blue to white to green (with the screen going to "GO". There are OCVMs at the 34th St-Herald Square station.

Whether use the subway or uber is entirely up to you.

Central Park - A lot depends on where in Central Park you want to go as it is a BIG, WIDE park.

- If you want the west side by Columbus Circle (West 59th St/Central Park West) the you would take and Uptown B (except weekends) or D train to 59th St-Columbus Circle. If you want stops along Central Park West (like the Museum of Natural History at 81st St) you would take the Uptown B train (or if it is on a weekend, take the uptown D train to 59th St and transfer across the platform for the C train (blue in color on the signs) to 81st St station. A mid-point (for lack of an appropriate term) is the 57th St/7th Av station (N, Q,R, W trains) or 57th St/6th Av station (F train) and walk 3 blocks to the park.

- If you want the east side of Central Park, (5th Av/Central Park South) then you would take the Uptown N, R or W train (or if it on a weekend only the N or R) to the Fifth Av station.

Highline - The Highline is on 11th Avenue and t the southern end the only subway close enough (from Columbus Circle) is the 8th Av line (A, C, E trains) downtown to the 14th St station. It is a bit of a walk from there as "Avenue blocks" are about 3 times as long as a street block. At the northern end (west 34th St) the only other line is the 7 (purple) which runs across 42nd St to 34th St-Hudson Yards (11th Av) . The 7 is not an easy connection except from the B and D at the 42nd St-Bryant Park station (using the next to last staircase on the platform - just follow the signs). The Vessel near at the West 34th St end of the Highline. Uber might be an option.
Heading back to the Hotel you might want to take the M34 bus to either 6th Av or 5th Av and walk from there (since the M34 starts at 11th Av, then all buses head toward 6th Av etc). The fare is the same $2.90 and the MetroCard or OMNY/Contactless cards work on the bus.

I saw your health issues and sorry to say out of all 472 subway stations only about 150 have elevators (and many are out of service being replaced).

Statue of Liberty -You might want to uber from the hotel to Battery Park and then walk in the park to the Ferry to the Statue (or take a downtown R (or W) train from the 34th St-Herald Square station to the Whitehall Street-South Ferry station (only long stairs to escalators at Whitehall St). Use the stairs at the back of the platform (Stone Street), walk up (in direction opposite car traffic) for a short block (Bowling Green), cross in from of the Museum Of American Indian and enter Battery Park.

Summit One (One Vanderbilt) - located on East 42nd St and Vanderbilt Av - nearest subway is the Uptown 4 or 5 train (green) to Grand Central-42nd St. The nearest station to WTC is on Broadway and Fulton St.

BTW - the walk from Summit One to ESB will talk you at least 20 minutes (I have done it many times)

In regard to the Brooklyn Bridge to DUMBO (I've been there many times) - the closest subway is the downtown A and C trains which is not near the hotel. You'd have to walk to the 34th St-Penn Station and take the downtown A or C to the High Street-Brooklyn Bridge station. The other alternative is the downtown (Brooklyn-Bound) F train to the York St station (which is near the Manhattan Bridge but is also near DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). There are only a lot of stairs at the York St station as it is a deep one (80 feet from street level).

I will apologize as I tend to get carried away with details (and this is no exception). I'll leave it to others to chime in with contributions. If you do have any specific questions, please post them here and there will be someone with an answer.

Anyway - Welcome to New York and have a wonderful time.

We used a tap credit card on all the subways 2 years ago, so if everyone has a credit card no need to bother with a local transit card.

Maybe a false impression but the High Line seemed to be 100% tourists for our visit so keep that in mind. I’d go for the Brooklyn Bridge instead, even if all tourists also at least it’s physically sensational.

NYD subway is easy to use but in my opinion not as easy as the Tube in London, just pay attention to announcements and signs as there can be service changes on some lines. Downtown trains go to lower Manhattan as well as Brooklyn. While Central Park is large and is indeed lovely, not certain that I would make that my primary destination. Most visitors will also plan a visit to at least one major museum, either the Met, or MOMA or Museum of Natural History depending on your interest. Most people in NY avoid Times Square like the plague. Are you planning to get tickets to a show? The TKS booth in Times Square will offer discount tickets for that night's performance and curtain times are either 7 or 8 PM depending on the show and don't expect to be able to get tickets for Wicked or The Lion King or Denzel Washington in Othello, George Clooney in Good Night and Good Luck or Audra MacDonald in Gypsy, all current smash hits.

That is quite helpful. I must print that out. We are staying there on weekdays. There is no problem in climbing stairs but need rest when there is lot of walk. So should we take a break on both days (coming back to hotel in the afternoon).?
Also there are tickets available ( 400+) for Statue of Liberty. Should I buy them now or they will be sold out quickly as still planning an itinerary?
We may need 4 credit cards and everyone has to apply separately. If we use debit card there will be non sterling transaction fee charged every time so all of us will apply for Monzo.
Should we go to Brooklyn on day 3 or can it be done on day 2?
We are not interested to watch any show on Times Square just want to have a look at that , will visit M&Ms and take photos.

Personally I would keep the Brooklyn Bridge for Day 3. You are already planning a lot of walking around on Day 2. It's been a long time since I've done it as years ago I lived in Brooklyn Heights and we would sometimes do it and if I recall there is a large staircase to get up to walk across. When on the Brooklyn side you might actually want to walk over to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and enjoy the views as well as the residential architecture in the neighborhood and have lunch but all of that depends on what time you need to be back for luggage pick-up and head to the airport.

Were you not planning to walk across the bridge, or just to view it from the Manhattan side?

I agree with Madam397 on saving the Brooklyn Bridge for day 3. Based on your first posting I got the idea that you would be starting from the Brooklyn side after visiting the DUMBO area. If you do decide to walk over the bridge, it takes about 30 minutes at a comfortable walking pace. As for taking a break (going back to the hotel), that is up to you. You might want try to arrange part of your itinerary so that you will be close to the hotel toward the end of your sightseeing day.

Times Square and M & Ms - never been sure why they go together but the store is there at 1600 Broadway (West 48th St) . There is also an entrance on 7th Av off West 48th St). I have been there a number of times and the wall of M&Ms on the 2nd floor is something to see (lots of M&Ms in many, many colors and flavors). Just note that if all that tempts you to buy M&M's there - the cost for the candy is $9.49 per 1/2 pound (8 ounces) which is $18.98 per pound (16 ounces). That is way too much considering you can buy 1/2 pound in the regular colors for in the $6.60 range and most supermarkets and other stores (CVS, Duane Reade/Walgreens/Target). I understand when you said you are not interested to watch any show in Times Square - that is fine as Times Square is a "show" in it itself.

In getting the tickets for the Statue of Liberty, I would suggest you get them as close as possible to your departure date. It is difficult to say if they would be sold out once you are here as no one can predict the "visitor" volume for the Statue on any given day (or time of day) especially during the summer months (remember that the Stature is on an island and you take the ferry from Battery Park).

You mentioned Monzo as your payment method. Since it is a UK based service there is no guarantee that it will work for each thing you want (at least not right away) once you are here. At lot depends on where you use it and the bank/financial service that the store/service provider connects to that processes the transaction. If possible have an additional method to use, just in case.


NOTE to tom_mn - it is your choice as to what method you used to pay for the subway (credit card in your case). There are many people who don't want their bank statements to be cluttered up with multiple entries for fare payment. Also many don't want their credit/debit cards directly linked to certain items. I follow a website where people post problems they have with OMNY and the most common issue is with Credit/Debit/Smart Device usage at the turnstiles. Also there is an issue for those who have reached their seniority (age 65+) or have certain types of disabilities as they are eligible for Reduced Fare. To get the reduced fare they have a special RF version of the MetroCard or OMNY card - which must be applied for (and supporting documentation provided). There is an option to use a credit/debit card for reduced fare in OMNY, BUT the person still has to apply for and get to get approved for reduced fare first and then register their credit/debit card on the OMNY site.

The Highline is nice but I wouldn't consider it a must (if you decide your feet need a rest.) I found it was too hot for me on a warm day as there isn't much shade.

Taking the first ferry out to the Statue of Liberty worked well for us. The security lines were much shorter first thing in the morning and it was pleasant to be on the island before it got very crowded. I would try and book your tickets in advance.

If you are Beatles fans, you may want to visit the memorial to John Lennon in Central Park: https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/ce.../monuments/764. There are often musicians playing instruments and singing Beatles songs and the Dakota (where John and Yoko lived) is nearby.

Just an update on something I posted above - in regard to M&Ms. I said the cost of the candy in the "Wall of M&Ms" was $9.49 for 1/2 pound (8 ounces, based on a more recent photo I saw online). Well, I decided to stop in the M&Ms store this afternoon and check things out, The price of Candy in the Wall has gone up and is now $1.49 per ounce which translates to $11.92 for 1/2 pound (8 ounces) or $23.84 for a full pound (16 ounces). In a true marketing change they revised the way the "portion" was stated figuring that most visitors will think that it is now cheaper and won't do the math to see that is now more expensive.

Yes, I would like to know of the restaurants that you have enjoyed, and would recommend, in Chinatown and in Little Italy.
I would like to know which dishes you would recommend ordering in your favorite restaurants in those neighborhoods.
Thank you.

Make sure that you are buying tickets to the Statue of Liberty from a legitimate seller. There are lots of fake official looking represneatives wearing official vests that are scammers. They are agressive and sell fake tickets to everything including entrance tickets to free Battery Park. Inside the (free) park in a building called Castle Clinton is the only ligitimate ticket seller. The price is a fraction of what the scammers quote. You do not need to board a bus to go to the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park as the ferry leaves from the park. Yet these scammers line them up by the hundreds and after a long way a bus pulls up and takes them away. Sometimes they ship them to NJ and dump them there. They even scammed Alex Baldwin and his family and he is a native New Yorker. Here is a local publication about it as everyone including New Yorkers are complaining. They block the sidewalks to force you to engage with them. Even residents cannot get around. Here is an article from a local publication:

https://www.ebroadsheet.com/ticket-punchers/

That being said, it is very easy to get there by subway. The 4 and 5 express takes you directly to Battery Park pretty quickly where the ferry to Liberty Island is docked. The 1 train is also very close and almost as fast as the express train #3. There is a walk of about two blocks maybe three but they are short ones for NYC. It is also walking distance to Wall Street that is interesting to walk around and the South Street Seaport and the World Trade Center and 9/11 museum.

Make sure that you don't buy tickets from the guys and gals wearing vests outside of the park They are scammers. Here are the details.

https://www.ebroadsheet.com/ticket-punchers/

Just to add to what ece posted - while the Statue of Liberty requires tickets, the Staten Island Ferry is free.

The article did not mention that there are those who will try to convince visitors that the SI Ferry also requires tickets and attempt to sell them phony tickets.

Be careful not to confuse the two.

Sorry about my restaurant query!!

I have no idea now why I posted that, as no one was even talking about restaurants!!

Someone or something (bot ?), had posted some generic advice, concluding with vaguely suggesting an “authentic“ meal in Chinatown or Little Italy, arousing your . . . err . . . curiosity. It was deleted shortly afterwards.