Hi,
We have 3 weeks in USA in May 07 from Australia. We arrive in New York first time and thinking of spending 7-10 days there. Wondering what to do the rest of time. We like doing some comfortable trecking ( being in our 50's ) By that I mean happy to trek 10 -12 km day (moderate intensity ) but not into camping out and like to stay in comfortable lodge at end of day. We have done the milford sound trek 4 days in New Zealand and recently atacama desert at explora lodge which was sensational. We were thinking of grand canyon or yosemite or any other suggestions. What about the area called the catskills. Not big on large cities except realise NY is different. We have been to LA and san francisco in the past. Being first time in NY also not sure which area to stay in whether soho or downtown etc. Also prefer to stay in hotel rather than appartment but happy to have smaller boutiqey hotel with good size room say 4-5 star--any recommendations. So lots of questions and appreciate any feedback
Thanks
Mooky

First off, I love New York, but 7 days would be to long for me. I'd make it 4 days.
In May much of the northern part of the country is still pretty cold. I'd think about Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon area rather than Yosemite. Check a weather site.
Post back when you have a little more info.

Come out to the southwest and be prepared to see some amazing sites and get some insight into how this land used to be. New Mexico, Colorado, Utah are wonderful places that are opposite of NY City.

Also, try some greenery...upstate NY or New England for splendid mountains. Adirondacks are wonderful.

Hope this helps...
Debi

Skip the Catskills. Highly overrated small hills. Go West for real mountains. The upper part of Yosemite where the best trecking is will be snow-covered in May. You can still visit the Valley floor and do some smaller day hikes, but you will miss some of the best part. www.npg.org search for Yosemite

you could stay in the east. Go from New York, to Washington DC. then head into Virginia or North Carolina for the mountains. Perhaps somewhere like Blowing Rock NC where you could stay in a nice inn, and do some moderate hiking.

Hard to recommend a hotel in New York without some idea of your budget. 4-5 stars can be expensive. Also, location really depends a bit on what you plan to do/see. Soho is nice with lots of shopping, and galleries. If you plan to do a lot of theater, you might prefer to stay in the vicinity of Times Square, midtown west. If you plan to do museums, and Madison Avenue shopping, you might find something you like on the upper East or West side.

One of my personal faves in the midtown west area is the Michelangelo. Its a smaller hotel, with very nice rooms and big bathrooms. Great, central location.

If you like history, you will be in the perfect area to trace to roots of the US. Start at Boston, down to Philadelphia (don't forget to watch Rocky with the local crowd), and to Washington DC and Virginia.

Thanks to all of you have given us some starting points. We will further investigate and post more queries
Mooky

In my opinion, travelling from Australia and staying not more than 4 days in NY would be more than enough.Then fly to Phoenix,rent a car and make following tour;Sedona-Flagstaff-G.Canyon-monument valley-Lake Powell-Bryce canyon-Zion N.park-L.Vegas-Death valley-mammoth lakes-Mono lake-Tioga pass(when open)-Yosemite-S.Francisco-Monterrey carmel-Big Sur -S.Barbara-L.A. and fly back home. Greetings from Belgium.PAul

I love NY! Our first visit years ago we stayed 10 days. But NY can be done in 5 days. If you are on a budget I recommend the Broadway Inn www.broadwayinn.com. Its a couple of blocks from Times Square but its quiet, and clean. Its more of a bed and breakfast place--charming and the staff was wonderful. They don't have an elevator but the staff will carry your luggage for you.

If you stay in downtown, you'll definitely get the bigger brand name hotels and you can even get good weekend rates.

Parts of Yosemite might still have snow on your visit which means the view will be just breath taking!

In NYC, location depends on budget and what you plan to do. Most first time visitors stay in midtown (34 st-59 st.) b/c it's central. The typical term "downtown" used for most other cities to connote the center would actually be anything below that including Soho and the financial district. There's an excellent subway and bus system so almost anywhere you stay IN Manhattan will be fine. It seems many Aussies like staying on the upper west side which is a more residential area but within an easy walk or ride to midtown. There are a few decent 3* hotels up there but no 4*s.

Not sure why you say no apt., but there are now many apt/hotels that give you the benefits of both the space and kitchen of an apt. with the services of a hotel. Affinia.com is a co. that has 7 all suite hotels. Their Benjamin, is considered 4* but the Dumont, the 50 and the Gardens are also popular. The San Carlos and the Blakely are 2 other nice, smaller midtown hotels with updated furniture and suites.

There are more limited 4* options downtown. The Mercer, 60 Thompson and the Soho Grand are in Soho. The first 2 are smaller boutique hotels. (The Mercer is where you might have heard Russell Crowe had his meltdown with the front desk clerk.)

If you want a larger hotel, the Ritz Carlton Battery Park would be lovely. It's all the way at the south end of Manhattan but many rooms have views of the Statue of Liberty. This is near the financial center.

If you provide a bit more info (budget, style of hotel, what you plan to see/do) we can provide more suggestions. Quikbook.com is a good website for shopping hotels (and booking if the price is right). As we're being inundated with visitors partly b/c of the weak dollar, you should consider booking something cancellable ASAP and can then continue to shop around.

How long to stay in NYC really depends on your interests (and your budget). If you like art, the museums are wonderful. The food options are amazing too. If you want to get a sense of some countryside, the Hudson Valley heading north of NYC is generally lovely at that time of year. The Rockefeller estate, Kykuit, would make a wonderful day trip OR you could head out of the city for a few days to tour around the Hudson Valley. Here's a link about Kykuit (with links to other estates in the area)
http://www.hudsonvalley.org/kykuit/index.htm

Here's a more general site
http://www.travelhudsonvalley.org/visit.php

Bear Mountain is in the area and is a popular place for hiking trails.
http://www.hudsonriver.com/bearmtn.htm

Chosing where to go after NYC will be tough. Here's I site I found with hiking/trekking info that might help.
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/hiking/hik_guid.htm

Here's a general site



www.vvshoe.com


nice

cheap

After Gotham, head north .