Best way to get around NYC ?
 

I will be visiting NYC between Christmas and New Years. There will be five of us and I was wondering if taxi's will be willing to accommodate all of us in one car, and if there will be extra charges for the extra persons.

As an alternative I suppose I could use the subway. I have used the tube in London, and the metro in Paris but have never used the NYC subway. We'll be there for four days, is there a multi-day pass I can and should get, or should I just buy single tickets as I go along. Is there a good online website that shows a good map of all the subway lines ?

Also is there a good online website that shows the locations of all the major tourist sites in the city (e.g. Museum of Natural History, Empire State building, etc).

Thanks in advance.

Taxis only hold 4 passengers. No more as it is against the law. The drivers will just not allow it.

Your best bet is to go down to any subway station and purchase a MetroCard...good on buses and subways. It is best if you each get a $20 card...the machines are very easy to use and take Amex and bank debit cards. Each ride is $2.00, so a $20 card gets you a $4 bonus = $24 worth or rides...12 trips. That should be plenty for 4 days. The MetroCard can be used for free transfers - subway to bus, bus to subway or bus to bus (crosstown to up/downtown).

Your empty MetroCard can easily be refilled at any subway station.

Walk. I often spend all day walking from one end of the city to the other (perhaps a little extreme, but it's a good way to see things). Use the subway to get from one area to another (e.g. from Upper West/East Side to downtown, etc.), but you could walk to midtown, and walk from W-E and vice versa.

Check out this website: http://www.thingstodo-newyork.com/index.jsp?ADREF=02

Get yourself a copy of 'TimeOut NY.'
A great magazine listing everything from food to shopping to museums to entertainment. Every news stand has it. Also 'New York' magazine is a wonderful reference.

Subway and bus maps can be found on the MTA website. Go on Google and type in MTA.

Here's another recommendation for the $20 metro card - this one can be used by more than one person - which you can add to as needed.

Now that the one-day "fun pass" has gone up to $7/day, it's not really a bargain.

The metro card is valid on the subway and also on the buses.

We prefer the buses. Like the London Tube and Paris Metro, the subway is full of hallways and stairways. Bus stops are much more conveniently located.

There are fantastic pdf maps (with the sights and attractions on them) at the NYC Transit website.

Highly recommend printing maps and familiarizing yourself with the routes.

This is a particularly busy holiday season in NYC. That, along with it can take a while to get a taxi when it's cold/raining/showtime/dinnertime, means you're often better off planning to use public transportation or walking.

Another good aid in planning your itinerary is Fodor's own destination guide for NYC, which you can access on this website.

I've used the MTA all my life and still had minor problems with the Underground. Unlike the Metro, the MTA doesn't strike as often. Don't rule out a cab though. Even though it's more expensive, sometimes it's just worth the convenience.

Just a question- Is the one day fun pass valid for both subway and bus? Thanks..

Yes, any of the Metro passes (one-day Fun Pass, 7-day, or $20/12 ride) are good on both subwway and bus.

If you will be riding the bus or subway a lot, you might also want to consider buying each person their own 7-day pass, for $21 each. The $21 pass would be worthwhile if you'll be riding the bus or subway an average of 3 times, or more, per day. It also eliminates the bother of getting transfers. I found it very liberating to buy the unlimited pass, and not be nickel-and-diming myself on transport choices!

Here's the official MTA web site map.

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/submap.htm

Not sure where you can get a useful BUS map, other than on a bus, but I found that to be an extremely useful tool for getting around -- and you can get to see more of the city than on the subway!

More MTA maps at:
http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/index.html

I've used both the Lonodn Underground and the NYC subway system, and found NY's to be much simpler to navigate -- and no underground connections that were blocks and blocks long!

Subway vs bus vs taxi: it really depends on where you are going. If the subway ("the train," as most New Yorkers say) will provide a fairly direct route, then that's your quickest and best bet. Your hotel may be able to advise you, as long as you make it clear that you are happy to take public transportation as well as taxi.

Just don't get into a couple of taxis trying to go cross town during rush hour in the rain -- the combined fares will rival your hotel bill and you may miss your departing flight. :-D

After many attempts I've pretty much learned to navigate the New York subway, but I'm always surprised when people claim it is easier than London's or much of anyone else's. One major difference is that in New York you have to carefully watch the trains. On one platform at many different stations, several different trains will stop and if you get on the wrong one you may end up at the wrong destination. This is slightly complicated by the fact that if you weren't watching as the train approached to see the letter on the front of the train, sometimes it's difficult to find the name or the number on the train itself, especially on those cars where the doors stupidly open up and cover the letter of the train, so while it is there, you can't see any markings. This doesn't happen in London's, for example, where every train at every stop is going to the same other stops and you don't have the difference between local and express trains.

Patrick, several of the London lines split into different branches -- when I stayed for a couple of weeks in Finchley, I took the Northern Line but had to be sure that I caught a homebound train for Mill Hill East or High Barnet, because those trains went to Finchley, but the Edgware train didn't. In central London, they all stop at the same station stops. In NY, lines that behave like that are given different names! In NY, you can just refer to the "A Train" or the "Number 6" but in London you've got to refer to the "High Barnet Branch of the Northern Line". But you're right, the signage and labeling are much better in London.

My other problem with London's Tube is that the map isn't proportional, so sometimes it's difficult to judge the best route. Yes, I realize that it's a beautiful abstract design that solved a lot of problems, but it's still abstract. NY's subway map is completely literal. Also, NYC doesn't have fare zones. And NYC is lacking those confusing overlapping circular routes and lines that share a station name but actually stop underground blocks from each other.

My favorite feature on the tube is the ETA electronic sign. Nice to know exactly when the train is coming. I hear that NY is going to get this soon.

Taxis are especially useful late night, say after 11 - you never know when you're going to catch the train.

Anyone notice how the new international standard walk/don't walk signals all of a sudden stealthily appeared?

Anonymous, your points are well taken. I wasn't thinking about those trains that split, but the signs clearly show which destination to take and which destination the next train will be going to. But the idea that New York doesn't have stations with a common name with different lines coming in blocks apart doesn't fly with me. Ever been to Union Square? or Times Square? You can walk half a mile to get to a connection.

And yes, Squeaky, the ETA sign in the Tube also solves the problem Anonymous and I have both brought up -- different trains coming to the same stop. Those signs clearly state what the next train will be and what its destination is. They work well in London and would be a huge improvement in New York.

Perhaps I've never made a connection in Times Square -- I guess that's because I usually stay near there, so I'd be going TO or FROM Times Square, but not THROUGH it...

Also, I'm a walker, so I'll walk a few blocks to get the direct train, rather than taking one line and then transferring. That's one of my problems in London-- the abstract map makes it impossible to tell how far apart the stations really are. I like my London street map that has the Tube lines superimposed on it.

Anonymous, who makes that London map and/or where can I get one? That would be very handy for my next visit.

I gave the map away to a friend planning a last-minute trip, since it was nearly worn out, and I had marked it up. Unfortunately, I neglected to take note of the publisher.

But I got it in the US at a major chain bookstore (probably Borders), so check their foreign-map department. I found it VERY helpful to have the colored lines themselves on the map, rather than just the stations, it somehow helped in route planning.

Thank you! One of my birthday presents from a group of friends was a gift certificate at Borders, so I will check it out. I will post back here with the publisher if I find it.