My best friend won a 3 day trip to NYC from Bloomingdale's and she is taking me with her!! Lucky me! We are going a few days earlier to take in the sights. We arrive Monday, Aug. 31 at 8:30 am and depart on Sunday, Sept. 6 in the evening. Bloomingdale's is putting us up at the Roosevelt in mid-town. Before that we are staying at the Intercontinental (friend has some deal there). They will provide a limo for shopping, in room massages and some sort of tour of movie sites.

Before all this starts, BFF & I want to do some sort of city tour. I have looked at the hop-on/off tours, marvelous Manhattan mini-bus tours, etc. Any recommendations or insights would be helpful. Also on our list of must-dos is a trip out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Thanks for the help.

MY

I can't offer any advice MichelleY but wanted to say congratulations! What a great friend to include you..and it sounds like the two of you will have a fabulous time!

No matter what you do - get a 7 day MetroCard so you can ride public buses and subways on your own. 27 dollars each.

Make hoho decision at the last minute depending on weather - otherwise look into real new York tours

I think you're too to late to get into the Statue of Liberty - those tickets sell out months in advance. You could go to the website and check - but I think all you'll find is the option to stand on line for hours and then see the Statue from the outside. OK if you want to see Ellis Island - which is brilliant.

Just for a view of the Statue you can do the free Staten Island ferry - which has great views of the city skyline on the way back.

I can't reco any of the bus tours - can;t imagine sitting on top of a bus (the only way to see anything) in the sweltering heat in heavy traffic just to see locals going about their daily errands.

NYC is a city you must see by walking - to get a real feel for the neighborhoods and actually get INTO the sights and see/do anything.

You should also organize broadway show tickets in advance. go to broadwaybox.com to see which are offering discounts, then take the code to the official online seller and pick seats in advance. For the biggest hits you won't find discounts and may be too late for tickets, except from a scalper.

This website for SofL was given on Tripadvisor:

http://www.statuecruises.com/

I am not sure this is an official site.

As a native Northern Californian, I am concerned about the heat/humidity. Today here it is 98, but humidity is only 25%. When it gets over 30%, we all start whining. I know, we are spoiled sissys.

Thanks for the links and any other help.


Loveitaly: Thanks for the good thoughts. Yes, we are leaving our husbands home and plan to have a good time. BFF is a big shopper and I would rather explore and eat good food, so we may spend some time apart on this trip.

MY

Just finished a portion of my trip report dealing with my recent visit to NYC, and was struck by your note about the heat and humidity. Like you, I am from a cool-summer area (Olympic Peninsula, WA), and the humidity factor on the east coast really does get me down. My only advice is the common-sense kind: spend a lot of time in the air conditioning; duck into a Starbucks or even a McDonald's to get something cool to drink and a good blast of cold air, walk on the shady side of the street, and be prepared when you descend into a subway station: though the cars are air-conditioned, the stations are not, and the heat and humidity down there can truly take your breath away!

That said, I think you will love New York. Hopefully you will be inspired to come back in the spring or fall. And I spent a glorious few days in Manhattan one January, when the weather was a balmy 55 degrees.

Azzure: I will check out your trip report. Thanks.

Real NY Tours has been getting good reviews. They use a combination of walking and subways to get around. Not the best time of year for either imo, but an option to consider. If you've never been to NYC before and want an overview, at this time of year, I'd do kingofnyc.com or something in a closed bus with a/c. Have a ball.

The thing is it is all about our own tastes, choices, and the way to do things. For the past 50 years or so we have traveled just about all around the world and have visited all the great cities. We have never taken a commercial tour of a city. Before we depart we get a good guide book for our destination and study it carefully. The Michelin Green Book is great for European cities and they also rate sites according to importance. But what we do is select those things that interest us and we have used public transportation all over. This is different from sitting in a tour bus- encapsulated - and looking out on the city - rather than being in it. If we can do this in Bangkok - it's easy in New York. I also realize that many people (my brother was one) who prefer that all this be done for them by a tour company and you just sit back and let them do all the work.

Thanks for the responses. DH & I have normally not done enclosed tours in our travels. I love the Paris subway system and would never dream of doing a bus tour there. But in Barcelona, we did the hop-on/off deal and it was good for getting to the major sites we wanted to see. I am just really freaked out about the humidity and don't want it to affect my enjoyment of such a great city. My friend chose this time to visit. It is her trip and I am just going along.

I appreciated all the help here and will dig up old reports.

Thanks,

MY

Hop on/off buses are really a bad deal. they run only about every 30 minutes (versus every 5 minutes for a regular city bus) and at times there are long lines at major sights - so you can;t get on the bus. Much better to get a Metro Pass and use city buses. And unfortunatey it's true that the subways are hellholes. The cars have AC but blos all the hot air into the stations. If heat humidity is a problem stick with buses and cabs. (I ride the subways most of the year - but won;t touch them in the summer - since I can;t shower and change when I get to work.)

I have really fine hair, so humidity makes it go flat. I guess I will look like a hag the whole time in NYC. It is all about looking good

A great hat will solve summer hair problems and will keep you cooler!

hopon/hop off is good. Please do it. You can also enjoy a Harlem gospel tour on Sunday morning (early). It's a great moment.
Go to statue cruises sites to enjoy the crown of the Statue of Liberty as it has been re-opened.