My plan is to start in Manhattan and walk just 1/2 way accross. It's me an my 11yr old. I think distance and time wise that would be suffficient. What do you all think?

How long do you think that would take, a leisurely stroll?


Also, it looks like this will fit into the day we do Staten Isle Ferry, Shake Shack and WTC. They are located in the same area, yes?

1/2 across is perfect. The 'view' is when you come back to Manhattan. Not sure how long, the bridge is about 1 mile,,,,,,,,so,,,how fast can you stroll a mile?

Staten Island ferry is on the other side of lower Manhattan, should not be a problem.

Shake Shack is around 23rd street. That is too far away from Brooklyn Bridge.

-john

Have you tried putting this on a map? Maps.google.com http://g.co/maps/gwpf3

ahh there is another shake shack!! Did not know!

-john

There are several Shake Shack locations, The original outdoor one is near 23rd street. The others are mostly indoor places in several other neighborhoods. There seems to be one in Battery Park City which is near the Staten Island Ferry etc
http://shakeshack.com/mobile/locations/

Sounds reasonable but everything together is not a leisurely stroll and other stops besides the Shake Shack will be required.

My plan is to take the day and do WTC, BB, SIF and Shake Shack.
I'm thinking 6 hours or so to do these points and whatever else we see.
We will start around noon, so...

Very doable.

You have to get a timed ticket if you want to enter the WTC Memorial Site, and I'm not sure how long to allow for that. Maybe an hour, perhaps less with a child. Allow and hour for the bridge, and about 15 minutes to walk from the Bridge to the WTC Memorial.

Staten Island ferry is much further downtown, so take the subway. Or walk through Battery Park City, stopping at Shake Shack on the way to the ferry (allow 30 minutes for the walk south and a minimum of an hour to eat, including a hefty wait).

The ferry itself will take 25 minutes each way, and if you hustle, you might be able to reboard the ferry for the return trip, but that takes some doing and some hustling (and the same ferry doesn't always do the immediate return trip), so allow a bit over an hour for that, including waiting 15 to 30 minutes for the next ferry.

As you can see, 6 hours is plenty of time, and if you try to eat dinner at Shake Shack, the wait will likely be shorter than at lunch, particularly if you eat early (like 5).

Things are going to be MUCH more crowded on a weekend, so keep that in mind.

or you could take the subway to Brooklyn and walk the same distance, seeing the skyline of Manhattan the whole way.

Doug, I love you.
This is so perfect info for my control issues!
I don't usually do a commando trip, but I do like to plan as such. Once I'm there I'm much more flexible, but I like going in with a plan!

I have thought about taking the subway into Brooklyn and walking back, but honestly, I'm embarrassed to say, I'm a bit intimidated by the subway.

My plan is to get on the HOHO bus in Times Square area and get off at Battery Park, or WTC and starting the exploring....

I know people don't like the bus, but I really enjoy it as a way to get into the city "vibe" when first arriving.

I'll be honest with you. The walk on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge is much easier (and faster) than the walk from the Brooklyn side, despite the Manhattan views all the way. It's a really long trip from the subway to the bridge's pedestrian entrance on the Brooklyn side, while from Manhattan you come up and you're basically in front of the walkway. In terms of timing, I'd allow no fewer than 90 minutes to 2 hours for the Brooklyn to Manhattan halfway trip. You have to get to Brooklyn, get to the bridge, walk halfway, walk back, get on the subway, and then get back to Lower Manhattan, which is where you want to be. I'm not seeing the upside to this strategy.

If you want to take the bus to Lower Manhattan, consider the regular city bus along 2nd Avenue, which will take you to the same spot in half the time (perhaps a third). Do the HOHO if you want, but I'm definitely NOT a fan, and realize that it takes a LONG time to do this route (perhaps 2 hours for a trip that takes 25 minutes on the subway or 40 minutes on the Select Bus).

Based on your info, I'm not going to do Brooklyn to Manhattan. I will do Manhattan 1/2 way. It's me and an 11yr old, honestly, he'll be bored with that much time to "just see a brige"

I'm going to make a separate post with my next day plan. I hope you check it out and offer more advice!

TY!!!

bookmarking!

People don;t like the HoHo bus partly because it is incredibly expensive as transit - for 2 a cab wold be cheaper - and it's way more than subway or city bus.

as long as you remember to turn around once in awhile, manhattan to brooklyn will be fine. bribe said 11 yo with either ice cream or the best chocolate chip cookies ever at jacques torres in brookyln. take the water taxi back. theres a large helipad near there with constant activity and cool old boats in the seaport which might amuse him. my 11 yo loved it all. DOnt know if youve ever thought about the tenement museum, but its amazing, but must get tix in advance. WTC is fine. but the wait is long, and while it is a truly beautiful memorial, I found myself so incredibly annoyed at all the tourists who didn't give it the reverence it deserved. People would never behave that way at the vietnam wall. my 11 yo loved fraunces tavern too. where else can you see george Washington's tooth???

Dale, this thread is over a year old and got pulled back to the top by some kind of spam, since removed. The original poster has long since taken her trip.