We plan to arrive at the Whitehall Ferry terminal on a Monday morning, and depart from Whitehall in the late afternoon. Our total stay would most likely be 4 to 5 hours.

I would like to walk the Brooklyn Promenade, see the Moonstruck house on Cranberry St., eat some local food along the way, and maybe even see some of the DUMBO neighborhood. We would orefer not to do very much climbing.

My plan is to take the R from the ferry terminal to the Court St. stop in Brooklyn, walk Montague St., eat lunch along the way, walk to the Promanade, detouur to see 19 Cranberry St., and then maybe even see a little of the DUMBO neighborhood. If we make it that far what route would we take back to the ferry terminal?

Is this plan too aggressive for a late-morning- afternoon treck for a couple of seniors?

Have you been to Manhattan? I would go to the city rather than Brooklyn. Visit the village, china town, little Italy..stroll in central park...look to see if there is a street fair going on....
If youre set on Brooklyn then youll have enough time, but IMO not so exciting...

chelseyd - I would recommend not taking the ferry back but walking across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. It's an iconic walk and on a nice day is fabulous. I'm a Brooklynite, born and bred, and this is the thing I tell anyone coming to visit the city and visiting Brooklyn in particular.

Also the Brooklyn Bridge Park is a new and wonderful park. It goes along the Brooklyn side of the East River for a few miles and has eateries, lovely walks and great vistas of Manhattan and The Statue of Liberty (as does the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights, an historic neighborhood).

I don't think eninajsti knows what he/she is talking about.

Forget the naysayers. Brooklyn is every bit worthy of a day or a week. Though it doesn't have the giant tourist sights, there is more than enough to occupy you there for a wonderful half-day. And a walk around Brooklyn Heights and perhaps to DUMBO is probably all you'll manage to do in 4 or 5 hours. I am particularly fond of the Transit Museum, which is in Downtown Brooklyn, not far from Brooklyn Heights (though in the opposite direction from DUMBO). Frankly, I'd prefer that over DUMBO.

The walk between Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO isn't a particularly pleasant one. The most direct route is probably down Henry Street toward the highway overpass. You have to pass under the highway to get into DUMBO, and it's a huge and confusing area, so be careful of both drivers and bicyclists and watch the lights.

The harder part may be getting back from DUMBO. You either need to get on the F-train at York Street and then find your way back downtown once you get into Manhattan, or you have to walk all the way back to Brooklyn Heights for a different train. Taking the F will require another walk or transfer since the F doesn't connect with any downtown subway lines until Broadway-Lafayette, where you can transfer to the 6 Train. Take the 6 Downtown to Brooklyn Bridge, then hop on the 4 for a couple of additional stops to Bowling Green, then you can walk down to Whitehall from there. Would you consider an Uber?

Thank you Diand. This day is just a little quickie day trip (a week from today!)) while we wait for the rest of our party to arrive on the following day. On Wednesday we are all going to the 911 memorial. Then we going on a cruise out of New Jersey. After the cruise we will come back and stay in Manhattan for further sightseeing and plays. All the reservations are made, but the Brooklyn day is just for the two of us.

I had a glimpse of Brooklyn years ago and want my husband to see it, too. I found the view into the city to be an iconic memory. I wish that we could see the city lights, but we can't this time. He and I are also "Moonstruck" enthusiasts and that's what is driving the Brooklyn Heights desire. I just don't want us to get too exhausted climbing up and down too many staurs before we get the rest of the vacation started. That's why I wondered about getting back to to SI ferry.

Thank you Doug. I will study your wise advice, especially your help with the time frame. Uber sounds like a real good idea.

Actually I did get to visit the Transit Museum. I think that it might have been brand new when I was there? Mom and I were on one of thise crowded bus tours a hundred years ago. We don't do those these days but we saw enough to make me want to come back to Brooklyn.

Agree with Dianedancer - check out the Brooklyn Bridge park.

As a kid from Brooklyn, I also agree with Dianedancer.

Brooklyn is "like no other place in the world".