Day Trips From NYC
May 2nd, 2007, 04:47 AM
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Day Trips From NYC
We are planning a trip to New York City this summer. We know there alot of things to see, but we were also hoping to do some non-city vacationing. Maybe take the kids to the beach for a day or two?
Does anyone have any advice on day trips, maybe to connecticut or Long Island.
I found this website that has some helpful information about New Jersey.
www.ExperienceNJ.com
Does anyone have any advice on day trips, maybe to connecticut or Long Island.
I found this website that has some helpful information about New Jersey.
www.ExperienceNJ.com
May 2nd, 2007, 06:00 AM
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Sorry, but the Statue of Liberty isn't a day trip out of NY. It's in NYC.
If you want to go to a beach, you can try Jones Beach on LI. Call them for information on how to get there.
Phone:
(516) 785-1600
website: nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=46
I believe in the summer there are buses that go there from Manhattan, but I'm not sure. Are you renting a car? Easier to get there with a car. It's a NY State Parkland and gets very busy on the weekends. But it's very big and historic. They also have events (bird watching, etc.)
Another beach on LI is Long Beach. The Long Island Railroad goes there. You walk to the beach from the RR I believe (but I haven't been there in years). It may cost to get in - these are not like NYC beaches which are free (as all should be, I believe).
If you want a NYC beach experience, go to Brighton Beach (Brooklyn). It's now a major Russian immigrant area. Lots of deelish restaurants on the boardwalk. Get there via subway (Q line I believe). No place to change bathing suits, except doing it under your blanket or towel (like I used to do as a child whenI went there.)
Also in NYC - Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn. Take Q to Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn, then a long walk to the marina and through a lovely neighborhood (Manhattan Beach) to the shore. May be too much walking to get to the beach for you.
Water in the ocean in NY will be cold until July.
Hope this helps.
If you want to go to a beach, you can try Jones Beach on LI. Call them for information on how to get there.
Phone:
(516) 785-1600
website: nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=46
I believe in the summer there are buses that go there from Manhattan, but I'm not sure. Are you renting a car? Easier to get there with a car. It's a NY State Parkland and gets very busy on the weekends. But it's very big and historic. They also have events (bird watching, etc.)
Another beach on LI is Long Beach. The Long Island Railroad goes there. You walk to the beach from the RR I believe (but I haven't been there in years). It may cost to get in - these are not like NYC beaches which are free (as all should be, I believe).
If you want a NYC beach experience, go to Brighton Beach (Brooklyn). It's now a major Russian immigrant area. Lots of deelish restaurants on the boardwalk. Get there via subway (Q line I believe). No place to change bathing suits, except doing it under your blanket or towel (like I used to do as a child whenI went there.)
Also in NYC - Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn. Take Q to Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn, then a long walk to the marina and through a lovely neighborhood (Manhattan Beach) to the shore. May be too much walking to get to the beach for you.
Water in the ocean in NY will be cold until July.
Hope this helps.
May 2nd, 2007, 06:11 AM
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Will you have a car or be traveling by public transportation?
If you want a day at a Long Island beach by car, go on a weekday or you'll experience the worst of Long Island traffic. It's relatively easy to reach Jones Beach from Manhattan by train and connecting bus. You can also reach Robert Moses State Park, a beach on the western end of Fire Island, by train/bus, though this is a longer trip.
You can also go to the beach within New York City by taking the subway to Coney Island or the Rockaways. These beaches are not the pristine beaches of Fire Island, but offer a look at city life. At Coney Island there's also boardwalk of amusements and the NY Aquarium.
If you want a day at a Long Island beach by car, go on a weekday or you'll experience the worst of Long Island traffic. It's relatively easy to reach Jones Beach from Manhattan by train and connecting bus. You can also reach Robert Moses State Park, a beach on the western end of Fire Island, by train/bus, though this is a longer trip.
You can also go to the beach within New York City by taking the subway to Coney Island or the Rockaways. These beaches are not the pristine beaches of Fire Island, but offer a look at city life. At Coney Island there's also boardwalk of amusements and the NY Aquarium.
May 2nd, 2007, 06:42 AM
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A vote for Jones Beach if it's a day trip. Easy to get to, good surf, powdered sand. Lot Six is the least crowded.
New Jersey has some fine beaches but they are considerably further away. Connecticut beaches face Long Island Sound and don't have surf or long sandy strands.
New Jersey has some fine beaches but they are considerably further away. Connecticut beaches face Long Island Sound and don't have surf or long sandy strands.
May 12th, 2007, 10:21 PM
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Some suggestions for day trips from NYC, and some suggestions for NYC:
1. Take a day trip up the Hudson by ferry and tour of one of the historic homes along the Hudson, such as the Vanderbilt Mansion or Kykuit the old Rockefeller Mansion. These and other homes of the "robber barons" of the late 19th and early 20th century are set in beautiful green settings along the Hudson. Huge homes and acres of gardens and woodlands. Take a look at http://www.hudsonrivervalley.com/. A great way to do this would be by boat from Manhattan, and I beleive that New York Waterway offers day trips which includes admission tickets to the homes and transport to the homes from the river piers, take a look at http://www.nywaterway.com/. You would see the skyline of Manhattan and once you past the tip of Manhattan, there are the huge cliff palisades on both sides.
2. Take a cruise on the Hudson, either the Circle Line’s traditional tour around Manhattan, or some of the tours offered by New York Waterway. You can go for 1.5 hours, 2-3 hours or a full day. Go to circleline.com and nywaterway.com
3. In Connecticut along the shore, I really like the Darien/Rowayton area, esp to ride bicycles or rent a kayak or canoe along the inland waterway areas. Rowayton is a tiny town (its part of Norwalk I think actually) with a few shops along an inlet but is very cute, like a fishing village, and from there you can ride bikes past some great homes, inlets and parks. I believe you can rent bikes and I know you can rent kayaks right in town, take a look at http://www.rowaytonct.com. A wonderful place for lunch or dinner would be Rowayton Seafood, at 89 Rowayton Ave Phone: (203) 866-4488. They also have a deli that does sandwiches which you can take away for a picnic. You can take Metro North train to Rowayton (less than an hour), the train station is about a mile from the inlet/downtown area; both are on Rowayton Ave, so you really can't get lost walking.
4. For the Jersey Shore, I agree that they can be a bit distant by train or bus, you can, however get to Point Pleasant Beach, which has a good old fashioned boardwalk for the full Jersey Shore Experience (cotton candy, rides and arcade games), or the very charming town of Bay Head in about 2 hours by train. See NJ Transit at njtransit.com for schedules. You want trains on the North Jersey Coast Line. Most trains from the NJ shore area will require a change in Long Branch or Newark Penn Station (not to be confused with Penn Station in NYC). In Point Pleasant, you would have a walk of 4-5 blocks from the station to the beach, IMO you want to go to Jenkinson’s Beach, which has changing rooms, boardwalk access, and an aquarium. (They also have free orchestral concerts on Wednesday evenings outdoors on the beach which are wonderful if you can stay for one.) Take a look at http://www.jenkinsons.com. In Bay Head, the beach is about a block from the train station, which is a big plus. There are some very cute shops in town alone with a lovely beach and some good restaurants. No changing facilities, however; but if you have dinner or lunch somewhere in town you can work around this. You have to buy a day beach badge for any of NJ beach, you can buy them at beach entrances (other than in Bay Head where you have to buy them at the borough hall, take a look at bayhead.org for a map), they are $8 in Spring Lake. Children are usually free, some beaches count children as under 12, some under 14 (Jenkinson's says kids are under 5, but then they only charge $2 for kids). If you want to stay overnight in a beach town, I can recco some hotels in both places, that makes a lot more sense given the long train ride; however I would suggest your try book immediately as hotels in these places really get sold out fast. If your trip is for 1 night during mid-week you might be OK, but I would still look into making a reservation as soon as possible.
5. Check http://www.meadowlands.com/ to see if there is a ballgame concert or other event going on in the Meadowlands in NJ, which is reachable by public transport (bus) from NYC. Don’t forget about Yankee Stadium or Shea Stadium, there may be day or night baseball games during your visit. Go to http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com and http://newyork.mets.mlb.com. You can also take tours of the stadiums. NY Waterway runs a ferry boat to Yankee Stadium on game days.
6. Finally, a trip up to West Point would be another good way to see the area and then take a tour of the Academy. Take a look at http://www.usma.edu/. From the main page click on "Visiting West Point" for visitor information. Driving here is probably faster than a train, but you should be able to take Amtrak to a nearby station. I believe New York Waterway offers ferry service in the summer, take a look at http://www.nywaterway.com/. The academy is well worth a visit, you can take tours guided given by cadets. There is a lot to see and do in this area, including outdoor activities like hiking and canoeing. Take a look at the New York State tourism website at http://www.iloveny.state.ny.us/. I think this would also be a good place for an overnight trip.
For things in New York City consider:
An unusual tour you might enjoy in NYC is to go the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. You can do a walking tour of the area and also visit their museum, which is a "tenement" apartment building. The Lower East Side is where many immigrants first started life in the US, including many from Europe. You might find it interesting. The day I took the tour, our group included people from the UK, France, Thailand, the US and Australia, so it is an interesting mix of people. Take a look at http://www.tenement.org/. The lower east side abuts China Town, Little Italy, Soho, etc and is good for exploring, shopping and restaurants.
There are dozens of museums, many of which have programs for children. A guidebook would give you particulars. Fodor’s has a good book called “Around New York City with Kids” that might be very useful to you.
And for the record, the Statue of Liberty is in New Jersey, NOT New York City or New York State. You could make a day trip by ferry going to Liberty State Park and Ellis Island. The website for Liberty State Park is http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandf...s/liberty.html.
1. Take a day trip up the Hudson by ferry and tour of one of the historic homes along the Hudson, such as the Vanderbilt Mansion or Kykuit the old Rockefeller Mansion. These and other homes of the "robber barons" of the late 19th and early 20th century are set in beautiful green settings along the Hudson. Huge homes and acres of gardens and woodlands. Take a look at http://www.hudsonrivervalley.com/. A great way to do this would be by boat from Manhattan, and I beleive that New York Waterway offers day trips which includes admission tickets to the homes and transport to the homes from the river piers, take a look at http://www.nywaterway.com/. You would see the skyline of Manhattan and once you past the tip of Manhattan, there are the huge cliff palisades on both sides.
2. Take a cruise on the Hudson, either the Circle Line’s traditional tour around Manhattan, or some of the tours offered by New York Waterway. You can go for 1.5 hours, 2-3 hours or a full day. Go to circleline.com and nywaterway.com
3. In Connecticut along the shore, I really like the Darien/Rowayton area, esp to ride bicycles or rent a kayak or canoe along the inland waterway areas. Rowayton is a tiny town (its part of Norwalk I think actually) with a few shops along an inlet but is very cute, like a fishing village, and from there you can ride bikes past some great homes, inlets and parks. I believe you can rent bikes and I know you can rent kayaks right in town, take a look at http://www.rowaytonct.com. A wonderful place for lunch or dinner would be Rowayton Seafood, at 89 Rowayton Ave Phone: (203) 866-4488. They also have a deli that does sandwiches which you can take away for a picnic. You can take Metro North train to Rowayton (less than an hour), the train station is about a mile from the inlet/downtown area; both are on Rowayton Ave, so you really can't get lost walking.
4. For the Jersey Shore, I agree that they can be a bit distant by train or bus, you can, however get to Point Pleasant Beach, which has a good old fashioned boardwalk for the full Jersey Shore Experience (cotton candy, rides and arcade games), or the very charming town of Bay Head in about 2 hours by train. See NJ Transit at njtransit.com for schedules. You want trains on the North Jersey Coast Line. Most trains from the NJ shore area will require a change in Long Branch or Newark Penn Station (not to be confused with Penn Station in NYC). In Point Pleasant, you would have a walk of 4-5 blocks from the station to the beach, IMO you want to go to Jenkinson’s Beach, which has changing rooms, boardwalk access, and an aquarium. (They also have free orchestral concerts on Wednesday evenings outdoors on the beach which are wonderful if you can stay for one.) Take a look at http://www.jenkinsons.com. In Bay Head, the beach is about a block from the train station, which is a big plus. There are some very cute shops in town alone with a lovely beach and some good restaurants. No changing facilities, however; but if you have dinner or lunch somewhere in town you can work around this. You have to buy a day beach badge for any of NJ beach, you can buy them at beach entrances (other than in Bay Head where you have to buy them at the borough hall, take a look at bayhead.org for a map), they are $8 in Spring Lake. Children are usually free, some beaches count children as under 12, some under 14 (Jenkinson's says kids are under 5, but then they only charge $2 for kids). If you want to stay overnight in a beach town, I can recco some hotels in both places, that makes a lot more sense given the long train ride; however I would suggest your try book immediately as hotels in these places really get sold out fast. If your trip is for 1 night during mid-week you might be OK, but I would still look into making a reservation as soon as possible.
5. Check http://www.meadowlands.com/ to see if there is a ballgame concert or other event going on in the Meadowlands in NJ, which is reachable by public transport (bus) from NYC. Don’t forget about Yankee Stadium or Shea Stadium, there may be day or night baseball games during your visit. Go to http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com and http://newyork.mets.mlb.com. You can also take tours of the stadiums. NY Waterway runs a ferry boat to Yankee Stadium on game days.
6. Finally, a trip up to West Point would be another good way to see the area and then take a tour of the Academy. Take a look at http://www.usma.edu/. From the main page click on "Visiting West Point" for visitor information. Driving here is probably faster than a train, but you should be able to take Amtrak to a nearby station. I believe New York Waterway offers ferry service in the summer, take a look at http://www.nywaterway.com/. The academy is well worth a visit, you can take tours guided given by cadets. There is a lot to see and do in this area, including outdoor activities like hiking and canoeing. Take a look at the New York State tourism website at http://www.iloveny.state.ny.us/. I think this would also be a good place for an overnight trip.
For things in New York City consider:
An unusual tour you might enjoy in NYC is to go the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. You can do a walking tour of the area and also visit their museum, which is a "tenement" apartment building. The Lower East Side is where many immigrants first started life in the US, including many from Europe. You might find it interesting. The day I took the tour, our group included people from the UK, France, Thailand, the US and Australia, so it is an interesting mix of people. Take a look at http://www.tenement.org/. The lower east side abuts China Town, Little Italy, Soho, etc and is good for exploring, shopping and restaurants.
There are dozens of museums, many of which have programs for children. A guidebook would give you particulars. Fodor’s has a good book called “Around New York City with Kids” that might be very useful to you.
And for the record, the Statue of Liberty is in New Jersey, NOT New York City or New York State. You could make a day trip by ferry going to Liberty State Park and Ellis Island. The website for Liberty State Park is http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandf...s/liberty.html.
May 13th, 2007, 03:27 AM
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For a day trip, Long Beach, Long Island mentioned by kenav is less crowded than Jones Beach and easier to get to. You just walk from the Long Island Railroad Train station.
http://mta.info/lirr/html/ttn/longbeac.htm
For an overnight, Spring Lake, NJ is very pretty and not too far.
http://www.springlake-nj.worldweb.com/
http://mta.info/lirr/html/ttn/longbeac.htm
For an overnight, Spring Lake, NJ is very pretty and not too far.
http://www.springlake-nj.worldweb.com/
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