First time to New York
 

Hello, My husband and I are planning to visit New York the end of March/beginning of April.

I have a few questions:

1) How is the weather in New York in spring?
2) Which airport should we fly in to?
3) We like to be close by to shopping, attraction, restaurants, public transits. Which part of New York should we stay?
4) Any recommendation for hotels - 2.5 to 4 stars hotel?
5) We plan to spend 5 full days in NY. Any attractions that we should not miss?

Greatly appreciate your feedback and assistance.

Thank you.

Cica

A few questions so that yours can be better answered:

Where are you coming from?
What are your interests?
What is your budget for accommodation?

1)Changeable. You can go to any website like wunderground.com and get historic temps and precipitation from previous years on the dates you want.

2)Whichever one (LGA, JFK, EWR) has the best fares/flight times for you.

3)There's shopping etc. in almost every area of Manhattan. Most first time visitors prefer to stay in midtown (34-59 st.) but you can sometimes get better deals by making a compromise in location. For example, there are some good value hotels on the upper west side which is also a nice area with lots of advantages vs. midtown.

4) That's a big range in stars. I can recommend looking on quikbook.com and travelzoo.com for good prices and specials. I also use kayak.com for both airfare and hotel shopping. If you want to give a budget perhaps we can offer more help.

5) The top 10 sites generally include
>Top of the Rock or Empire State
>Grand Central Terminal
>Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island whether an actual visit or a pass by in a boat
>Rockefeller Center & 5th ave. shops
>Central Park
>at least one of the museums
>a visit to some of the downtown neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Soho
>some ethnic dining
>a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan for a view of the skyline

Go to the top of the page and clink "destinations" and then choose NYC for lots more info.

mclaurie is correct on everything.

Major sights are spread out over most of Manhattan ( an area at lest 8 miles long and a couple wide - as well as islands in the harbor) so you'll need to get used to the subway for inexpensive and fast accommodation.

Suggest you:

Read a couple of guide books to see what YOU want to see most

Get a subway map and street map of Manhattan and familiarize yourself with both

We travelled to New York beginning of April two years ago, and it was COLD, we packed for spring weather but it didn't eventuate.

We stayed at Radio City Apartments which is a cheaper option than most hotels but will probably be booked out if you are visiting April this year.

W did the many of the things McLaurie suggested ie Top of the Rock (Top of the Rockerfeller building) as opposed to the Empire State Building. Hop On Hop Off bus tour, Staten Island Ferry to get a look at the Statue of Liberty, a small portion of Central Park, Broadway shows, Time Square, experienced the subway, and went to the Frick Museum.

We were in NY a couple of mid-Aprils ago and in the one week we were there the highs ranged from the 40s to the 70s. Early April weather is unpredictable.

Here is my two cents:

1. April weather does vary dramatically; check the forecast close to the time you arrive. It's likely to be cool/cold and wet but can also be beautifully sunny and warm.
2. Always fly into the airport that offers you the best flight for the best price. If you stick to LGA, JFK, and EWR, it doesn't really matter.
3. If you can afford it, stay in Manhattan and nowhere else. Avoid the Upper East Side.
4. Recommendations are useless with such little information about you and what you like. Remember that stars mean literally nothing. There is no coherent star-rating system in the U.S. and they DO NOT denote quality, only whether certain amenities are offered. Forget the stars and look for something you can afford. If you give us an idea of what you can afford, then we can probably recommend something. Start doing some research on your own as well.
5. Yes, there are lots of attractions you shouldn't miss, but without knowing anything about you I have a hard time recommending anything. Just some rules of thumb from me: The Empire State Building is one of the biggest rip-offs and time-wasters in NYC; Hop-on/Hop-off buses in Manhattan are also a waste of time and money (others disagree, but I stand firmly with this opinion)---you can see just as much and more quickly on a regular bus/subway and pay a quarter of the price; so-called "City Tickets" (combo admissions to alot of major attractions) are a huge waste of money for NYC unless you plan on seeing everything they offer.

I hope this helps. Please post again and give us some more details about who you are and what kind of experience you are looking for, and I"m sure we can give you some more useful advice.