Hi,

Live in New England and visiting NY from April 13-17 for the first time with wife and a friend from Denmark. Due to budget I plan on staying in Stamford, CT and either taking train or driving to and from the city. Do expect if I drive to pay $30 a day to park. A few places we'd like to visit include Ellis Island, Empire State Building, Times Square, and possibly United Nations and MOMA. Also considering harbor cruise.

Do have some walking limitations. Would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions (including dining spots). Thanks.

I sue frequently Priceline for hotel rooms, principally in cities like New York. I also had good deals, subscribing to travelzoo.com, they send the 20 top travel deals of the week. Even if you did not have some difficulty in walking, I would not suggest you to stay in the suburbs. I don't know how far by train from New York to Stamford, but if you would like to visit those places you mentioned,and you only have 4 days, then I strongly suggest you stay in a central location hotel.You would save in parking, in train fare from and to Connecticut, and if you get tired you can get back to hotel and rest. Also the hotel staff can help you with best ways to program your visits. If you arre staing in Stamford because of a reason (visiting friends, families), then why don't you stay overnight in New York and visit the landmarks you mentioned. Just a thought.
To bid on Priceline.com I first research in other travel website for hotel prices, then I select a price per night I want to spend, and which area of Manhattan, and how many stars (4 or 5 stars). sometimes I have no response, so I try few times, and most of the times I get good deals. You can also go and try http://www.travelzoo.com/top20 for their top 20 deals.

Good luck

I don't know why you picked Stamford, but unless there's a fabulous cheap hotel there, it's a lousey place to stay to visit NYC. $30/day for parking is optimistic in NYC, although with the help of iconparking.com (make a reservation in advance) it could work for you. But you'd be much better either staying IN Manhattan or at least closer to it, maybe in nearby New Jersey. Some folks have had good experiences staying in the Holiday Inn in Ft. Lee, NJ which is just over the George Washington Bridge, parking for the day and driving back.

Jersey City, NJ has some hotels that are right near a PATH train so you can train back and forth. The Sheraton on the Hudson in Weehawken, NJ is a ferry ride away (but $5/person each way or $30/day for the 3 of you).

If the 3 of you are planning on sharing a room, Priceline is NOT an option for you as they only guarantee in NYC one room with one bed for TWO people.

What's your budget?

Four nights of this commuting back and forth? What about an apartment -- can three of you share?
When you add the parking plus the daily cost of three train round trip train tickets, that's quite a bit you could be putting on a hotel or apartment in the city.
Unless your accomodations in Stamford are free or darn close to it, this plan really doesn't make much sense in my opinion.

No way, would I ever consider that location for visiting NYC. Look at Super 8, if you only need one bed, rates are $179, a little less if you have AAA.

Even if you find parking in NYC for a long day for $30 (doubtful) you will still be paying gas and tolls in/out of city, fighting commuter traffic (unless you plan onshort days) driving back late at night (if you're going to dine or do shows in the city) plus subway and cab fares to get around the city once you dump your car.

Agree to do a search for something affordable in the city - esp since walking is limited and you may want a place to rest after a day of activities and before dinner/show etc. Or at least stay in nearby New Jersey so you can get back and forth easily via PATH or ferry - not fighting traffic and taking so much of your limited time.

Have a look at Travelzoo to see what they offer - it looks like a couple of major hotels may be offering specials for only about $200. Also check out the applecore group of budget hotels - which are clean and reliable if not luxurious - and have a couple of hotels with double/double rooms for only $229.

You really don;t want to be doing the long and expensive trek in and out of Stamford every day.

Appreciate the suggestions. I'll do more looking at NYC hotels or possibly Jersey. Thanks.

That's a pricey time in NYC. You can get a room at the Sheraton on the Hudson for $194 plus tax for a suite for 3 (either a king bed and sofabed or 2 double beds). I think they charge for parking but not sure how much.

The only hotel in NYC with free parking is the Travel Inn. They have rooms for 3, but they're expensive on those dates despite the fact that it's a budget hotel.

People bid on Priceline for a 3* hotel in Jersey City (in the NYC airport areas) and win either the Hyatt Regency or the Doubletree Club in Jersey City. Either is near a PATH train. If you don't know about bidding, go to biddingfortravel.com or betterbidding.com

I know it sounds tempting to stay outside the city and commute in to save money, but in my experience as a frequent tourist to Manhattan, I need time to rest at some point. If you're up and out by 8 for breakfast and stay through 11:30 pm for a Broadway show--which is what I usually do--I want a place to rest my weary bones sometime during the afternoon. And being able to wash and change before going out for the evening is desirable, tho not necessary, also. If you can all afford it, I would stay in Manhattan--and be sure to get a transportation pass (forget what they're called) that can be used on both the subway and bus lines.

My personal hell would look something like the corridor between Connecticut and NYC. Honestly, even if it's an extra $100 a day to stay in the city, it's worth it. You'll be so much more relaxed and you'll have MUCH more time to explore the city. That commute will eat up several hours each day.

That said, I'd also recommend visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art and walking through part of Central Park. You mentioned walking restrictions, but most of the park is pretty accessible. You can download a map from the park's website and plan the easiest route to the sites you're most interested in.

For harbor cruises, Circle Line seems to be popular: http://www.circlelinedowntown.com/

First time I ever visited the NYC area I too had the brainy idea of staying in Stamford, CT.

The motel had a chain link fence all the way around it, and I don't know if that was to protect guests from the neighborhood or the neighborhood from the guests.

It was a terrible area and didn't seem too safe.

IF I were going to NYC on April 13, I would soooooooooo definitely look to secure a room through Priceline.com near one of the airports (JFK or LGA) as they have lots of hotels and many would be giving rooms to priceline during the not-terribly-touristy mid-April period.

If you could get something for a base rate of perhaps $70 per night, you could probably just leave your car there and use the airport conveniences to access touristy things in Manhattan.

I'm sure you could improve your comfort and conveniences for the trip while remaining within your budget, IF you use Priceline.com to seek a room near one of the NYC airports.


go to www.biddingfortravel.com to read up about what some of those rooms are going for these days.

I just did a quick perusal at this page, and found reasonable rates up and down:

http://p070.ezboard.com/New-York-Air...abiddingfrm266

*** far too many on that list are "Newark, NJ airport"... and you probably don't want that. But then these are only the Priceline deals REPORTED by people, so there are surely dozens if not hundreds of others for the main NYC airports.

Thanks again for everyone's help. I have definitely decided to either stay in the city or just across the river in Jersey. Already found a couple of hotels near the Hudson for a reasonable amount and am still looking in the city. Adding in all the extra costs and time staying in CT it does seem to make the most sense. Do appreciate all the honest feedback.

Just make sure you understand what the transportation would be to/from any hotel you chose. Not all the hotels in Jersey City are within walking distance of the PATH train and there are some areas of Jersey City that are not safe.

Btw, I would absolutely positively under NO circumstances stay near LGA or JFK to visit NYC. That's as crazy as staying in Stamford. The hotels around JFK are terrible and would take forever to get to/from the city and there are very few hotels near LGA that are anywhere near a subway.

Hi

My wife and I went there for the first time a couple of years back. Here is a trip report with pictures and links that I have posted on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/new_york_city_trip_report.htm . Maybe you can find some useful info there

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

I have booked to stay at Radio City Aparments - current reviews show rates paid of $120 a night. I am paying $180 in July but the place gets booked up quickly. Accomodation is self catering and reviews are very good.

LOL mclaurie, maybe he can get a Park Avenue Penthouse for about $65 a night instead.