Ist time in New York
 

Hi there

My husband and I are due to arrive in New York (flying into Newark) on November 25, 2010 at 1.45pm. I understand this is Thanksgiving and I was wondering if we'll have any problems travelling into Manhattan. I had thought of getting an airport express coach which should leave us off at Grand Central Station (we're staying in the Grand Hyatt, East 42nd St). Is this the best way to travel if there's likely to be a high volume of traffic? Should we travel instead by train? Will we be able to see any of the Thanksgiving celebrations or what time do they end? We will have 3 full days in NYC but having never been before, we're not sure how to plan our days to make sure we fit in as much as possible!! Any suggestions on how to go about this?
Many many thanks in advance for all your advice/suggestions. We are so so excited to be visiting the city that never sleeps!!! :-)

Do you mean you don't know what things to do/see in New York ( in which case I would suggest you grab some books on New York to do some research ) or do you know what you want to do but not sure how to group the activities?

Hi Peteralan,

I mean I'm unsure how to group the activities to make the most of our time there..

The parade ends at noon. Most traffic will be leaving New York not coming in. The bus to Grand Central is the right thing to do.

I agree with Sue, the bus is much simpler to your destination than a train. There will be traffic but most should be in the other direction. The best way to plan your days is make a list of the things you want to see. Map them on a map like maps.google.com and then figure out what's near what and group them by proximity. You might also consider doing some sort of overview tour although on that weekend, traffic will be terrible and I wouldn't really recommend a bus tour. You might consider realnewyorktours.com which uses subway and walking to get around. There are also lots of self guided walking tours on the internet if you prefer that. One website I like is http://www.walkingoffthebigapple.com/

Thanks SueNYC, I think I'll book the coach online before we go... Glad the traffic won't affect our journey! My only regret is that we won't get to experience all the celebrations..

Thanks also to mclaurie, had thought previously of going on the hop on/off bus but that's maybe not a good idea. Don't really fancy sitting for hours in traffic!! We've bought NY Passes online already and are hoping to do all the major attractions - Empire State Building, Central Park, Top of the Rock, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, World Trade Center Site/Museum are on my list of places to visit to name but a few.. I realize we may not get to see everything but I'll do my best lol!!

Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) is the first of the City's annual gridlock alert days - when they reco no cars come into Manhattan - since there is so much traffic it can come to a complete stop -no matter the efforts of the traffic agents. Do NOT get on a bus that weekend - unless before 9 in the am or after 8/9 at night. Either walk or take the subway.

A bus tour would be an exercise in futility - since the bus will be going slower than yo can walk.

You can do the Statue of Liberty (get inside) only if you have bought advance timed tickets from the Park Service (city passes DO NOT give you entrance to this) and they sell out weeks in advance. You can wait online for the ferry (those days probably a couple of hours) and see the Statue from the ferry and then go on to Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Or you can take the free Staten island Ferry and get a fairly close view of the Statue and a great view of the Manhattan skyline on the way back. If you can get advance tickets to get into the Statue you need to allow 6 or 7 hours for the while process (security line of perhaps an hour to get on the ferry, another line on the Island to visit the statue, Statue Visit, ferry to Ellis Island, visit Museum and then ferry back to Manhattan).

I would not have advised the pass b/c you likely won't be able to do/see enough in your short visit to make it pay off but I must agree you do NOT want to go to the SOL/Ellis Island with just that pass as others will have timed tickets and you'll waste a lot of time waiting for a ferry.

So glad now that I didn't book the hop on/off bus online!
Have just booked the airport express coach so that's that sorted. Thanks nytraveler - will look into the tickets for the Statue of Liberty.. Roll on Nov 25th - have never been so excited about a trip in my life lol!!!! ;)

Please, please take all the paperwork with you for the shuttle bus. I've heard a few stories about drivers not wanting to honor pre-booked tickets, but I think that was on the LGA and JFK shuttles, not from Newark. Anyway, whatever they sent you, you should print and have with you. statuecruises.com is where you'd book timed tickets for SOL/Ellis Island.

I would NOT suggest trying to go to see the SOL, it will take WAY TOO MUCH TIME out of your short stay.

The weekend you are going to be here is litteraly the busiest weekend of the year. The sidewalks will be PACKED with visitors and locals shoulder, to shoulder to shoulder,,,,,so trying to do the Empire State Building is another HOURS WAITING IN LINES. The Top of the Rock is a better idea, since you can get timed tickes there.

Get a book on NYC and pick out the things you want to do and see, one of my suggestions would be the Met Museum, it stays open later in the evenings on the weekends and a special exhibit there is the "holiday tree", trimmed with pricless figurines, really beautiful.

There are also holiday windows at some of the larger stores that are a must, Macy's, Lord and Taylor, Saks, Barney's.

There are several holiday fairs that you might enjoy at Grand Central Station, Bryant Park (both close to your hotel) and my favorite is at Union Square.

Thursday, which is Thanksgiving, is going to be quiet, most of the stores will be closed and alot of restaurants will be closed, it is a National Holiday.

If you want a restaurant serving a "traditional Thanksgiving meal, check www.opentable.com, or if you want a fun adventure, go to Chinatown, my fav there is Peking Duck House, on Mott St, one of the best in the city.

As others have suggested the BEST way to see the city is to group the things you want to see by area, so you don't spend alot of time traveling from one area to another, you will waste alot of your time and you won't see as much.

Also if you want to see the Statue of Liberty, take the Staten Island Ferry just at dusk, so on your way back to Manhattan the lights are coming up, the view is breathtaking.

Have a GREAT time while you are here.

Thanks for all your replies, I'm really grateful for all the help/advice, it means a lot... I think we'll probably just get the ferry to Ellis Island and not stop off at Liberty Island due to time constraints (this could mean another trip to NYC in the future - yippee!). I was thinking we could maybe do the Empire State Building once we arrive on the Thursday (I reckon we should be at our hotel approx 3.30-4pm if things go according to plan. I've been on opentable.com and have booked a table in Rosie O'Grady's in Time Square for Thanksgiving dinner at 6.30pm. Just praying we're not going to be too tired as at that time it'll be 11.30pm back home!!

Top of the Rock is a much better option than ESB - the lines for the latter will be hours long. Ticket buyer's line, line for first bank of elevators and then line for second bank of elevators. With TOTR you get a great view of the ESB - and the wait is never more than a few minutes - versus a couple of hours.

Also I don not reco you do Rosie O'Grady's for Thanksgiving Dinner. The place is a half a step up from a diner - the food is very ordinary - and the only reason it gets any business is the location (tourists eat there before B'way shows). If you go to opentable.com you will find a list of places that are offering special Thanksgiving dinners and you can pick a place much better than this.

TOTR sounds like a much better option for when we arrive.. If we go 1st thing Friday morning to ESB, is it likely to be as busy? Will have another look on opentable.com - any suggestions for restaurants close to our hotel or Times Square or even near the TOTR?

The Empire State Building will be worse on Friday. It is located at the vortex of shopping in midtown Manhattan and will be surrounded by hordes of shoppers and visitors. I will add my opinion to those of others who suggest that a visit to the ESB will take a long, frustrating time, and you can't see the ESB when you are on top. We are suggesting that you don't go there, but just go to Top of the Rock, which has a view the ESB and great views north to Central Park, and is much, much easier to visit. it is not quite as tall, but you will still be 70 stories high.

Just a quick question and I don't want to highjack Irishtink3's post.

Is the line for ESB always a couple of hours or is it just because it will be Thanksgiving weekend? I'll be in NYC for 10 days next May and naturally ESB is one of the things we would like to see as first time visitors to NYC.

The weekend you are going to be here is THE MOST CROWDED of the YEAR, except for New Year's Eve and that's really only the Times Square area.

When we say crowded, sardines are not packed as tight. I'd suggest doing things in Times Square and near the Empire State Building after the stores close.

The stores will open early and close late, to allow holiday shoppers to start spending money, and the stores will need it badly this year so I'm sure you can figure maybe midnight closings. That Friday is refered to as Black Friday the day of the year when the stores finally start to make a profit for the year, (hence finally in the black).

The nice part of that time of year is the city is decked out beautifully so enjoy all the holiday lights and sounds.

You also might check out concerts going on at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall 2 of the best concerts halls in the world.

It always takes a bit of time to visit the Empire State Building because you must wait in line 1) to buy tickets, 2) for the elevator part way to the top 3) for the elevator the rest of the way to the top and then wait again for the two elevators going down. You can save some time by pre-purchasing the actual tickets, but it is the elevator lines that take the time. At ordinary times (non-holidays), the wait won't be tremendously long. Earlier in the day and later in the evening can be much quicker. I've been to Top of the Rock a few times, and have always been able to just walk onto the next available elevator. I truly think TOTR has a better view.

Cathies we skipped ESB on our trip just did the Top of the Rock and got to see the ESB from there. Irishtink3 why not just take the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, it is free and goes right past the Statue.

cathies, the answer to your question is "no". It does not always take a couple of hours to get to the ESB. There is usually a line but it moves. I live here and I've taken my nephew a few times and we've never waited even as much as an hour.
In any event, if you are going to be here for 10 days you will have enough time, even if there is a bit of a wait. And if it's something you really want to see, then by all means do so. It's still one of NY's most iconic attractions, TOTR notwithstanding.

Thanks everyone, as we have 10 days, we'll probably do both. ESB sounds a bit like the Eiffel Tower as far as waiting for lifts etc.

Many are offering strong warnings about the ESB lines to irishtink3, the OP, because he/she has only 3 days in NYC, and those 3 days are during one of the busiest weekends of the year.