edeevee

So. Way back in January I decided to take my mom, her best friend and my best friend to New York. It is kind of a bucket list thing for my mom, who loves to travel but has never managed to make it the the big apple. It was also intended as a pick-me-up, something to look forward to for all of us after a couple of very hard years.

There were budget concerns, and health concerns, and various other concerns but you kind people helped me work through them to plan what I thought was a nearly flawless, 3 day, 2 night budget trip that also managed to fulfill some of my mother's very non-budget wishes. I was quite pleased with myself.

Which should have been a warning. Because two weeks ago, while visiting my hometown for a family wedding, Mom leaned across the table at the reception to say, "I think Gladys (her bff) may back out of the trip." I nearly choked on my mouthful of overcooked green beans.

When I asked Mom why, she said that Gladys didn't seem as enthusiastic as she had earlier and that she'd mentioned that we would be spending more time on the train than in the city. That, btw, is an exaggeration. It was also maddening to me because the reason we finally settled on Amtrak was Gladys' report that she travels Amtral every year from Illinois to Mississippi to visit her grandchildren.

"And," Mom added, "her son just booked a flight to New York for only $200." I think I smiled at that point and said we'd talk about it later.

Once I returned home, I looked up flights from Indianapolis to NY and found that the fares had indeed come down since we first started our planning. We could now fly for only $229 RT ... if we traveled on Tuesday or Wednesday.

But we have tickets for Anything Goes on a Saturday. And 7 days/6 nights would be far beyond the amount we'd established everyone could comfortably afford to pay for the trip. I reported all of this to my mom, who asked, "How much more would it cost?"

We quickly added everything up. It would come to at least $1500 per person, double our original plan. I thought she'd sigh and say, "Oh well," or something to that effect. Instead, she said, "Let me call Gladys."

Who agreed that the extra money would be worth the experience. So I called my bff. Who agreed too. Then I consulted my bank account and my husband and decided that, yeah, I could swing it too.

So here I am. Planning again.

More in the next post.

obxgirl

Looking forward to your next post. Gladys sounds like a hoot.

edeevee

We've settled (I think) on traveling August 10-16. Amtrak is willing to refund 90% of our ticket costs.

Mom got all misty and excited when she learned I'd booked rooms for the old trip at the Marriott Marquis right in Times Square. She was not so excited when I suggested the Candlewood Suites (on 39th near 9th?) Here's the hotel experience she would like: queen beds, separate sitting area, kitchenette, close to the "action", with a nice view. I could probably find all of that in our budget range if we still only needed one room. But staying 4 to a room for 2 nights is an entirely different thing than staying 4 to a room for 6 nights. We're gonna need some space = 2 rooms, and that doesn't come cheap in New York even without a view. I agree with Mom on the kitchenette though. I think that will be worth the extra expense..

I think Candlewood is probably our best bet but I have a family member who works for Marriott and she's agreed to see what she can do. We'd love the Residence Inn but she'll have to work a miracle to get it since the going rate is $350+ per night, per room. WAY too much for us to spend. Anyone have a recommendation -- remembering that we won't be able to take subways or buses due to health issues and walking will have to be minimized too?

I've been working on an itenerary and would love your input. Here's what I am considering:

Wed - Arrive mid afternoon and check in wherever we end up. Walk or cab to John's Pizzeria (Times Square location) or 5 Napkin Burger. From there, walk to Grayline office to catch night double decker tour. I know. I know. But my mom LOVES those things and the night one is only $40, is not hop on, hop off, and gives us an overview of the city. It's not set in stone but very nearly so.

Thurs - Taxi to Staten Island Ferry to view Statue of Liberty. Free downtown bus to South Street Seaport to have a look around and stop at TKTS booth. Mom would really (really, really) like to see Sister Act and I see that tickets for this show were discounted last week so we will cross our fingers. If no Sister Act we are considering off Bway Fantasticks or off off Beauty Shop Stories. Will need nearby dinner recs for all three areas (SA is at Broadway, F plays at Snapple, BSS is at SoHo Playhouse - Huron Club). After show we;ll haed back to hotel and get straight to bed because ...

edeevee

Fri - Good Morning America is sponsoring a free outdoor concert that morning in Central Park at the Rumsey Playfield featuring American Idols Top 11!!!! (The !!! are my mother's, NOT MINE.) I have seen this television show exactly twice but Mom has been obsessed with it ever since a local kid got on it a few seasons ago. We have to be at the park at 6. AM. And no, I'm not kidding. The show starts at 7 and goes to 9. Has anyone ever been to one of these things? Is there seating? Or will the ladies need to bring those canes that turn into seat things -- and where can we pick those up in the city? Stroll through as much of park as the ladies can stand before returning to hotel by taxi.

What _I_ wanted to do that day was take the free guided tour of Grand Central Station that is offered at 12:30 on Fridays. I may still do that while the ladies nap.

Friday evening is our dinner at 21. After the meal we'll do the short walk to TOTR.

Rewind. I forgot to mention one of the things I am most excited about. On Thursday, after the TKTS booth, we're heading to Katz' Deli for lunch then an almost free food tour by the Free New York on Foot guys. I chose this tour over other because the ladies only have to cover one mile in two hours and we stop at some of the places I've heard about on here - Yonah Shimmels, The Pickle Guys, Doughnut Factory, that great sounding bialys place!

On to Saturday ...

edeevee

Saturday - Chinatown for lunch, a little walking around, a little souvenir shopping. Noodles or dim sum? Definitely Chinese Ice Cream. Anything Goes that night. Dinner ideas near Stephen Sondheim Theatre?

Sunday - I wanted to go to the Met but here's the thing; although Mom dutifully took me to a ton of museums while I was growing up, she's not a big fan of them. I never knew. Maybe the village for people watching? Any good, cheap Italian there? I swear there was a thread on here about restaurants by neighborhood but I can't find it now. I was thinking about that french place that only serves steak and salad for dinner. And I don't see how I can escape spending an evening in Times Square on the trip, so maybe I'll let Mom and Gladys gawk as long as they can stand it while my bff and I have drinks at that bar in the Marriott Marquis that overlooks the area.

Mon - While Mom is obsessed with American Idol, Gladys has her heart set on attending the CBS Early Show. I think I'll drop them off there then take a nice walk back to the hotel and meet up with them later, after they do the studio tour that follows the broadcast. We still have to work in drinks at the Carlyle (Bobby Short was from our home town) so we'll probably do that early evening before the cover charge kicks in, then dinner ... uh, somehwere. By then, we will have had deli, chinese, italian (I hope), steak -- what am I missing?

Tues - This day is up in the air until we choose our departure flight. There is one mid afternoon and one in the evening. If there was one more thing we shouldn't miss, what would it be?

Thanking you in advance!

doug_stallings

I'm just going to throw out a few random bits.

There will be no seating for the Idols show in the park. If your mother can't stand for 3-plus hours, then you really should not go. And arriving at 6am may not be early enough. Frankly, I'd recommend 5am or earlier if you want to get within 200 years of the stage, and even then it may not work. The kids will line up ALL NIGHT.

The best time to stop by the Early Show is on the weekend. There's rarely a huge crowd, and if the weather's decent they almost always have something going on outside, if only Lonny Quinn's weather.

As I noted in a thread the other day, the Candlewood Suites is really an excellent location, very close to the action.

If you want to eat at Five Napkin Burger, you have to make reservations. Otherwise, the wait is usually something like 90 minutes. There are no reservations for John's Pizza, but the wait is usually shorter too ... more like 20 or 30 minutes. But there are few places to sit when you are waiting. I think you'll do well to make dining reservations as you go along. At most places, a day or two in advance is usually enough ... at others a week (Five Napkin Burger, for example); you can sometimes make a reservation for the same day, and that's worth doing if you don't want to plan too far ahead.

Regarding Katz's. You say you are going to TKTS and THEN Katz's for lunch. I don't think so. The booth opens only at 11am on matinee days. Otherwise, it's 3. Eat an early lunch at Katz's and then come to the booth late. The best way to do TKTS (unless you desperately want to see a specific show) is to arrive about 5:30. There will be few lines, and there are almost always tickets to something. Then have a quick bite and head to the theater. Or go to have lunch at Katz's and then to the booth at the South Street Seaport. Or even better, hit the downtown TKTS booth on the day that you go to Chinatown. This will mean reorganizing a bit, but if you really don't want to rely on public transit, you are traveling all over the place a little willy nilly at some expense if you are going to rely on cabs. Chinatown is especially good on Saturdays and Sundays, when you can have dim sum with the masses.

If you want Sister Act tickets, look for discounts BEFORE coming to NYC. It's a popular show, and you should not count on the TKTS booth. It may be discounted for advance tickets, which are well worth it.

I'm not understanding why you can't ride city buses. The elderly in NYC all ride the bus precisely because it means they never have to walk more than a couple of blocks since buses stop often. I'd reconsider that. A week's worth of taxis is also going to be considerably more expensive than 2 days' worth. Also, I wasn't aware of a free bus to the South Street Seaport, so perhaps I'm behind the times.

For you (as much as I have the tours), the hop-on/hop-off bus may be a reasonable alternative, but just realize that it's extraordinarily hot in mid-August, and sitting on top offers absolutely no shade. Lines are also exceedingly long for reboarding the buses if you get off (and they don't run very often). If you are going to ride downstairs, you can probably go to all the same places on a regular city bus in air-conditioned comfort for a tenth the price.

edeevee

I only have a minute this morning but I thank you for the information you've provided. We were told (on this forum) to avoid buses as there will likely be nowhere to sit. It would save us a ton of money if this isn't true. Also, the only HOHO I'm considering at this point is the night tour which should be cooler (I hope) and does not include any actual hopping on or off. Does that sound better?

doug_stallings

Seniors get priority seating on the buses, and as long as you aren't taking one during the height of rush hour, you can usually get a seat ... at least the seniors in your party. You might have to stand. Believe me, the older NYC ladies fight for those seats, and they get them.

For your group, the hop-on bus is probably not a bad idea. It's just not my thing.

HappyTrvlr

Did you say were easting lunch at Katz's and THEN going on food tour? I can't iimagine eating one more bite of anything after lunch at Katz's( assuming you'll order the delicious hot pastrami sandwiches which I suggest you share.)

MareW

I stayed at the Candlewood about fifteen months ago, and at that time, the street was smelly, rather desolate at night, with tons of scaffolding and construction everywhere. The hotel was okay, and there were a couple of other decent moderate hotels on the street so I'm sure it will get better in time. Maybe the street appearance has improved by now, but regardless, I wouldn't recommend it for a "dream" trip. The location is a bit outside of Times Square and could add some extra walking to your trip as well.

jannieween

the HOHO bus is $50 with a free night time tour included.

jannieween

sorry didn't sat that was unlimited 48 hour HOHO bus for $50...plus free night time tour

PeaceOut

I wrote a short trip report about our recent visit to NYC and stay at The Beacon Hotel, which has newly-renovated two bedroom/two bath suites with a kitchen and sitting area. We had five women in one, and it was perfect. One king bed, two double beds, one queen sofa sleeper. There is a great market across the street.

Not sure of your budget, but we booked far in advance for our stay in early June, and got a rate of $525/night.

starrs

I like the HOHO bus as an option. I take them in almost every city I visit and have used the ones in NYC several times. They travel between favorite tourist locations so they are an easy option to get to another place you want to see and/or just rest for a while and watch the city roll by. Plus, you don't have to worry about maps and figuring out the city bus routes.

Keep in mind, someone is going to say something negative about every option.

nytraveler

Ordinarily I think the HoHo bus is ac omplete waste of time. But for people who have limited mobiity it is a way to see at least the outside of a bunch of places. Th eonly trouble is to see you need to be on top - open to the weather - heat or rain. And you will spend a lot of time sitting in traffic.

starrs

" And you will spend a lot of time sitting in traffic."

I'm not sure I understand. Are HOHO more affected than a taxi or city bus?

doug_stallings

Actually, they are. Taxis can alter their route while HOHO buses cannot. Select Buses get dedicated lanes and have limited stops, where HOHO buses do not. Also HOHO buses don't simply go up and down avenues as regular buses do. They make various turns and have circuitous routes that make it significantly slower to travel that way. Plus,

If you're in it for the ride and the scenery, it's fine as I and other people have said (and particularly for those with limited mobility who probably wouldn't get out and see the city otherwise). But it is going to be significantly slower than almost any other mode of transportation in NYC. So you don't take these to get someplace, just for the ride, so the loss of time may be irrelevant to the type of person to whom this applies.

For myself, I'd take the subway from one major subway stop to another and limit my ins and outs on the subway to those stations with elevators and good working escalators, and they do indeed exist. I'd use regular city buses to cover the other distances and would then see five times as much in the same amount of time without having to sit on a boring bus for hours. But that's the type of tourist I am. I want to experience a city on foot, not on wheels. Lots of tourists hate walking, especially when it's hot---and the subway platforms can be devilishly hot in August, something to seriously consider.

starrs

"...---and the subway platforms can be devilishly hot in August, something to seriously consider."

No kidding. I'm from the hot and humid South but 95 degree heat with 95% humidity is NOTHING like standing and waiting on a subway platform in the summer in NYC. I was shocked at how hot is was. No breeze. No air moving. Just heat.

For the OP's group, I think the HOHO bus option is a good one. Supplement with a cab or two as needed.

jannieween

I agree starrs(my reasoning for taking the HOHO bus were health issues)...we still walked and didn't just let the city pass us by....actually I think it would be better to be on the bus seeing some of the city instead of underground seeing nothing between the stops....we tried the subway as well and it was great and easy to get around but if the weather is nice take the HOHO bus.

edeevee

Thank you for all of your replies so far. I'd hoped to get back to delve into each topic further but life had other plans for us this past 24 hours. Yesterday, at noon, a storm rolled through and straight line winds sheared a hugs cottonwood tree off and sent it into my brother in law's small home beside a lake. His living room is now two feet tall from floor to ceiling and he has lost almost everything he owned. We spent last night recovering what we could and moving him into our house. Barring another life detour, I'll be back later to read what I am sure will be gems of travel wisdom. thanks again!