TeresaBTree

I am planning a trip to NYC between 12/29/03-1/2/04. I have never been there so I don't know were to start. How much should I expect to spend? I don't need a 5 star hotel, but would like a decent one. It will be me and my boyfriend, we are both late 20s. I know I want to see the Statue of Liberty. I would like to go to Times Square for New Years. What are some of the things I should see while there and where should I stay to be in the middle of everything. Suggestions please....

jannik

walk,walk,walk is the best experience, there are SO much to see in new-york, little italy,chinatown etc..hotels are in all price range, but the 6-7 times i have been there, i have stayed at hotel eddison, i think it is on 54th street, just 1/2 min walk to time square, and you have the empire hotel near lincoln center,,both hotels are more than ok if you just need a bed,and they are clean,
safe, and have a friendly staff, and the price is about 100 us, but prehaps is more the time you are going.about spending,,,well, you have all sorts of restaurant in all price range, and a lot of fun places to go out for a drink or two.anyway, you will have a great time in nyc..CHEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

nytraveler

What are your interests? Art? History? Theater? Music? Shopping??? New York has arguably the best museums, theater, shopping, restaruants and clubs in the world. If you provide more info people can make specific recos.

GoTravel

Teresa, get a good guidebook like Fodors and start reading.

This time of year, hotel room will set you back between $200-$300 per night unless you use priceline.

mclaurie

For a hotel, start by reading reviews here. Go to hotels above, then click New York. There are also good user reviews on tripadvisor.com. Quikbook.com is a website prople here like for NYC hotels. The very cheapest way of getting a hotel is bidding on priceline. Biddingfortravel.com is a website that explains the process.

The most popular place for tourists to stay is Times Square or midtown east. You might do better price wise to stay elsewhere & there are other areas that 20-somethings might prefer for restaurants/nightlife. Soho, the Union Square area, Chelsea & the upper west side are all good areas. There's also plenty of information on this board if you do a text search in the box above. By typing NYC hotels you'll get dozens of previous threads talking about various hotels. You can also do a search for NY at Christmas or NY for New Years. Good luck! It's a great but BUSY time of year in NYC.



Since you are a bit late in planning at a very busy time in NYC,

TKay

Teresa,

This a a good website for planning a trip to the City.


http://www.nycvisit.com/home/index.cfm

You may want to go to Priceline.com or Quikbook.com as others have said and make a bid for Midtown East or Midtown West.

I also would suggest a Grayline Double Decker Bus tour as an excellent way to get an overview of the City.

http://graylinenewyork.com/

Of course walking is also a great way to expereince New York.

Rob

If you want to be in the heart of things Times Square vicinity would be the place to stay. The Edison mentioned above would be a good choice. I would imagine it would cost close to $200 for a room with the tax included. It is on 47th Street just west of Broadfway.

jlents

How cool, my girlfriend and I are going the 29th - 2nd of january also. We're both 19. We're going for new years as well. It's kind of our x-mas present to eachother. Anyway, her and I got our stuff booked on Expedia.com. We got such a great deal, we're staying at the Le Parker Meridien. We got flight and a Junior Suite for $1800.00 total. REPLY BACK, I'd like to hear from you. Josh

TeresaBTree

Thanks to everyone, these posts have really helped me begin my search. To NyTraveler: I suppose I would not be too interested in art or museums. It looks like I'll be spending a lot on the hotel at this time of year so I won't be shopping too much. I am mostly interested in sightseeing, I may take in 1 show while there - just to do it. It looks like a lot of walking will be the best way to see the things I am interested in. Thank you TKay, the double decker bus sounds like a great idea - I will definately do that. Jlents, I hope you and your girlfriend have a great time. I have read several threads of people saying it is too cold to go to NYC at this time - should I wait till fall? I live in Sacramento,CA so am not used to snow or 0 degree weather, but I like the cold. Will it be unbearable if most of my trip is spent walking around or riding atop a double decker bus or taking the ferry ride? One more question, a couple of you have suggested Hotel Edison but it seems to be booked up, does anyone have any opinions on The Mark Hotel or On the Ave Hotel in NYC? For some reason these 2 stand out. Expedia.com has The Mark at $1650 for 2 people, 3 nights in Superior Rm and 2 roundtrip air tickets. Then there is On the Ave in NYC for only $1360 for the same thing only in a standard room. Can anyone give an opinion on either?

almesq

The Mark is an outstanding hotel, on 77th Street and Madison Ave on the Upper East side. It's not near any tourist sites, but it is close (2 blocks) to the subway, or you can take buses down 5th Ave (1 block away) or cabs.
As for cold, you never know what you'll get. It's so hard to predict these days. I'd say average temp that time of year is in the 30's but we could certainly get a cold spell, or it could warm up a bit. If you're going to spend most of your time outside, it certainly could be a factor, and if you take the sightseeing bus and it gets too cold you could always go down to the lower level and ride inside.

TKay

Teresa,

Your welcome. Make sure you have warms clothes (coat, gloves, and scarf) with you. I took somes frinds on the double decker bus 2 weeks ago and we all just bundled up. For part of the tour we stayed in the enclosed part downstairs, but for the rest of the tour we were upstairs. The view from the top is great. When you get off the bus slong the way, just pop into cafe for a coffee or hot cocoa. When you take the ferry, again there is a large indoor area as well.

mclaurie

On the Avenue has been mentioned on this board a number of times if you do a text search. Their normal weekday prices start at $179/night so your pkg. price sounds high but the neighborhood is good. The price on the Mark sounds like much better value (it's a much nicer hotel) but as almesq says, it's an area more geared toward museums & designer shopping than sightseeing.

If Jet Blue is a flying option for you, I think you'd do better buying air & hotel separately.