Need Help With NYC Itinerary
 

I'm trying to rough out a plan for our New York long weekend trip at the end of the month and having a problem with logistics. Have to fit in Madison Square Garden on Friday as it appears the tours operate only during the week.
Fri. July 29:
- arrive around 10:30 a.m., go to Ritz Carlton Battery Park and check in
- take water taxi to Brooklyn and have lunch at Grimaldi's, walk back over Brooklyn Bridge
- look around South Street Seaport (old ships there?)
- take taxi up to Madison Square Garden for tour
- have early dinner near MSG or near cruise
- take Circle Line Harbor Lights cruise
Sat. July 30:
- get up early and take ferry to Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island (when does 1st ferry depart?)
- check out of hotel & move to Beekman Tower
- lunch at Grand Central food court
- United Nations Tour & Empire State Building after lunch
- Jekyll & Hyde for nephew's birthday dinner
- explore Times Square area
Sun. July 31:
- Museum of Natural History
- lunch at Tavern on the Green
- take bus or subway to Intrepid
Alternative for Fri. July 29 would be to go to Madison Square Garden after checking into hotel, then go down to South Street Seaport and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn, then take the water taxi back to Battery Park.
Any comments/suggestions on the above itinerary would be appreciated.

You'll have a great weekend! Enjoy all those sights.

However, be prepared for the possibility of hot, humid weather that might tire you out sooner than expected. Also, do bring along a portable umbrella because humid summer weather in NYC usually ends as a rain storm.

Also, from the South Street Seaport to Madison Square Garden is too long & too expensive a trip by taxi! Instead, walk about 3-4 blocks from the South Street Seaport to the corner of Fulton and William Streets; find the No. 2 and 3 trains, uptown direction. You'll arrive at W. 34th Street for MSG in about 20 minutes (not one hour) and it'll cost only $2 per person (not $50 per cab).

Enjoy your stay!

Hi!
The trip to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island takes a while. You might want to ask for a late check out or check out and have them store your bags until you get back. We took an early ferry and didn't get off at Statue (just did Ellis Island) and we were not back till 1'ish. We had a late lunch back in the city, but you might be pressed regarding check out.

One reply suggested the subway as the means of getting to MSG from the Seaport. It would certainly be less expensive but the cost of a taxi will not be anywhere near $50. The cost would be closer to $15.

Thanks all for the advice. Fun4all4, thanks for the tip about the Statue of Liberty. We're going to stay on until Ellis Island as well. I wasn't sure if we would have time to get back and check out. I'll check with the hotel to see if we can get late checkout. We plan to get a transit pass but if it's only $15 for a taxi, then I think we'd probably do that. I figure we'll be tired after walking across the bridge, especially if it's as hot and sticky as it is today. We'll bring an umbrella or rain ponchos in case it rains.
We're going to buy the City Pass that gives access to 6 city sights. Does anyone know if we can buy those before getting to NY or do we have to get them there. I read that you can pick them up at your first place but then you still have to line up. If that's the Empire State Bldg or Statue of Liberty, it could be a long wait. We wanted to avoid as much of the line-ups as possible.

You can buy your city pass online at citypass.com There's an extra charge for handling and then for shipping though. Another idea might be to go to one of the less crowded venues (like the Guggenheim)just to buy the tickets. But I think you need to make sure the city pass makes sense for you. I don't see MOMA or the Guggenheim on your itinerary and I'm not sure if the Harbor Lights cruise can be included in this package.

Yes there are some old ships at the Seaport. It's also a shopping mall and has lots of restaurants. If you take the A train (subway) you can get out at Penn Station which is at MSG. Much easier than fighting cross town traffic in a cab and I think it's closer at both ends than the 2,3 train.

Not too many nice choices for dinner near MSG or nothing really near where the Harbor Lights cruise comes/goes.

Curious why you're not doing any shows?

I think first ferry to SOL is at 8:30 but double check on their website.

I wouldn't bother walking all the way over to Grand Central from the Beekman to walk all the way back for the UN tour. Why not eat at the coffee shop at the UN. I've also heard there's a great outdoor food cart near the UN for burgers.

You can't get very close to the Intrepid on the subway. I'd take the bus or a taxi.

I think I like your alternate idea for the Fri. of going to the garden first and doing the bridge etc. after. Grab a quick lunch near the hotel and have dinner at Grimaldi's.

Other than my question about why no theater (it would be a natural option for Sat. night) I'd add the only 2 places you've picked as restaurants, Tavern on the Green and Jekyll & Hyde are REALLY known as tourist traps. I can understand the Jekyll & Hyde for your nephew if that's what he'd like, but I'd suggest the Boat House in Central Park or some other option. There are lots of good places near the Museum of Nat. History.

Concur about two items:

Why not do at least one show - there are very few experienes that are more New York.

Do not waste all that money on Tavern on the Green. The food is mediocre at best, the service poor/condscending and there are dozens of better places nearby for much less money. If you want to eat in the Park the Boathouse is a better choice - but if you give favorite cuisines people can make recos of great places at the same or lower budget.

I forget if you are the same person with whom we recently had a "Jekyl and Hyde" discussion. If so, then you are talking about the one in the West Village -- fine, go and have fun. If, on the other hand, you are talking about the one midtown, think again. It should be avoided at all costs. A better choice for the evening might be sitting around a trash can looking for scraps while you take turns poking each other's eyes out with straws.

As to Tavern on the Green, well sure it's FAR from the best restaurant in town, and you are paying extra for the atmosphere, but it does make for a nice lunch in a delightful setting, particularly in the garden Unless you are trying to make sure that every meal be a culinary masterpiece, I'd say go for it. Believe me, you can do far worse for lunch.

Just remembered there's a new pizza place that's opened near MSG called
Waldy’s Wood Fired Pizza & Penne
800 Sixth Ave., nr. 27th St.; 212-213-5042
Should be great. That's for lunch or dinner on day 1.

I prefer the Boat House over TOTG. But if you go there on a Sunday, and you plan to sit inside, it will be a brunch menu. If you sit outside, you can order from their grill. Just be sure you make a reservation or you will wait a good hour.

Just to clarify -- the previous information is for the Boat House :)

TTT

I know it seems strange to come to NY and not see a Broadway show. My husband and I come to NY a couple of times a year just for the shows. This trip is for my 13-year-old nephew and he is not interested in the theater. If he expresses an interest once we get there, I can always check out the TKTS booth. This trip is for his birthday so the itinerary was prepared based on what he wants to do. I picked Tavern on the Green because I thought my sister and her son might like it. We may just pick a place around the Museum of Natural History instead. I don't like the idea of being tied down to a reservation time anyway. I'd like to spend as much time at the museum as we want--I hear there's a lot of interesting stuff there. We will be looking for restaurants that serve plain, non-gourmet food. He likes lasagna, pizza, hamburgers & fries, nothing fancy.
And, Patrick, yes I am the same one you told about the Jekyll and Hyde in the Village. When I checked the website, it looked like the one in the Village was more for adults. The reviews from kids who went to the one in Times Square were great. In fact I spoke to a teenager on Friday who said he went with his school group and it was "awesome". Are your comments based on an adult's view or do you think a kid would enjoy the one in the Village better? We may decide to go to Mars 2112 instead, but that doesn't get great reviews from adults either. It's his birthday on the Saturday so I wanted to go someplace different and someplace he would really like, not necessarily what his mother and I would enjoy. If we could please everyone, that would be even better.
Mclaurie, thanks for all the great advice in your post. When I checked online it said the City Pass covers Intrepid, Empire State Building, Museum of Natural History, City Line 2-hour day cruise or harbor lights cruise,MoMA and the Guggenheim. Since we are planning on doing 4 of the 6 things, I thought it would be worthwhile, if only to save time in ticket lines.
Thanks, everyone for all the great tips. When I checked earlier today there was only one reply and now all of a sudden there's a whole bunch. I'm going to call MSG tomorrow just to confirm that they only have tours on weekdays. Their website is confusing because it only lists weekday hours of 11 am to 3 pm, yet when you go to purchase tickets for the tour, it lists all days. If we can do MSG on Saturday, along with the U.N. and the Empire State Building, I think it would be much easier. That will leave us more time to explore the downtown area, and maybe even get to Fraunces Tavern Museum and the WTC site. My nephew is a bit of a history buff. The other thing he's asking about now is the aquarium near Coney Island. I don't know if we have time to fit it in but he heard there is a big shark display that he'd love to see. Anyone know anything about that? Is it still there, is it worth trying to squeeze it in?

It doesn't make sense to check in and out of two hotels on a weekend trip. Hopefully your nephew is very energetic because you sure have packed lots of things in a short span of time. It will likely be hot so leave taxi options open. Also be flexible in case of rain. You have lots of outdoor related activity planned. Have an indoor (museums, theatre) back up plan in mind in case of bad weather.

I know that this was suggested on a prior post, so perhaps you have already eliminated it, but would you consider ESPN Zone instead of Jekyll & Hyde? The food is nothing fancy, but is actually quite decent, and the games are really terrific fun. And that way you will already be in Times Square. Have fun - your nephew is a lucky guy!

I just read that you may switch Jeckyll & Hyde for Mars 2112 - I don't know which one is worse. They're both absolutely terrible. I just brought my niece to Mars 2112 and the food was absolutely horrendous, let alone extremely expensive. I also made the unfortunate mistake of going to Jekyll & Hyde in midtown not too long ago and it was terrible. Please stay away from both of these places. There are so many great restaurants in the city, it would be a shame to go to either of these.

I'm so torn about this Jekyll &Hyde and Mars 2112 discussion. I'm the mother of an 'extremely interested in food" 11 year old NYC boy. (His choice for his most recent birthday dinner was Le Bernardin, which he completely loved). That being said - he also has enjoyed the atmosphere of Jekyll & Hyde - but Mars 2112 is too hokey and young for him. Both up and downtown J&H's have pretty bad food - but the stupid, corny, semi-gory atmosphere is adored by lots of kids. It is truly a "theme park" experience - and I think should be judged as such. That being said - the uptown J&H is much more touristy and planned and crowded - downtown is really just a funny bar and most times you can walk right in - and Patrick, before you slam me - they actually have a very good imported beer list . . . and it's air conditioned. Antlori - it's perfectly appropriate for kids - in fact we had my son's 8th birthday party with 10 pals there and the staff (all actors, of course) was quite funny and amusing.

On another topic - skip coney island during this short trip (although the aquarioum is good) - and visit the biodiversity exhibit at AMNH - fascinating marine life info.

I wouldn't take a cab to the Garden from downtown, just because the time spent would be a drag - the subway will zip you there in less than 20 minutes - and that's a real NY experience, too! I'd also urge you to go someplace better than Tavern or the Boathouse for your Westside lunch - which midday in NYC is really brunch - try Jaques-Imo's or Isabellas or Papardelle or Ruby Foos (expose him to almost Chinese?) or Ocean Grill . . . they would all suit both adults and your son . . .

We just returned from New York. Had a great time. For the Statue of Liberty I recommend going online to the website and reserving your tickets. That way you can get in the base of the statue. We loved Sony Wonder and we rented a row boat in Central Park. I had pages of stuff to do too, but you'll find out that New York is so busy that sometimes you can't do it all. My kids loved FAO Schwartz and the staff was courteous and friendly(We visited there twice) Do not stay at the Hampton Inn at 108 w 24th street. The staff is rude and the hotel is dark and so far away from everything. We switched hotel to be up where the sites are.
Enjoy your trip

Thanks for the warning again, Lucienne78, I guess these places must be really bad. I am considering ESPN Zone, KikiLee. He likes computer games (what kid doesn't). I liked the idea of the the singing waiters at the Stardust Diner but my sister said no singing while eating. Maybe we'll just go to a good burger joint. Newyorker, thanks for the comment on doing lots in a short time. I was wondering if this was too much. I tried to fit in all the things he wanted to do, but if something has to give, then so be it. Hopefully the weather will be good but we'll come prepared in case it rains. My nephew is so excited right now he can hardly sleep. I hope he's not exhausted before we even get to NY!

If you have the time or the desire, take him to the Central Park pond to sail a sailboat. You can sit and relax, even get a drink while watching him for an hour. I know I always say this, but my grown kids still like to take the sailboats out -- and it's cheap, only $10/hr. They are wind powered but a remote control directs the sailboat. Lots of fun :)