New York attractions
 

Hi, I will be traveling from South Africa to new York in April and will be there for 4 days, could I please get some advice on the best attractions and whether I should buy the ny pass and also if It saves me time on not queuing.

Could I also get advice on whether the nycairporter is a reputable company as I would like to get from JFK into manhattan on the cheapest but most convenient way as I will be tracing with a fair amount of luggage

What you are asking about is well-covered territory. There is no such thing as best attractions. What is best to you? We don't know your interests. I'm sure you already know about the attractions

"whether I should buy the ny pass and also if It saves me time on not queuing"

It is generally considered a waste of money on this forum.

vjpb, is your reply meant to be useful in any sense of the word? if not, you might think twice about replying. Your input is not necessary.

kallan, I hope you get better responses soon. I think one way to approach all the things there are to do in New York is to tackle museums as one category; neighborhoods as another; theater and entertainment as a third; and also food, and shopping. (If one or more of these doesn't interest you at all you can skip it, of course. ) Make lists within each category as you research and identify the things that you feel you MUST see and do, and your plans should crystallize. Search here for other threads, there's loads of information. Good luck.

Guys thanks for the responses, I know I was abit vague in my original post, but there are many conflicting views on the various sites on the adequacy of the passes. I am trying to see as much as I can in the 4 days and sites like the Guggenheim, moma, top of the rock, empire state bldg and the Ike are at the top of my list. I however am looking at more of the "locals" view on the best attractions. Food, shopping and the theater are some of my interests

My personal recommendation is usually against the NY Pass. In order to make the best use of it, you have to be willing to hit more than 2 major attractions each day and spend just an hour or so in each. You also need to be interested in taking a ferry trip around New York Harbor to make up for the fact that the Statue of Liberty is closed and won't be open for a while. The pass doesn't really save you much time in lines, which are usually pretty short, but it can save you money if you are the kind of person who wants to see tons of stuff with little depth.

For myself, I prefer to spend a few hours in a museum, which would negate any savings from the pass. I rarely have the stamina to see more than 1 or at most 2 major things in a day. I'd prefer to have a single quality experience and then do some wandering. If you do a general plan, you can do just as well in terms of costs doing things on your own or taking advantage of discounts and pay-what-you-wish admissions.

And there are a lot of expensive touristy attractions on the pass that I would never under any circumstances go to see: The 9/11 Tribute Center, the New York Skyride, Madame Tussaud's, and the NBC Studio Tour. I'd also never go to the Empire State Building because it's not only ridiculously expensive but a huge time-waster. I strongly prefer To of the Rock (just as ridiculously expensive by the way, but much better than the ESB, and I have done both).

With regard to the other attractions on your list, I find the Guggenheim to be among the worst of all NYC museums, and I'd only go if you really want to see the special exhibit. Otherwise, save your money and just walk into the lobby.

MOMA is always worth seeing, as is the Metropolitan Museum. Both can be insanely crowded (you can save time and a couple of dollars by buying a combo ticket to MOMA and Top of the Rock, which are in close proximity to each other). As I said above, the ESB is never worth seeing.

You may have better luck getting matinee tickets for a Broadway play depending on the play. If you want to see something popular, buy the tickets now. Otherwise, wait and buy discount tickets when you're in the city.

Thanks Doug, this was exactly the type of info I was looking for

For theater info you might check out broadway.com You don't have to buy tickets from that site but it will give you an idea of what's out there.

For restaurants I'd check out Zagat ... on line... and in print it's a good thing to carry around.
Open Table on line is good too for customer reviews. ( Yelp and sites like that sometimes have
unhelpful or outdated reviews. )

It is practically impossible for the passes to pay for themselves and many of the lines you "avoid" are illusory. Th only things with lines are the ferry to the Statue of Liberty - closed due to Sandy damage) and partial for the Empire State. But Top of the Rock is a better choice and has no lines/you can reserve tickets in advance.

Other museums and attractions typically don;t have lines unless you are going for a special limited-time show.

If you want to do a B;way show either buy tickets now (you are too late for big hits) from the official seller or look at broadwaybox.com which tell which shows are discounting - and gives you a code to get advance discount tickets. You don't to waste hours standing on line when you're here.

If you mean the airport bus to a central location, yes they are reliable. the SuperShuttle will take forever to deliver you to your hotel or back to the airport - since it drives around for hours in traffic - picking people up at different hotels.

As to what to see/do - everyone is different. for me

the Met
Museum of Nat'l Hist
the Frick
MoMA if you like modern
New York Histor Society
Grand Central
Top of the Rock
Central Park - but only in good weather and you are in early spring so many trees not in leaf yet
Reading Room of the main branch of the NYC Public LIbrary (I believe 2nd largest in the world)
Cloisters if you get a chance
Free ride on Staten Island ferry (about 1.5 hours to and fro across the harbor - great views of skylines)

Thanks for all the assistance, much appreciated

I am not a local, but we greatly enjoyed our trip to New York last summer.

You can buy a prepaid ticket to the Empire State building in advance and I would advise it if this is a must-see destination for you. There is still the security line but you skip the equally long ticket line. My kids were praising the Fodorites who advised me of this as we walked past that line. Some people advise doing Top of the Rock instead because it is less of a madhouse, but my kids really wanted to do ESB.

My suggestion would be to start off the day with a more intense "must see" like the Metropolitan Museum of Art when you are awake and focused, then pair it with a great neighborhood or park type destination, or a smaller destination like Grand Central. We didn't do this as much when we went to DC, got too hooked on the big ticket places, and while it was great to see those places, I do feel we missed out a bit on the feel of the city.

Also in New York, research places to eat--not just high end dinners, but the best bagel places, hot dog stands, traditional delis, New York pizza. Longtime member and New Yorker Aduchamp made a list that you should be able to find with a little searching.

I made myself a personal Google Map and put the must-see destinations and restaurants on it, and then I could access it on my phone and also use Google Maps to get to them easily. (Click the little bus icon and it will give you mass transit instructions to your next location.)

I made my google map accessible to the rest of the family who had smart phones. Very empowering that they could figure out their own way home if we split into two groups.

See this for Metro card:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...3-407228-2.cfm

Note that you can transfer from subway to bus & vice versa