New York help
 

I was just able to book my flight to NYC for October with my FF miles. Now I'm getting excited! I had tried to book several weeks ago but the agent was not very helpful and said there were no seats available to return on the date I needed. The agent I talked to today was able to find a way around that by having me purchase a one-way ticket for the last connection for only $49.00.

Anyway - We arrive at Laguardia on Wed at 8:37p.m. and depart at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. Now I need to decide on our itinerary and hotel. We are a party of 3 - myself, husband and our 16 year old daughter. It is her first trip to NYC and we haven't been in 15 years. Booking hotel on Priceline is not an option since I don't want the risk of not getting two beds in NYC. Since I got FF airline tickets we can spend a little more on a room. I'd prefer a suite type room with King bed for us and sleeper sofa for daughter or two queen beds but I know those are rare. I think she'd enjoy Times Square area, but looking at other options too.

I want to see The Lion King and one other show or maybe the Blue Man Group? Looking for suggestions here. We will have only 3 days. I'd like a suggested 3 day itinerary. We don't need much time at all for shopping or art museums. I'd like to see the Tenement Museum and Ellis Island. What else would you recommend? Should we do a Grey Line Tour the first day just to get in a lot of sights in a short period?

I look forward to your suggestions.

I do suggest one of the hop on-hop off bus tours the first day and the Circle Line boat tour of the water areas....the tour of Lincoln Center, all the theaters, is fabulous, and a chance to see the theaters when you might never get to see them, gorgeous. Those were our highlights...also riding the subway if you are from an area without an underground. We stayed at Doubletree Guest Suites in Times Square, two rooms, three sinks, great for three of us getting ready to go in the a.m.......you have to mention you want the three sink rooms, otherwise youget the standard two sinks....

I took my teenage daughter on her first trip to NYC last weekend.

We stayed at the Murray Hill East Suites hotel, at 149 East 39th (between Third and Lex); not in the middle of things, but a pleasant area and very walkable to Times Square, Fifth Ave etc. We got a huge one-bedroom suite with a king-size bed, and a sofabed in the livingroom, plus a fully equipped kitchen for $135 per night through Orbitz. The place is very clean and comfortable, though not elegant; the staff are pleasant and capable. All in all, a good value.

We took the Grayline tours and were very disappointed. Some of the guides were impossible to understand, or gave out misinformation, or spoke very little, or just recited tedious information (like talking mostly about the real estate values of every neighborhood and how they've changed, or spending most of their time simply reading off the names of restaurants that we passed). For the money it would cost, you can take a *lot* of cabs!

Be sure to book your tour at the Tenement Museum in advance, they're small groups and sell out. Ellis Island will take a big chunk of time, due to getting out there and back.

Be sure to do *something* at Central Park -- we visited the Museum of the City of New York (on Fifth at about 105th), which currently has a fabulous exhibit of doll houses, among many other things, plus a gift shop with excellent quality NYC souvenirs. Across the street is the Central Park Conservatory Gardens, a simply lovely place.

No introductory trip to NYC is complete without visiting the Metropolitan Art Museum. They are open on Friday and Saturday evenings until about 9 PM and there's a wonderful roof terrace with a bar and incredible skyline views above the park. Pick just a couple of galleries; if your teen doesn't have a special interest, the Egyptian galleries are always a hit; or perhaps whatever period she'll be studying in history class next fall. My daughter was astonished at the similarity betwen some of the Egyptian jewelry and things that she herself owns! You just never know what's going to connect with kids.

We really like the Doubletree Suites in Times Square. We could see the TKTS booth from our window, and monitor the line to decide when to go.

I also recommend Ellis Island and the Tenement Museum.

When I was a kid, gowing up in a suburb of NYC, my parents used to take us to Chinatown for dinner and Little Italy for dessert.

You might want to try the Mariott Marquis in Times Square. Ask for a room that ends in 24. These are corner rooms with king beds and a pull out sofa. Enjoy your trip.

Have a look at the Broadway Inn:
www.broadwayinn.com

We've stayed there twice, and really liked it. Their suites worked really well when we traveled with our teenage son.

I also like the Broadway Inn - it's now ny first choice when visiting NY. Especially large rooms and a great location. Good prices (for NYC). Super friendly and helpful staff.

Here's another HUGE recommendation for the Grayline hop on/hop off buses. There is the occasional dud guide, but chances are excellent of a more knowledgeable and amusing one after you've hopped off and gotten back on. Some are extraordinary. Besides, it's the scenery, not the commentary, that makes this so enjoyable. The views from the open air upper decks are sensational. However, if the weather is not beautiful, agree that the money is better spent on taxis.

The Circle Line cruises are fantastic as well - especially the Harbor Lights cruise. Recommend the two hour (goes around the southern half the island and back again) versus the three hour (circles the entire island). We prefer to see the lower half twice. Not much along the upper half, unless you really want a look at Yankee Stadium.

You can also catch a one hour Circle Line cruise from South Street Seaport.

Do you mean visit Ellis Island? This could consume an entire day. There is extra security and a long wait (see the website). To do it justice really requires 3 hours or more. The Circle Line cruises go very close by. For views and photo ops.

For Broadway shows, sign up at Playbill.com, Broadwaybox.com, Theatermania.com, etc. and check out the discounts.

Note that hotels fill up quickly for October and rates are "up there" due to all the visitors and conventions. Recommend shopping like the dickens and booking forthwith.

Tripadvisor.com is an excellent resource for hotel reviews.

In our case, just last weekend, the score for "occasional dud guide" was: 1 excellent guide, 1 that was just OK, and 6 that caused us to hop off, hoping that the next one would be better.

A bit cranky lately, Anonymous?

We hop on the hop on/hop off buses nearly every trip to NYC if the weather is nice, as we just love the fabulous architecture all about. And, the "neighborhoods".

I'd say 1/5 guides is a dud, 1/5 is extraordinary, 2/5 are terrific, 1/5 is so-so.

We know someone who actually switched from walking tours to the hop on/hop off to lend her extraordinary talents to that experience.

PS You know you have a dud when they mention tipping more than once just ahead of the next stop. The better ones mention this in passing - they know they're worthy of "appreciation".

I think you must mean Sue, who is indeed extraordinary. But the guys we encountered last weekend were not. Drivers are delighted when Sue's assigned to them, because it means they'll get plenty of tips -- there are some guides who get almost none. I'm glad that you've gotten only 1/5 duds in the past, but I strongly suspect that this summer's crop of guides just haven't been adequately trained or supervised.

I had forgotten about the "impossible to understand" tour guide on hop on-hop off buses.....Anonymous reminded me that we had NO clue what our guide was saying, what language he /she was speaking, honestly! But we got off at the first stop, poked around a bit, got back on and found a really good guide....and, the Circle Line tour guide was sensational, terrific....we've been on many, many tours and he was right up there with the best of them. Our tour of Lincoln Center was on a Sunday a.m., just five of us on the tour, the docent wonderful, informative, The Met/NY Ballet auditoriums gorgeous, as were all the others, what a fun city!

Try the Broadway Inn (broadwayinn.com) reasonable, but great. See Wicked if you can get tix, or Producers. Take her to the Emppire State Bldg. Go to Chinatown, Little Italy and Southstreet Seaport (all in the same area, with views of the Statue of Liberty!)

Check for special offers on Affinia.com (a hotel chain that owns Murray Hill Suites, and other suite hotels). I've gotten some great deals on that website for Shelburne and the accommodations were very roomy and very reasonable for families.

Regarding the hop-on hop-off bus tours, I would recommend doing this to first time visitors of NYC. It is extremely helpful to get your bearings and allows you to figure out what you REALLY want to see. Having said that, it can be very frustrating if you are trying to get usable information from the majority of the guides.

For those who have already been and know your way around, this may not be the thing for you.

We found that of the 3 tour guides we had, the first one we could not understand, the second one was rude and the third one was down right annoying. He talked constantly about his personal life, soap operas and nothing whatsoever about the sites. This was extremely irritating. When the bus was already a block past a major attraction, he would finally clue in and say "oh and that was such and such at the beginning ot the last block." grrrr. And he reminded us a half a dozen times to tip him, as if we didn't have a clue. We did get off this bus and spent the afternoon in Central Park rather than listening to this idiot. All the riders on this bus were extremely irritated by about 10 minutes into the ride.

The Circle Line 2 hour harbour cruise was amazing. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and explained things that we had wondered about that the bus tour guides did not even touch on. I would highly recommend a Circle Line Cruise.

Some ideas: The Lower East Side Tenement Museum is a really unique and worthwhile experience; and if you're hungry, another one is Katz's Deli at 205 East Houston Street at the corner of Ludlow Street - original New York pastrami and corned beef like you wouldn't believe! 2) In May 2004 when my sister visited, you could purchase tickets to the ferry to Liberty and Ellis Islands at Castle Clinton in Battery Park at least the day beforeyou planned to use them (the tickets are not "date sensitive"). This way, you could buy your tickets at your convenience and then arrive first thing in the morning on a later day to avoid waiting too long. 3) The Staten Island ferry is also an inexpensive way to see the harbor - many tourists use this option. 4) According to broadway.com, their top selling tickets are Wicked, The Lion King, Mama Mia! and The Producers, so if you can't get tickets for the shows you mentioned, might I suggest The Frogs with Nathan Lane - it's currently in previews and opens next week. If Nathan Lane is in it, it's probably good. Have a great time in NYC - we're glad you're coming to visit.

Agree w/ Dave - the Staten Island ferry is a VERY inexpensive way to see the harbor and Statue of Liberty - it's FREE!

Thanks to all who have responded so far. I booked a room at Doubletree - we really like the extra room a suite provides and the location is great.

Now I need to come up with an itinerary. We should arrive at our hotel around 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday night. If we'd like a quick bite to eat is there any suggestion for some place within walking distance that is not a chain? Maybe a Pizza place?

I think we will take the Gray Line tour on Thursday morning - do I need tickets or reservations in advance? If you just make the loop without getting off to get oriented, how long does it take? When is the best time to do the Staten Island Ferry? Do we want to do Staten Island Ferry and a Circle Line Cruise? When should we plan on seeing the Tenement Museum? First afternoon after Grey Line Tours or when we do Staten Island.

I'm going to Playbill.com to look for Lion King and Wicked Tickets. Should we try for Empire State Building at night or in the daytime? I know I have lots of questions - I'm just trying to make the most of such a short time. Three days is not nearly enought time to see all we'd like to see.

I am taking my 17 year old nephew to NYC next week. I booked the New York Helmsley though www.eleisurelink.net for $125 per night ($145.50 w/ tax and fees.) I was able to specify 2 beds, nonsmoking.

I am planning on taking my nephew on the subway to see the different neighborhoods. I have Frommer's Memorable Walks in New York. It is a small book that provide info re: what to see in the different neighborhoods.

We will be going to see DeLaGuarda, Rent and perhaps one other show.

I plan on also taking him to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

We may also stop by the Public Library as it often has wonderful exhibits.

I will let him pick one museum. My guess is he will pick the Natural History Museum.

I will try to remember to post a report when I get back.

May I please ask why people feel obligated to tip a person who is clearly not doing a good job? Tips are for jobs well done, and by tipping inadequate people, you are sending the message that it's okay to be poor quality.