New York in one night with a car... Crazy?
Oct 2nd, 2006, 12:05 PM
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New York in one night with a car... Crazy?
I live in the midwest and have traveled all over the US and Europe, but for some reason have never been in NYC. Can't explain it...
I'm flying into Newark tomorrow afternoon. I have business meeting in South Plainfield, NJ on Wednesday morning. How crazy would it be to drive into Manhatten for a night?
I'll leave EWR with a rental car. Is there any good place I can drive a into Manhatten (at rush hour), park a car, and walk around to just take in a little bit of the town?
I'm flying into Newark tomorrow afternoon. I have business meeting in South Plainfield, NJ on Wednesday morning. How crazy would it be to drive into Manhatten for a night?
I'll leave EWR with a rental car. Is there any good place I can drive a into Manhatten (at rush hour), park a car, and walk around to just take in a little bit of the town?
Oct 2nd, 2006, 12:10 PM
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It wouldn't be crazy at all! Newark is geogrpahically very close to ManhattAn, but the travel time varies quite a bit depending on the time of day.
I'll leave it up to others on this board to tell you about parking garages, but I usually park on the street. I wouldn't advocate this for one night.
Do you have a neighborhood in mind that you'd like to see? Times Square, Downtown, Chinatown, etc? Do you have any special requests for dinner - NY slice or gourmet?
I'll leave it up to others on this board to tell you about parking garages, but I usually park on the street. I wouldn't advocate this for one night.
Do you have a neighborhood in mind that you'd like to see? Times Square, Downtown, Chinatown, etc? Do you have any special requests for dinner - NY slice or gourmet?
Oct 2nd, 2006, 12:44 PM
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Thanks for the quick replies.
Leaving a car at EWR sounds like the smartest option, and I'll take transit in. Any recommendations for 4 to 6 hours of touring? I normally enjoy a nice sit down dinner, but I think were working with "NY slice" with my time frame.
Leaving a car at EWR sounds like the smartest option, and I'll take transit in. Any recommendations for 4 to 6 hours of touring? I normally enjoy a nice sit down dinner, but I think were working with "NY slice" with my time frame.
Oct 2nd, 2006, 01:07 PM
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For starters I would recommend that you go to The Top of The Rock, and stroll down Fifth Ave. Other than that I suggest you walk through Times Square, although it will be packed with people and most NYers hate it there. You can drive in and park at a parking garage.
Oct 2nd, 2006, 01:16 PM
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You'll come into Penn Station if you take hte Air Train, into the Port Authority if you take the bus (either works, though at that time of night, the Airtrain will be faster, of course).
Buy a $7 one-day Funpass from one of the machines in a subway station, and you can take as many subway rides as you wish; you'll probably be taking at least 3 or 4, so it's worth it for the convenience, even if you end up losing a dollar on the deal.
If you can get into town by 5 or 5:30, then I'd suggest you head straight to Central Park (just go to Columbus Circle and walk around for an hour)---though the more interesting side is the east side ... you could walk up as far as the zoo.
Then walk down Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center (at 47th Street). This will take about 15 or 20 minutes at a leisurely pace at that time fo the day. Look at the windows of Bergdorf, Harry Winsston, and Tiffany on the way. Buy a ticket for the Top of the Rock and see the view right around dusk --- the skyline is amazing; take in the rest of Rockefeller Center while you wait for your appointment. Then walk around, see the Today Show set and head somewhere for dinner.
If you make reservations, you can easily get into a decent restaurant in Midtown (I like Vice Versa at 325 West 51st). There's a good $35 prix-fixe that is a good deal, and the food is good. But shoot for an 7:30pm reservation.
After dinner, you might consider going downtown on the subway to Union Square and then walk around the Village. It's nice at night and very busy. Or if you want to see Ground Zero, then hop on the subway and go down there.
You still have time to take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry and be back by 11 if you want. And then you can take a late train or bus back to Newark and be there by midnight.
It's supposed to be beautiful and warm tomorrow night, so get out and walk as much asy ou want. You can just stick around Times Square and get a good dose of the business of Manhattan.
Buy a $7 one-day Funpass from one of the machines in a subway station, and you can take as many subway rides as you wish; you'll probably be taking at least 3 or 4, so it's worth it for the convenience, even if you end up losing a dollar on the deal.
If you can get into town by 5 or 5:30, then I'd suggest you head straight to Central Park (just go to Columbus Circle and walk around for an hour)---though the more interesting side is the east side ... you could walk up as far as the zoo.
Then walk down Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center (at 47th Street). This will take about 15 or 20 minutes at a leisurely pace at that time fo the day. Look at the windows of Bergdorf, Harry Winsston, and Tiffany on the way. Buy a ticket for the Top of the Rock and see the view right around dusk --- the skyline is amazing; take in the rest of Rockefeller Center while you wait for your appointment. Then walk around, see the Today Show set and head somewhere for dinner.
If you make reservations, you can easily get into a decent restaurant in Midtown (I like Vice Versa at 325 West 51st). There's a good $35 prix-fixe that is a good deal, and the food is good. But shoot for an 7:30pm reservation.
After dinner, you might consider going downtown on the subway to Union Square and then walk around the Village. It's nice at night and very busy. Or if you want to see Ground Zero, then hop on the subway and go down there.
You still have time to take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry and be back by 11 if you want. And then you can take a late train or bus back to Newark and be there by midnight.
It's supposed to be beautiful and warm tomorrow night, so get out and walk as much asy ou want. You can just stick around Times Square and get a good dose of the business of Manhattan.
Oct 2nd, 2006, 01:32 PM
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Thanks for all the great suggestions. I think I've got a plan put together.
This site is great! People respond so quickly. I'm usually on the Europe board because I enjoy all the trips reports, but I'll check the US one more often for future business trips. Thanks again.
This site is great! People respond so quickly. I'm usually on the Europe board because I enjoy all the trips reports, but I'll check the US one more often for future business trips. Thanks again.
Oct 4th, 2006, 02:31 PM
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Trip report
I arrived in Newark just before 5pm, but still decided to drive my rental car into NYC. I knew it would be more of a hassle trying to park at rush hour, but I rationalized it would save time when I left town.
The Lincoln Tunnel took about 40 minutes from where I hit traffic until when I arrived on the otherside. People didn't look too stressed as I waited so I'm guessing that was pretty normal experience. I went with Susie and Doug's suggestion of Midtown as the focus of my three hour tour. Before arrving I went to the Rockefeller Center website. They had good directions in and where to park, but left out one key detail - You can't make a left turn from 42nd St onto the Avenue of Americas (6th) as suggested. Thankfully I was pretty relaxed and expecting a little chaos so it didn't phase me too much. I think I had to go all the way down to 2nd or 3rd before I could get left. At this point I knew it would be fruitless to try and back track to my planned arrival point. So I got close enough and parked on the street near 51st and Madison. The metered parking is easy, and I didn't want to stick my car in a ramp and let someone else park it. I'm used to parking my own car.
I finally set out on foot around 6:30pm. I walk down 5th Ave towards Central Park. I thought to myself lucky that my DW wasn't with me as I passed all these stores. It could have cost me a fortune. When I reached Central Park it was close to dark, but I still walked around. Its such a cool experience to go from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan (w/ temps in the 80's), and only walk a little ways into the Park to find it practically quiet and seemingly cool. Wish it was still light out.
From the Park I walked south on 6th towards Rockefeller Center so I could go up to the Top of the Rock. Though $18 for an elevator ride up seemed expensive, but whatever. The views from up top were great. This time I wished my DW was with me.
After Rockefeller Center I just wandered around - the Today Show set, Fox News, Times Square, and other things. No earth shaking discoveries but I really enjoyed seeing some sights in person and visualizing where things are after so many years of seeing them on TV and movies. I left Manhattan about 3 hours after I arrived. The drive out was real easy. Pretty quick slice of NY but I'n glad I made the effort.
I arrived in Newark just before 5pm, but still decided to drive my rental car into NYC. I knew it would be more of a hassle trying to park at rush hour, but I rationalized it would save time when I left town.
The Lincoln Tunnel took about 40 minutes from where I hit traffic until when I arrived on the otherside. People didn't look too stressed as I waited so I'm guessing that was pretty normal experience. I went with Susie and Doug's suggestion of Midtown as the focus of my three hour tour. Before arrving I went to the Rockefeller Center website. They had good directions in and where to park, but left out one key detail - You can't make a left turn from 42nd St onto the Avenue of Americas (6th) as suggested. Thankfully I was pretty relaxed and expecting a little chaos so it didn't phase me too much. I think I had to go all the way down to 2nd or 3rd before I could get left. At this point I knew it would be fruitless to try and back track to my planned arrival point. So I got close enough and parked on the street near 51st and Madison. The metered parking is easy, and I didn't want to stick my car in a ramp and let someone else park it. I'm used to parking my own car.
I finally set out on foot around 6:30pm. I walk down 5th Ave towards Central Park. I thought to myself lucky that my DW wasn't with me as I passed all these stores. It could have cost me a fortune. When I reached Central Park it was close to dark, but I still walked around. Its such a cool experience to go from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan (w/ temps in the 80's), and only walk a little ways into the Park to find it practically quiet and seemingly cool. Wish it was still light out.
From the Park I walked south on 6th towards Rockefeller Center so I could go up to the Top of the Rock. Though $18 for an elevator ride up seemed expensive, but whatever. The views from up top were great. This time I wished my DW was with me.
After Rockefeller Center I just wandered around - the Today Show set, Fox News, Times Square, and other things. No earth shaking discoveries but I really enjoyed seeing some sights in person and visualizing where things are after so many years of seeing them on TV and movies. I left Manhattan about 3 hours after I arrived. The drive out was real easy. Pretty quick slice of NY but I'n glad I made the effort.
