SuperOlie

HI Everyone,

I did some research on the postings on this forum and would love it if I could get your input in the best way to arrange my 2 day itinarary during our visit to NYC. We bought the NYC passes for 2 days. Below are the activities we would like to do. Would you please let us know the best way to organize our day so that if we are close to one attraction we would just go to that one next etc? Our means of transportation would be the trains... Thank you in advance!! I also have the FODOR's ny book i see that it shows each section of each district but most of these fall in Manhattan and i just wanted what is the best way to fit it all in?

Statue of Liberty/ Ellis Island
Ground Zero
Empire State
Top of the Rock
The Met
Central Park (biking)
Brooklyn
Circle Line Curise
Madison Square Garden
Coney Island
NBC Studio tours

Any help would be great if you could group which ones to go see on which day? I know statue and ground zero are clsoe together.. im blurry about the rest.

vjpblovesitaly

Have you looked at a map? What do you mean by "Ground Zero?" The 9/11 Memorial?

SuperOlie

Hi,

yes i have the Fodor's book as well as the New york City passes guide book that tells me which attractions are near each other etc... but i just wanted to know whats the best game plan if time is not our side... I.e. First thing Statue liberty than Ground zero.. or NBC tours and then Top of the rock etc? I have 2 days to do the above...

yes Ground zero i mean 911 memorial.

Any help would be appreciated! i feel a lil overwhelmed as some of the maps from different guide books contradict each other..

SuperOlie

*by above, I mean my first list posted.

Aduchamp1

With two days I would skip Brooklyn.

There is the downtown stuff which includes the Trade Center and then you can take the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue. If you do this night, the view of Manhattan is spectacular as you approach it on the return trip from Staten Island and you will save a lot of money from not going on the Circle Line.

The other day is the Met Museum and Central Park and the TOTR.

doug_stallings

The one thing I notice is that you don't have many NYC Pass attractions on your list. Unless you pack in the museums, you aren't going to see enough in 2 days to justify the price. I"m really sorry to say that the pass is a particularly bad buy unless you plan to do all the big-ticket museums, of which you have none on your list. Sadly, the pass is really expensive, doesn't save you much time, and is only worthwhile for much longer visits (and then only when it's on sale). But with passes in hand, see if there are any expensive museums that interest you.

Statue of LIberty/Ellis Island: This is no less than 4 or 5 hours, and the Statue is closed. Unless Ellis Island is on your must-see list, you can do the entire thing in 1 hour for free by taking the Staten Island Ferry for a pass-by. Or you can wait and see the Statue on your Circle Line cruise. If you want to see the National 9/11 Memorial, get a timed ticket in advance and do it immediately after whichever ferry you choose to take (Statue or Staten Island).

Skip Brooklyn but walk halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge and back for a total of no more than 45 minutes. Do this immediately after the National 9/11 Memorial or before if it's hot and you want to do more strenuous activities early in the day.

Don't do both Top of the Rock and Empire State Building. The latter takes 2 or 3 times as much time as the former, so I'd choose Top of the Rock.

doug_stallings

I should add ... SKIP Coney Island. It takes over an hour to get there on the subway (often more). So that's 3 hours in just travel time. Unless you really want to see the Aquarium, which is the only big attraction out there. There's the original Nathan's, but it now serves the same awful food that they serve at any fast-food Nathan's in Manhattan.

ThomasSchwarzmann

Don't forget NYC is famous for neighborhoods and eateries, which you might look into - the Guggenheim Museum and the High Line and the Hudson River Pardway/walkway and Lincoln Center and United Nations and Grand Central Station, etc...

nytraveler

A couple of notes;

the Satue of Liberty is closed until the end of the year and even if you want to just go to Liberty Island you have ot get (far in) advance tickets from the Naitonal park Service. this makes sense only if you are doing th Ellis Island Immigration Museum - which is brilliant - bu will take about 5 hours including ferries back and forth.

You can;t see Brooklyn - it's a borough (county) of NYC with more than 2 million residents. You would need to pick exactly want you must see - and IMHO I can't think of anything during such a short trip.

Do not do the ESB -lines are horrendous (and no, the pass doesn;t get you to the top). Top of the Rock is mush faster, more convenient and IMHO better views.

Riding a bike in Central Park is fine - but you can see only limited areas from the few roads. In NYC adults can;t ride on sidewalks or park pathways and you'll miss a lot.

there is noting to see in MadisonSquare Garden unless you are going to a game there.

And please do NOT say Ground Zero. This is very offensive to locals who lost family or friends there. It's the 9/11 memorial.

As for Coney island it's a long trip - more than an hour from midtown on the subway and is very old-fashioned and Honky Tonk. There is a beach - but if the weather is decent it will be totally covered with blankets and umbrellas.

And agree that you have left little time to explore any of the neighborhoods. I strongly suggest you have some lunches or dinners in sidewalk cafes (there are hundreds) in residential areas - just to enjoy the street life - and perhaps see "someone". Try the upper west side, village, est village or chelsea./SoHo.