New York, Philladelphia, Niagara Honey Moon
Mar 10th, 2011, 04:05 PM
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New York, Philladelphia, Niagara Honey Moon
Hi,
Im from Costa Rica and I will travel on July to NY... This is our honey moon and we decided to go for something different, so we decided to go to NY.
We will arrive on Monday and will stay there until Thursday. On Thursday we are planning to go to Philadelphia, since U@ will play there =). On Friday we will take a tour to DC and Niagara Falls, 2 night tour.
My concern is.. We will stay in New York from Monday to Wednesday (since on Thursday we will travel to Philly in the morning, so there is no time to be in NY). I would like to know NY as more as we can, so I would like to get some advices about how to do it... How to travel there, is walk on the streets or using the metro.. What is best?
Also, what should be a good itinerary for being 2 days there... I have been looking at some tours. I found an intresting tour (a 10 hours one) that will guide us to the mayor attractions and the whole city, but I am not sure about it, since I believe we will spend much time on a van
http://www.taketours.com/new-york-ny...r-542-377.html
I just want to get some advices for this. I will stay in East Orange in New Jersey so we will take the train every day to Manhattan... I know this is not the best option =(
At philly we will just stay there, maybe walk a little bit... since the U2 concert is at 7:00 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Any advice and itinerary suggestion will be appreciated =)
Im from Costa Rica and I will travel on July to NY... This is our honey moon and we decided to go for something different, so we decided to go to NY.
We will arrive on Monday and will stay there until Thursday. On Thursday we are planning to go to Philadelphia, since U@ will play there =). On Friday we will take a tour to DC and Niagara Falls, 2 night tour.
My concern is.. We will stay in New York from Monday to Wednesday (since on Thursday we will travel to Philly in the morning, so there is no time to be in NY). I would like to know NY as more as we can, so I would like to get some advices about how to do it... How to travel there, is walk on the streets or using the metro.. What is best?
Also, what should be a good itinerary for being 2 days there... I have been looking at some tours. I found an intresting tour (a 10 hours one) that will guide us to the mayor attractions and the whole city, but I am not sure about it, since I believe we will spend much time on a van
http://www.taketours.com/new-york-ny...r-542-377.html
I just want to get some advices for this. I will stay in East Orange in New Jersey so we will take the train every day to Manhattan... I know this is not the best option =(
At philly we will just stay there, maybe walk a little bit... since the U2 concert is at 7:00 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Any advice and itinerary suggestion will be appreciated =)
Mar 10th, 2011, 04:11 PM
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Some things we would like to visit:
Empire State
Top of the Rock
WTC
Wall Street
Liberty Statue
Central Park
Dakota building & Strawberry fields
Times square
5th Ave
Chinatown
Will that be possible in 2 1/2 days?
Also we want to experience the NY street food =)
Empire State
Top of the Rock
WTC
Wall Street
Liberty Statue
Central Park
Dakota building & Strawberry fields
Times square
5th Ave
Chinatown
Will that be possible in 2 1/2 days?
Also we want to experience the NY street food =)
Mar 10th, 2011, 04:30 PM
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josuvarg, you are right that with a tour in New York you will spend a lot of time in the van and not much time seeing the things you want to see.
The Statue of Liberty will take the most time, about 4-6 hours including the security to get on the ferry, the boat ride there, seeing the statues, climbing it, the ferry back etc. Try to buy tickets in advance (online) and do it early in the morning.
In July it is sunny until 8PM so you have a lot of time to go to all the other sites until thatt time,or even later. I think Times Square is best to see even later in the evening when it's dark and you can see all the lights.
With so little time you might have to choose Empire State building OR Top of the Rock, not both. Everything else you can do but try to look at a map of Manhattan so you can do things that are close to gether on the same day and not waste time.
I hope this is a good start for your trip plans!
The Statue of Liberty will take the most time, about 4-6 hours including the security to get on the ferry, the boat ride there, seeing the statues, climbing it, the ferry back etc. Try to buy tickets in advance (online) and do it early in the morning.
In July it is sunny until 8PM so you have a lot of time to go to all the other sites until thatt time,or even later. I think Times Square is best to see even later in the evening when it's dark and you can see all the lights.
With so little time you might have to choose Empire State building OR Top of the Rock, not both. Everything else you can do but try to look at a map of Manhattan so you can do things that are close to gether on the same day and not waste time.
I hope this is a good start for your trip plans!
Mar 11th, 2011, 05:03 AM
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The best way to see NY as a tourist is a 48 hour pass on the double decker busses... there are 3 loops with several stops that you can get off and on and stay as long as you wish... you totally avoid the driving, get a guided tour, and you can skip the site that don't interest you... you can also purchase statue of liberty tickets from them...
one such option is at www.nytours.com have fun!
one such option is at www.nytours.com have fun!
Mar 11th, 2011, 05:04 AM
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"On Friday we will take a tour to DC and Niagara Falls, 2 night tour."
What? Are you saying that on Friday, you will be heading to Niagara Falls and DC for 2 nights total? I wouldnt even just spend 2 nights in DC from NY. And they are in complete opposite directions. I think you need to look at changing this.
What? Are you saying that on Friday, you will be heading to Niagara Falls and DC for 2 nights total? I wouldnt even just spend 2 nights in DC from NY. And they are in complete opposite directions. I think you need to look at changing this.
Mar 11th, 2011, 04:36 PM
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Sorry - but a tour bus is the WORST way to see NYC - you aren;t really seeing the city at all - just sitting in traffic and looking at the outside of buildings. (I often see these buses in my neighborhood and the tourists on top are taking snaps of me and my neighbors going to the bank or the drugstore - very odd. And NOT seeing the city.)
to really see the city you need to get out on the street on your feet (with subway for longer distances).
Th eOP needs to get advance tickets - as early as possible for the Statue of Liberty since the lines, ferries and visit of the statue will take at least 5 hours. Do Top of the Rock vs Empire State - to void waiting in line for hours - and getting views just s good. Visit other areas on foot - and pick a residential area each evening to have dinner. They have tons of sidewalk cafes - all types of food and grat people watching - on the upper west side, Greenwich Village, East Village etc. And you can do shopping - window or real afterwards (in some areas stores stay open until 11 pm or later).
to really see the city you need to get out on the street on your feet (with subway for longer distances).
Th eOP needs to get advance tickets - as early as possible for the Statue of Liberty since the lines, ferries and visit of the statue will take at least 5 hours. Do Top of the Rock vs Empire State - to void waiting in line for hours - and getting views just s good. Visit other areas on foot - and pick a residential area each evening to have dinner. They have tons of sidewalk cafes - all types of food and grat people watching - on the upper west side, Greenwich Village, East Village etc. And you can do shopping - window or real afterwards (in some areas stores stay open until 11 pm or later).
Mar 11th, 2011, 07:49 PM
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nytraveler... sounds like you have never taken the bus tour... you should consider what its like for a tourist from another country to cover all of Manhattan plus parts of the other boroughs without knowledge of public transit... all in a short visit.... not to mention that in July it can be over 100 degrees during the heat of the day... you have the multiple luxury of the time to walk around, the knowledge of where to go, the sense of how to use transit, and the history and color of the City... visitors often do not..
Don't dismiss the tours as a waste... they have hop on and off options at all of the attractions, you don't have to deal with city traffic or transit, and they also sell tour tickets to Ellis and Liberty...
Besides, my favorite vacation treasure is the Photo of YOU and your neighbors going to the Drugstore...
Don't dismiss the tours as a waste... they have hop on and off options at all of the attractions, you don't have to deal with city traffic or transit, and they also sell tour tickets to Ellis and Liberty...
Besides, my favorite vacation treasure is the Photo of YOU and your neighbors going to the Drugstore...
Mar 12th, 2011, 10:42 AM
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Gary -
You CANNOT cover all of Manhattan and parts of the outer boroughs in 2 days. You can drive around in big circles. this is NOT the same as visiting New York - you may as well stay home and watch a very long video.
I have traveled over much of the world and after my first "1/2 day city tour by bus" - in London - I realized what a waste it is. We got off after about 30 minutes - when we drove past the second sight as the guide said - look out the window to the left. Looking out a window is not the same as visiting a place. You need to pick many fewer places and actually visit them. There are a few NYC "sights" you can see in a brief drive through - like Times Square - but to see most of the city you need to walk, go inside and spend some time.
If all you have is 2 days you need to pick 2 or 3 places per day - and see the things you want most. So that you actually see something besides traffic.
You CANNOT cover all of Manhattan and parts of the outer boroughs in 2 days. You can drive around in big circles. this is NOT the same as visiting New York - you may as well stay home and watch a very long video.
I have traveled over much of the world and after my first "1/2 day city tour by bus" - in London - I realized what a waste it is. We got off after about 30 minutes - when we drove past the second sight as the guide said - look out the window to the left. Looking out a window is not the same as visiting a place. You need to pick many fewer places and actually visit them. There are a few NYC "sights" you can see in a brief drive through - like Times Square - but to see most of the city you need to walk, go inside and spend some time.
If all you have is 2 days you need to pick 2 or 3 places per day - and see the things you want most. So that you actually see something besides traffic.
Mar 12th, 2011, 10:44 AM
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Oh -and the reason you took pix of me and neighbors going to the drugstore is not because it's near any major sight - it;s because there are many streets tour buses aren't allowed to use - so they're often stuck on the boring ones.
As for HoHo - another big waste of time. They run every 30 minutes and are often full so you have to wait for another. The regular city bus runs every 5 minutes - and will get you to wherever a lot faster and cheaper.
As for HoHo - another big waste of time. They run every 30 minutes and are often full so you have to wait for another. The regular city bus runs every 5 minutes - and will get you to wherever a lot faster and cheaper.
Mar 12th, 2011, 05:15 PM
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Why in god's name would I drive around NYC in a bus all day? I was born here - I know more than the tour guide and have been to all of the places they show you.
I DID try it - on my first visit to London - and found out how useless the process is versus actually going and seeing something.
I DID try it - on my first visit to London - and found out how useless the process is versus actually going and seeing something.
Mar 12th, 2011, 06:31 PM
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Consider the sights that josuvarg says he wants to see:
Empire State
Top of the Rock
WTC
Wall Street
Liberty Statue
Central Park
Dakota building & Strawberry fields
Times square
5th Ave
Chinatown
They are mostly places that are relatively close together (not very far uptown, no other boroughs) and that involve walking around/through anyway.
However you feel about bus tours, I don't think it makes and sense fo this traveler.
Coming from Costa Rica, NYC heat may not seem so bad, and there are always air conditioned regular city buses to get on and off for a fraction of the cost of the tour buses (and they come much more often and can go exactly where you want, not just in a one way loop)
josuvarg , consider grouping what you want to see something like this
1)Statue of Liberty in the morning/early afternoon
Wall street
WTC
Chinatown
2) Central Park, Dakota, Strawberry Fields
3)Times Square, 5th avenue, Top of the Rock or Empire State building
Since most of the places you mention are just neighborhoods, not places that are only open certain hours, you can spend as much or as little time as you want in each place.
Let us know if you have other things you want to see or if you need suggestions (many people suggest museums or theater )
Empire State
Top of the Rock
WTC
Wall Street
Liberty Statue
Central Park
Dakota building & Strawberry fields
Times square
5th Ave
Chinatown
They are mostly places that are relatively close together (not very far uptown, no other boroughs) and that involve walking around/through anyway.
However you feel about bus tours, I don't think it makes and sense fo this traveler.
Coming from Costa Rica, NYC heat may not seem so bad, and there are always air conditioned regular city buses to get on and off for a fraction of the cost of the tour buses (and they come much more often and can go exactly where you want, not just in a one way loop)
josuvarg , consider grouping what you want to see something like this
1)Statue of Liberty in the morning/early afternoon
Wall street
WTC
Chinatown
2) Central Park, Dakota, Strawberry Fields
3)Times Square, 5th avenue, Top of the Rock or Empire State building
Since most of the places you mention are just neighborhoods, not places that are only open certain hours, you can spend as much or as little time as you want in each place.
Let us know if you have other things you want to see or if you need suggestions (many people suggest museums or theater )
Mar 12th, 2011, 07:48 PM
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Great, thanks for the advices... I was looking most likely for a way to "group" the places.. =) Also, get some recomendations about what to visit, what to avoid...
I got really usefull information, thanks!
I got really usefull information, thanks!
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