NYC For a Day?
 

Having never visited the East Coast in my 59 years, I am finally going back to DC to stay with my sister for 11 days in early Oct. She suggested we allocate one day and one night in New York City. My question is: If you have never seen New York before, is it worth it for just one day? To make matters worse, we are on a budget(don't laugh). I just read the previous article about lodging in NYC and I'm wondering if we should bite the bullet and pay $200-250 for one night or just take the train back to DC? I know there's not much we can see in a day anyway but I thought so long as I'm back there it would be nice to get the "flavor" of it.
Any thoughts?

"bite the bullet" it is so worth it. My husband went to NY on a business trip and we brought our two children. We saw so much in one day. It was exhausting but worth every minute. We stayed in midtown (the Beverly is a nice affordable hotel). We took the subway to battery park and caught the Staten Island ferry across and back. Very cheap and you pass the statue of liberty and get a great view of the city. Leaves plenty of time for more sightseeing. Walked from battery park to financial district and saw NYSE and wall street. Hopped a subway to Washington Square and checked out a bit of that area. Then back on the subway to Empire State building, Macy's, etc. Saw the Library, Rockefeller Center, Tiffany's, St something cathedral and worked our way up to Central Park. Whew.

Have been back once since and saw some museums. Times Square is packed all the time. Great restaraunts, great energy, great city.

Go. Go. Go. You will love it. OK, so you won't be able to see everything, but a taste of NYC is like no other taste! Search for hotel specials. You might be surprised.

If you WANT to go, as they say, just do it! You can get there cheaply on a bus if you want to save money. The bus fare is $35 roundtrip! Here's a website with several different bus cos.
http://www.staticleap.com/chinatownbus/
I've heard Washington Deluxe is good.

Once you get to NYC, take a tour of some type. Either do the hop on/off bus tour (and don't do too much hopping on and off) or do NY party shuttle or Marvelous Manhattan.

Either don't stay over--do a day trip (exhausting but possible) or for one night, do a search in advance on a cheap room. YOu presumably have 10 days from which to pick. Priceline is another option, but they only guarantee a room with 1 bed for 2 people in NYC.

1 day is better than NO day. Manhattan is actually quite compact and you can cover a lot of ground in a day. We do it all the time (we live in upstate NY). It's exhausting but worth it. You'll be amazed how much you can pack in. Try to stay above ground (i.e., not on the subway) if you can manage the walking - wear comfy shoes and you are OFF!

Agreed with everyone else, just go. You haven't been in 59 years, may as well go now.

Poodle... did you realize this post is over one year old?

And Bob (the original poster) also posted within a month of this post, that he was going to New York alone, flying in for three days and staying in a hotel.

geez- I didn't know you weren't allowed to reply to old posts or something! I find it very useful to read other people's postings, for my own reference, so I don't think they really get "aged"- I find the archives very helpful to read. Anyone else think so?

Nobody said you couldn't. Geez. Don't be so sensitive. You were simply asked if you were aware. It might make a difference as to whether you give specific advice to a poster who clearly already did this trip, or whether you're just adding general information for others. Wouldn't it?

But also note, that while you brought the old post up and probably were aware it was "outdated", clearly the next person posting didn't realize it was old, or she wouldn't have been specifically referring to a year old post saying "go now" to that poster