NYC In One Day
 

My DH and I, along with another couple, are taking a cruise out of Cape Liberty, NJ on Sept. 8, 2013. We are flying in to Newark on the 6th & will be staying there. We would like to take a tour on Saturday the 7th, preferably a combination of transport and walking. Our number one thing is the 9/11 memorial, but would like to see some other sights as well. We are all 70ish but in good health so walking should not be a problem. We don't want to just drive by on a bus. I realize that getting into NYC from NJ will probably be our biggest problem. Any suggestions. We will probably come back to NYC at a later date so we do not need to see "everything".

If you can tell us where exactly you will be staying, we can better advise you about transportation. For example, it might be straightforward for you to taxi from your hotel to Newark Penn Station and then take the PATH train from there to the World Trade Center station. Then you could tour the memorial on your own--you would need to reserve a time at the memorial.

New York is one of those places where just being there is an amazing experience, but one day is way too short. Regardless, you'll want to have some time to just stroll a bit, along times Square, mid-town, etc. I think Ground Zero is a great stop so glad you're going there. Ellis Island is a great tour as well, especially if you have had ancestors go through there. I also try to never miss a Broadway show when I'm in the City.

If I can manage to get in a Yankees or Mets game, I will as I love baseball. Though in all honesty, for one day, I probably wouldn't waste it watching a baseball game.

Since your time is limited, I'd just spend the money on a taxi getting around the city. NYC is a great town. Have fun!

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are still not open due to damage to the ferry docks from superstorm Sandy. In any case - this visit would take at least 5 hours even if it were available.

If it were me I would take the free Staten Island ferry back and forth cross the harbor (about 1.5 hours) and then just hop the subway to wherever you want to go.

If you tell us your hotel we can give you advice on best way to get into Manhattan.

There's a "company" that runs great tours that you can take and some can be free if you so choose. This "company" has been so successful that it has expanded to several major cities. I've only taken a couple of their tours in NY but they were great.

http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/new-york-tours/

I took the one now-named "SoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown" which was 6 hours, mostly by foot, tour of Lower Manhattan. It'll probably be the one you would want to do or else you could opt for one of the shorter two-hour tours. These are really great intros to NY.

For transportation from the NJ side into Manhattan, I second ellenem's suggestion of the PATH train, provided you are close to one of its stations. On a weekend you should also check the schedule as the PATH trains don't run as often on the weekends as it does on the weekdays. Here's the PATH train website:

http://www.panynj.gov/path/maps-schedules.html

Onboardtours.com doesan overview tour for a day.

Thank you all who replied. Sorry it has taken so long to answer. We are staying at the Hilton Penn Station in Newark and taking the PATH train into NYC - then using the subway and taxi to get around. We will go in on Fri afternoon since our plane gets in on Fri morn and do some walking around the city. Then on Sat we are taking a tour with OnBoard Tours with the 911 memorial included in the tour. We are looking forward to seeing a little bit of the city.