I am thinking about ordering the Streetwise Manhattan map off of Amazon. Do you recommend that I buy this map before coming to NY?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1886705976/sr
Thanks

I recommend that you buy a map before you get to NYC. Whether that's the best, I don't know. If you have a large bookstore (Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc) near your home, they may carry a selection that you can actually look at and choose your favorite.

I looked and they didn't carry any in store for NY. Thanks, someone else recommended this one, so I'll go with it.

I think the Streetwise maps are very good. They show landmarks, are easy to read, easy to fold and are laminated.

Joel, poster emd just got back from a trip to NYC and she wrote in her trip report:

"Another thing I should have put in the report: Before this trip I finally found the VERY BEST travel map pf NYC I have ever seen (and I've looked at them and had many over the years). It is the vandam. map. I got mine at Barnes and Nobles for $7.95. It is laminated and folds four times to the size of a business letter envelope, very thim, but when you unfold it it has all the streets and neighborhoods in Manhattan and the street names are big enough to read without my glasses! Also has a subway map superimposed on the street map, and a separate subway map also. GREAT purse size map."

Yes, as mclaurie said, I have traveled to NYC many many times and finally found the vandam map. After having numerous paper maps that smudge and have no substance in your hand when it is raining or just under normal conditions, and having maps that have writing way too small to read, I finally found what I think is close to the perfect map. It has all major streets, you can read the writing without a magnifying glass (or in my case my readingglasses if I put it two feet away from my eyes). It is the perfect size- not so small and thick like soem of the ones that fold up too many times. It has major sites on it (w/a legend) and an additonal subway map (although subways are also superimposed on the regular map, and they did this in such a way as not to make the map too "busy" looking). I love this map!

p.s. I looked at the streetwise map of NYC at the bookstore as I shopped for a new map for my most recent trip, and I thought it was too "busy" for me, too much on the map and it made it unreadable. It is more detailed than the vandam map, but vandam is detailed enough IMO.

EMD, Is it the NYC Pocket City Guide w/ fold out map? Let's Go Pocket City Guide?

The one I have is the vanDam. "StreetSmart Manhattan NYC"- it has a picture of the statue of liberty on front and the statue has a map superimposed on it

See interactive pictures of this map, and order it, at :

http://www.vandam.com/shopflash/streetsmart_a.htm

Their site is a bit confusing when you go to buy the streetwise map I have. on the order page they have "Streetwise" and then under that you can buy either a NYC downtown, NYC Midtown, or a "streetsmart mini NYC." I am not really sure whihc of thos eis mine because mine says "streetsmart NYC Manhattan" on the front. But you could easily call vandam and ask which one this corresponds to on the order page. Their number is on the website, 212-929-0416, or email them at: [email protected]

Thank you for you help!

You're welcome. There are so many unwieldy and impractical NYC maps (and I have so many of them) but I think you'll be happy w/this one.

We got and used that same map from Amazon. I loved it, and thought it was really helpful.

I also ordered a map of Central park before we left, which I was SO glad I did. I never saw a kiosk with maps until we were *leaving* the park.