My husband and I spent 6 days in Manhattan last week and I thought I would post a quick trip report as we used much advice from Fodorites in the planning of this trip.
We parked our vehicle at the Newark airport at the Vista lot - paid under $12 a day by reserving in advance on line. They have a very effficient shuttle service to the terminals.
From there, we used the very efficient Newark Liberty Express Shuttle to get into the city. This was $25 per person round trip and was convenient for us as one of the three drop-off points is Grand Central Station, just a short 2 blocks from our hotel.
We stayed at the Helmsley on 42nd Ave. We got a great rate 6 mos ago through Expedia - $175 per night - and the hotel was great. Clean rooms, very comfortable bed, friendly staff, convenient location - all good.
I am a great walker but my DH tires more easily so we got a three-day ticket on the Grey Line hop-on hop-off bus. Did the Uptown Loop on day one, the Downtown Loop on day two and were so frustrated with it by day three that we just used it for quick transportation and skipped the various other loops and services. We found it very busy, very slow and very tedious. One guide was great, two others were not so great. And the routes taken were not so interesting.
We bought New York Passes online before we left and used these for all activities. Not sure that they were worth it in the end but I like them because they eliminate that discussion about whether we really want to pay +$25 to see various sights. We used it for:
- the Circle Line Harbour Lights Cruise (wonderful cruise, good guide, much more pleasant in the evening than at the peak of the heat during the day...),
- the Empire State Bldg (despite taking the advice of posters here and going at 9 p.m., we waited in line for a tremendous amount of time and, although the view was spectacular, we were sharing it with a huge crowd of people and dreading the long waits to get down...),
- the awesome Bodies Exhibition at the South Side Seaport (although it is a little creepy at first when you realize that these displays are real cadavars, it was fascinating...and, best of all, no lines and cool dark air conditionned building...),
- the On Location TV and Movie Tour (this was a great 3.5 hour tour of various tv and movie locations throughout the city - wonderful guide, very entertaining presentation, very comfortable air conditionned motor coach with some opportunities to get out and walk around at sites - and, best of all, a better glimpse at intersting areas in various neighbourhoods than the hop-on hop-off tour),
- MOMA (spent a couple of very enjoyable hours on the paintings and sculpture floors and had a wonderful lunch at the Tuscan cafeteria - did I mention that this is nicely air conditionned too?),
- the Met (again, just spent a few hours here in the Egyptian and Asian collections and had a nice lunch in the cafeteria - although this cafeteria was not as nice as the one at MOMA).
We downloaded a Broadway Box 50% off coupon for The 39 Steps and thoroughly enjoyed this play. Very clever and funny. We also spent a wonderful evening in Central Park at the Delacorte Theatre taking in the free production of Hair. Very fun. Tickets are handed out at the theatre each day that the show is running, starting at 1 p.m. I don't know if we were just lucky, but we arrived shortly after 1 p.m. to a lineup of maybe 10 people and were able to get tickets after waiting for just a minute or two(not together, but hey, they were free!)
We did not make reserations early enough in advance for many restaurants so missed out on dinner at Las Esquinas and at the Boathouse in Central Park. But we did enjoy:
- breakfast at Ellen's Stardust Diner - very talented wait staff and the food was quite good - very generous portions for pretty reasonable prices,
- a picnic in Central Park with food taken away from the Grand Central Station Dining Councourse and Market,
- dinner at Rockfeller Plaza at the open air restaurant on what is the ice surface in the winter - very lovely on a balmy summer evening and the food was very good. The three-course menu for Restaurant Week was very reasonably priced at just $35, and included a great steak,
- dinner at Virgil's BBQ, just off of Times Square - ordered the mixed appetizer platter and it was great, but next time I will order the ribs!
- dinner at Balthazar - duck confit on wild mushrooms was very nice and the prices were reasonable although the wine list was very pricey.
We did a little shopping at Macy's and Century 21, but I found the whole experience to be overhwelming and was unable to actually buy anything.
All in all, a great trip - although next time we go, we will probably choose to go at a time when the weather is more reasonable. Those in the know are not kidding when they say that NYC is a hot, humid, stinky city in July...but there are lots of strategies to deal with this, including leaving your walking and other outdoor activities for later in the day when the sun is lower.
We parked our vehicle at the Newark airport at the Vista lot - paid under $12 a day by reserving in advance on line. They have a very effficient shuttle service to the terminals.
From there, we used the very efficient Newark Liberty Express Shuttle to get into the city. This was $25 per person round trip and was convenient for us as one of the three drop-off points is Grand Central Station, just a short 2 blocks from our hotel.
We stayed at the Helmsley on 42nd Ave. We got a great rate 6 mos ago through Expedia - $175 per night - and the hotel was great. Clean rooms, very comfortable bed, friendly staff, convenient location - all good.
I am a great walker but my DH tires more easily so we got a three-day ticket on the Grey Line hop-on hop-off bus. Did the Uptown Loop on day one, the Downtown Loop on day two and were so frustrated with it by day three that we just used it for quick transportation and skipped the various other loops and services. We found it very busy, very slow and very tedious. One guide was great, two others were not so great. And the routes taken were not so interesting.
We bought New York Passes online before we left and used these for all activities. Not sure that they were worth it in the end but I like them because they eliminate that discussion about whether we really want to pay +$25 to see various sights. We used it for:
- the Circle Line Harbour Lights Cruise (wonderful cruise, good guide, much more pleasant in the evening than at the peak of the heat during the day...),
- the Empire State Bldg (despite taking the advice of posters here and going at 9 p.m., we waited in line for a tremendous amount of time and, although the view was spectacular, we were sharing it with a huge crowd of people and dreading the long waits to get down...),
- the awesome Bodies Exhibition at the South Side Seaport (although it is a little creepy at first when you realize that these displays are real cadavars, it was fascinating...and, best of all, no lines and cool dark air conditionned building...),
- the On Location TV and Movie Tour (this was a great 3.5 hour tour of various tv and movie locations throughout the city - wonderful guide, very entertaining presentation, very comfortable air conditionned motor coach with some opportunities to get out and walk around at sites - and, best of all, a better glimpse at intersting areas in various neighbourhoods than the hop-on hop-off tour),
- MOMA (spent a couple of very enjoyable hours on the paintings and sculpture floors and had a wonderful lunch at the Tuscan cafeteria - did I mention that this is nicely air conditionned too?),
- the Met (again, just spent a few hours here in the Egyptian and Asian collections and had a nice lunch in the cafeteria - although this cafeteria was not as nice as the one at MOMA).
We downloaded a Broadway Box 50% off coupon for The 39 Steps and thoroughly enjoyed this play. Very clever and funny. We also spent a wonderful evening in Central Park at the Delacorte Theatre taking in the free production of Hair. Very fun. Tickets are handed out at the theatre each day that the show is running, starting at 1 p.m. I don't know if we were just lucky, but we arrived shortly after 1 p.m. to a lineup of maybe 10 people and were able to get tickets after waiting for just a minute or two(not together, but hey, they were free!)
We did not make reserations early enough in advance for many restaurants so missed out on dinner at Las Esquinas and at the Boathouse in Central Park. But we did enjoy:
- breakfast at Ellen's Stardust Diner - very talented wait staff and the food was quite good - very generous portions for pretty reasonable prices,
- a picnic in Central Park with food taken away from the Grand Central Station Dining Councourse and Market,
- dinner at Rockfeller Plaza at the open air restaurant on what is the ice surface in the winter - very lovely on a balmy summer evening and the food was very good. The three-course menu for Restaurant Week was very reasonably priced at just $35, and included a great steak,
- dinner at Virgil's BBQ, just off of Times Square - ordered the mixed appetizer platter and it was great, but next time I will order the ribs!
- dinner at Balthazar - duck confit on wild mushrooms was very nice and the prices were reasonable although the wine list was very pricey.
We did a little shopping at Macy's and Century 21, but I found the whole experience to be overhwelming and was unable to actually buy anything.
All in all, a great trip - although next time we go, we will probably choose to go at a time when the weather is more reasonable. Those in the know are not kidding when they say that NYC is a hot, humid, stinky city in July...but there are lots of strategies to deal with this, including leaving your walking and other outdoor activities for later in the day when the sun is lower.
Glad yu liked the city.
Many people agree with yuou about the hop on/off buses - esp in the summer. (One of the resons they don;t get into some of the cuter neighborhodds is that they've been banned - too many comlaints from locals about strangers on the top of the bus peering into their apartment windows.)
Frankly you're better off with feet for shorter distances and subway (MUCH faster than any bus sitting in traffic) for longer ones.
Many people agree with yuou about the hop on/off buses - esp in the summer. (One of the resons they don;t get into some of the cuter neighborhodds is that they've been banned - too many comlaints from locals about strangers on the top of the bus peering into their apartment windows.)
Frankly you're better off with feet for shorter distances and subway (MUCH faster than any bus sitting in traffic) for longer ones.
We're heading to NYC for our 40th and you report was great.2 questions---what was the name of the restaurant of Rock Center on the ice,and do you recall if Circle Line will let you bring food and/or drink onto the boat.We'd like to bring some wine--if not do they sell wine etc.thanks bob
Very much doubt Circle Line will let you bring wine onto the boat - and I'm sure they don;t sell any - this is a massive ferry with hundreds of people and the last thing they want is someone drinking on board..
Also - NYC has laws about drinking in public - or even carrying open containers. You can usully get away with it -if you're subtle - at a picnic in the park - but liquor on the streets isn;t allowed.
Also - NYC has laws about drinking in public - or even carrying open containers. You can usully get away with it -if you're subtle - at a picnic in the park - but liquor on the streets isn;t allowed.
