Hello,
My husband and I will be arriving Dec. 18th and we are soooooo excited. We have some questions regarding our planned itinerary - any advice is appreciated.

Sunday - Arrive at Newark at 9:50 am
Check into Grand Hyatt
Take Big Onion Walking Tour of Little Italy/Chinatown - this leaves at 1:00 from in front of Olympic Diner - can we make it here in time?
Lunch at olympic Diner
Holiday Lights Bus Tour at 6:00pm
Top of the Rock at 10:00pm

Monday - Go to Central Park - we will not be taking a horse and carriage ride as I had originally planned (I have read to many bad things). Are the bike tours still available in December?
Explore Grand Central Station - go to Holiday Fair and have lunch at Juniors - do I need to make reservations for lunch?
Early dinner at Joe Allen or should we do dinner after the theatre?
8:00pm - Wicked play

Tuesday - Greenwich Village - lunch at Palma
Times Square - St. Patrick's Cathedral
Leave for Airport - our plane leaves out of LGA at 10:00pm - what time do you recommend that we leave for the airport -we were thinking 5:00pm?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

No need to make a reservation for lunch at Juniors. I have to admit, I'm not even sure they take reservations.

I have never heard of Olympic Diner ( where and what is it?) but it sounds as if it is a regular Greek diner/coffee shop. Why not have lunch in a Chinese place in Chinatown if you will be in that area..much more interesting and delicious!!

I would rearrange Tuesday. You don;t need to "see" Times Square - since you'll be doing a play you'll see it at night - the daytime view is boring in comparison.

I would spend Tuesday afternoon at the Met or MOMA - or one of the other museums. As it is you're visiting one of the historical/cultural capitols of the world - and not seeing/doing very much in the way of intellectual stimulation.

And am not sure the whole morning in Central Park is a great idea. You may catch a warm day - but temps have been below normal so far - and we've already had 9" of snow. So a really pretty day is not probable.

I was curious about this Olympic Diner, and according to the Big Onion web site it's the Lower East Side tour that leaves from there. That's the one you want, right? Anyway, I suggest eating at Katz's deli since you'll be on the Lower East Side. And yes, I think you'll have time to get to the tour after a 10 am flight.

I don't know about bike tours being available in Central Park, but it sounds chilly. I'd suggest figuring out what you want to see in the park and walking in that area. Have a backup plan if the weather's bad.

I agree w/ NYtraveler that a museum or two would be a good addition. Lots of special exhibits in town at the moment: Darwin, Russia, spiritualist photos, Van Gogh drawings. If you don't want to do a huge museum, the Frick is a good choice. World-class art, but not overwhelming.

Here are my thoughts, in no particular order:

1. I doubt you'll be able to check into the Hyatt that early. You might check to see if they will check your baggage since you will be a guest.

2. I've done that Big Onion tour and it's great! But the Olympic Diner is nothing special -- just a regular diner in the area. I second Katz's or somewhere in Chinatown for dim sum.

3. I don't think you can do bike tours in Dec. Why not walk through the Park up to the Metropolitan museum and explore it then?

4. After lunch at Junior's, I doubt you'll want an early dinner. They don't take reservations, but I was surprised to see how many people were there last Friday at lunchtime. There are other good choices there, so you might plan to be flexible.

5. I agree that you won't need a special trip for Times Square after seeing a show. How about visiting St. Patrick's, Rockefeller Center and then shopping up 5th Ave?

I like everyone's suggestions, especially having lunch at Katz's deli, nothing like a hot corned beef or pastrami sandwich in this cool weather.

A comment on the flight time, you would not need to leave any earlier than 7:00 p.m. for a 10:00 p.m flight out of LaGuardia. If you leave at 5:00 you'll be in the middle of rush hour, at 7:00 it should take no more than an hour to get there, even w/traffic, which would give you plenty of time to catch a 10 pm flight. Just leave your bags with the hotel when you check out.

Thank you for all the great suggestions. John_Rambow - yes, that is the Olympic Diner I was talking about. I will plan on going to the MET on Monday after Central Park and I will also change Tuesday to include some shopping. I really want to photograph Bethesda Terrace, the Bow Bridge and Wollman Rink in Central Park - what would be the best place for us to enter the park? Thanks again.

I'm pretty sure the Met is closed on Mondays except for Monday holidays.

Thank you again for all your help.

We have changed our plans for Sunday and Tuesday. On Sunday, we don't want to have to rush to get to the walking tour so we are going to cancel that. Instead, we were thinking of either heading to Top of the Rock early and then do some shopping or going to explore Little Italy and have lunch there. Is Top of the Rock better in day light or in the evening?

Can you recommend any restaurants in Little Italy?

Thanks again.