Daughter and I fly in to Newark late Thurs p.m. in July (10:30 ish), tix to "Nine" Friday night, and fly out VERY EARLY from Newark Sunday morning (6 a.m.). Plan to stay in Newark Saturday night after a matinee to catch early flight. Thursday and Friday nights unsure - is it worth it to head into Manhattan Thursday night late (how best to get there??--last time took Olympia Bus to Port Authority and walked up to 48th and 8th to the Belvedere --not sure about doing that late on a Thursday night though), OR just simply stay in Newark Thursday night near airport and head over to the city in the a.m.? I'm not very experienced in dealing with cabs.... what would you do with your 20-yr old daughter with you?

On Thursday night, I would stay in Manhattan. Being that you are getting in late, take a taxi.

I just saw Nine. It was okay, not my favorite, but the individual performances were outstanding. It was the story that didn't intrigue me. Antonio looks great!

Consider just staying the whole time in Manhattan - if you are staying in Newark because of time issues (you want to be closer to the airport, so you don't have to get up very early on sunday am) you are really only shaving off about 15 minutes for travel time. At 5:00am the time it will take you to get from a Midtown Hotel to Newark is 15-20 minutes tops. I would suggest getting car service on sunday morning from a manhattan hotel to the airport, then you won't have to mess with cabs. But again at 5am cabs ain't so hard to find. Take a cab from the airport to hotel on thursday - it will be a flat fare into Manhattan and the cab attendant will give you a ticket which will tell you exactly how much it will cost plus tolls and tip.

Give your daughter 2 instant cameras to take photos. Take a cab into Manhattan Thursday night. Flat Fee plus tip for cab ride. Door to Door service. Thursday night in NYC is a fun night. Walk around Times Square (it will be crowded) or get to bed early so you can wake up early.

Leave your hotel around 8 am Friday morning with comfortable shoes on your feet, take a subway downtown
(free map at any subway station - ask token clerk) or get map of city online at http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/index.html )

Purchase metrocard. Take the subway to the World Trade Center site. Cross Street. Spend no more than an hour to an hour and a half at "Century 21" (a huge discounted department store). Walk up Broadway to City Hall. Behind City Hall is Chambers Street. Very briefly, stop in the lobby of the Surrogate Court House on 31 Chambers Street - Beautiful! (it is the location of many film and magazine shoots) Continue on, up Centre Street, pass the Municipal Building on your right(also a famous landmark - always in the movies) Check out the NY Supreme and Federal Courthouses on your right. Very impressive. After you pass the Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street, get lost in Chinatown. Have lunch. Golden Unicorn or Dim Sum Go Go are good places and inexpensive ($30 for 2) (NYC standards) There are many others - check out the tea shops and other cool stuff. Make your way through the very very thick crowds to Canal Street. Stay on the South side of the Street. Head West. If you see a person selling yummy mini cakes cooked on a waffle iron, get a hot bag for $1.
Head uptown on Broadway to walk through SoHo. Tons of great people watching and amazing shopping or window shopping. Wander the side streets especially, Spring St and Prince St. Must Find West Broadway for excellent additional places. At Houston Street (pronounce the "House") walk up (North) into the Village. Wander around. This is NY University area. You will be exhausted at this point and will need to rest before the show.

On Saturday morning, go to a Museum on Central Park - The Museum of Natural History (West Side) and the Met East Side) are my favorites - (choose one)and if you have time, spend a bit of time exploring the park if it is not raining. There is a map online. Don't eat at Taven on the Green - huge waste of money. Things to see in the park are the Boathouse, Belvedere Castle, the Great Lawn, the merry-go-round. Everyone hangs out in Central Park on the weekends. Take a subway or, if you are pressed for time, hop in a cab back to Times Square to catch the matinee of RENT. You will both love it. Order tkts in advance online. After the show, have dinner. Saturday night is also a lot of fun in the city. Definitely Stay in Manhattan as long as possible. If you insist on staying at a hotel near the airport the night before your flight, arrange with the hotel for a late check-in. Have fun! Email me if you need any more info
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Jennifer, thanks! Wow, great info. Actually we were in NYC just this March and did so many of the things you suggest--3rd trip there with daughter in that many years, so we've been fortunate to get a great taste of the city and its diverse neighborhoods.

This is a very quick trip to see a couple plays and do a little wandering. We do not necessarily want to spend our last night over at the airport, just thought it might be most convenient for a 4:30 a.m. check in (ugh). May be lucky enough to change that (using FF tix however).

Cab fare from Newark to midtown looks like about $38 one way minus tip, am I right? is it likely a short trip at 11 p.m. on a Thursday?

Thanks so much for your info

I think jenniferx has some great suggestions for you. Here is another. Stay at the Marriot Marquis Hotel!!! This is right in the heart of Manhattan in Times Square. They have packages for plays, Delta fights, etc. You can walk from that hotel to many of the things you will want to see. The hotel is very reasonably priced compared to most of NY. It has a revolving restaurant on the top where you can sit and have a few drinks while enyoying the skyline. Many of the rooms look out at times square which is 'where it's at".

As far as Newark, just walk right out of the airport to the buses on the curb that will take you to Port Authority. They leave about every 15 minutes and are much cheaper than a cab. Once at the Port just take a cab to the Marriot. It's alot simpler than you think. I've done it many times. Just act like you know what you're doing and you will be fine. Have fun!

Thanks CWE, I've pretty much decided that the Olympia bus worked great for us recently, so we'd do that again and cab it up to our hotel (undecided as yet - love the Millennium Broadway, the Belvedere is great too (and less $$).

I believe a cab is $38 w/ tip and tolls.
Have you been to Serendipities? It is an amazing dessert place (though they have regular food too) Share the frozzen hot chocolate - if you like chocolate, you will be in heaven! For an inexpensive dinner near the theatre, John's on 44th Street, just off of 8th Ave is good (Italian)
Haru (Japanese/Sushi), though a bit more expensive is fantastic too(43rd St) Ruby Foo's in Times Sq. is another great place - more expensive
I recently visited the W Hotel for drinks after work in midtown. Very Very trendy. (The place to be seen)