We have about 2 weeks to play with - (maybe a day or two more) We've never been to DC and decided it's time.

Here's where I need help.

We're thinking 5 nights in DC? Is that about right? And then take the train or bus to NYC and stay 7 nights. We've just spent the night in NYC a couple of times before a cruise or a flight, but haven't gotten acquainted with the city the way we want to.

Last May we went to Rome and it was so easy finding lodging and I'm not having an easy time at all for this coming May! I guess it's because I really don't know WHERE to stay. I"ll try to be as specific as I can.

We want to stay downtown Washington and NYC - I know the the metro is wonderful, but we prefer downtown.

I need help with the areas in NYC? What about the Village area? We will go to a show or two - like to wander around and try new places to eat. We don't want chain hotels but hope to find Inns/B&B's - with breakfast and dinner and a lounge would be great pluses.

Now the hard thing if you haven't read my posts before! We are strictly budget travelers. So that's means $200 tops (including tax & breakfast) in DC and probably $250 in NYC.

I have been reading everything under Washington and NYC and have already looked up a lot of places. They are much more expensive in May than they are now. Any suggestions?

I welcome all comments & ideas..

Well in NYC you don;t want to stay "downtown". Much of "downtown" is the financial distrtict and doesn;t have that much to see or do - besides being dead at the weekends - and other parts of downtown are very trendy shopping and restaurants. The Village has practically no hotels. There are a couple in the meat packing district and other trendy nearby areas.

If you mean the center of things - like Times Square - that's in Midtown in NYC. And that's where most of the hotels are. But I really don;t reco staying there since it is so frantic as to be unpleasant. But there are other parts of Midtown (Central Park South, midtown east, or west away from Times Square).

The problem in NYC is that the major sights are spread out over an 8-mile stretch plus some islands in the harbor - so there's really no way to avoid taking the subway. Unless you want to spend all the extra money - and time - to take cabs.

Assuming "we" is 2 people I would bid on Priceline - but 4* only (some of the 3* are not too pleasant) in the central park south and midtown west and east areas. You should be able to come up with something pleasant for that price.

You can definitely squeeze in everything in that time frame. We did NYC/DC combo last fall- 4 nights each. It was great.

I imagine that if you're taking a bus or a train btwn the cities, it could turn into an all-day affair. We flew and it ate up most of our day.

Good luck!

You might be the type of traveler that would enjoy renting an apartment in New York. I have had great luck with craigslist.com--many folks in New York seem to earn extra money by renting out their apartments occasionally! For instance, I stayed in a studio on the 10th floor of a highrise on Mott Street just below Houston, a great and lively area, for I think $250/night, and a 1 BR in Murray Hill for around $150. My sister took a 2-bedroom on the upper east side when she was looking for something affordable for the marathon weekend ($300). This may not be to everyone's taste, but I enjoy the space, and the feeling of "living" in New York.

Brahmama,

Where did you stay in Rome and what was the rate? This would give me a better idea.

In DC you might want to stay in the Dupont neighborhood. It sounds like just the kind of area you looking for. One B&B type place there that would be a perfect fit is the Tabard Inn - http://www.tabardinn.com/ The more expensive rooms offer the best value for your money.

In NYC, you will be hard pressed to find a hotel within your budget. Craigslist is a great idea, look at apts. in the West Village, Soho, or even Hells Kitchen (affordable and convenient).

The only hotel (without shared baths) in the heart of greenwich village is the washington square hotel. The location is great, and the attached restaurant very good, but I have no idea how the hotel itself is. There may be some small privately run B&Bs, and also some apartment type rentals.

Your budget may be tight, and priceline may be the most economical way to go. Midtown south and west are very short hops (via subway or even walking) to the village area. The meatpacking district hotels are pricely, as is the Union Sq W which is also in a great location.

nytraveler,
You are right - I have no idea what "downtown" consists of in NYC. And I don't yet have a feel for which neighborhood is right for us.
Yes, we are two people - and perhaps this is the time that I should study up on Pricelne! Thanks for the reply.

lynnjoel,
I hadn't even thought of the junk of time the transport will take from one city to the other! I am so tired of the airport hassle I imagine we will choose bus or train though it will take just as long - maybe longer.

marilyn,
Thanks for Craig'slist.com. I'll spend some time and see what I can learn from this! We do stay in apartments sometimes.
bardo:
I just cut this from my trip report. This was from 05 - last year we stayed outside Rome. The apartment was about 4 blocks from the colosseum and about 6 blocks from Trenetalia. It is where the people of Rome live. We loved it and could walk anywhere, except across the bridge to the Vatican was a bit far.

http://www.dolceroma.it/bb-colosseum.htm
We rented the "Roman Forumquot;and will never get a hotel again! It was the last stop and we needed some comfort. This apartment is AC, has an elevator (!!!) and is quiet and charming. For May, 2005 the price was 120 Euros. We stayed only 3 nights and are planning to return in October for a longer stay. When we arrived, (Claudio drove us here - earlier recommended by me) Natalie's husband was waiting for us. He sat down and showed us maps, reviews, and shared ideas about where to go - great places to eat that were close by, etc. The refrigerator had milk, butter, jam, etc. and various kinds of pastries. There was a very comfortable Queen sized bed (a real bed - not two twins mashed together!) a sitting area, TV, and was decorated by Natalie who is an artist in her own right.

So, you see, I'm spoiled! Yet most people would not have looked at this place, because of so many comments on the newsgroups about staying more in the Central (Parthenon or Spanish Steps) and not in this area.

Thanks for the Tabard Inn suggestion. I love this location and the restaurant looks great too.

Can you speak to the amount of time we should devote to DC? Is 5 nights reasonable or should we stay longer? Shorter?

MFNYC,
Thanks for the Washington Square Idea. Especially good with a nice restaurant. I need to get hold of a NYC map - do you have a URL for one so I can check out locations?

Brahmama,

You length of stays look just right. DC & NYC are like any major touristed city in that there is enough to see and do no matter how long your stay.

Some people go to Rome, look at the Collosium, the Forum and St. Peter' and think they have "done" Rome. Well, yes, they have done what they could in two days! Many others stay two weeks and still have many churches, museums, parks, etc. they wish they had had the time for...

That said, 5 nights in DC is fine. I would not add more if it meant having to cut back on your 7 days in NYC.

NYC Map - click on neighborhood names at left of map for more detail:
http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=429

For your purposes I would do train rather then fly or bus. It doesn't take any linger than flying - since you're doing center city to enter city and don;t have to worry about an hour for security checks - and all the check in time at the airport. If you do Amtrack don;t bother with Acela - it rarely ends up being much faster and the cost just isn;t worth it.

Have never done bus - but would think train more reliable - in terms of accidents, bad wether, traffic etc.

downtown means different things to different people, but I think in general it refers to anything south of 14th St. This includes the village area, soho, meatipacking district, little Italy/CHinatown, Nolita, tribeca and the financial district. The financial district is the 'dead' area that NYtraveler refers to, but even that has more going on in the off hours than it used to (more and more condos/coops down there), but it's still quiet as compared to the other areas.

Go to MSN maps, and type in the address for the washington square hotel (or probably washington square park is good enough), and get a "bird's eye view" of the area.

The things you're requesting in a NYC hotel are in conflict with each other.
>A small, non chain, budget b & b or inn will not likely be centrally located.
> I think in NYC you'd want midtown not downtown (although Greenwich Village would be considered downtown.
>There is no accomodation I know of in NYC that would include dinner.

So...some options to start checking
>1871house.com is a nice inn that's on the edge of midtown and the upper east side. It's very close to Bloomingdales. They don't list rates on the website but should be within your budget. They don't include breakfast but many of the rooms have small kitchens.

>The Inn on 23 st. is another similar type place located just south of midtown
http://www.innon23rd.com/about.html

>I agree the Washington Square hotel is a nice option and the only real hotel in the village, but again, this is further away than I think you want to be from midtown. It is a great area for exploring and finding non-touristy dining.

For more of a regular hotel in midtown within walking distance of theaters that includes breakfast, the Metro should fit your budget. Check prices on both the hotel's website and also on quikbook.

I think the idea of renting an apt. is also a good one. You may find something in the area known as Hell's Kitchen or Clinton, midtown just west of the theater district. This one that Patrick stayed in is a winner. http://www.bigapplegetaway.com/

bardo,
Great map! Thanks. Yes, I agree, you can never stay TOO long in a place and never long enough to do more than scratch the surface.

nytraveler,
Yes, Amtrak will be much simpler. I wasn't aware that there were two classes of trains (cars?) but I will certainly check that out and not take Acela.

MNNYC,
Thanks for the clarification. And I did find a map and it's all beginning to fall in place.

Laurie,
I had seen your postings and was hoping for your comments. I lost your email (and Tom's) when we upgraded to a new computer. I answered one of his trip report posts, but we didn't connect.
I read all your comments carefully, but then I clicked on the bigapplegetaway link and lost my heart! I'm trying to work out our dates so that we can stay there. Thank you so MUCH! What a location! And it's a lovely place too. AND close to the theaters also. A real deal.

Mclaurie,
I owe you an apology. I do hope you read this thread again so you get it!

I thought you were another Laurie who I met on the Europe Board last year. A group of us were going to meet in Rome in October 05- and she's from NY and had changed her online name once before to another variation of Laurie.

So that is why my answer to you must have seemed very odd. But I still heartily appreciate the information and especially the links to the inns and apartment.

No problem. You should really thank Patick (neoPatrick) who stayed at this apt. and was the first to point it out. I now know someone else who also stayed there and thought it was great. Good luck!

A few weeks ago, I took a regional Amtrak train from Aberdeen, MD to Penn Station in NYC. My suggestion to you is if you decide to take the train to buy your tickets as soon as possible because train tickets don't go down over time as airline tickets can. In the past, I've driven or flown into NYC (La Guardia) and without doubt the train is my favorite means. With stops, travel time was less than 2.5 hours. Traveling to / from D.C., I suspect travel time may be closer to 3--you can't drive there in that amount of time. Have fun planning and enjoy a great trip!

I highly recommend taking the Greyhound bus up to NY from DC. It's only $20 if you book it online, and the bus drops you off right at Port Authority in midtown Manhattan. Check out the schedule on its website. Some buses will show decent movies, too. The schedule time is 4 hours and 20 minutes to get there, but if you go during off-peak times, you can easily get there in 4 hours.

This is a great site for comparing all the different avenues of transportation (and has live links to each)
Thanks!
Carol

Hi,
I'm updated this post as time is flying by.

First of all, I'm set for DC, and have made reservations at the Tabard Inn. Thanks for that reccomendation - it's just perfect for us. We're staying there 6 nights.

We will take the train to NYC from there.

Second, I really missed the boat by not booking the Big Apple Apartment. I was nervous about booking it back in Nov/Dec that far ahead. And now (of course) it's booked for the week we wanted.

As we prefer an apartment, I have found the Affinia website and these apartments are within our budget restrictions. I have looked at the map on their website, but still don't know where would be the best location. Has anyone stayed in any of the Affinia hotels? Should we get a King Studio or a Junior Suite? I want to be able to have breakfast and light suppers (if desired) in the apartment, which brings up grocery stores! Any recommendations about where to shop for some basics, eggs, milk, cheese, fruit, herbs, bread etc.

Thanks for the previous help. I'll look back and see what I"ve missed. We have been out of the country for the last 3 weeks, so it's catch-up time.

Don't worry about where to buy groceries. New Yorkers eat, too, and with the great population density in Manhattan, you're never more than a block or two from a place to buy basic provisions. Once you've chosen specific accomodations, tell us where it is and somebody will give you the scoop on local groceries and takeout.

The Affinia hotels in general hava a good reputation; I would recommend that you choose one that's centrally located, not too far east.