What to do in NY?

hallux · 04-21-2010, 09:12 PM

$3500 for airfare, hotel, food and attractions? For a week? Surely you can't be talking about NY City.

Wht type of things do you want to see? There's Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, 2 baseball stadiums (the US National Pastime), Times Square, tons of Broadway plays, off-Broadway plays, Rockefeller Center, MSG (the arena, not the food additive), Grand Central Station (I say this is one MUST see, it's impressive), Battery Park, Ground Zero (WTC). Many of those things are free except for the trip there (subway or taxi unless you want to walk).

One word of advice, look as little like a tourist as possible and don't carry a fat wallet. Mugging isn't a HUGE thing to worry about unless you're an easy target. If you look and act like a tourist, some people assume you're carrying lots of cash.

If you like gambling, may I suggest Saratoga in the summer. It's about 4 hours North of NYC if you drive, about an hour or 2 if you fly into Albany through connecting flights. Saratoga as a city is BEAUTIFUL, there's some US history nearby (battle of Saratoga was fought nearby) and there's a beautiful horse track and "racino" (a casino of sorts) attached. It's also a much quieter, slower-paced area than NYC. Everyone gets focused on the huge cities, this is a nice gem if you want that type of thing. You'd need to book soon, the hotels fill up fast. Towns such as Clifton Park and Halfmoon are less than an hour away and also have hotels (that also book fast for racing season) and are really nice areas.

The nice thing about Saratoga is that it's not SO far away from NYC that if you wanted to take a day trip down you can. Leave at 5 or 6 AM, pick up a train in Poughkeepsie and you're in Grand Central before lunch, spend 8 or 10 hours at GCT, Times Square and a few other places and pick up a train back to Poughkeepsie, could be back by 1 or 2 AM depending on the train. If you take the train from Albany/Rensselaer, it's more money but you don't have to drive as far and you have more time for napping on the return trip. Of course, you'd have to check train schedules.

Dutch-best · 04-22-2010, 10:45 AM

Thank you for your time and advice.
3500 dollar is all inclusive.
I know its not a lot, but im only 23 since last week.
I dont want to be broke when i return home plus im planning another vacation for at least a week to Spain to hav a party vacation with a couple of friends of mine in early August.
In New York I dont really care about my hotelroom.
It just has to be clean and relatively close to Times Square in a safe environment.
I dont want to share a room with ppl I dont know in a youth hostel or something.
For travelling im planning to buy a public transportation card for a week.
I heard its cheap and convenient its about €25 so thats about $35.
The travel agency told me a rental car is quite useless there because of all the traffic, plus im not used to drive in busy traffic.
I considered renting a bike there as well, but i heard its quite dangerous there if ur not used to cycle in a huge city.
Im not really into gambling, otherwise i wud hav gone to Atlantic city or even Las Vegas.
I would really like to get some more advice,tips on what i really should know (for instance its a must to tip waiters at a restaurant, which isnt in Europe) before going to NY and the US (Ive never been outside Europe.)

Thank you in advance.

hallux · 04-22-2010, 08:59 PM

You don't HAVE to tip your waiter, but don't expect good service when you come back (if you do). Servers in the US don't make a lot of money aside from tips, it's a different story when you talk about McDonald's, Burger King or Wendy's.

The week-long MTA/Subway card may be a good idea. Keep in mind that Times Square is also the "theater district" so rooms may not be cheap and may be hard to come by. Another option is to stay across the river in NJ and take the train into Penn Station. Unfortunately, I live much closer to Saratoga than NYC so I can't provide a lot of advice on hotels near Times Square.

04-21-2010, 09:12 PM	#1
hallux Dreaming of Danielle Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 89	$3500 for airfare, hotel, food and attractions? For a week? Surely you can't be talking about NY City. Wht type of things do you want to see? There's Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, 2 baseball stadiums (the US National Pastime), Times Square, tons of Broadway plays, off-Broadway plays, Rockefeller Center, MSG (the arena, not the food additive), Grand Central Station (I say this is one MUST see, it's impressive), Battery Park, Ground Zero (WTC). Many of those things are free except for the trip there (subway or taxi unless you want to walk). One word of advice, look as little like a tourist as possible and don't carry a fat wallet. Mugging isn't a HUGE thing to worry about unless you're an easy target. If you look and act like a tourist, some people assume you're carrying lots of cash. If you like gambling, may I suggest Saratoga in the summer. It's about 4 hours North of NYC if you drive, about an hour or 2 if you fly into Albany through connecting flights. Saratoga as a city is BEAUTIFUL, there's some US history nearby (battle of Saratoga was fought nearby) and there's a beautiful horse track and "racino" (a casino of sorts) attached. It's also a much quieter, slower-paced area than NYC. Everyone gets focused on the huge cities, this is a nice gem if you want that type of thing. You'd need to book soon, the hotels fill up fast. Towns such as Clifton Park and Halfmoon are less than an hour away and also have hotels (that also book fast for racing season) and are really nice areas. The nice thing about Saratoga is that it's not SO far away from NYC that if you wanted to take a day trip down you can. Leave at 5 or 6 AM, pick up a train in Poughkeepsie and you're in Grand Central before lunch, spend 8 or 10 hours at GCT, Times Square and a few other places and pick up a train back to Poughkeepsie, could be back by 1 or 2 AM depending on the train. If you take the train from Albany/Rensselaer, it's more money but you don't have to drive as far and you have more time for napping on the return trip. Of course, you'd have to check train schedules. Last edited by hallux; 04-21-2010 at 09:16 PM.

04-22-2010, 10:45 AM	#2
Dutch-best Banned Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 27	Thank you for your time and advice. 3500 dollar is all inclusive. I know its not a lot, but im only 23 since last week. I dont want to be broke when i return home plus im planning another vacation for at least a week to Spain to hav a party vacation with a couple of friends of mine in early August. In New York I dont really care about my hotelroom. It just has to be clean and relatively close to Times Square in a safe environment. I dont want to share a room with ppl I dont know in a youth hostel or something. For travelling im planning to buy a public transportation card for a week. I heard its cheap and convenient its about €25 so thats about $35. The travel agency told me a rental car is quite useless there because of all the traffic, plus im not used to drive in busy traffic. I considered renting a bike there as well, but i heard its quite dangerous there if ur not used to cycle in a huge city. Im not really into gambling, otherwise i wud hav gone to Atlantic city or even Las Vegas. I would really like to get some more advice,tips on what i really should know (for instance its a must to tip waiters at a restaurant, which isnt in Europe) before going to NY and the US (Ive never been outside Europe.) Thank you in advance.

04-22-2010, 08:59 PM	#3
hallux Dreaming of Danielle Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 89	You don't HAVE to tip your waiter, but don't expect good service when you come back (if you do). Servers in the US don't make a lot of money aside from tips, it's a different story when you talk about McDonald's, Burger King or Wendy's. The week-long MTA/Subway card may be a good idea. Keep in mind that Times Square is also the "theater district" so rooms may not be cheap and may be hard to come by. Another option is to stay across the river in NJ and take the train into Penn Station. Unfortunately, I live much closer to Saratoga than NYC so I can't provide a lot of advice on hotels near Times Square.