Why I love New York City
I love New York City! It’s a city where you feel the pulse and experience the beauty of the United States of America as a melting pot. Neighborhoods have their own unique character and cuisine.
Museums, historical sites, Broadway and Off Broadway shows, parks, comedy clubs, and live-music venues are abundant. An added bonus, just like the saying goes: It’s a city that never sleeps.
You can explore the city on your own, or there are tours for every interest day and night. (www.viator.com is a tour site run by Travelocity of independent tour operators
When I visit a city for the first time, I always take the city-wide tour which allows for
unlimited hop-on and off and gives a narrative while making its way through the city.
If you have the time, buy a two or three day pass. The first day, take the loop, learn about
the city, get familiar with the neighborhoods, then plan your hop-off spots on your next
go around.
It’s also fun to see the city at night on a boat tour which circles the Statue ofLiberty, included with the 48 hour pass or upgrade to 72 hour pass for $10 more. There are other discounts offered when buying the Hop-on Hop-off sightseeing tour package. Check online for answers to frequently asked questions. Type hop-on hop-off bus tour New York City and there are a few companies to investigate to suit your needs. Always call customer service to talk to a representative if you have any questions.
New York City is made up of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and The Bronx. Manhattan has the largest amount of tourist attractions, restaurants, and hotels, and the four outer boroughs give you the feel of the melting-pot experience of living in New York City. For your first visit to New York, I recommend staying in Manhattan where it is easy to use public transportation to get to the major tourist attractions. Now that I have visited New York City many times, I’m choosing to focus on the particular area of the city that is within walking distance of my hotel in that neighborhood. (New York is a walking city.) I recently spent three days exploring Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Tribeca, the financial district, and the Brooklyn Bridge. My hotel was located in Tribeca.
#1 Choose your airport for your visit based on the lowest non-stop price from your departure airport. 3 airports serve NYC and then take a cab directly to your hotel.
Use Googleflights.com: Look up the airlines that depart from your preferred home airport to New York City. New York City is served by three major airports: JFK, Laguardia, and Newark, New Jersey. Look for the lowest cost nonstop flight (if possible for nonstop from your departure city) and choose the flight based on cost rather than New York airport destination. For example, JetBlue flies from Reno, Nevada (my home airport) to NYC. There is usually one nonstop offering each day and the other flights have a stop. I always choose the nonstop as the time to get to the destination is greatly reduced.
Price and nonstop drive my decision making. Book airline tickets directly with the airline. Don’t use a third-party site as if you need to make a change, the change can only be made through the third-party. Currently airlines continue to be flexible with changes as long as you book a flight that allows for changes. Always read the fine print. The lowest price usually has limits to changes, luggage, and seat assignment. Choose the ticket price which allows for changes, seat assignment, and if possible add luggage (if you plan to bring luggage to be checked.)
Take a taxi from the airport to the hotel.
You will pay extra to take a taxi to your hotel from the airport instead of using public transportation. However, when you are unfamiliar with a city and you are tired from traveling, the money is worth it. Follow the signs at the airport to the taxi stand and give the taxi driver your hotel name and address. The hotel will hold your luggage if you arrive before check-in and you can begin your exploring.
#2 Choose your hotel near some top attractions for your visit
Decide your top priorities during your visit to New York City and choose your hotel based on the convenience of the hotel location to several of those priorities. This way, you will be able to walk to those destinations. On the walking journey take in the sites and smells, stop for coffee, read menus, discover the neighborhood. Be willing to change your plans if your discoveries guide you to eat in or visit something different than you planned. Many of my favorite memories from traveling come from discoveries.
Choosing a hotel in your desired location:
Read reviews of hotels in the area written by guests. These can be found on hotel or review sites such as tripadvisor.com, Booking.com and the hotel website. Always book rooms that can be canceled. As you do more research, you may change your mind. I use Booking.com for my bookings so I keep all my bookings in one place. I only book reservations which have hundreds of reviews, so I get a feel of the hotel. I look for comments about cleanliness, what attractions are near the hotel, and any recommendations others give about the area. This is an example of a description the hotel gives: “Stay in the heart of New York. views over Central Park, 2 minute walk to elegant shops on 5th Ave…Radio City Music Hall and Museum of Modern Art a 10 minute walk…” If the attractions are those you want to see, the price is within your budget, and the reviews match the hotel descriptions, this is a choice I would book a room with free cancellation.
# 3 Don’t Try to Do It All
Do your homework and write down your top priorities during your visit. The Internet is such a useful tool when planning a trip. In the search bar on your Internet type in 10 top attractions in New York City and see if you find any of those desirable. Think about the movies you’ve seen that take place in New York, do you want to visit any particular site. Look up where that is on the Internet. Traveling on your own takes some preplanning, but it is worth it. However, be open to discover and deviate from your plan to make your journey an adventure. Traveling is about meeting new people, seeing new places, experiencing new cultures and learning. Be flexible within a plan and your journey will never disappoint.
#4 The Subway
The most convenient and cost effective way to get around New York City is to use the subway system. The locals refer to the system as the trains. Much of the system operates underground, but not all.
The New York Subway runs 24 hours a day, however, not every stop is a 24 hour stop. Stations marked with a green globe are open 24 hrs, a red globe closed at night. Inside the subway station on the wall find and study the subway map, ask at an information booth for a map or download a map to your phone. There are different lines in different colors and numbers and letters. There are express trains that do not stop at every stop.
Decide if you’re going Uptown or Downtown. Uptown when going north heading towards the Bronx or Queens and south toward Brooklyn is Downtown. Make sure you are on the correct platform for the train going in the direction you are planning. Ask people on the platform if you need help. (Tip: Streets in Manhattan travel east to west and Avenues travel north to south. If you walk north to south blocks, these are considered long-blocks, a 3-4 minute walk, and east to west blocks are short blocks and about a 1 minute walk.)
Buy a MetroCard at the station. Subway rides are $2,75 per ride for a multi-ride card, or $3.00 for single use. Or, you can purchase an unlimited ride card for 7 days for $33 or $16.50 for seniors 65 and over. Unlimited transfers to bus within 120 minutes.
#5 Broadway shows: Worth it at least once.
There are many theaters in New York City and many options to see live performances with a variety of price ranges. It is, in my opinion, worth it to see at least one Broadway show. www.broadway.org offers a list of Broadway shows, details about the shows, a ticket purchase option, and information about the theater.
Half-price same-day tickets may be purchased by standing in line at TKTS ticket Booths or getting discounts online by using discount code tickets on www.nytix.com. For $4.95 get 30 day
s access to discount offers.
The more times I visit New York City, the more I want to go back and visit. The first several times I visited I stayed for 7 days at a time, now I realize after my last visit which was only 3 days, that all visits are worth it! I’ll go any chance I can and I know it will be a new adventure!
Happy Travels!
Carol
