First time couple in NYC. Any suggestions?

[Aprilmay]

Hey guys!!!

First, thanks for a friendly, informative board. I check here almost daily now that my husband and I are planning our first trip to New York City in December.

I have cancellable reservations at The Belvedere Hotel for December 18-21, Saturday through Tuesday. I have heard great things about this little hotel. But I check Hotwire often for a better deal. Priceline, on the other hand, makes me a little nervous. :)

So here's the deal. My husband and I are in our early 20's, both full time med students who will need a break after finals. We only have two FULL days in the city, since we will be flying on our first and last days. We plan to take in as much as we can while we are there, but have no idea what to do on which day, considering location of the sites, etc. The Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, and Rockefeller Center ice skating are the things we definitely want to do and see before we leave. (I know our two days will be PACKED!) We might even sleep and eat while we are in town!! :) So, does anyone have any suggestions for where we should go in what order?? Or are there any other sites we should not leave without visiting?

Also, I have seen ads in guide books for "The New York Pass." It is about $70/person for two days, and you use it to gain admission to most tourist sites as well as discounts at restaurants, shops, etc. Has anyone used this, or have any pros or cons to share?

Thanks for listening to my rambling questions, and we appreciate any help you have to offer. We live in Georgia, and have never been further north than North Carolina, so we look forward to December with great anticipation!

April

[KatiesMom]

Very soon I'll be putting a list together of some of my recommendations based on a recent trip to NYC...but til then...

The Statue of Liberty is, at minimum, a 4 hour event. A visit to Liberty Island (must make reservations in advance if you want to go inside) will take up a substantial amount of one day. You need to catch a circle line ferry (you can't reserve your ferry time, you must wait on line for soonest available ferry, expect 1 hour or longer wait), tour the statue (another hour or two, and you can only go up to the base you still can't climb up the statue), and wait again in a long line to catch another ferry back (another hour or so). To boot it could be wicked cold out at that time of year. If this is your raison d'etre for coming to NYC though, far be it from me to dissuade you.

However, if you would be satisfied with an up-close voyage near the statue you have a myriad of options. In my opinion, the best for your limited time constraint would be to take a trip on the Staten Island Ferry. It makes several jaunts a day. You can take the ferry over to SI then stay on for a return trip. You'll have a great view as you pass Lady Liberty and you'll have more time to explore other things in NYC. There are circle line cruises of varying lengths and types of boats, and then there is the Schooner Pioneer which we opted for... but I do not know if it runs in the winter.... It operates out of the South Street Seaport Museum Pier 17 and goes close to Liberty Island then returns back. About 2 hours of nice sailing on a small craft with a friendly captain and crew. We enjoyed this very much. But again, this is August.

Empire State Bulding is least busy near the end of the day. So that's the best time to go there. If the weather is good you'll have some terrific views, if there's poor visibility...not worth it.

$70 seems a bit high for a pass book... You'd need to know exactly what you would get admission for to know whether it was worth it.

NYC also has some museums other than Madame Tussaud that are worth a look, especially if you need indoor things to do.... The Met is my fave, and the Museum of Modern Art should be re-opened in midtown by the time you go. The Museum of Natural History is also fun. There are a lot to choose from... The Guggenheim, The Museum of TV and Broadcasting...on and on...

I really have to take some time and write down my list....

Good luck and hope you have fun!

[thereuare]

What is the rate you got at the Belvedere?

What time do you arrive/leave NYC? There are certain things that you can do the day you arrive/depart (depending upon flight times) so it will free up some of your 'full' days. What airport do you fly into?

I'll add more as time permits, but here are my thoughts on some of what you've mentioned:

The Statue of Liberty - see it from Battery Park (or better yet, the Staten Island Ferry) but dont' bother going to the island as it will take an entire day

Empire State Building - see it and go to the top

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum - not my thing but if it's yours then by all means do it... although if you plan on traveling a lot in the future keep in mind there are now quite a few other locations to see the same thing

Rockefeller Center ice skating - see it but skating on the rink takes considerable time as there is always a wait for your session and from what i hear is expensive. Unless of course you can really ice skate than i'm sure it's a thrill and worth effort to say you've done it

Other things to consider (just off the top of my head, will add more between now and December):

-do you like museums? plenty to choose from

-a ride on the Staten Island ferry (mentioned above) is free, takes an hour roundtrip, and is a great way to see the Statue of Liberty

-the Xmas tree at Rockefeller Center

-architecture of Grand Central Station

-store window Xmas displays of Macy's, et. al. (not my thing but most tourists enjoy it and should probaby see at least one since you may never be in NYC again during the Xmas season)

-do you enjoy local bars, drinking, etc?

-do you like live music?.. what kind?

I just looked at 'the NYC Pass' last nite (i was considering having BetterBidding become an affiliate) but when i looked deep into it didn't think it was that great of a deal. You need to do 3-4 activities per day to make it cost effective and would make for a harried time to make sure you got your money's worth. As well, they're always hawking discounts to Madame Tussaud's on the street corners, the mueseum discounts aren't worth much since many of them (i believe) are 'suggested donation' rather than a set admission price (as well you will probably be eligible for a student discount), and the restaurants on the list are not places i would send any tourist to go to (eating at a Hard Rock or Planet Hollywood while on vacation in NYC is a waste of a meal).

Those are my starter thoughts. Add some details about what you like/enjoy, as well as the price of your back-up hotel and flight schedule so we'll be able to eventually put together a good itinerary for you.

[john b]

My number one tip for anyone visiting Manhattan is to AVOID CHAIN RESTAURANTS!! NYC has so many good restaurants. You can eat at TGIMcBennihans at home. :) Eat at a classic New York place like Carnegie Deli or Grand Central Oyster Bar, or have pizza at John's or Lombardi's if you are on a budget.

As for sightseeing, I'd skip the wax museum. The museums mentioned by KatiesMom are all great. Spend a few hours exploring the shops, galleries, bars and restaurants in Soho and Greenwich Village.

Have fun!

[Aprilmay]

Wow! You guys are an unending source of information, and I really appreciate it.

The Staten Island ferry is a great suggestion, as we don't so much want to go into Lady Liberty as to see it. I just hate to leave NYC without seeing such an important symbol of our nation. The Museum of Natural History is also something that my husband may be interested in. I'm very into the "Celebrity Scene," so the wax museum is something I really would like to visit. We also adore the Christmas season in general, so the big tree and the window displays will be great for us, too!

My husband and I are not into the bar scene, and we certainly don't want to waste our two days with a hangover! And live music isn't really our thing, either. We would love to visit Grand Central, though, and I had not even thought of that. And thanks for the dining suggestions. I really had not planned on eating at the chain restaurants, but I feel like I would not be able to pick the good local restaurants from the bad. So I will keep up to date on your suggestions, so as to be prepared when we get there.

As for our schedule, we arrive at LGA at 11:41 Saturday night, and we depart LGA at 7:00am on Tuesday. I would have liked to have had a little less extreme flight schedule, but we bought our tickets for $49 each way to/from Atlanta, and this was the only flight available at this price. And we are on a pretty tight budget, so this just worked out! I check Hotwire daily for hotels around LGA for our first night, since our Belvedere Hotel reservations (at $130/night) are only for Sunday and Monday nights. I saw what I thought was the Belvedere on Hotwire about a week ago for $99, but I missed my chance, as later that day it was gone! I will continue to do my research, though.

I really do thank you guys for your help. We live in a small town, and have never done much travelling, other than to Florida to the beach each summer. I have wanted to visit NYC at Christmas for a long time, and when I found $100 roundtrip tickets, I jumped on them. Now I just need to figure out what to do when I get there!

April

[char540]

Other fun things to see

*A play - usually celebrity stars

*NBC Studio tour - this was fun and about an hour

*Eat at deli's - quick at great food.

Will post more later

[lwitchel]

It's funny to read your requests since I live here, only for the change in perspective! You want to do all the things we ignore day to day! I walk my route to work to avoid Times Square. :) I'm sure though, you'll have a marvelous, exhausting, time.

At that time of year, you HAVE to go to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree, and walk up Fifth Avenue (from about 48-59th Street), preferably at night to see the lights.

For eats - there are a zillion good restaurants right near the tourist areas in Ninth Avenue from about 45th-56th Street. You'll see a lot of suggestions for them here. And though it's only a few more minutes walk, it's not a tourist zone; New Yorkers eat here.

If your budget and scehdule allows - consider a Broadway show. Discount ticket offers are both at playbill.com and at the TKTS booth on 47th/Bway in Times Square. Your choices on Sunday and Monday (off nights) might be limited, but try!

Have a great trip!