New York Vacation - Need Help

wellman · January 14, 2007

My wife and I are trying to plan a 3- or 4-day trip to NYC (early April) as a vacation before our third child is born (early August). I'm unbelievably inexperienced when it comes to planning trips (we normaly just go see family), much less something of the magnitude of a New York trip.

Some things we know we want to do...
- Statue of Liberty
- Broadway musical
- The Museum of the Moving Image
- Some nice meals

And of course we would like to do this without completely breaking the bank. If anyone has ideas, recommendations, etc, I'm all ears! :ear Thanks!

S_Leeper · January 15, 2007

Were are you travelling from?
Will you be bringing the other two kids???

The weather is a erratic at that time of year. Snow is rare in NYC in April, but often a bit nippy---though maybe not this year.

When I go on vacation I like to relax & have some what of a free-form itenary(sp?)... However, not to waste time during my vacation I plan multiple alternative activities... that way I don't stress if one doesn't work out I quickly replan for another that I have the spec's (time, place, cost, etc.)

The broadway shows are twofold. Several shows you can go at the last minute, but for good seats you should definately book soon--good seats can make the experience more enjoyable.

There are several good tourist resturants in the neighborhood... for which you will pay a tourist premium...

Statute of Liberty... Will your wife be able to take a 20 minute boat ride???

World Trade Center site is another place many tourists like to stop by...

Consider taking one of the open air buses &/or ferry boats around (or partially around) Manhattan. I know it sounds a bit touristy, but many do find it very enjoyable.

NYC also has several zoos. Bronx zoo is big, but Central Park Zoo is small & can easily do... has a nice "house" which has lots of birds flying around in close proximity to you.

Also, has botanical garden, but early April is usually too early for outdoor, but will often still find orchid show going on... http://www.nybg.org/

Usually baseball season may have started by then... the Mets first home game is April 9... The Yankees have a lot of early April home games... http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nyy&m=4&y=2007 Except for the home opener this is more of a buy tickets on the fly if you are willing to sit in the bleacher seats behind the outfield..

wellman · January 16, 2007

Thanks for the advice. This will be a Mommy-and-Daddy only trip - probably our last for a while!

Angelo · January 16, 2007

this should be helpful:

http://www.nycvisit.com/home/index.cfm

I'll try to come back later to offer a little more info

Harryb · January 16, 2007

wellman wrote:

My wife and I are trying to plan a 3- or 4-day trip to NYC (early April) as a vacation before our third child is born (early August). I'm unbelievably inexperienced when it comes to planning trips (we normaly just go see family), much less something of the magnitude of a New York trip.

Some things we know we want to do...
- Statue of Liberty
- Broadway musical
- The Museum of the Moving Image
- Some nice meals

And of course we would like to do this without completely breaking the bank. If anyone has ideas, recommendations, etc, I'm all ears! Thanks!

Here are a few recommendations.
John's Pizzeria, one of the best for NYC style pizza - http://www.greatrestaurantsmag.com/NYC/restaurant_view/190/
also some great photo ops inside the restaurant that used to be a church

Sylvia's for Southern style soul food
http://www.sylviassoulfood.com/restaurants.html

located in Harlem about a block from where Bill Clinton has his offices. Also some good photo ops in the area

The Bronx Zoo is one of the top zoos in the world plus its very close to The Bronx Botanical gardens. After viewing the zoo and the gardens you can drive (about 15 minutes) to Arthur Avenue which is a small Italian enclave and it has some of NYC's best Italian restaurants and bakeries. Also s me good photo ops.
http://www.arthuravenuebronx.com/

While visiting the Statue of Liberty you can also take in the Battery and the Wall Street area. Also the South Street Seaport is in the area http://www.southstseaport.org/index.shtm

For the experience of a top notch NYC deli you can't beat
http://www.katzdeli.com/

andymillson · January 16, 2007

I am also going to be in NY, end of April, early May. I was last therer in July 2005 - Stuck in a small training centre whose AC was bust! - Not a good time. 2 weeks training with just the middle Sunday off!

I contacted the Empire State Building to enquire about tripods on the viewing decks, and they responded that tripods are not allowed for insurance purposes, so bear that in mind if you want to go there to take night shots

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has a good website and includes info on carrying tripods in the museum....Basically its ok so long as you only use them in the permanent exhibits.

I will be checking other museums etc for more photography info and will edit this post as I find mor einfo

I can highly recomend the bus tours around the island, well worth the money, and you can et tickets that include the ferry to Libery and Ellis Islands. I have not tried the ferries that go around the city, but will be investigating those. The bus tour I took was with Grayline.

And of course no trip to NY would be complete without a stop at B&H Photovideo

This store is absolutely amazing, and all the people I talked to there were knowledgable and could help me out.

(A Different) Andy

DifferentSeed · January 16, 2007

Ahh, New York! One of my favorite places to go!

I've probably been a dozen times in the past couple of years - here are some favorites I've discovered and always try to experience everytime I'm there.

Hotels -

The Bryant Park. This is off the beaten path, a couple of blocks from Times Square near the library. It doesn't make it any cheaper than Times Square though. It's impossible to find a room here during Fashion week (the shows are across from Bryant Park). It has easy walking distance to Times Square and nice central location for a lot of fun things. They sometimes offer specials where you get 4 nights for the price of 3 or 3 for the price of 2. Highly recommend their king suites (space!). And the marble bathrooms are bigger than many other rooms in other hotels (like either Sheraton near TS) and have jacuzzi tubs and amazing showers (big enough for a small platoon, really). Security at the door (who control crowds for the nightclub bar in the lower level (didn't hear any noise from the bar however). Niiiice.

http://www.bryantparkhotel.com/

W Times Square - Niiiice. It's a little too "hip" for my tastes when entering the building, but the decor is also amazing as well. Different type of hotel, with okay sized rooms (this is NYC afterall) for the price.

http://www.whotels.com/

DoubleTree Times Square - Nice. Large. Rooms. Nothing spectular about it. Just space.

http://www.doubletree.com/

Food -

KOI - Hands down my favorite sushi restaurant in NYC. Not cheap (about 150 a person before drinks for dinner), but you get what you pay for and here everything is absolutely SUPERB! It's conventently located in the lobby of the Bryant Park Hotel.

Bubba Gump's Shrimp. Yup. Bubba Gump's. Touristy, but good. It's in Times Square. Casual, laid back. The prices are easy on the wallet (10-20 for entrees) and the food is pretty, damn good.

Shopping -

Century 21. Across from the WTC (so it's easy to visit the site and pause for thought first) this is a liquidated designer warehouse really. It's ridiculously crowded on weekends, but great shoe department.

Macy's. Flagship store. 8 floors. An entire floor of shoes. :ivarExcellent handbags. Accessories nirvana.

B&H Photo Video. If you're at dgrin you know about this place. Closed Saturday's however.

Shows -

I usually plan my trips to NYC around seeing specific shows and all the rest is inbetween. Soo... given many of my faves aren't playing anymore *sniff* I can only recommend favorites that are (might be) still playing.

Wicked. Great show. Hands down.

SPAMALOT! If you like Monty Python a must-see, however it's sold out well in advance. Tickets can be expensive.

Little shop of Horrors. Doesn't have the demand of other shows, which can mean great seats for less money. Great animatronics and song.

Any show with Raul Espraza. Voice of an angel. Euan Morton is another great one, though his roles are typically gay oriented which might not be everyone's cup of tea.

As far as getting tickets for any of these, and a previous poster was absolutely correct, you'll enjoy it more if you have better seats. Not necessarily front-row center (not always the best place to sit anyway) but somewhere in the center-ish of the first or second orchestra (or front row first center balcony) will do. There are a few places you can try for tickets that won't bleed the wallet too bad. Additionally, you can go to matinees. Remember most theatres are closed Mondays. So...

- Ebay. Yes, really. Just check feedback and be smart consumer.
- Prestige Entertainment: [SIZE=-1]www.PrestigeEntertainment.com
- Telecharge: www.telecharge.com
- Box office the day of the show. See if they've got tickets available the day of the show. There are usually cancellations, but this cuts into your free time do other things in NYC.

To learn more about shows that are out there or coming out, check out BroadwayWorld (http://www.broadwayworld.com/) or Playbill (http://www.playbill.com).

Finally, as far as tickets, I'd avoid the TKTS line in Times Square. Yes you can luck out and get good tickets for some shows. But expect to wait an hour or more, and if you're not near the front of the line you won't be likely to get any of the higher-demand show tickets there.

Other stuff -

As someone else previously mentioned, the Bronx Zoo is amazing. It's also very large. Central Park Zoo, as previously mentioned, can be done in a casual 60 minutes if you're rushing through it before a meeting nearby

Battery Park. Pretty. You can see the statue of liberty, buy knock off purses, and just relax a bit.

Well, there's my 2cents (with interest). Sorry so long. :P
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DifferentSeed · January 16, 2007

andymillson wrote:

I contacted the Empire State Building to enquire about tripods on the viewing decks, and they responded that tripods are not allowed for insurance purposes, so bear that in mind if you want to go there to take night shots

You likely wouldn't need it. There's really no shortage of places to rest your camera for stability to take pictures here.

From chest height to eye level there are lots of good resting points. It's incredible at night btw, but bring a coat - even in June (last time I went up it) I was cold at night with the wind at that height.

andymillson · January 16, 2007

DifferentSeed wrote:

You likely wouldn't need it. There's really no shortage of places to rest your camera for stability to take pictures here. From chest height to eye level there are lots of good resting points. It's incredible at night btw, but bring a coat - even in June (last time I went up it) I was cold at night with the wind at that height.

Now this is the kind of info you can't get from the books! Thanks a lot!

S_Leeper · January 16, 2007

p.s. when you go to the top of the Empire State Building your ticket stub entitles you to a small "gift" from B&H, which is a blocks to the west. The blocks are avenues so they are loooong compared to street blocks.

And you will go through security check points at both the Empire State building & Statue of Liberty.

wellman · January 16, 2007

Thanks again! This is a ton of info and it will take some time to digest. Thanks especially for the personal recommendations.

New York Vacation - Need Help

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