Budget New York trip..?

[blessedby3]

We returned from our surprise 16th birthday trip for our DD about a week and a half ago. I had posted about good places to stay, but couldnt go the expense of staying in the city. Most people posted I was crazy to go to NYC and stay in NJ, but we found it to be great. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Secaucus NJ and the bus stop was right outside the hotel. Only $2.65 (or $2.85) for an adult. DD was cheaper- $1.30 I believe. It only took 15 mins. and was 3 miles from the Port Authority. On Friday at 6pm it took us an hour. Rush hour traffic was the culprit. Avoid the before'/after work travel times and it will be fine. We had to go in at that time to see Beauty and The Beast which I would HIGHLY reccommend. It was the highlight of our trip and we got a great discount off the internet for tickets at $55 each. Better than standing in the 1/2 price ticket line. We were a bit unnerved being in the city after dark (our first time there ever), but felt much more comfortable during the day Saturday. We also hit the World of Disney Store and loved that. We are such Disney addicts. Loved getting our pictures with Donald and Pluto in NYC!! It made us feel like we were in Disney. I would not recommend driving in the city unless you have no other choice. I would be so scared to drive there. We felt like we were going to be killed just riding in a cab. People honking, slamming on brakes, changing lanes fast and without signaling!! Glad we stayed in NJ and left the driving to the bus driver. Only rode in a cab once- that was enough! The bad thing for us was it was SOOOOOOOO COLD. The temps were in the low 30's with wind chill in the low 20's and terrible blowing winds. Hard to enjoy with those temps. Of course the weekend after we went the temps were in the 60's!

 

[flagdaytwins]

I recommend the DoubleTree Suites right in Time Square. With the two kids in tow, it is a nice place to stay -- the bedroom is separate from the couch/tv room.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Hey there! Saw your post and just had to reply.

1 - the city is always crowded. Summer maybe a bit more because of tourists with children. It can get quite hot trotting around the streets too in July/August. I love May - perfect weather for lots of foot travel. Most tourist attractions will be more crowded on weekends as well.

2 - NYC is safe, safe, safe in most areas. We just got back from going for a long weekend with the kids, stayed midtown and I even took my daughter (2) out alone after dark to pick up some snacks. Not a problem. Downtown in the financial district after dark is a ghost town and really nothing is open at that time so there is really no reason to go out there then. Stay with the pedestrian traffic flow after dark and stay out of the parks (although a carriage ride through Central Park in the evening is very nice and safe).

3 - Sorry, can't help with that as well always drive and park in the city. I know there is a cheap boat/train service from Hoboken but I don't know where you would park for that.

4 - NJ Transit trains are pretty inexpensive, realiable and run often. Most of the towns along the shore have this service and you can park for free on a local street or municipal lot.

I hope you get to go, there is so much to see and do. I'm sure your DH and kids would LOVE it. Good luck!!!

Okay... love this thread, but still have a couple of questions!

First off: since we're flexible and want to avoid the crowd as much as possible, when is the best time to visit (this summer)? Are some weeks better than others?

2nd: Since my DH has no interest in going, but I hope to sway him otherwise, I need to make him feel "okay" about it and convince him that it IS safe and that it IS okay to do with kids.

3rd: Coming from Northeast PA but not wanting to actually DRIVE or PARK in the city, how do we get there? I am interested in the Secaucaus NJ thread.... but how cheap is the bus into the city??

4th: Totally off-track here - sort of. We may want to stay on the Jersey shore or another beach area, and spend a few days at the beach... is there a metro that goes to NYC from any beach town so we could spend a couple of the days in the city?

 

[jeankeri]

Since you are driving, make sure you know the hotel's fee for parking. This can really add up. You will not be needing a car once there; everything can be accessible through public transportation. You can look up the NYC metro information (subway and bus route maps ) online to see which hotel is more convienent to the attractions you are interested in seeing.

 

[smwf71]

Thanks for this thread! We go to NYC everyy year for shopping and shows with my mom , g-ma and sis - g-ma's treat! Yeah! Anyway, we took some of your advice and booked the Hampton Inn on 8th and 51st - we;ve never stayed there before, but the two queen beds did it for me - I don't love to share a bed with my sis, so this way we'll have more room - it's only 206 the first two nights and 179 the last night - 680 total with tax. So, looks good - thanks! Anymore tips or advice on this hotel are appreciated!

Also - love the restaraunt suggestions - keep 'em coming! Keeping budget in mind!

 

[rockin_rep]

We too, go to the city at least once a year. Love to shop, wander and see a couple shows.

As in all our travels, rule of thumb is we NEVER eat in chain restaurants, or places we have at home. This is ESPECIALLY true in NYC!

There are countless places in all price ranges -- just get out of times square. Very touristy. Go into the neighborhoods for more choices than you can possibly imagine.

For lots of great suggestions, visit

- NY / USA Talk forum on www.Fodors.com

- http://menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp

 

[sillypiggi]

If possible, I would highly suggest NOT to drive in NYC. My family went on a roadtrip from Houston to Boston in December and passed through Manhattan hoping to find lunch there. It was the most insane experience in the whole trip. NYC drivers are EXTREMELY aggressive and the traffic is ridiculously busy. Most of the roads there are one-way streets, which is very confusing for tourists like us (and we had a GPS system in the car!). The parking is non-existant (even when we were willing to pay $30 for half an hour). Subway is the way to go. It's quick, convienent, and safe.

For hotels, I would suggest to stay in NJ also. If budget is an issue, look into Holland Motor Lodge. I have never stayed there personally, but I was planning to. The hotel is literally next to the Holland Tunnel, so you can take the train into the city easily. It also offers free parking and continental breakfast. At $77 a day, it is quite a bargain.

 

[chipmunkfan]

A previous poster mentioned Tom's Restaurant from Seinfeld...Where is this located?

 

[rockin_rep]

A previous poster mentioned Tom's Restaurant from Seinfeld...Where is this located?

The exterior of the Seinfeld diner (Monk's) was shot at Tom's restaurant at the corner of 112th street and Broadway. The interior is nothing like that on the show. The interior set was displayed at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens while back; not sure if its still there.

Jerry says his address is 129 West 81st Street, but the exterior shot of the apartment building used in the show is in Los Angeles. (Jerry really did live on W. 81st St at one time, however.)

If you like Friends, the apartment building is at the corner of Grove and Bedford in the West Village.

If you liked The Cosby Show, the exterior is #10 St. Luke's Place (Leroy Street). Its in a row of beautiful houses, many dating back to the mid-1850's.

You can take the #1 subway and get off at Houston Street. Walk about 2 blocks up Seventh Avenue north (uptown) and make a left at St. Lukes Place (Leroy Street).

From there its only a short walk to the Friends exterior at Grove and Bedford Street. If you walk one more block up Seventh Avenue, you will make a left on Bedford Street.

Hope this helps.

 

[pigget74]

Keep the information coming. Planning a trio for next summer as well.

 

[Trixiezzz]

Thanks for this thread!!!! We'll be in PA next summer and were planning to fly home from a NY airport.

My main question is about how to get around:

We'll have a rental car. When we get into the NY area, should we go on and turn in the car at the airport since we won't need it in NYC?

How can we get to our hotel, then? Are there airport shuttles? Or do you recommend cabs?

Also, if you stay outside of NYC, in NJ, you take a shuttle bus or train into the city. THEN what do you do to get where you're going? (The example given earlier has you taking a bus to the Port Authority. I'm just wondering how you get from the Port Authority to your real destination).

Then at the end of our 2-3 day stay, how do we get back to the airport, since we would have no car now??

I just want to be sure that we'll be able to get around before getting rid of the car.

Thanks for your answers! this is the main part of going to NYC I'm nervous about!

 

[crazyme5kids]

A big money saving hint: Never pay the suggested price for the Museum of Natural History or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can give them a quater and still get in. I usually give $1.00 a person. You do have to pay for special event and I-Max shows (if you want to see them).

My kids love the wax museum. The Central Park Zoo is very nice. They had fun at the Brooklyn Childrens museum. Hop a ferry to Liberty Science Center. The intrepid is fun. Mars 2112, food is not great but the kids had fun. They love the Hard Rock and the food is typical Hard Rock food. They also love going to BB Kings, the food isn't anything special, but for some reason my kids like it.

As far as the Holland Motor lodge goes, I was stuck in traffic and got to sit and stare at it for an hour and thought to myself "you couldn't pay me to stay there." . I think there are better choices to stay at.

 

[mrsboz]

Just subscribing to this thread. Thanks for the great ideas.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

If you can turn in your car when you arrive in NYC then I would recommend doing so after checking in at your hotel and dropping your luggage. Public transportation is plentiful and easy but not while lugging your baggage.

I may be wrong on this as we've never had to fly into the city, but most hotels do not have airport shuttles. There are several services though that will pick you up at your hotel when you are ready to leave and take you (and some other parties en route) to the airport. I believe Supershuttle is one reliable bet. A cab will do as well - there are flat rates available from NYC to the airports.

If you decide to stay in NJ I would probably keep the car and turn it in at the airport. You may need to drive to whatever train you take into the city (most will have free parking). Unless you have a hotel that is very close to the train, and from what I've seen you may not want to stay at some of these places. IMHO, for the price you can get on Priceline for a 4 star hotel in the city you really aren't saving much and you are losing convenience.

Hope this helps somewhat. Enjoy your planning and your trip. We are planning another short visit for April or May.

Thanks for this thread!!!! We'll be in PA next summer and were planning to fly home from a NY airport.

My main question is about how to get around:

We'll have a rental car. When we get into the NY area, should we go on and turn in the car at the airport since we won't need it in NYC?

How can we get to our hotel, then? Are there airport shuttles? Or do you recommend cabs?

Also, if you stay outside of NYC, in NJ, you take a shuttle bus or train into the city. THEN what do you do to get where you're going? (The example given earlier has you taking a bus to the Port Authority. I'm just wondering how you get from the Port Authority to your real destination).

Then at the end of our 2-3 day stay, how do we get back to the airport, since we would have no car now??

I just want to be sure that we'll be able to get around before getting rid of the car.

Thanks for your answers! this is the main part of going to NYC I'm nervous about!

 

[roadtripper]

Just a tip on lodging in Manhattan--
I checked out www.quikbook.com, which does NOT require a deposit to book a room. This is a good site to get ideas on which hotels are offering deals during your dates. Then, I went to the website of the hotel I had booked, and booked the same room for 60 dollars less per night. I still plan to try Priceline as our dates get closer, but as of now, I am booked in a 3 star hotel for 169 dollars a night--not too shabby . It's the UN Millennium, fyi--not the ideal location, but for the money we save, we will take cabs to get around!

 

[kccmommy]

Wow, I loved all of your help for our trip to WDW last year, who knew everyone was a vast of information for new york too.

I've always looked at Restaraunt.com but have never baught because there isn't much for my area, my question is The coupon is for $25 off a $35 ticket at Mars 2112. Can we use more than 1 coupon per table and since the web didn't list their prices, will I need 2 or 3 for 5 of us. 2 adults, 2 teens ( will probably order adult meal food, but sometimes do kid's meals) and 1 child.

Thanks

 

[Trixiezzz]

It looks like the answer is no. This is what I saw on the Restaurant.com website:

".....Limit one (1) redemption per customer per month per restaurant.
• Limit one (1) dining certificate per redemption. Only one dining certificate can be use per party, even if the party is seated at separate tables and/or receives more than one check.....

 

[Lewisc]

doesn't priceline only guarantee a room for 2?

That's correct and NYC is one of the areas in which some hotels assign PL guests rooms with only one double bed. I stayed in one boutique hotel that only had one double bed and the room wasn't big enough for an air mattress on the floor.

 

[Bowen9475]

A friend and I just took our 3 daughters (8, 7 and 6) into NYC for the weekend and had a great time. We used a tip from here and stayed at the Amerisuites in Secaucus, NJ which worked out great. We got directions from Mapquest from home to the hotel and they were perfect. We had 2 double beds and a sleeper sofa, a fridge and microwave and the complimentary breakfast was good. The AAA rate was $143. The hotel staff was very helpful. They let us pay for each night on a different credit card, printed out Mapquest directions back home and let us leave our car there on our check out day so we could head back into the city for a few hours. The bus stop was right across the street from the hotel. It was $5.70 round trip for adults and children under 11 were free on the weekends (and holidays). Each trip in and out was about 15 minutes long. On Saturday we walked all over visiting Macy's, Toys R Us, World of Disney, Rockerfeller Plaza, Trump Tower, American Girl Place and ate dinner at Ellen's Stardust Cafe another tip from the DIS). We rode the ferris wheel in TRU ($4 pp) which the girls loved and did some shopping. We shopped and were able to have pictures taken with Donald and Daisy at WoD. We watched ice skating at RP. We ate ice cream at Trump Ice Cream Parlor. We shopped and saw the American Girl show which was great. Dinner at Ellen's was a blast watching and listening to the staff sing. On Sunday we went back into the city and took a double decker bus tour of the downtown. It was $37 for adults and $27 for kids and you can get on and off all day. We got lucky and the man we signed up with did not charge us for the younger 2 girls. The first tour guide we had was great and it was a nice way to see a lot of sights in a relatively short amount of time - about 2 1/2 hours if you just ride the route. We only got off once because we were hoping to get back to the hotel and head for home at a decent time. My own family plans to return in April and hope to have as good a time then.

 

[kccmommy]

Looks like we'll be going the week of the 4th of July and staying in the Times Square area. Does anyone know anything about where to watch fireworks? I wondered about Central Park, but also read not to go at night.