Budget New York trip..?

[nymets]

Head down to South Street Seaport in lower Manhatten That's where we will be watching them from

 

[HopperFan]

June 13th is "Museum Mile Festival". From the Metropolitan Museum of Art (82nd) up to El Museo del Barrio (105th) all the big museums are open for FREE from 6-9 pm. All along are musicians, chalk artists, street performers, art activities for kids.......mile long festival. Key for us five, will be FREE entry to Museums, we plan to hit a few of them that DS was very interested in seeing insides. Can't believe our trip will coordinate with this one day a year event.

www.museummilefestival.org

 

[MinnieM3]

Definitly check out Top of the Rock in 30 Rockefeller Plaza. It is the new observation deck that opened at the top of the NBC/GE Building. Most definitly worth checking out!

Can you just *go* to the Top of the Rock or do you have to have dining reservations?? We leave this Tuesday! Unfortunately, a good bit of our time will be at Sloan Kettering, but we hope to see some easy sights, too!

 

[MinnieM3]

bump. still curious about Top of the Rock

 

[calie_j]

bump. still curious about Top of the Rock

Top of the Rock is an observation deck that just opened, similar to Empire State building. Alot of people are saying it's better; for view of central park and less lines/crowds. There's an admission fee for this attraction (no restaurant there).

Calie

 

[swilphil]

What is the admission fee at Top of the Rock?

 

[HopperFan]

Adults $17.50 and 6-12 $11.25

http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/ODTStatic/site.htm

 

[SplashMom]

We are driving to NYC in June and I am really nervous about the driving part. We don't have a hotel booked yet but I would like somewhere central so that we can walk to most attractions. Will we be able to drive to our hotel safely? We are from a rural area and the big city traffic scares me! Do most central hotels provide free parking, or at least reasonable parking rates? I am trying to research hotels but there is so much info--this thread has been very helpful. I will keep investigating and any other useful info would be much appreciated!

 

[suzct]

Subscribing!

 

[swilphil]

Adults $17.50 and 6-12 $11.25

http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/ODTStatic/site.htm

Top of the Rock sounds a little pricey for just an observation deck. How does that compare to admission for the Empire State Building or other good viewing spots? We've already paid close to $1,000 just for airfare and a two-night hotel stay. I'm planning on buying tickets to a Broadway Show and at least one museum. Then there's food and cab or subway fare. Is it really possible to do NYC on a decent budget?

 

[barblue]

Great timely thread for me. We plan to go to NY this summer too! Great tips on here.

Can anyone recommend which airport to fly into? Prices flying into each (lga, jfk) are not much different and if no other factors we will go with the cheaper one.

BibbidiBobbidi -

LGA is more convenient to the City than is JFK. Also, don't forget that Newark, NY (EWR) is considered an NYC airport and is about the same travel time from downtown as LGA. EWR is a hub for several carriers that aren't hubbed at the other NY airports so you may be able to find cheaper prices going into EWR. (If you're not a fan of hefty cab charges, it is also incredibly easy to get into the city from EWR since there is an Amtrack/NJ transit train station right at the airport.)

 

[disney4us2002]

Cool info. Subscribing now.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

BibbidiBobbidi -

LGA is more convenient to the City than is JFK. Also, don't forget that Newark, NY (EWR) is considered an NYC airport and is about the same travel time from downtown as LGA. EWR is a hub for several carriers that aren't hubbed at the other NY airports so you may be able to find cheaper prices going into EWR. (If you're not a fan of hefty cab charges, it is also incredibly easy to get into the city from EWR since there is an Amtrack/NJ transit train station right at the airport.)

I forgot about this thread! We actually already bought Jetblue tickets a couple weeks ago into JFK for much less $$. We were going to go with flying into EWR which was cheaper with the other airlines from here. Then I found the Jetblue deal and saved $425!

Is a Taxi the best/quickest way to get to our hotel? I read it is $45 which is no biggie, but the kids think we should ride the train/sub! I told them we can do that the other days. We did take the metro from the airport in DC and it was so very easy. Not sure that it would be in NY though. Any advice?
Thanks for the input.

 

[salmoneous]

Out of JFK? With family? Take a cab. The subway is just a loooong, annoying ride to Manhattan. Your kids should get plently of other opportunites to take the subway. (note - this is coming from somebody who is a huge subway fan - just not to/from JFK).

Or, if there are a few extra bucks in your budget, hire a car service. It's just not that much more than a cab, and it a very nice way to start a trip.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

Out of JFK? With family? Take a cab. The subway is just a loooong, annoying ride to Manhattan. Your kids should get plently of other opportunites to take the subway. (note - this is coming from somebody who is a huge subway fan - just not to/from JFK).

Or, if there are a few extra bucks in your budget, hire a car service. It's just not that much more than a cab, and it a very nice way to start a trip.

Thanks. That was DH and my gut reaction! I have looked up a car service and it does seem to be only $15 more. I think we will go for that! This is really NOT a budget trip. We will be staying in the financial district so the subway will come in handy quite a bit.

 

[KEANE FAN]

My mom is worried about finding our way around the city. We are planning on just booking a hotel (maybe around Times Square) and just walking... is it really that hard? (We've been there before but with a friend who guided us).

 

[HeatherC]

We are planning a 3 night weekend stay prior to a cruise in July and just booked the Residence Inn Times Square for $199 plus tax. This was through the Marriott Website.

It has gotten great reviews on TripAdvisor and has one king or queen bed with a double sofa and mini-kitchen. I liked the kitchen part since we have kids and like to eat breakfast in our pj's.

Looks like a great location and place for families so I thought I'd mention it. Also...you can keep your eyes on www.travelzoo.com for deals that come out.

Hope this helps someone. Great thread!!! Keep the ideas coming!
Heather C

 

[HeatherC]

Forgot to mention....has anyone used a New York Pass? Are they worth the money?

Thanks.
HeatherC

 

[snappy]

We are planning a 3 night weekend stay prior to a cruise in July and just booked the Residence Inn Times Square for $199 plus tax. This was through the Marriott Website.

It has gotten great reviews on TripAdvisor and has one king or queen bed with a double sofa and mini-kitchen. I liked the kitchen part since we have kids and like to eat breakfast in our pj's.

Looks like a great location and place for families so I thought I'd mention it. Also...you can keep your eyes on www.travelzoo.com for deals that come out.

Hope this helps someone. Great thread!!! Keep the ideas coming!
Heather C

Thanks so much for posting htis, Heather.

I am so glad I subscribed to this thread. I am not even sure why I did it.
When I subscribed I did not have a trip planned, I think I did it because someon on another thread I spend a lot of time was going and I wanted to see if I could get info for her.

Anyway my mom and I started planning a trip to NY yesterday. My brother lives in Manhattan, works in the theatre business. He always comes down her for visits so we thought we would return the favor. Mom started looking at websites for air, hotels. She looked at cheaprooms.com for packages. All sort of pricey, so she calls a TA. He suggested Millenium Broadway. I looked back at this thread last night and saw your post, checked the Marriott site, and the rest is history. The TA did not even know about this hotel (it opened in January 2006). He was very impressed with the deal. We have four nights starting June 16th at $199 plus tax plus a $3.50 fee. Before we booked, we called my brother and he went and checked the place out. Very impressed. Free breakfast. Best part: great location for the theatre district-he liked it much better than the Millenium which is a little too close to the action.

You really helped us save $$ since we were looking at packages at more than $800 eachat either a 3 1/2 or 4 hotel. Also, we would not have had the nice kitchen. We won't be cooking, but it will be nice to have fridge to store stuff from a deli or something and doggie bags from restaurants.

Thanks very much. I'll try to post after we return.

 

[CPM]

Travel Zoo has a great special this week.
http://hotels.travelzoo.com/new-york-hotels/237129

A friend of mine that lives in NYC says it's in a great location.
I called about parking and it's $48.00 for 24 hours.

I have this booked and the Holiday Inn Express on 15th & 45th.
They don't have a parking lot but said there is one around the corner for $35.00 for 24 hours.
Both are the same price but teh Roosevelt came with a breakfast buffet.

I have to decide!!