New York city visit

[mrudman]

A few weeks ago, when I asked my daughter what she wanted for her 18th birthday, she told me she'd love to take a trip to New York. We have never been there, and living in NE Ohio, it's too far to drive, so would've cost me a fortune to fly there. And also, I'd feel very uncomfortable trying to find my way around, and trying to figure out transportation from the airport, etc. So at that time, I told her there's no way we could do that so she's trying to think of something else.

Recently though, I came across a tour bus site that is offering a 1 day trip for $109 per person, which definitely brings it under consideration now. They leave the night before.. drive through the night... they drop us at Battery Park or Grand Central (our choice)... we'd have 12 hours in NYC... then they leave that evening and drive us back home. I'm seriously debating taking this trip with her.

My concerns are navigating the subway and how much all the extras would cost. I'd love to be able to visit the statue of liberty and the 9/11 memorial, as well as just do some site seeing.

Would 10-11 hours be enough time to take a ferry over to the statue and back, take the subway to the 9/11 memorial, and possibly even further into Central park area or something? Is there another main attraction that I should definitely visit?

How much does it cost for the ferry over? And to go into the statue? And how much does the subway cost to ride?

Any insider info would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Daniela Rose]

As a native New Yorker, I would reconsider doing a full trip. There’s so much to see and do. As for the Statue of Liberty, if you want to go in the actual statue, you need tickets in advance and they do sell out. The 9/11 museum and memorial is beautiful and quite personal to me.

A broadway show would be amazing! Central Park. The museums. Shopping in soho. Etc etc.

As for the subway, you can buy and unlimited card for the day(s) and it wouldn’t be that bad. It’s really not hard to navigate.

 

[happily single]

The bus trip sounds like a great solution, provided you can sleep on the bus. I memorial is pretty far away from Times Square. The good news it it’s close to the ferry. The Staten Island Ferry is free, but only travels past the SOL. I believe you need to bus tickets for the SOL ahead of time as they sell out, and if I remember correctly, you are assigned a time period to climb.

Sorry I can’t answer more questions, but 12 hours in the city and seeing what you want is possible

 

[mrudman]

As a native New Yorker, I would reconsider doing a full trip. There’s so much to see and do. As for the Statue of Liberty, if you want to go in the actual statue, you need tickets in advance and they do sell out. The 9/11 museum and memorial is beautiful and quite personal to me.

A broadway show would be amazing! Central Park. The museums. Shopping in soho. Etc etc.

As for the subway, you can buy and unlimited card for the day(s) and it wouldn’t be that bad. It’s really not hard to navigate.

Thanks for the info! I'd love to do a longer trip and probably will at some point.. but it's just not in the budget this year, and I think dd would be happy to see N.Y. even if only for one day.

So, to go in the statue, Iwould buy tickets online? What ferry would I need to take then?

Any idea on cost for an unlimited subway pass?

Thanks again for the reply!

 

[mrudman]

The bus trip sounds like a great solution, provided you can sleep on the bus. I memorial is pretty far away from Times Square. The good news it it’s close to the ferry. The Staten Island Ferry is free, but only travels past the SOL. I believe you need to bus tickets for the SOL ahead of time as they sell out, and if I remember correctly, you are assigned a time period to climb.

Sorry I can’t answer more questions, but 12 hours in the city and seeing what you want is possible

Thanks for the reply!

That was a concern of mine too (being able to sleep on the bus), . But I think I'd be able to, at least enough to not be exhausted for that day. Would definitely be taking that next day off from work though, lol!

 

[BadPinkTink]

@mrudman this website has alot of information you are looking for https://www.statuecruises.com/#/

a simple Google search brings up huge amounts of information

I agree with others, while the bus trip sounds like a good idea, its really best to do even a 2 day visit. I dont understand why it would cost a fortune to visit, Im sure if you booked far enough in advance you could get cheap Southwest flights

The same with hotels, you can get really good deals if you research and do your homework

I dont see the big deal about transportation from the airport to your hotel, again all you need to do is a simple google search for example on JFK website they have a whole section about transportation from the airport to Manhattan https://www.jfkairport.com/to-from-airport/taxi-car-and-van-service

I fly solo from Europe to California every year, I dont drive and I manage just fine. I have also done solo trips to San Francisco and New Orleans.

 

[mjkacmom]

You buy tickets online for the SOL, only one company (statue cruises) takes people over. It stops at Ellis island first. Figure an hour to get through security and on the ferry, at least an hour on Ellis island, an hour at the statue, ferry lines, you are looking at over 4 hours. We spent several hours in the 9/11 museum, Uber 2 hours at the observatory. 12 hours is nothing. You could walk the high line park, grab some food at Chelsea market, or walk around China town... I don’t think you need a subway pass, especially on a weekend. Pick an area or 2 to focus on.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

I would have to say that if I had 12 hours in NY with my 18 year old daughter I would see a Broadway show and walk around the theater district. As being from NYC I could not see doing the Statue of Liberty, 9/11 museum and see a play within 11-12 hours. I agree that you need at least 2 days - but if only 12 hours I would do a play and one other thing along with a meal. IMO you will not need an unlimited metro card for 12 hours. It is $2.75 a ride and $1 for the card itself. I would just pay per ride you use - the unlimited would be way more money.

Here is the link for the metro cards. I hope this helps.
http://web.mta.info/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm

 

[lila]

There is no longer a one day unlimited metro card.

I live in nyc and would also suggest a longer trip. I think you can have a nice first 11-12 hour day in the city personally, but it’s not worth it with all the transit on either end that you describe. If you decide to do the trip, I’d pick one area to stick to - downtown or midtown seem to be your options from the drop off points you outlined. I’d suggest looking at list of nyc attractions and understand where they are on a map and then pick the area you want to focus on. For example, I don’t think it’s feasible or realistic to plan to do both the Statue of Liberty/911 museum and Central Park on the same day as they are in different parts of Manhattan

 

[Cece_Kay]

With only 12 hours I wouldn't try to do one thing in several areas of the city but do several things in one area. The 9/11 memorial and SOL are in the same area so I would focus on those and then just do some walking around. Those 2 things alone will probably be 6 hours of the day. You definitely need more than 12 hours to do all of NYC so don't try to cram everything in. I think you'll enjoy it more if you focus on 1 or 2 big attractions relatively close to each other and maybe a meal at a nice restaurant instead of rushing all over and trying to navigate the subway which can be stressful if you're not familiar with it.

Whatever you decided, enjoy your trip!

 

[Lvsdisney]

We live in the Philly area and typically do a 12 hour day in NYC. Usually it includes one touristy thing (things we've done in the past: the Empire state building, Rockefeller center tour, Radio City Music Hall tour, Intrepid, MoMA, The Metropolitan Museum, tour of the Met Opera House, Natural History Museum, etc) and then a later lunch, and a Broadway show. That's about all we could fit into a day.

If you choose to do the SOL, that'll take most of your day. We did that a few years back (left from jersey) and from beginning boat ride to getting back it probably took 5 hours. We spent a fair amount of time exploring Ellis Island and the statue itself.

I haven't been to the 9/11 Memorial yet, but I still would plan a few hours there. I think you need to pick 2 things that you want to do the most, and if you get lucky and have extra time, have a 3rd option available, but don't count on doing it.

 

[afan]

Thanks for the info! I'd love to do a longer trip and probably will at some point.. but it's just not in the budget this year, and I think dd would be happy to see N.Y. even if only for one day.

So, to go in the statue, Iwould buy tickets online? What ferry would I need to take then?

Any idea on cost for an unlimited subway pass?

Thanks again for the reply!

I agree with the others that a longer trip would be better, but if you do the bus trip and are only there for 12 hours I would ask your daughter what she wants to do. Is the SOL and 911 Memorial things she wants to do? It seems they are more things you would like to do from the way you wrote it and it's her birthday trip. I also think at least with the SOL it would be better saved for a longer trip. If I was 18 again and going to NYC for just a day I would want to window shop, see Times Square and at least walk along Broadway. There's so many other things to do that are iconic NYC that don't require much more than walking.

 

[mrudman]

@mrudman this website has alot of information you are looking for https://www.statuecruises.com/#/

a simple Google search brings up huge amounts of information

I agree with others, while the bus trip sounds like a good idea, its really best to do even a 2 day visit. I dont understand why it would cost a fortune to visit, Im sure if you booked far enough in advance you could get cheap Southwest flights

The same with hotels, you can get really good deals if you research and do your homework

I dont see the big deal about transportation from the airport to your hotel, again all you need to do is a simple google search for example on JFK website they have a whole section about transportation from the airport to Manhattan https://www.jfkairport.com/to-from-airport/taxi-car-and-van-service

I fly solo from Europe to California every year, I dont drive and I manage just fine. I have also done solo trips to San Francisco and New Orleans.

Thanks for that 1st link! Gives me some good info on how to get the tickets, and time frames,

The date that I was planning on taking the bus trip was December 8th. DD has school that Friday, so wouldn't leave until after she gets home around noon.

The bus trip leaves Friday evening, getting us there at 8am Saturday morning, and it leaves around 8pm Saturday evening, getting us back on Sunday morning. Taking the bus would cost us $218 for the bus ride there and back.

Then, I was using Expedia to price out what it would cost if I flew in on the Friday (getting us there early evening), staying Friday and Saturday night (to at least given me 1 full day there), and leaving Sunday afternoon (to get us back in time for school on Monday). I can't find flights cheaper than $217. Then I looked on Expedia for hotels, and the cheapest one there seems to be about $350 per night. So it would cost about $1134 total, costing me $916 more just to have a short evening on Friday and full morning on Sunday. If you know of any cheaper airfare and hotel sites, I'd love to see them, thanks!

 

[mrudman]

I agree with the others that a longer trip would be better, but if you do the bus trip and are only there for 12 hours I would ask your daughter what she wants to do. Is the SOL and 911 Memorial things she wants to do? It seems they are more things you would like to do from the way you wrote it and it's her birthday trip. I also think at least with the SOL it would be better saved for a longer trip. If I was 18 again and going to NYC for just a day I would want to window shop, see Times Square and at least walk along Broadway. There's so many other things to do that are iconic NYC that don't require much more than walking.

Yea, I'd definitely be talking with her about what she'd like to do, She's not much of a shopper at all (unfortunately, lol), so if she had to choose, I honestly think she'd pick the SOL or Empire state building. But before I would make any reservations, I'd definitely be finding out exactly what she has been wanting to see in NYC. She's been wanting to go there for several years now, I think more for just the idea of wanting to see the city, so even walking around, just seeing some of the landmarks, and doing nothing else would probably make her extremely happy.

 

[Ava]

As others have said, if you want to do the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, that will take up about half of your day. You could probably do that and the 9/11 Memorial. It will depend on what time you can get a ticket for the ferry though.

Another option, if your DD is interested in seeing a Broadway show, would be to get off the bus at Grand Central, spend the morning window shopping on 5th Ave (the holiday displays will be up by Dec 8th) & walking through Times Square, then see a 2pm matinee. You can find discounts on BroadwayBox.com and Playbill.com. There’s also an app called Today Tix that sells discounted tickets. The show will be over around 5pm, giving you time for a nice dinner before you have to get back on the bus.

 

[lila]

December is a very tourist heavy month in nyc, so I would not be surprised to see high airfare and hotels.

I think you’ll have a more interesting experience in the midtown / uptown area but it would be very painful for a crowd perspective in December. I also don’t think I’d like to visit SOL on the ferry in the winter.

If crowd don’t bother you though you could check out the holiday windows, see the Rockettes Christmas show, watch the ice skaters at Rockefeller plaza, Top of the Rock or ESB and wander Times Square.

 

[runwad]

OP check out the Megabus https://us.megabus.com/ It leaves from Cleveland at midnight and gets to NY sat morn. They have cheap seats. In fact we might be going in December also and that is what we plan to do. Right now the megabus calendar doesn't go to December, but you can play around with the site to see the prices. I think you could go for the same amount and be there at least 2 days.

 

[Daniela Rose]

Thanks for the info! I'd love to do a longer trip and probably will at some point.. but it's just not in the budget this year, and I think dd would be happy to see N.Y. even if only for one day.

So, to go in the statue, Iwould buy tickets online? What ferry would I need to take then?

Any idea on cost for an unlimited subway pass?

Thanks again for the reply!

https://www.statueoflibertytickets.com/Statue-Of-Liberty-Tours/

http://web.mta.info/nyct/fare/FaresatAGlance.htm
Minimum for unlimited is 7 days.

9/11 musuem
https://www.911memorial.org/visit-museum-1

Tickets are available 6 months out. Not sure if it sells out or not. I went before it was open to the public for the victims and survivors.

 

[mmbrad02]

I did one of these Red Eye trips to NYC a few years ago from Kentucky. It was myself, my mom, my sister, and one of her friends. We were all adults and honestly it was a great way for us to get a glimpse of the Big Apple but we by far didn't get to see everything we wanted. Sleeping on the bus was okay - it is certainly not your own bed, but we made do. I will say, i took the following Monday off work and SO glad I did!

We bought tickets ahead of time for one of those Double Decker bus tours, with the Hop On/Off feature. At drop off, we only had to navigate ourselves to the ticket center for our bus. We rode around till the stop closest to our first stop, which was Ground Zero. We spent our time there until it was time for our (prepurchased) tickets to Statue of Liberty and walked over from Ground Zero. After Statue of Liberty we hopped back on our bus and rode around for a while and chose to get off over where the Today show is taped and toured around. Honestly by this point it was later in the day and we were getting tired and it would have been nice to had a hotel to rest in. But we trudged on, and that night we took the nighttime tour on our bus.

Did we see it all? Absolutely not. If we went back we have already said we want to see Macy's, do a Broadway show, see Central Park, and so many other places that we simply did not have time for. But it was fun to experience what we could and it's fun to say we've been there!

 

[lookame]

While I do think you should allow a few days to do NYC I can say for certain you can do the statue of liberty, ellis island and go to the 9/11 memorial in one day! When we went for my brothers wedding we were able to do that in one day ad have some time to spare after.