New York Vacation Help....

[allaboutaprincess]

I've seen several threads on here about vacations in New York. I need some help! My family wants to go to NYC next fall. I don't even know where to begin. I'm not sure we can afford to fly. We are 18 hours away but my family is ok with driving since we drive to disney (12 hours) every year anyway.
If we decide to drive, do we need to stay outside the city and take a train? Will the hotel have a safe place to park? Will the traffic be way too crazy for us to drive in?
Please experts give me your opinions!
TIA!

 

[Mkebound]

Consider flying if you can. With 3 airports (EWR, LGA & JFK) fares in and out of New York can be quite cheap.

I live about 4 hours away so we go to NY about 4 times a year. Quite often we spend the night in NJ (take the Lincoln Tunnel out of Manhattan and stay around Meadowlands) Hotels there are MUCH cheaper around $150 a night vs. $400 a night AND offer free parking, vs about $50 a night to park at a hotel in the city.

Once in Manhattan we find free, legal street parking near a remote subway station and then use the Subway all day. Everything in NY is within walking distance of a Subway station.

Depending on what your family likes to do consider:
Central Park - so much to see and do in this gem
Shopping on 5th ave - FAO Toy store is a family favorite
Museum of Natural History - (the movie "Night at the Museum" is based on this)
Statue of Liberty (get tickets in advance)
The Met - largest museum in North America
Eating Pizza in Little Italy
Several gems in run by the National Park service in addition Lady Liberty - visit NPS.gov for more info
Walk across the Brooklyn bridge - An incredible experience
Times Square - be sure to visit after dark to get the full experience
See a Broadway show - I can be expensive, but you can't do this at home!

These are just the highlights, there are dozens of smaller museums, art galleries, incredible restaurants, etc.

 

[tiff211]

How old are your kids? www.goldstar.com has really good deals on tickets. We are going this weekend. I have a 5, 8, 10yo. Times square is a must. They LOVED the lights, the hoopla and the crowds. Toys R us has a big ferris wheel in the middle of the store. Seems like the line is ridiculous but it moves fast. There is a HUGE m&m store and of course a Disney store. Just tons to do in Times square alone. There is a place called Sony Wonderlab which is interactive and FREE but you have to call and get advance tickets.

www.statuecruises.com is the site to get tickets for the statue of liberty. Crown and pedestal tickets sell out but you can usually get tickets to go to liberty and ellis island.

Central Park is very big and has lots to do in itself. There is a smaller zoo, that suits the younger set fine.

Happy planning, NYC is AWESOME!

 

[MichelleinMaine]

If you drive, I recommend staying in Secaucus. We stayed at LaQuinta - good sized suite with breakfast and parking included was around $150. (I found a code and got it a little less, but $150 still good.) #320 NJ transit bus (a nice bus ) runs right into Port Authority bus terminal (just outside Times Square) for I think it was $2.30. (Kids are less and are free on weekends.) It was an easy 20 minute trip.

There are some other hotels in the area if you prefer a different class of hotel.

I would not recommend this if you are flying in, you would have to get a cab and it's not short trip. (We did fly in, but had only a backpack each. We took the AirTran/subway into the city ($7 IIRC), then just walked aroudn for the day til we took the bus to the hotel. It was a PITA tough.)

 

[snowangel72]

We just got back and stayed in Jersey City and I will never ever do that again! I am a Manhattan girl all the way. The commuter train is a PITA!!!!! You can get a really good deals on Manhattan hotels on Priceline. Do a search on here there are several links and suggestions in previous threads.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Your profile says you live in the "Deep South". Are you within a couple of hours drive of an Amtrak line? That may be very preferable to driving or flying.

 

[allaboutaprincess]

I've been pricing hotels on priceline and found some good deals. When you book through them, can you choose 2 beds or 1 king?

 

[bamor]

Priceline will not guarantee you bedding for more than 2, not the way to go for a family, especially in NYC.
If you do plan on driving in, try the Travel Inn (only hotel in Manhattan with free parking). Rates are great if you book early. Not fancy but clean and in a good location. If you go during the summer they have a rooftop pool which is nice. Some others: Radio City Apartments, Jewel facing Rockefeller Ctr, Intercontinental NYC Times SQ (again good rates if you book early).
Always read the trip advisor reviews before booking and check www.travelzoo.com for NYC lodging specials

Some highlights:
Brooklyn Botanical Garden is free on Sat mornings 10am to noon
Walk the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan
Ride the Staten Island Ferry (free and a great way to view the Statue of Liberty)
Metropolitan Museum of Art (suggested donation)
Am Museum of Natural History (suggested donation)
Central Park
Rockefeller Center/Top of the Rock


www.broadwaybox.com for theater discounts
www.hopstop.com for walking/subway directions
www.menupages.com for menus

 

[msmama]

Long Island is another option (though it adds on driving time).

For about an hour on the trian you could save quite a bit on hotels. And if you can fly Southwest, they fly into Long Island McArthur Airport. (There's a train station quiet close to the airport with a shuttle and I think many hotels have shuttles to the train).

 

[clori]

Skyline hotel in Manhattan has cheap parking and nice indoor penthouse pool. I only stayed stayed outside of Manhattan once due to a blizzard and while it was doable (we stayed in Stamford CT and took Metro North) I much much prefer to stay in Manhattan. However I am fine not staying right in Times Square. We stayed at Skyline Hotel and Chelsea Savoy Hotel for $135 both booked directly with hotel and Affinia Manhattan 1 bedroom suite for $159 thru travelzoo.


I like the www.newyorkpass.com website to get ideas etc. The pass itself can be worth it but it depends on your plans. We used it once for 3 days .

 

[lastminutemom]

If you are going for just a few days, it is a shame to have to use a great deal of time getting back and fourth to your hotel. As someone else said, don't use Priceline for NYC. It won't work for a large family.

Tripadvisor.com has a NYC forum that you can read for lots of information.