OT - Toronto to Manhattan Trip

[CanadianImagineer]

I'm thinking about taking a ONE day trip, yes you read correctly, to Manhattan to celebrate my bday (coming from TO). What are the must sees (and preferably free or inexpensive) things to see/do around Times Square?? Where would you recommend for a (again, inexpensive) birthday meal? Cheapest way to get from Toronto to LaGuardia? Any other suggestions for a cheap one day birthday trip? Also, whats the best way to get from LaGuardia to Times Square? I know, I'm just FULL of questions Thanks!

 

[michelle1]

I would say the cheapest flight you will get would be Buffalo to NY and then you can take a cab from LaGuardia into Manhattan. I was with a couple of friends and we walked all over Manhattan but since you are alone you may want to pay for one of those tours where you pay for an all day bus ticket and you can hop on and off at any time and in any of the different locations it goes. There are tons of different tour groups so if you go on to a NY web site I'm sure you'll find different ones. Times Square in itself is fun just walking around and looking in the stores....that's the great thing about NYC...you can walk, cab or take the subway to so many places and sightsee for free. If you plan on seeing ground zero, statue of Liberty or other things like that I would do those in the day and save Times Square for the evening..it's so lively at night and everything is open even on a Sunday night. Have fun!

 

[vod2117]

I would say the cheapest flight you will get would be Buffalo to NY and then you can take a cab from LaGuardia into Manhattan. I was with a couple of friends and we walked all over Manhattan but since you are alone you may want to pay for one of those tours where you pay for an all day bus ticket and you can hop on and off at any time and in any of the different locations it goes. There are tons of different tour groups so if you go on to a NY web site I'm sure you'll find different ones. Times Square in itself is fun just walking around and looking in the stores....that's the great thing about NYC...you can walk, cab or take the subway to so many places and sightsee for free. If you plan on seeing ground zero, statue of Liberty or other things like that I would do those in the day and save Times Square for the evening..it's so lively at night and everything is open even on a Sunday night. Have fun!

First of all, I live in Brooklyn, NY so if you have any other questions about New York City/Manhattan, please don't hesitate to ask questions. I would not suggest taking a flight to Buffalo from Toronto and taking a cab to Times Square, because after the money you spent on the cab ride and the time you spent on the plane and in the cab, it can get very tiring. One of my favorite restaurants is Bens New York Style Deli which serves a mean corn beef sandwich. There are many sights to see in Manhattan. If you want to get it all in, I would suggest taking one of those red double decker tour busses which you can pick up in Time Square. A few sights just to name them is:

Toys R Us-Worlds largest toy store in Time Square

M&M Store-Great for pictures and souvenirs

Dale & Thomas-Many different popcorns in many different flavors that serve as a great treat.

Again, dont hesitate to ask more questions.

 

[mommylo]

Hi Canadian Imagineer, I admire your courage. I am assuming you don't want to stay overnight in Manhattan because that could cost you a bunch. We went to NY in Sept and took Porter Airlines. We saved a lot time not having to go through Pearson. We took the first flight out . We arrived in Newark at around 9:30am and they have a train (sort of like our GoTrain) that goes to Penn Station, Manhattan (about half an hour), which is very close to Time Square. You can then walk around, have lunch, see a Matinee Broadway show maybe. You can then take the train back to Newark and take the last Porter flight out. We stayed at the Marriott at Newark Airport which only cost us US$125/night should you decide to stay one extra day. Have fun!!

 

[TheZue]

I'm going in May so this thread is GREAT

We are on the west coast so I'm not sure we'll have a chance to go back since it's a really long flight and quite pricey. Sooo some basic things we've already got planned are our anniversary dinner, we are planning on going to Gordon Ramsey's restaurant if we can pull off reservations. Then we have tickets to wicked. We have four full days to spend and I don't want to overplan but what absolutely can't be missed? Also what would be a good deli? I get the impression that the carnegie deli is mainly a tourist trap now; although I do want to try the cheesecake And how long would the museum of natural history take? Also how late is Times Square generally open? I have a tendancy to over plan but I want to plan a bit so any info is good info

 

[shoppgirl]

Definitely consider flying into newark and taking a cab into the city. I was looking at fares, and Air Canada was posting $92 one ways to Newark. If you only have one day, driving to Buffalo may not really be the most appealing way.

 

[rella's fan]

Sign up for Spirit air email specials. I live in Windsor and fly out of Detroit, and Detroit to New York comes up at least 3-4 times a month for $9 each way plus taxes. Spirit flies into LaGuardia. My 6 year old daughter and I just went in August and with taxes our flights were $34 roundtrip. We did stay right in Times Square but I figured with the money I saved on the flights we could splurge, plus with a 6 year old I wanted to be close walking distance to everything. We went to a matinee of Mary Poppins, did a double decker bus tour - great way to see lots!! and spent a lot of time in Central Park. I think the cab from LaGuardia to Times Square was around $25. I LOVE New York and really wanted to get back around Christmas but hotels were crazy! Good luck. Also, I don't know how much you want to spend but I did a bus trip once and it was fun (everything taken care of) and it had pick ups all along the way till we crossed at Buffalo, I don't have the website but do a search for "big blue coach" they have a few different New York itineraries.

 

[MickeyLover20]

The Disney store is cool...there are character meets at different times throughout the day. A good bakery if you like cheesecake is Junior's Bakery...their cheesecake is the best, I'm not too sure what else they sell. I agree with the PP about the sightseeing tour, we did that and it was great. If you want to see the Statue of Liberty you can take the Staten Island Ferry and it goes, you can't go up it or anything but you can see the statue and take pictures, and the Staten Island Ferry is free. Have fun, NYC is awesome!!!

 

[CanadianImagineer]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions .. however I must confess, there's been a change of plans . Instead I'll be sticking closer to home and going to Niagara Falls for the day!! I just couldnt get the price for nyc down to where it needed to be, soo luckily there's another tourist heaven just an hour away. However it still is a possibility in the future so thanks for the tips! And to "TheZue" I hope this thread has helped some and have a great time on your trip!!!