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New York trip advice


ColonelBlimp

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3 hours ago, ketteringram said:

I will indeed! Still working out a very rough itinerary at the moment. Not going until 21st of Dec. I have a few 'must do' things, but some of them are quite small things that will just take a short amount of time. Going to have to give Christmas day some thought. Will need to check, what, if anything, is open. 

I'm pretty sure Christmas Eve is their big day, I know the cinemas open on Christmas Day and going to see the latest release is a holiday tradition over there, so I'd guess bars etc probably follow suit.

I'd recommend a Halifax Clarity credit card too, 0 conversion rate or fees on spending, as long as you choose to spsnd in dollars.

Also only charges a standard interest rate on atm withdrawals, works out at around £1.50 in charges per €1000 if you pay your bill in full a month later, but even less if you use Internet banking to pay the bill while still away.

By far the cheapest way to spend abroad, and has the same conditions worldwide.

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On 29/10/2016 at 13:41, ColonelBlimp said:

When you've been @ketteringram, I hope you will let us all know your impressions, looking forward to hearing how it goes for you.

Right...... Went on the 21st, got back on the 28th. Quick summary. Getting there, no issues. Longest flight I've done. About eight and a bit hours I think. Against a very strong wind apparently! I've heard various stories over the years about immigration queue. Seriously, when we got to that bit, there was one person in front of us. Five minutes, all done. Straight outside, into taxi. Into midtown. 

The six days went too fast, and there's loads we didn't do/see. Basically, I didn't want to come back, and I'd go again tomorrow. I've already started looking at flights in the spring. It's supposed to be more expensive these days due to the exchange rate, but I found it ok. We only took cash, 2,200 dollars, and brought back 600. Didn't use a card apart from paying hotel bill.  

I'd definitely recommend it, for anyone who hasn't been. I know I'll be back there. I'm thinking I need three trips of about a week each, before I can cross it off the list. 

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3 minutes ago, ColonelBlimp said:

Glad you had a great time! Must have been fun at Christmas time.

What did you do, where did you go? What was your hotel like? What did you do for food, did you venture away from Manhattan?

Did taking cash work out well for you as it did me?

So many questions, sorry!

 

Hi,

We were there early december and did use card quite a bit. But certainly got through our cash too.

Have been before so skipped somethings, like the statue of liberty tour, but we did fo the following:

Empire state building (again)

Observatory at one world trade center, this was fantastic, great view.

Staten island ferry - good fun and good views

helicopter ride - this was fun and great views too

Intrepid - interesting, could spend all day here, enjoyed seeing the shuttle and concorde.

Dyker heights for christmas lights - good fun, a bit scary as went on the subway so about 20 minutes walk to the lights.

Night time bus ride - meh, not that bothered about this one.

Ate in little italy one night, this was nice and great atmosphere.

Saw Aladdin show on broadway - really enjoyed this too.

Central park - a few drinks in the boathouse, loved that atmosphere here.

 

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41 minutes ago, ColonelBlimp said:

Glad you had a great time! Must have been fun at Christmas time.

What did you do, where did you go? What was your hotel like? What did you do for food, did you venture away from Manhattan?

Did taking cash work out well for you as it did me?

So many questions, sorry!

 

Re the cash, yes that was fine. Didn't get mugged :) .  Just left it in room safe, and took out what we'd need each day, plus a bit. Neither of us are shoppers. Hotel was in midtown, just south of Bryant park. The Refinery. It was fine. Didn't eat there, so can't comment. 

Some things done.... The Met, amazing. Museum of natural history, same. The 911 memorial, and one world observatory. Did this Christmas day, and my personal favourite. A crystal clear day helped! Grand central, a must. Choo Choo! Fabulous building. Lunch at Central Park boathouse, another crystal clear day for this. Rockefeller centre, quiet in mornings, jammed later on. New York public library. Plus lots of general mooching. Mainly between fifth and seventh Ave, and  31St to 58th on foot. Saks, Lord and Taylor, Macys and so on, all worth visiting. Wanted to see a show, but the queues at those TKTS places were insane. Will pre book one for next  visit. We pre booked the museums and one world observatory this time. It means your paying full price, but skipping the queue. 

Any kind of attraction there, I'd recommend being there at whatever time it opens. 

We had breakfast out every day. Ranged from 30 - 50 dollars. Skipped lunch most days, apart from the boathouse. Evening meal varied from 65 to 130 dollars. 

We took taxi from and back to Jfk. Thanks for the advice to ignore dodgy taxi touts! 

I probably slightly over tipped everywhere, being a novice. 

The subway was fine. Only used it six times I think. Just bought single ride tickets from machines. Very straightforward. 

Tons of stuff we didn't do. We'll be there again. 

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1 hour ago, Boycie said:

$30-50 for breakfast, was you a family or a couple? I bet the recent exchange rate killed you compared to this time last year?

mind you, I have no idea as I only heard the rate is poor at the moment.

Just the two of us. I've no doubt it's dearer now, due to exchange rate, but it's my first time there, so nothing to compare it to. You could obviously do it cheaper (eating), if you needed to. Generally, I didn't find it expensive. 

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