Top 3 in New York

[gouldingclan]

Whils out in Orlando in february we have managed to convince my DH's parents to have our 2 DS's for 2 days, I was content on staying around Florida to start with ans staying a nice Hotel ....but My husband has suggested that we fly to New york and stay the night (fly up early morning,back late night the next day) we will be doing this over valentines Day!!!ahhhhhhh :heart: :heart: :heart:
but what I want to know is the following bearing in mind our sort stay:


1. Top 3 places to stay

2. Top 3 must sees

3. Top 3 places to eat(bearing in mind it will be 13th or 14th of Feb so will we need to book)

Thanks

Vicky

[lesley1960]

The open top bus ride is a must

[Jools99]

Try www.tripadvisor.com this lists the top ten for all your looking for.:wink :wink :wink



Jools

[Enright78]

I would suggest you book NOW for a 14 Feb date. We went to a lovely restaurant on Valentines called "Rosa Mexicana" as we were going to the Opera at the Met afterwards. Get hold of a copy of Zagats guide or find the website (Zagat in a google search will do it) for top tips. Cafe des Artistes is lovely too, or the restaurant in Central Park (can't remember the name)

[Jools99]

For Valentines Day try and book the river cafe www.rivercafe.com We went in June but it was a business dinner and i thought what a lovely romantic place and what a view of Manhattan:wink :wink


Jools

[ukdiva]

River Cafe is a must! I also agree with the open top hop on/hop off bus tour, if you are pushed for time, then the downtown loop is the best of the three, it takes you through SoHo, TriBeCa, Little Italy, Chinatown, the Financial District, etc, and you can get on and off wherever you like.

Also, take the subway into Brooklyn and then walk back into Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge, the view of the skyline is breaktaking, and something that will stick in your mind for a long time.

For drinks, i highly recommend The View at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square. It's a revolving bar right at the top of the hotel which gives fantastic 360 degrees views of Manhattan. Drinks are pricey, but the view more than makes up for it.

Most of all, just enjoy NYC, there's no place like it!

[thrillaholic]

if you dont like the option of the hop on / hop off bus, then you can view this link www.newyorkpartyshuttle.com im going it in 2 weeks. its a 5 1/2 hour tour and you get to do everything. inc Statue of Liberty & Empire State Building. There is also a stop for lunch.

[gouldingclan]

thanks for suggestions I just want to make sure we get to do something memorable,but it such a short trip we need to be prepared,what area is the best to stay and which to be avoided??

[ukdiva]

As you're going for such a short time, if i were you i'd stay somewhere in Mid-town Manhattan. There are hundreds of hotels in NYC, if not thousands, so what kind of budget do you have? It'll make it easier for people to suggest somewhere.

[DonnaD]

Vicky

Don't want to put a dampner on things but have you already booked your flights? It's a pretty long flight for one night. Getting back and forth to the airport will also take awhile. If you want go somewhere more grownup than Orlando, how about Miami? NYC is so big you really need more time.

I'm sure you'll have a great time wherever you go.

Donna

[ukdiva]

The flight time isn't that great, 3 hours max so i think it's doable. I've just had a quick browse on Orbitz.com for flights, [this website is great for internal USA flights], and the cheapest they have is with Delta Airlines, flying out of MCO at 7:15am, landing at JFK at 9:39am, flying time 2hrs 24 mins, and returning the next day, leaving NYC [La Guardia] at 7:50pm, arriving back in Orlando at 10:32pm, flying time of 2hrs 42 mins. Total cost is $231, which is around £123. So i definately think you can do it. The biggest expense is going to be the hotels, and as you are planning to be in town over Valentines weekend, i'd book a room asap if were you! :)

[Astrid]

We loved the Grand Hyatt Hotel which is right next door to Grand Central Station so ideally situated.

Must do's - Agree with UKDiva on the Brooklyn Bridge walk - fantastic, we wandered around the shoreline at Brooklyn and took in the sights over to Manhattan and then walked the Bridge back over.

Do the Empire State Building at night - wonderful! I have no head for heights but doing this at night really helped and it was such an experience.

We took the boat around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island which was fascinating, we didn't get off but that was a great trip too.

Just walk around and soak up the atmosphere, it really is an 'awesome' city.

Have fun! :)

[gouldingclan]

I am really torn as to what to do as Miami is a great idea too,I guess we've set our heart on New York!?!?!
I have also looked at flights and discovered 2 companys "SONG" and "JETBLUE" they fly out of MCO,West Palm beach(didn't know a airport there was an airport there??) and prices have come out $190-$220 each so similar to what UKDIVa has quoted!!

I will have to sit down again,but it would be such an adventure!?!?!?

Vicky

[gouldingclan]

sorry UKDIVA,budgetwise we would like to stay 4star range but not need a second mortgage!?!?!

[flikflak]

Hiya

I would personally say that only having one night in NY you will be really pushed to do anything. By the time you check in 2 hours before at MCO, then the flight then getting off the other end it will be lunch time. You can have a walk round and then get ready for dinner. Then the next day you will need to check out and then depending on what time your flight was you would need to get back to the airport. It will also be freezing.

Don't mean to put a dampener on your plans but I think it would be frustrating for you to be in such a great city and not have any time to do anything and to be on a really strict schedule.

I certainly know the best things we found were when we were taking a walk around and not rushing to get to see each sight.

Have you looked at booking into a 5* spa hotel within a 50 mile radius of where you are staying in Florida. Then you could drive there within an hour or two check in get your fluffy dressing gowns on and really take it easy and enjoy the facilities and each others company then a nice meal in the evening. Then spend all the next day taking it easy before driving the hour back? I don't know any hotels but am sure they are some within that range.

Sorry for the lack of enthusiasm for your plans I just think you will be so rushed to do things you wont enjoy your time there. It is such a great city but needs at least 4 days there to get everything done and take it all in.

Hope you have a great time whatever you decide to do!

(Where abouts in Somerset are you??)

[Raymond]

Sights

Empire State Building

Stat of Liberty (but dont bother going over) but maybe do the harbour boat trip .. get there REAL EARLY

Site of twin towers

Eat

Fish restaurant in central station (cannot remember name)

Try a typical NY breakfast joint

Stay

Near Central park so you can walk there in the morning

I agree its not enough time to warrant the expense, you really need at least three days.

Dont forget its gonna be COLD

[gouldingclan]

mmmm I think I may have to think of something else??? Or rather convince hubby to??? perhaps maimi as suggested bofore or look into somewhere within 1-2hr drive how far is the keys ??

I am near Taunton in Somerset

[flikflak]

I think it is about 4hrs down to Miami then the keys would be on further than that.

My friends parents live near Bridgewater and one of my aunts lives near Yeovil so been down your way loads.

[Enright78]

To be honest I'd still go to NY. Will internal flight check in be 2 hours? Usually this can be as little as 45 minutes as long as you have confirmed your flights. Also ay NY you could be out of the airport in 40 mins or so, no immigration. If you travel only with hand luggage it would be even less. Go for it!

[ukdiva]

I agree with Enright! You only live once, go for it! I've been to NYC in Jan and granted, it was freezing, but it didn't take away from the enjoyment of the place. You don't need to check in 2 hrs before for an internal flight, 1 hr would be sufficent. You won't need to go through any immigrations in NYC so you can just get off the plane and go, basically. Try to fly into La Guardia as that is the closest airport to Manhattan, try to avoid Newark, as that is the furthest away. If you take the earliest flight out of Orlando and the latest one back from NYC, you will have at least 1 and half days to enjoy yourselves. You could easily do the hop on/hop off bus tour when you arrive, get off in or around South St Seaport, take the subway over into Brooklyn walk back over into Manhattan, and jump back onto the bus again. Go for a nice meal in the evening, or try and catch a show, try the discounted ticket booth in Times Sq. The next morning you could do the Empire State Building [go early to avoid the queues], do some window shopping on 5th Ave, go for a late lunch and make your way back to the airport for your flight. Granted you won't have even touched the surface of what NYC has to offer but at least you would have been. Stay in or around Times Sq as you'll have loads of transport links. Good four star hotels in and around that area include the Marriott Marquis, the Hilton, and the Westin.

[gouldingclan]

I have just spoke to my DH on his return from work and he agrees with UKDIVA...we will just go for it !!! Even if it just gives us a taste for more we've taken the opportunity...stuff the expense you only live once and we should make the most of having the kids off our hands...now to investigate which one of those lovely hotels!!! Thankyou UKDIVA for your help

[ukdiva]

Goulding - You are more than welcome, i love NYC so anything i can do to persuade people to go is a pleasure for me! I hope you love it as much as i do! :)

[Hal]

IMHO the single best thing to do in NY is the Circle Line boat tour. You have to see NY from the water to really appreciate it because at street level you can't see more than the building in front of you. See http://www.circleline42.com/index.ihtml?page=sightseeing The Harbor Lights evening cruise is the best as you get to see it in daylight on the way out to the Statue of Liberty and all lit up as dusk falls on your way back.

The second best is a helicopter flight - not as good as the Circle Line but a great experience.

Writing this just makes me want to go back there.

[ukdiva]

I agree, you really get a feel for the island when you see it from a boat. Also flying into La Guardia over Mahattan is amazing, a free air tour of the island! We flew in early evening from Philadelphia, just as the sun was setting and it was breath-taking, flying over all those skyscrapers, Central Park, the Yankee stadium... WOW!

[thrillaholic]

If you fly into New York, you should do the evening cruise, that way you get to see it from Water. You can have the rest of the day free. Go to the Empire State building at night.
Then i do fully recommend the New York Party Shuttle. This is not a hop on hop off bus, the bus and guide stays with you throughout, when you stop at all the attractions you get out and so does the guide. The bus will stay with you. For 5 1/2 hours you are brought everywhere, onto the staten island ferry etc. And you have the choice to be brought back to either times square or Empire State Building, the guide goes with you up this also. You should read up more detail about it, it gives exact locations of where you go. even central park etc www.newyorkpartyshuttle.com
I will be doing this on 2nd Nov, so will have lots of trip reports.

[Sue]

We did the Circle Line cruise too and highly recommend it
A great place to eat that does not break the bank is Ellen's Stardust Diner on Broadway. Great breakfasts and in the evenings the servers take turns to sing and entertain - all dressed up in 50's outfits and Grease type tunes

[swv]

I a gree that you would only be scratching the surface of ny in such a short time, but it is a great city and just people watching is great, i personally enjoyed Ellis Island, Empire state building, some of central park( but it was so cold we never made it halfway) had to get the kids those feet and hand warmers from a camping shop near central park.We also went to Ellens Stardust and the entertainment from the servers was very good. Want to go back but maybe in summer as both times we have been it was winter. Go have a great time and you will go back