New York - first time.

[Willeve]

Definitely look at the Go City tickets, they work out very economical if you are savvy with your choices. My son and his girlfriend are going next month, they(me! )are in full planning mode!

[grant_w]

On our first time we booked a flight and hotel package with BA. As long as you are within walking distance to Times Square you'll be fine.
We booked a shared transfer with Attraction Tickets, so we didn't have to worry about public transport or taxis, we were taken straight to our hotel.
Regarding attractions, we knew we were going to pack loads in so we bought a NewYorkPass. You can fit in as many attractions as you can, we did 10 in 3 days, plus you get a HOHO bus. They have boat trips, shows, tours and attractions on there for you to choose.

[marypoppins38]

We go most August's and our favourite hotel is The Knickerbocker on Times Square. Its just steps from Bryant Park too so its nice to get a coffee from Whole Foods across from the park then just sit in the park for a while to enjoy it. The hotel has an amazing rooftop bar overlooking TS too. When we go we always have an afternoon at Jersey Gardens Mall for a bit of shopping. Its really easy to catch the bus there from Port Authority Bus Station.

[alibeau]

Wow, thank you all so much.

Lots of great advice and info, much appreciated

I'm off to do some googling!

Thanks again,

Ali x

[porridge]

We’re going for the first time this December (all being well)
We booked with ba in the sale in January, but they have another sale that’s just started and the prices look great for next year too.
I’ve been researching where to visit - we’re doing 5 nights too. And to be honest, I’ve started trying to fit things in and it’s going to be tight! So I wouldn’t go for less than 5 nights.
Statue of Liberty crown is still closed, and no sign of it reopening - I really wanted to do that so I’m a bit disappointed
But almost everything else is open (apart from the vessel).
You need proof of vaccination (for over 12s) to go into restaurants and attractions, transport. And you have to wear masks indoors and on transport I believe. But basically I think things are fairly normal ish.

[Lenny Shark]

We went to NYC for 4 nights in May 2019, staying at the Ridge Hotel (highly reccomended as in the middle of everything and has a nice rooftop area) and managed to fit in all this:
-Empire State Building
-Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island: Didn't bother going inside it has lots of steps!, Pre-book if possible as it gets crazy lines for people trying to buy tickets.
-Frozen on Broadway
-Photos outside the Ghostbusters Firehouse!: It's a little bit of a trek as it's not next to a subway station.
-Lunch at Bubba Gumps: get there early or pre-book as it's usually packed.
-Explore Times Square: Check out the Tangled lanterns in the Disney store
-Central Park (inc Zoo): We seriously underestimated how big this is, it's huuuuge! We didn't like the Zoo so much as felt the animals were v cramped.
-Yankees baseball game: A surprising highlight of the trip, def reccommended
-Coney Island: An easy subway ride from the city to see the funfairs and the beach
-Rockefeller Centre: Great shops in Rockefeller Plaza
-Top of the Rock: We went at night and was packed, would be better to go early if possible.
-Grand Central Station & NY Public Library

Other things to note: The subway is your friend! Get a Metrocard and just hop on and off, it's sooo easy
Little Gio's Pizza: Best pizza I've ever had in my life!

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by marypoppins38

We go most August's and our favourite hotel is The Knickerbocker on Times Square. Its just steps from Bryant Park too so its nice to get a coffee from Whole Foods across from the park then just sit in the park for a while to enjoy it. The hotel has an amazing rooftop bar overlooking TS too. When we go we always have an afternoon at Jersey Gardens Mall for a bit of shopping. Its really easy to catch the bus there from Port Authority Bus Station.

See more...

I Like Jersey Gardens
Also went to Woodbury Common Outlet too
Easy to catch a bus there 🎁🛍🎁🛍🎁

[marypoppins38]

Originally Posted by ClaireNJ

I Like Jersey Gardens
Also went to Woodbury Common Outlet too
Easy to catch a bus there 🎁🛍🎁🛍🎁

See more...

I have never been to Woodbury Common Claire. I think we might have to give it a try next time we go.
I am just looking at for flights for next month at the moment for our 'big birthdays'. I am so tempted but a bit nervous about the fact that you have to give details for contact tracing (I totally understand why before someone else reads this posts and flames me!). What if someone on your flight out there test positive and they trace you...I don't fancy having to isolate for 10 days.

[Silvercat]

Central Park zoo is fab, small enough to do in a few hours, but really lovely. The whole park is amazing, there is a statue of Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid amongst other things there. There are also a lot of gorgeous museums around the outside of the park, we didn't get time to visit them when we went in 2011 and must get around to going back.

Check out the Dakota building nearby, where John Lennon lived and was shot. Also, an open-top bus tour is great fun, a hop-on, hop-off tour around either the North or the South of the city. However, if the weather is cold, wrap up warm as these can be quite chilly if you sit upstairs!

We saw a couple of off-Broadway shows, and with hindsight, should have bought tickets from the ticket booth on Times Square, which sells much cheaper tickets than buying from the box office of the theatre; they only have limited numbers of tickets available each day, but are a lot cheaper. We saw Daniel Radcliffe in a play called "How to succeed in business without really trying", and we also saw the new (at the time) musical about Spiderman, which had been very controversial but we loved it.

[FloridaFairy]

Went for 5 nights in 2017
Stayed at Doubletree by Hilton Times Square West - very central
Used the HoHo bus (surprisingly) to get around or walked
Went to Empire State Buikding
One World Observatory
Top of he Rock and saw the fireworks for the NY marathon
Grand central station
Walked around Central Park
Statue of Liberty with pedestal access
Ellis island
Wall st
Fearless girl and raging bull
And because it was Halloween we went to Greenwich village for the parade

Would recommend Andrews diner corner of 34th ( I think) for breakfast
Also found Here We Go App invaluable

Listed everything we wanted to do and made sure they were all near each other. I think that’s key to getting stuff done in a short amount of time