Ask me anything about New York and Manhattan (NYC)

[CoffeeAddict]

none of us has our g, just g2. So driving is not a option. So its either bus or train. Which one is cheaper? Any links to cheap new jersey hotels? just need room that sleeps 4. thx

I would use hotwire.com to try and find a jersey city, hoboken, or Union city hotel on the cheap. Cheap if you're shopping for this weekend or next weekend may be something in the order of $125 a night though. Stick to a 4 star though. 3 star if you're desperate. You do not wanna be in a 2 star hotel in Manhattan let alone Jersey. Of course if you're gonna do hostels then a 2 star might be a step up from a hostel.... but not necessarily

Getting into Manhattan via train is relatively simple and easy from New Jersey. A quick google search should be able to give you the answers you need for hopping on the train. Myself, last time I took the train from jersey I just walked to the train station and figured it out on the spot. It's not that difficult.

[rangermcfadden]

Flights are indeed a good idea if you can't drive and are only going for the weekend. I initially recommended a car as it's the cheapest way to get there while still having enough time to actually do something on the weekend.

If you HAVE to go by train try to leave on thursday night on a sleeper car and leave sunday night on a sleeper car (if you don't have school or work on monday).

Sorry don't have time at this moment to look deeper into discounted train tix.

For Torontonians, the one Maple Leaf train leaves each city once daily, at 8:30 AM from Toronto and 7:15 AM from New York Penn. There is no sleeper car on this train.

A good source of discounted tickets is the Amtrak website.

[CoffeeAddict]

Ah good info on the train. Thanks!
I thought the Maple Leaf was a sleeper car train. My bad
I'll include your info in the OP

[rangermcfadden]

As for places to eat, I really liked the Chelsea area... so many neat spots around NYC.. Hard to go wrong for food choices

A good way to go wrong eating in NYC is to head to a chain restaurant in Times Square. These locations usually have higher prices than other restaurants and, well, they're chain restaurants. If you're hungry in Times Square you're better off heading over to the restaurants over on 9th Ave.

[speedy726]

CoffeeAddict, can you tell me where the major outlet centres are in New York/Jersey? I'm looking to purchase some shoes and a mountain hiking backpack. Is there a Nike outlet or something similar to SportCheck? Thanks in advance!

[yao416]

CoffeeAddict, can you tell me where the major outlet centres are in New York/Jersey? I'm looking to purchase some shoes and a mountain hiking backpack. Is there a Nike outlet or something similar to SportCheck? Thanks in advance!

Woodbury Common Premium Outlets
Waterloo Premium Outlets

[Monsieurmaggot]

none of us has our g, just g2. So driving is not a option. So its either bus or train. Which one is cheaper? Any links to cheap new jersey hotels? just need room that sleeps 4. thx

For what it's worth, here's what I'd do. Get someone to take you to the Buffalo airport. If not, take the bus to Buffalo (Greyhound - From Toronto is $36.00 Canadian return) and book a flight on JetBlue for $79US each way.

It might be slightly more than bussing from Toronto but you don't spend 20 hours getting there/back either.

I have taken the Greyhound bus to Buffalo before and there are shuttles to the airport. I booked a flight on JetBlue's website for this weekend. The cost was $79 each way per person. Some days they even have $49 each way specials.

You land at JFK. You can take the subway or local train to downtown Manhattan for about $10 each way.

[moffatt]

Hi, we ( 2 person ) are planning a trip to NY in october for about 10 - 14 days. I have checked hotel rates , and considering the number of days we are staying, the hotel rates will add up to quite abit of money. Do you have any suggestions on where we can stay , that is not as expensive as a hotel, but decent. ( ps: we prefer not to have shared bathroom with other guest - i notice they have allot of those . perhaps it keeps the rates dwn )

Any ideas will be appreciated. thanks

[902linger]

Are there any "great deals" for parking in Manhattan? I know that street parking can be had in the upper east and upper west sides, but what about midtown?

I've used http://nyc.bestparking.com/ but that's just giving you rates for various lots. Any other good options for those of us staying midtown but driving into the city?

[CoffeeAddict]

Staying in New York itself for 10-14 days may be a pretty expensive undertaking. I googled up a page from About.com that describes some rental properties. I've personally never stayed longer than a week so this is new territory for me

http://gonyc.about.com/od/hotels/a/apartment_rent.htm

If you can do a communite for the 2 weeks I would suggest staying perhaps in New Jersey, Maine, or Pensylvania. Any of those states would have far cheaper short term rental units. You might be able to find something in a small town (or a cheap "residential" hotel with a kitchen in the room) for under $100 just outside of NYC but you'll also most likely have to drive into NYC which might not be fun.

How far ahead are you planning? If you go the priceline route you should be able to get a new jersey 3 star hotel for under $100 USD a night taxes in IF you can book it about 4-6 months in advance. The longer your outlook, the cheaper the hotel will be.

Hi, we ( 2 person ) are planning a trip to NY in october for about 10 - 14 days. I have checked hotel rates , and considering the number of days we are staying, the hotel rates will add up to quite abit of money. Do you have any suggestions on where we can stay , that is not as expensive as a hotel, but decent. ( ps: we prefer not to have shared bathroom with other guest - i notice they have allot of those . perhaps it keeps the rates dwn )

Any ideas will be appreciated. thanks

[CoffeeAddict]

Are there any "great deals" for parking in Manhattan? I know that street parking can be had in the upper east and upper west sides, but what about midtown?

I've used http://nyc.bestparking.com/ but that's just giving you rates for various lots. Any other good options for those of us staying midtown but driving into the city?

Try iconparking.com as well
I think the terms "great deals" and "parking" are mutually exclusive in NYC. There was a thread about NYC parking a little while back though. You should be able to dig it up in a search.

Any chance you can leave your car outside the city? A good option might be to leave your car at one of the airports and take cab or transit into town. Here's a link for the Newark airport parking info

http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTrave...r_parking.html

[makeice]

I plan to get cheaper hotels in New Jersey, say the airport area. How do I get to New York City from the hotel by public transportation?

[CoffeeAddict]

Here's info direct from wikitravel.org. Find more info depending on EXACTLY where you're staying from http://www.njtransit.com/hp/hp_servl...ion=HomePageTo
The website has a trip planner which can help you navigate from point A to point B with directions inbetween.

Public Transit
For the most inexpensive option possible, however, take the New Jersey Transit bus #62 to Newark Penn Station (one-way fare $1.25). From there, you may take a PATH subway train either to World Trade Center station in lower Manhattan, or, by transferring at the Journal Square station to the 33rd St. train (across the platform), to the following stops along Sixth Avenue: Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, 9th Street, 14th Street, 23rd Street, and 33rd Street. Note that transfer to the New York Transit subway system almost always requires an exit onto the street. The combined fare for the bus/PATH option ($2.75) is significantly lower than the EWR AirTrain with NJTransit, but will take longer —plan on 1.5–2 hours — and requires 1-2 transfers. As a word of caution, note that this is not a well-publicized option; you may well find yourself to be the only tourist on the bus, so don't expect much help or companionship in finding your way.

Since public transport will drop you off at only a couple of points in Manhattan, you should make your choice of transport depending on where you are headed and how much luggage you are carrying. For points near New York Penn Station, the AirTrain/NJ Transit option works well. For points downtown, it may be faster to take the NJTransit bus and then a PATH train. For places on the east side, near Grand Central Station, the airport bus would be perfect. Be aware that, if you have luggage, getting into Manhattan and then looking for a taxi, while cheaper, won't be easy during rush hour.

[skylighter]

I just checked into it as I already booked the hilton @ newark. You basically can walked to the North Elizabeth train station which will take you to newark penn station for $2.25. Then you transfer to the PATH train to the world trade centre (22 min. ride) for $1.5. Or some hotel will offer shuttle to the Penn station. Don't walk to the airport station to take the train as it cost a lot more. The PATH train is 15 min. a train and the North Elizabeth train varies from 10 min. to 30 min. So you have to really print the time table from the website.

Or Best of all, book the Hilton @ the Penn station, then you don't need to transfer at all. It is @ Newark Downtown about 10 min. from the airport.

[CoffeeAddict]

In general it might also be advisable to see if the hotel you are staying at runs a shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel for free! Some NYC hotels do this but I can't recall which ones. I know the Sheraton does NOT offer one. The more expensive hotels may offer shuttle services though.

Best bet is to call the hotel you are staying at and ask if they run a shuttle service.

This goes for pretty much any major city that you're staying in.