Port Authority ftw. cheapoooo
well it depends where youre flying into, jfk, laguardia, newark… but cab fare is usually flat rate around like $45 into manhattan. i guess i may have a bias opinion since i used to spend a lot of time in manhattan, but basically find a hotel thats actually in the city, or else youll be wasting time getting to the “sights” every day. if you fly into neward you can just get a bus for like $14 into port authority, and then from there you should be able to hoof it, dont quote me but a metro pass should be like 14bucks or something for 3 days, unlimited rides… id say ur dead on with airfare… id skip the nightlife, its gonna be $$$, but what i would reccomend would be south st. seaport, its pretty chill there, and there are some bars, maybe ill post up some pics… dont get suckered into those touristy restaurants, the food sucks balls, and youll walk out with an $50/person bill. you might want to check out little italy, its really chill, the problem is that to get there most likely when you get off the train, you have to walk thru scummy part of china town…
oops my bad i didnt mean to double up reccomending little italy, check out grand central, rockefeller center, they usually run specials at like hilton on ave of americas (6th) for hotel rooms, which is like 2 blocks from radio city, and maybe 4-5 from times square…
If you plan on getting hammered make sure you stay in the city. Staying outside the city sucks, trust me, its worth the extra money to stay in the city.
Eat @ Mangia…great food. Carnegie deli is cool too. sandwich is soo big u cannot fit it in your mouth
That’s too bad. That’s where I saw my first dead guy…
And yes they don’t call it dirty jersey for nothing.
I grew up in Manhattan and my suggestions depend on who your going with. For instance, if you’re going with a female I’ll have different ones than if you’re alone or on a sausage fest.
thats south st seaport, theres usually some shit going on there, if not theres like a “mall” with some outdoor bars so you can grab a drink and just stare out at the brooklyn bridge with your lady friend or something watching the lights come on.
i thought about it a lot more, and when i used to live in ny my ex-fiancee and i used to do some pretty ordinary things, that would maybe be fun for someone visiting. like people mentioned theres always central park, you can rent paddle boats and stuff, or just lounge around and get some sun. we used to even do silly stuff like play on the playground at midnight on the corner of e96th, or chill on the rocks by “the pond”, you can go for a stroll around the jackie o res, itl take a while though, there are horse rides in the park, or you can pay a little chinese man do take you around in a rickshaw, lol. theres a ton to do. i remember we used to just walk across the brooklyn bridge take the train to brooklyn and then walk back to manhattan (itl take abotu 30min to walk it). um theres the statue of liberty, if you dont want to pay to go there, just take the staten island ferry, and you can shoot some pics from like 2-400yards away. if you have a car i woulndt pass up driving the FDR loop, it was one of my favorite things around like 3am… unfortunately there are a lot of “my new haircut” guys at the clubs, but just find a chill lounge or winebar or something, its always fun to dress up and take your girl out. also if youre lucky enough you can get tickets to the Late Show or something, call ahead to find when you have to wait for the tix. my fiancee and i would get bored and just hop over to brooklyn banks and watch kids skateboard and stuff sometimes too… (its on the way to SS seaport), if you want while youre down there in the financial district, check out Wall street, get your pic with the bull. check out ground zero if you want.
id skip seeing shows or anything like that, but thats just me. oh also soho is overrated, its overpriced and youll most likely see groups of hippies oogling and admiring a 30x15 “garden” with haggared shrubs and stuff. stay away also if your girlfriend has a penchant for boutiques and shit like that, or youll max your CCard out. my fiancee used to live in greenwich which i guess is a little better, theres a lot of life there, places to eat, stuff like that (bleecker st), but it wasnt the place for me and we always used to stay at my place UES. im not bias and ill tell you right now theres really nothing to see UES (upper east side) except park ave, check out madison for the museums, but other than that if you dont live there its a waste of time…
feel free to ask any questions… good luck, oh id say $500 a person if you want to live a little…
Mangia lol, we have an account with them, they SUCK ASS.
I’ll tell you where to eat, I’ll tell you where to drink, I’ll even karaoke with you if your down with that shit.
Subways and busses rock ass, check out : www.hopstop.com - 2.00 can get you REALLY far because of transfers are FREE with the metro card.
If you come, get all day passes (they are like 7 bucks I think) and they provide unlimited rides for the whole day (with a 15 minute cooldown before rides, to prevent multiple people using one card.)
Hotels in the city suprisingly ARE worth it, because there’s nothing like getting fucking tanked and then crashing after a short taxi ride home. However - if you want, I wouldn’t go into NJ for the hotels - Bronx, lower westchester is a lot easier to access and are MUCH nicer. The Metro North line rocks ass, but doesn’t take metrocard. You can buy a 10 pack off peak to and from for relatively cheap (cheaper than buying one at a time).
Bars : you sound like you aren’t into trendy lounges and huge clubs - lucky for you I’m not usually that type either and I know the bars in the lower east side and (somewhat) the upper east side really well. Drinks can be pretty cheap - you can always find a couple places that do all you can drink deals or really cheap something. There’s a bar off the Astor Place stop on the 4,5,6 subway that is 10 dollars for 5 shots of whatever you want. They don’t have goose, but kettle one, and all other call liquor and stuff, so that’s pretty good. Anyway, there are lots of GREAT cheap eats, GREAT cheap drinks, GREAT FREE entertainment.
Walking around Times Square at night still gives me the chills, I’ve done it countless numbers of times, it’s still amazing. Top of the Rock is a huge tourist spot but shit, for 15 bucks per person - you won’t get to see anything cooler. Make sure you have your Camera, and a tripod if possible.
Food - Street vendors are suprisingly clean. Chicken and Rice or Lamb Gyros are a huge hit with most people. They are actually very strictly enforced. Hot Dogs are not that good - they are interested. The hotdogs at Ted’s are a lot better. Don’t bother going to one of the well known delis around here, they overcharge for the same shit that any midtown deli can offer. They all use Boar’s head meat and the same bakeries. They just name their sandwiches differently.
Keep your shit in zipped pockets. I can’t stress how important that is. You will be jacked if you don’t. People who seem really really nice to you are either trying to get you to give them money, diverting your attention so they could take money from you, or diverting your attention so someone else can. They also will rip you off if they smell “tourist.” If you want to buy something off of a street vendor, and it seems a little high, just put it down and say “no thanks” after you ask him the price. They will drop the price, depending on the traffic of the area.
Depending on what else you are interested in, like broadway shows (which admittedly are absolutely fucking amazing here in NYC vs anywhere else), fine dining, a walk in the park, horse carriage rides (i don’t recommend), seeing museums, just walking into HUGE retail stores (FAO schwartz, apple store, Saks, blah blah blah)… the possiblities are endless…
I can help plan your trip if you want, but as for nightlife, I’m pretty whatever - I’m always a go-with-the-flow type bar guy, and there are PLENTY of bars for that. You will quickly be overwhelmed with choices of bars in just one part of the city…
well put, there are lines around the corner even at 2am for Halaal food, from the street vendors which is legit good food, and imo they use prarie dog meat for the hot dogs…
Despite what movies show, I thought the subways were rather clean and safe when my gf and I went about a year ago.
Say no to cabs, subways were super easy to get used to and very cheap.
I was in NYC about a month ago, after a 15 year absence. I took my wife and kids and bought a city sights bus pass(dbl decker tourist bus) i’ll tell ya it wasnt a bad deal. Its get on and off where ever you want for 24 or 48 hours and stops at all the tourist spots. If you do the 24 hr pass on a weekend the driver told us that noone checks for the next day so its like 48 hrs for the price of 24 http://www.citysightsny.com/ its worth looking into i’d do it again in a hearbeat. we did the downtown tour
Wellll the 4,5,6 and 1,2,3 are pretty new - most of the other lines are ok, just old. Not too dirty, but not as pretty as the new ones. The new ones are also VERY CLEAR as to where they are going. Have fun listening to an indian guy trying to say “This is the 7 express train, the next stop is woodhaven blvd.” in about 1.3 seconds.
The random entertainers in the subway are fun too, but don’t let them bully you into giving them money. If you have some change, and the guy/girl didn’t suck, it’s ok. The ones who are good are usually safe lol.
Other things to think about : Botanical Gardens, Bronx Zoo, east village, union sqaure, west village, chinatown, korea “block” town.
People watching is cheap. And there’s plenty of places to do it.
I’m adding all this shit because I’m sure this question will be asked again.
you can have a ton of fun in nyc. stay in the city, use public transportation. time square at night is sweet, ive been there so many times, and as howie said, still get the chills. I just fucking love driving through at night. I dont know what it is, but its almost like your at the center of the world, unreal. If you go during x-mas time, def go see the tree, its really nice(that sounds gay, i know).
Hit up the village for bars, theres some really good ones, the names escape me right now(im usually pretty trashed when im there lol). Its mostly a college type scene since NYU and some other colleges are nearby. going to chinatown its worth the trip just to haggle with them and get some ripped dvd’s for cheap. Dont even think about driving. If you dont know what ur doing, you will end up getting fucked.
Eat at wierd places, go to south street seaport, walk around the village, go shopping(if ur bringing a girl) and eat at some good restaurants. You will have fun. PM me and I will call some of buddys from home and give you some good bars to hit up.
lol i love how when you go to queens all the trains start getting shitty and there are like packs of rats roving the tracks… also beware of nightime/weekend line changes, there are signs posted in the stations on the platform, if its gonna affect you… oh ps you can go to Penn station and check out madison square garden…
thanks for the pms… soo anybody have a hotel suggestion? something central? nice? not to expensive?
Super 8 on 46th st. between 5th and 6th 199 a night plus 30 a day to park in garage across the street. OK place, clean etc… free cont. breakfast- no view or anything but its only 2-3 blocks from times square
200 a night is kinda steep… any other less expensive options? is it worth it?
is 200 a night worth it—NO ! but i couldnt find another decent “name brand” hotel for less (under 300.00). and being its in the middle of everything it was ok. That also was prime summer time it might be less off season
thanks all. if anybody has anything else to add, or can think of a good experience they had doing…xyz @ xyz… please feel free to comment