Your views please

Hi everyone,

We are going to NY from 4th-7th November and i have spent a good few weeks putting together our intinery. All comments welcome.

We%26#39;re actually staying in Secaucus but have been assured the hotel shuttle bus will get us to/from Manhattan (or appropriate bus stop etc)

Anyway here goes:

Day 1 Friday 4th Nov

Arrive Newark Airport approx midday

Journey to hotel, freshen up

Empire state sometime in the afternoon

Wander to Macy%26#39;s

Walk to Times Square

Find somewhere to eat

Back to the hotel

Day 2 Sat 5th Nov

Breakfast at hotel

Spend the morning doing SOL %26amp; Ellis Island

Brooklyn Bridge

Wander through China Town %26amp; Little Italy

Get bus/subway to Rockefeller Centre

See St Patrick%26#39;s Cathedral

Find somewhere for dinner

Back to hotel

Day 3 Sun 6th Nov (NY Marathon Day)

Breakfast at hotel

Get into Central Park and enjoy the marathon atmosphere, cheering athletes etc

Walk to Bloomingdale%26#39;s

Wander over to Grand Central Station

Take a look at the Chrystler Building

Make our way to Broadway via NY Library

See Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at 6pm

Eat either before or after the show

Day 4 Mon 7th Nov

Breakfast at hotel

Go to Secaucus Shopping Oulet (down the road from our hotel)

Maybe just explore the area around our hotel?

Flight home at 7pm

So what do you think? It is obviously only a plan and while we%26#39;re there we might find thre are other things we want to do. But for a starting point, it%26#39;s ok right??

Your views please

I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ve already done this but I would want to know everything regarding the shuttle from the hotel to Manhattan. Where does it drop you, how long does it take (particularly in the rush hour), when are the first/last buses, how close are you to subway/PATH stations?

My reason for saying this is that the morning of Day 2 is going to be spent at SOL/Ellis Island. Are you planning to catch the ferry from Battery Park or Liberty State Park? The security is very tight and it can take a long time before you get on the ferry. Have you allowed enough time to do all this as the rest of your day is pretty action packed?

Do you both like walking as I see you intend getting to Times Sq from Macy%26#39;s and Grand Central from Bloomingdales this way (12 blocks and 17 blocks respectively). You might consider getting the subway instead.

Your views please

It looks like an excellent itinerary and starting point

DAY 1 you can fgind excellent restaurants at the walking westr direction from Times Square , less crowed and better options

DAy 2 you can include the observation deck at the ROckefeller Center and also MoMa, both places are the newst thing to do in Manhattan

DAY 3-- MAybe a gospel? there are plenty of them all over the city and cheap

In general it looks like a good plan. I usually suggest people leave the ESB to later in their trip after they%26#39;ve been around a bit. It seems to add to the enjoyment to be able to say ';oh look, we were over there...';

Agree with Nic on checking the shuttle info and considering an alternate plan to the shuttle on day 2 morning. There is a way to get to SOL and Ellis Island from the NJ side which would be easier than going into midtown and taking the subway. Also, if you want the observatory tour of the statue you need to prebook and you should anyway. You should also buy your tickets to ESB ahead online to avoid the ticket holders line.

menupages.com is a good place to look for restaurants. While you don%26#39;t need to plan every minute and every meal, you might consider dinner reservations since you%26#39;re coming Marathon weekend and the most popular places may be filled. Have fun!

Thanks for all your responses.

I am prebooking tickets for SOL, ESB and Broadway, but thanks for the tip.

Apparently the hotel shuttle drops off at either NJ Transit Bus Stop (where the bus can take you to Port Authority) and also the NJ Train Station (which can get you to NY Penn Station). So I%26#39;ll have to allow for time getting down to Battery Park for SOL on day 2.

Another thing, what sort of time are we looking at it getting dark at the begining of November, 5/6pm? Looking at maybe doing ESB and Rockefeller Centre Observationery -one in dalylight and one at night?

Oh and Gard, your trip report was great reading!

Just going back to the point that whiz and I made. You may very well find it easier to take the bus or train to Liberty State Park and pick up the SOL ferry from there. If you go to Circle Line%26#39;s website: www.circlelinedowntown.com/directions.html they have a map and directions as to how to get there. They also say on another page ';We strongly encourage the use of our NJ location with faster processing and parking facilities';

Buy a really good map of NYC (or download several maps - including NJ - from the net). Mark the places you wish to see/experience on the map(s). That will give you a good idea of how to group different events on different days in order to cut down on the amount of travel time between attractions.

Although this exercise demands a little mental energy and time, I know you%26#39;re up to it Nath and Soph.

Take your free hotel shuttle to Secaucus station.

Catch the train from there to Hoboken.

www.njtransit.com/sf_tr_schedules.shtml

use Main %26amp; Bergen line to see train times

Hoboken is the termination.

Take Hudson-Bergen Light Rail from Hoboken to Liberty State Park.

overall, the trip station to station is 50 minutes

A month ago I went to the SOL, with a young relative from out of town, and it took forever. I really don鈥檛 think it was worth it: having to wait on line, being herded around like cattle and yelled at by security. By the time I got to Ellis Island I felt like one of the huddled masses yearning to be free. Of course, it鈥檚 may be one of those things your specifically here to do 鈥?in that case make sure to research the quickest way from your hotel (going in from NJ has to be quicker and this might be a good thing to do on your last day in town) and buy your tickets in advance.

The Port Authority is right next to the Circle Line pier. A cruse that tours the Statue may be a better idea (really, I love all their tours). With that you get some narration, it鈥檚 more relaxed and it鈥檚 going to be much quicker. With only 3 days if you find yourself pressed for time this is a good plan B.

It also looks like your going to be in the Time Square area every night for dinner. There are lots of decent places to eat in that area 鈥?but there are also a zillion tourist traps so make sure to research were you eat. It鈥檚 also true that once you get out of the TS area Mid-town (populated by office buildings and hotels) is a bit of a ghost town and not great for people watching or long walks 鈥?sometimes I even feel a little unsafe the streets are so empty. If it were me I鈥檇 try to place myself in the East Village or some other lively neighborhood with lots going on and save my Mid-town trips for the day when the area is more populated. Time Square is interesting for about 2 hours and then you鈥檝e pretty much seen it all so there isn鈥檛 a lot of reason to go back and back 鈥?I think the night of your Broadway show should cover it. The subways in Manhattan really are safe late into the night (I routinely ride them well after mid-night) so transportation back to the Port Authority after dinner shouldn鈥檛 be a concern.

Thanks again for all your responses.

We really do want to do SOL and Ellis Island and perhaps going from Liberty State Park would be a better idea. Would we be able to get on there but disembark in NY? I don%26#39;t think we can, is there another way to get fom one side to the other (I bet there%26#39;s a really obvious answer!)

I think you should be able to get onto a ferry in NJ but depart to NYC. Check their website or send an email question. There are some ferries from Jersey City that go to the financial district too. Here%26#39;s info

http://www.panynj.gov/ferry/fermain.HTM

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