Thread: New York advice
View Single Post
  #6  
Old April 22nd, 2010, 11:38 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
SMS
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 899
Default New York advice

On 20/04/10 7:30 AM, blackbat wrote:
Hi all,

Contemplating a visit to NYC this summer. Family with young / teenage
kids
.
Grateful for advice on some budget hotels that you might recommend.
Also advice on which areas are safe to stay.
Been to NYC a couple of times before but never with kids and therefore
feel a little more vulnerable.


Check Venere.com and quikbook.com for good deals in NYC. Last year we
stayed at Best Western Seaport Inn, near the Brooklyn Bridge. We had
kids 11 & 15 with us. It had some advantages over the Times Square area:
1. Very large room with 2 queens and a refrigerator. 2. Free breakfast.
3. Free wi-fi. 4. Close to Battery Park and S.O.L.. 5. Close to
Chinatown for cheap good food. 6. Not too far from two different subway
lines. 7. Close to Jack's Stir Brew, the best coffee in NYC. 8. Less
expensive than other areas of Manhattan, though still $199/night. 9.
Afternoon fresh cookies. We did a lot of walking, from South Seaport
through Chinatown and the lower east side then through the village and
up to midtown.

Airport to hotel depends on the airport and how much luggage you have.
From Newark you take the airport train to NJT train to Path, though as
someone pointed out to me it's much cheaper to take the bus to the Path
station, and no slower but might be more of a hassle if you have a lot
of luggage. From JFK you take the SkyTrain to one of two subway lines
depending on where in NYC you want to go. With 4 people, a taxi is not
going to be that much more than the train, but it could be slower. Avoid
services like Super Shuttle at all costs.

The best part of the trip for me was a bicycle ride around Manhattan.
They've put in some great bicycle/multi-use paths around the island.
"http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/manhattan-bike-map/"

I never felt unsafe, but I didn't venture out to the Bronx or other
areas like that. The trip before I went over to Brooklyn to the NYC
Transit Museum, and even though the neighborhood was a little dicey it
was fine in the daytime.

The last thing you want to do on vacation is go to factory outlets.