New York Trip Ideas
Plan your trip to New York using the same tools locals do: TimeOutNY and New York Magazine. These are two of the best sites to go to for information on what's happening around the city, as well as up-to-date restaurant and hotel reviews.
Other People Are Reading
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Hotels and Lodging
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Use New York Mag's visitor's guide to find a hotel room in your price range or in the right neighborhood, then contact the hotel to book it. This website offers a comprehensive list that includes smaller venues like bed and breakfasts and youth hostels. You may want to comparison shop on sites like hotels.com or priceline.com to see if cheaper deals are available. Once you've settled on where you're staying, you can easily plan your itinerary from there.
Sights
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Decide what sights you absolutely must see while you're in New York and then plan your days around those activities. Pick one or two large events a day, like going to see the Statue of Liberty or going to a Broadway show, and then you can fit other smaller events around that. Do some research to find out what the operating hours are of the sights you want to see, what typical wait times are and any other useful information that you may need to know before you go. Use a website like HopStop.com or New York's transit system's website to calculate approximate travel times between destinations.
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Food
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Plan meals as part of your daily itinerary. Most visitors to New York aren't used to the amount of walking that is part of every New Yorker's daily life. While all this walking is great for your health, it also helps you build up an appetite. Carry snacks and water with you, for between meals, especially if you are traveling with children, and be sure to carve out time each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dining out can add up, but New York Mag and TimeOutNY both have helpful features on inexpensive places to eat that also serve palatable food, so you can plan a mix of high- and low-cost meals during your trip. Stopping for meals also gives your feet a rest and gives you a chance to discuss all the great sights you've just seen.
Finding Your Way Around
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Get a compact, laminated map of New York. Several publishers, such as Streetwise and Rand McNally, make small laminated maps of the city that include subway and bus information. New Yorkers navigate by the buildings. If you're downtown, you know the Empire State Building is north. It's easy to get disoriented and not know which direction you're facing when tall buildings block out the sun or when most of your travel is underground. if you have a map feature on your cell phone it will be a great help in navigating around New York. New Yorkers love giving directions too, so don't be afraid to ask.
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