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hello fellow travelers! i would like to ask for some travel advice regarding NYC. will be there for 2 days next month and I want to see as much as possible. any travel tips are highly appreciated! thanks!

 

2 days would be pretty short to enjoy the sights. Anyway, see if you could cover all of some of the following in your 2 days in Manhattan:

1. Empire State Building (go to the top)

2. Rockefeller Center

3. Ground Zero (old site of the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan)

4. Radio City Music Hall

5. Broadway

6. Central Park

7. Madison Square Garden (Make this the lowest priority when you go to Manhattan.)

8. Grand Central Terminal train station

9. Chinatown (Give this a low priority too since it's not really much different from Manila's Chinatown or other Chinatowns for that matter.)

10. Battery Park (gives you a very good view of the Statue of Liberty; great for picture taking)

 

Wear comfortable shoes for you need to prepare yourselves for quite a bit of walking. :)

Edited by willow_boy
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thanks for the advice guys. i guess it would be easier than my 4 day tour of paris where I tried to cram as much as possible while enjoying the sights. anyway, just want to ask is it worth it to go to ellis island (tama ba, yun yung island ng statue of liberty?) or okay na yung sumakay ng ferry to staten island and back?

Edited by shadowspy
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thanks for the advice guys. i guess it would be easier than my 4 day tour of paris where I tried to cram as much as possible while enjoying the sights. anyway, just want to ask is it worth it to go to ellis island (tama ba, yun yung island ng statue of liberty?) or okay na yung sumakay ng ferry to staten island and back?

 

 

well its up to you but if you like art go to the museum of arts i agree dont make the chinatown and madison your priority., and dont forget to go to broadway

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thanks for the advice guys. i guess it would be easier than my 4 day tour of paris where I tried to cram as much as possible while enjoying the sights. anyway, just want to ask is it worth it to go to ellis island (tama ba, yun yung island ng statue of liberty?) or okay na yung sumakay ng ferry to staten island and back?

 

 

Ellis Island is different from Liberty Island. Ellis Island is what used to be the immigration center for NY way back in the late Eighteen Hundreds, and is now a Museum. You can see a lot of NY historical stuff there, on people coming to NY as the place of milk and honey. Liberty Island is, well, where the Statue of Liberty is. Both are nice places to visit, and it's different when you view them from the ferry and up close. I'm just not sure now if you can still go up the Liberty Statue. It used to be nice going up there, but was restricted after the 911.

 

You can take a ferry ride from Battery Park in NY, or from the port in Jersey. I just can't remember how much it costs. The trip and the tour should take you around half a day more or less.

 

I agree with most of the suggested sites to tour, and yes, prepare to do a lot of walking. You might also want to check out the scheduled shows on broadway during the evenings.

 

Hope this helps.

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Did NY last year - lightning quick trip though.

 

Catch a Broadway show. Fall in line early at the TKTS booth to get discounted tix. What you get to see, though, will depend on what tix are available.

 

Walk. Thats the easiest way to see the sights -- just wander around. Ogle at the shops. Walk in the Parks. Take lotsa pics. Times Square at night for me was the ultimate tourist-y thing to do - be sure to take a pic of that famous fork in the road.

 

Drink lots of water and make sure you wear comfy shoes.

 

Oh .. and dont carry a heavy bag. That will wear you out.

 

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thanks for the advice guys. tanong ko lang. is it worth it na bumili nung new york city pass? 65 dollars for 6 sights, including Empire State Building Observatory, MoMa, Met and Circle Line Cruise. Anyone who has tried getting this pass?

 

dim not familiar with this pass ... but if this includes subway rides.... its golden

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dim not familiar with this pass ... but if this includes subway rides.... its golden

 

sad to say it does not include the subway rides, but it is valid for 9 days. i just plan to buy 2 unlimited metro card day pass during my stay ($7 each). there's also a unlimited metro card week pass for $24.

Edited by shadowspy
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sad to say it does not include the subway rides, but it is valid for 9 days. i just plan to buy 2 unlimited metro card day pass during my stay ($7 each). there's also a unlimited metro card week pass for $24.

 

With those unlimited Metro cards, you should be fine then. Enjoy your New York trip. :)

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thanks for the advice guys. tanong ko lang. is it worth it na bumili nung new york city pass? 65 dollars for 6 sights, including Empire State Building Observatory, MoMa, Met and Circle Line Cruise. Anyone who has tried getting this pass?

 

If you really want to see those sights then the pass is a good deal... Entrance tickets to the Met and the MOMA alone are $20 for adults already ....

 

But if you only want to see one of those six sights then just pay the single entrance and save the rest of your $65 for food... NYC is a foodie paradise after all.

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oh thats cool then .....just remember to keep cool .. nyc in summer can be a b!tch ..... hot and humid ... i always say NYC is best in the fall

 

yeah, I heard it can get really humid during summer at NYC. but I have no choice since it's only a side trip (my main destination is West Virginia). I'll be leaving this Friday pero di pa final yung tour sched ko. :unsure:

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  • 2 weeks later...
thanks for the advice guys. tanong ko lang. is it worth it na bumili nung new york city pass? 65 dollars for 6 sights, including Empire State Building Observatory, MoMa, Met and Circle Line Cruise. Anyone who has tried getting this pass?

 

Getting the City Pass is the best for value. Do not use private transportation. The parking is terribly and very expensive. Almost all "tourisy" spots are accesible to public transportation. Try to stay inside Manhattan on the lower side.

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just got back from New York...the City Pass was totally worth! I was able to bypass long ticket lines especially at the Empire State Building! I highly recommend the NYC Pass. Also, in combination with a one week subway pass ($24)...it's a great combo!

 

on another matter, try Gray's Papaya on 38th and 8th! Their hotdogs are great! And all the staff are Pinoys (well, at least in the two times I went there)! The recession special, 2 hotdogs and a drink for $3.50 is a great value for money!

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my personal photo at GROUND ZERO (site of the old WTC) , snapshot taken December 3, 2003. A visit to NYC won't be complete without a visit here...it's very eeriely emotional when you think about the 9/11 moment.

 

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z256/noypiblazer/WTC.jpg

 

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z256/noypiblazer/WorldTradeCenterSiteNewYork.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

i think you can still buy broadway tickets through your travel agent here in the philippines. you could have it arranged that it will be waiting for you when you check in to your hotel. that's what i did a few years back. no more long lines.

 

my preferred mode of transportation in manhattan - walking. there's a lot to see especially in midtown manhattan. take the subway if plan to go down town.

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new york is the walking city. the best way to go about is by simply using your two feet. that being said, you need good shoes, a map (but never rely on it... its always best to explore), and the gift of gab. new yorkers are always in a hurry but most often they dont mind entertaining the occasional lost tourist.

 

must see places and experiences of course...

 

lining up at TKTS for a dirtcheap ticket for a broadway show

the annual times square new years countdown (ang saya nito! :D well the after parties at least)

strolling about central park (or rent a horse and ride around central park)

FAO Schwarz toy store

Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Gap, and Victoria's Secret stores :thumbsupsmiley:

the bull of Wall Street :D

Serendipity III

Saint Patrick's Cathedral

bar hop over at NYU

youve got your standard fair of empire state, statue of liberty, battery park, liberty island, madison square...

oh ho ho chinatown and little italy (and maybe a chance meeting with regulars like al pacino)

the numerous quaint cafes, shops, and studios over at soho and tribeca

 

and lots lots lots lots more :D

 

my wife and i have stayed almost a year in NYC (well actually in Jersey... we'd ride the PATH to NY) and we still have yet to really really go around NYC

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if anyone needs NYC travel tips, i'll be happy to provide them.

 

 

here's a few..

 

 

- make sure to have an unlimited metrocard - it's a lot easier and more convenient, works for almost all trains and buses, and it's way cheaper than cabbing it everywhere. if you have a good sense of direction and were good at geography (reading maps), it's not that hard to navigate the subway section. what's helpful is planning out your day the night before and having all your train connections to the way you want to go mapped down.

 

 

- walk. appreciate the city. honestly, if you just subway it everywhere, all you will see is trains and people. sure, that's fun, but part of the fun of new york city is just walking around and getting lost.. wandering and exploring new neighborhoods.. you never know what amazing little restaurant, bookstore, or adventure you might find. and once you're tired, just ask for the nearest subway station, and make your way back - there are several stations (union station, grand central, times square, etc) from which you can make connections to most trains - just always remember how to get back.

 

 

- avoid the TKTS booth, unless you're having trouble deciding what you want to watch. what you can do is go to the actual theater, and tell them you want the TKTS price. they will gladly sell you the ticket, because either way, they're still making money, and it's better for them to get the whole cost (even discounted) than have to split with middlemen). you'll avoid the line and end up paying the same cost. just ask nicely, tell them you've come a long way just to see their show, just a little bola and kapal mukha will get you a long way in america.

 

 

- when visiting museums, look carefully -> the "price" for entry is a SUGGESTED donation. it's not required. i think it might say $7 or $11, i forget, but you don't have to pay it. honestly, i've never paid more than $5, and sometimes when i'm feeling barat i'll just pay $1. if you're going as a family, especially, you can just tell them, "i want to pay $20 for the 4 of us" and they'll smile and hand you your bracelets. another tip is to not try to see EVERYTHING. you're gonna miss out on little finds if you try to look at everything.. it's simply impossible to see all of each museum, unless you're there in new york for years.

 

 

- have that new york state of mind - people in the city can easily sense if you're nervous or lost. you have to walk around with confidence, especially at night. oh, and don't get roped into conversations with mormons or jehovah's witnesses or people raising money for some funds or whatever.. they're all hustlers trying to get some dollars off of you. if strangers try to talk to you, you can just walk away, you don't have to acknowledge them. on the flip side though, look around and you might just see celebrities around you.. and if you're truly new york, you'll just give them a little head nod and move along without going crazy. i've seen people like ellen, catherine zeta-jones, usher, jadakiss, kirsten dunst, julia stiles, a few america's top models, and more, just walking around soho or midtown like the rest of us, shopping. the only one i really spoke to was spike lee, and that was because he spoke to me first.

 

 

- new york is an amazing place where you go two subway stops and the entire complexion/demographic/style of the neighborhood changes. don't get sucked into only going to do touristy stuff the whole time - think outside the box and have some real pizza in little italy, or some greek or russian or chinese food that's way more authentic in new york than any other city in america, because of the vibrant immigrant communities.

 

 

alright, that's enough typing for now.. maybe more next time, we'll see..

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