NYC trip

Douglas

A good friend of mine is in a band. Said band is playing at 169 E Broadway, NYC. They are playing April 4. My wife and some of our friends are all going. We are going to go Thursday night or Friday morning, spend one or two nights there, and come back to PA.

I have been to NYC once in my life. I have no idea what neighborhoods to avoid, where to stay (my friend is stay in Jersey City) what kinds of things to do, etc. We don't have a lot of money, but we would like to have some fun.

Can anyone help me out?

Drez

DouglasDanger wrote: »

A good friend of mine is in a band. Said band is playing at 169 E Broadway, NYC. They are playing April 4. My wife and some of our friends are all going. We are going to go Thursday night or Friday morning, spend one or two nights there, and come back to PA.

I have been to NYC once in my life. I have no idea what neighborhoods to avoid, where to stay (my friend is stay in Jersey City) what kinds of things to do, etc. We don't have a lot of money, but we would like to have some fun.

Can anyone help me out?

Huh, I don't think I've ever been to that bar.

I used to work at 195 Broadway. Right behind it is a Marriott Marquee on Church, right across from Ground Zero. Avoid it. It is massively expensive.

I've heard that the Tribeca Grand, which is farther north but within walking distance (10, 15 minutes I think?) is more manageable, pricewise. And pretty decent, from what I gather. But you should call them or look it up to confirm this - I've only been inside the Marriot and I didn't pay for the room. Cough.

Anyway uh places to avoid? Nothing really. The seaport is east...head down Fulton until you hit the water. It might be a little cold still with how the wind has been in the city lately but there's a nice mall there and it's an overall nice spot. The World Financial Center is more or less in the exact opposite direction...head that way until you hit the water. Another cool place downtown. And of course Ground Zero is right there if you want to gawk at the rubble.

edit: You can use Orbitz.com or Kayak.com (or another similar service) to look up rates. Select how many guests and the dates you plan to stay between and you should get an idea of rates.

Victor15b

I went to NYC this past New Years. I stayed at a hotel in Newark becuase it was several hundred dollars cheaper. The hotel provided a shuttle to the airport and subway station.

If you dont mind spending 30-45 minutes on public transit, staying in Newark may be a viable alternative.

Douglas

So the train to NYC is proving to be very expensive. I'm coming from Lancaster, PA to... Newark? Tentatively at least. It is going to be damn near 100 dollars round trip per person. Is that a normal price for Amtrak? It seems like a lot of money for a two and a half hour (each way) train ride. I rode a train from France to Italy and back for like 100 euros a year ago.

I remember a long time ago when I went to DC, we drove to a station place somewhere in Maryland and took the train into DC itself-- we were only the Metro/train for about an hour.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

Amtrak ain't cheap man. You know what my family does when they come visit me at school sometimes is they park at some station serviced by MetroNorth or whatever local transit line, and then take that train in. For us, coming from the north, the best station for that is Stamford, CT. Saves some cash.

Douglas

How would I find out the local transit line coming from the southeast?

Shazkar Shadowstorm

I dunno exactly, but I'd look into seeing what places the NJ Transit stops and which of those places have decent parking.

SlickShughes

As far as transit, NJ Transit from Trenton seems to be the best public transit option, but that involves 1.5 hours of driving to get to Trenton.

For things to do, see this thread from a few weeks ago. Several people (myself included) gave some low cost NYC ideas.

Douglas

thanks guys.

I'm going to find out if they are taping the Conan O Brien show April 4. I know they tape earlier in the day, some times in the afternoon I think. At the very least, I want to take a tour.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

Ah yes, I went to a Conan show earlier this year. Fun times.

NP

Cheaper options would be to drive to Trenton and take the NJ Transit straight to NY, or if it's easier to get to Philadelphia, you can take the SEPTA to Trenton, and then NJTransit from Trenton->NYC. Philly to Trenton is $8 one way, and Trenton->NYC is $21.50 round trip (or $12.50 one way). (is there a cheap train from Lancaster to Philly?)

I don't really know places to stay, but if your friend is in Jersey City, I know there's a pretty decent Courtyard by Marriott in Newport, Jersey City for under $200 a night (I don't think it will be that cheap anywhere in NYC). Newport is actually really nice (I live there), and it's right next to the PATH station which will take you straight to midtown Manhattan in 15 min or downtown in 7 min.

Scrublet

That Amtrak price seems about right. You may be able to get their cheaper by a bus; you'll have to look into that if it's an option. However, after taking the bus once from Baltimore I'd recommend the train. My ride there was totally fine, but my ride back was awful. I would have much rather paid the train premium. However you get there, stay anywhere that has a PATH station nearby. I've been at Hoboken, NJ before, and Newark is probably fine though I've heard the PATH station isn't in the greatest area. Never having been there, I can't say.

MikeMan

If you want to do the NJ transit way:

You're gonna want to hop on the Northeast Corridor line of NJ transit. From Trenton depending on what train you get it can take between 1.5 hours and 1 hour to get to NYC Penn station. You'll go right through Secaucus and into the city. You don't have to muck about with the PATH anymore, though you used to have to.

Douglas

Thanks guys.

locomotiveman

Just remember that it is a major headache to take luggage on transit trains. 100 round trip for that soon a journey on Amtrak sounds about right, due to their dependence on the federal government Amtrak has a very strange fare structure that is difficult to calculate at any given moment unless you know how many tickets are already sold on a given train.

Perhaps we should have a sticky for travel to NYC, Boston, DC LA SF SEA Chi and a few other major cities?

Scrublet

The sticky would be useful especially for NYC (this is the third thread of this city I've seen recently). I'm not sure how it would work though, unless a thread was created where one knowledgeable person from each of those cities made one FAQ post, and then the thread was locked.

locomotiveman

It could start with NYC's basic tourist websites, links to the subway lirr and metro-north websites amtrak the P.A. and like that. Someone else can name bars clubs and like that. We could also have sites for the major museums and other cultural attractions.

nexuscrawler

The connection from JC(i actually live in JC myself) is easy as hell and the hotels are nice but cheaper than the city.

MagicPrime

Make the holy pilgrimage to the Ghostbusters Firehouse and take a picture!

Douglas

nexuscrawler wrote: »

The connection from JC(i actually live in JC myself) is easy as hell and the hotels are nice but cheaper than the city.

Are you talking about Jersey City?

What connection to where?

mts

if you are going to be driving to the trenton area, you should do yourself a favor and just drive to hamilton station, its way nicer by far and less than 15 minutes drive. Trenton station is a shithole and shady, not the kind of place you want to leave you car.

its going to depend on where in PA you are coming from to weigh your options.

Douglas

Nuts. Conan O Brien is booked until April 24th. Have to do that another time.

SlickShughes

DouglasDanger wrote: »

Nuts. Conan O Brien is booked until April 24th. Have to do that another time.

Oh wow, I always assumed it was booked like a year or more in advance. Might hit that when I visit home in July.

nexuscrawler

DouglasDanger wrote: »

nexuscrawler wrote: »

The connection from JC(i actually live in JC myself) is easy as hell and the hotels are nice but cheaper than the city.

Are you talking about Jersey City?

What connection to where?

Jersey City has the PATH which is a subway that runs 24/7 to Manhattan. Most of the hotels are a stones throw from the stations. Much cheaper and quicker than taking NJT

SlickShughes

nexuscrawler wrote: »

Jersey City has the PATH which is a subway that runs 24/7 to Manhattan. Most of the hotels are a stones throw from the stations. Much cheaper and quicker than taking NJT

I think the idea of NJT was as a replacement for Amtrak, as it's about 1/5 the cost. But, it would require some driving to get from wherever in Peen he's starting to Jersey, at which point it might be worth it just to drive to Jersey City and park at the hotel. I would not, however recommend driving into NYC if you go for an in town hotel. The driving/parking will not be worth the hassle. Get a hotel in Jersey City, take the path in.