New York: a 2-3 day visit or a two week destination

[Dark Knight]

We have been invited to stay with family in New York and the Hamptons next year
and Lady D announced last night we were going to go
now is New York a "holiday" destination or a city break place
I have been before ,but as a solo traveller, is there plenty to do for 2 weeks or so

I await the forumites views

[jacksparrow]

I stayed with relatives in New York and there is quite a bit to do. However, as I used to go for around 6 weeks we did tend to travel around the country quite a bit too. If I was to go there now I dont know if I would go for that length of time but it does depend upon what your relatives have lined up for you...

[Boris+]

We're hoping to cruise 'across the pond' this year - but we are planning on heading north up the coast and want to stay out of New York itself as much as possible. So we are planning to disembark, grab a hire car and then eventually simply return to NY for the purpose of flying home.

Em

[Dancing Queen]

The Hamptons are lovely, lots of "posh properties" there

I would say NY itself ( Manhattan ) is a City Break and 3 - 5 days would be more than enough to explore and see all the sights and of course fit a little shopping in for Lady D on Fifth Ave, I would say 5 days in the City and the rest in the Hamptons just chilling and getting a nice tan

[AngieT]

We stayed in New York for 6 days one January & every day was jam packed with things to do. We would certainly do it again for a week but I think I would do a 2 centre holiday if there for 2 weeks.

[Manoverboard]

My choice would be a split of some sort between New York, Boston and Washington.

[Mrs007]

DN, we've regularly gone to New York and stayed in Manhattan for a week and found plenty to fill our time there. I agree that if you're lucky enough to stay in the Hamptons, hiring a car to explore would be a great idea for the time you're not in Manhattan. How about a visit to Niagara Falls? You get the best view from the US side of the border, you could even drive up to Montreal, it only took around 6 hours from NYC if memory serves me well (mind you that was years ago when the mad drivers from Quebec couldn't bear the 55mile/hr restriction the US imposed, so might take longer if you stayed within the limit )

Have a fabulous time whatever you both decide to do.

[Mrs007]

Oops just remembered we stayed overnight in Syracuse with friends to break up the journey so possibly just a tad longer to get to Montreal?

[Silver_Shiney]

I suppose what to recommend will depend on your interests.

If you are "in" to architecture and art, I would recommend the Central Library.

Lunch-time specials seem to go on until early evening - it is possible to eat cheaply and well. Look off the main avenues for eateries, these tend to be much cheaper. We went into the UBS building on 6th Avenue to deliver something to the son of a colleague, and went out the "wrong" door, which took us into a walkway going through the building between two streets (for those who don't know, avenues run north to south, streets connect east to west. 5th Avenue is deemed central, so 42nd Street West is to the west of 5th, 42nd Street East is to the east) and opposite was a "greasy spoon" which was cheap and good quality.

The disused elevated railway is now a public garden.

[Sarah62+]

We spent a week there last September, and could easily have spent a few extra days - always plenty to do. Enjoy.

[royalprincess]

I've been to New York about 20 times and still haven't seen it all. New York keeps on changing and there is so much to see that 4-5 days is not enough - you can only do the basics in that time. Even the shops are sightseeing adventures particularly at Thanksgiving and do as the New Yorkers do walk everywhere - its the best way to see New York.

Enjoy.

[Silver_Shiney]

We're flying to JFK in October and staying in Brooklyn, getting a taxi to the hotel and then taxi again from the hotel to the cruise terminal a couple of miles away. Can anyone advise, please, on the level of tipping that is expected on taxi journeys?

[Mervyn and Trish]

We are also staying with friends in New Jersey, just outside NY, for a week or so next year, going over on QM2 and flying back.

[Quizzical Bob]

We're flying to JFK in October and staying in Brooklyn, getting a taxi to the hotel and then taxi again from the hotel to the cruise terminal a couple of miles away. Can anyone advise, please, on the level of tipping that is expected on taxi journeys?

I believe 25% is the order of the day.

[GillD46]

We have normally tipped about 20%

[Quizzical Bob]

We have normally tipped about 20%

You wouldn't get many complaints at that.

There are plenty of online guides, e.g.

http://gonyc.about.com/od/newyorkcityba ... quette.htm

[Silver_Shiney]

Many thanks, QB and Gill - that URL was especially helpful.

[Boris+]

Just got off the line from my weekend chat with my friend in NY - apparently the 'proper' cabs now have small screens/machines installed in them. It appears that the 'smart' thing to do is to ask when you get in the cab that you can be provided with a receipt. At the end of your journey the machine will (a) tell you how much the fare has been, (b) ask you whether you are paying cash or card, and (c) ask you to decided whether you are paying the 'suggested' tip of 20%, 25% or 30%. Once you have made your choice of payment method and size (if any) of the tip then you can pay accordingly and get that receipt. Apparently cabs that can't provide the receipt are most definitely not to be trusted.

Hope that helps - have a great trip.

[Silver_Shiney]

Thanks, Em, I've printed that out for filing in our "holiday file"!

[Ian Perth]

I would agree with dancing queen, it's got lots to do but I think two weeks would drag in New York. Five days is probably about right and you would see a lot. You could hire a car and do Washington and Boston they are great to visit as we'll.

[Silver_Shiney]

Can't do that this time, Ian, as we've already shelled out for the New York Pass. Our thinking (at the moment) is that this coming trip will "do" New York for us, but future trips, that don't entail going to Orlando to see our son and his family, will encompass Washington on one trip then Boston on another, and a sail back (we hate that jet lag on our return!)

[oldbluefox]

We had a week in New York and found the gave us plenty of time to do all the main sights. Had we gone for two weeks I'm not sure what we would have done for the second week unless we travelled further afield. There's probably more to see than can be done in two to three days though.

[Boris+]

We've been doing a bit of research before our next USA trip - and don't want to fly between Boston and New York and have discovered a company called Limo Liner - looks pretty good, and could be just the thing for us, because we reckon it's safer than a train (where you get loads of people walking through the carriages etc), they handle the bags, there is a quiet area on the coach, and instead of seeing the back side of buildings as you travel along you get to see the front side which hopefully looks more aesthetically acceptable. One way fare at the moment Is USD 89.00 each, and they also do discounts for hotels etc.

[Manoverboard]

We've been doing a bit of research before our next USA trip - and don't want to fly between Boston and New York and have discovered a company called Limo Liner .... .

LimoLiner website ...

[Boris+]

We like the look of the Limo Liner service - there is a quiet zone in the coach, they handle the baggage for us, it's pretty much central so no schlepping out to an airport and checking in and waiting - and our bags won't be at risk of loads of passengers passing by them as might happen on a train.

We won't be booking the Limo Liner service until later this year, but it looks ok - also we're going to see how their hotel (pref Hilton) rates compare with Hilton.com and booking.com etc.