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Tips for an Amazing New York Trip
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Hey everyone! My family and I went on a road trip to New York City [cue in Alica Keys - Empire State of Mind] and it was FUN! But it could have been better if I had known about the tips I learned along the trip. And That's what I'll be sharing with you all today to make your trip a better and happier trip ^^.
So I'm gonna give you some small tips from my own personal experience that you can live without but will make your trip to New York A LOT easier.
TIP 1: Find a hotel in New Jersey
Somewhere close to the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel because it's only about a 10 min. drive away from New York. Hotels in New York are costly, averaging $300.00 a night. We chose Comfort Inn & Suites on 1200 Tonelle ave. because it was close to the bus station. But getting back to New Jersey might take a lot longer, a lot of traffic happens in the tunnel at around rush hour. But traveling in the very morning and at night is fine. Also that hotel was a little difficult to navigate to get to. Which brings me to my second tip.
TIP 2: Get a GPS and LISTEN to it.
It will save you tons of time traveling, staring at maps and asking for directions. The second part is crucial. My mom & dad tried to listen to their gut and street signs but nope....we got lost, stuck on a highway that didn't have an exit until we were far far away from our destination and wasting precious time. So listen to your GPS, cause chances are, it knows New York better than you do.
TIP 3: Buy a New York Pass / City Pass or something similar
Those passes will gain you free entry to many sites and attraction famous of New York, such as the Statue of Liberty, Top of the Rock, MoMA, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum etc where normal entry costs about $20-60. Some places even let you skip the line or have a line specific for pass holders.They give you discounts and deals from buying in certain places such as the Cold Stone Creamery, or Macy's and gifts when you buy at retail stores like Century 21. They give you a booklet of all the attractions and a map. I got a New York Pass for 1 day, costing $ 80.00 per person. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.
TIP 4: Get an offline map and guide of New York on your smartphone
Offline in case you don't have internet access. So now you have a small portable map on your phone that you can take out whenever you want.
I have an iphone and I downloaded the free app GuidePal. I HIGHLY recommend it because it not only has the offline map and guide of famous attractions, but it also taps into your phones GPS signal offline, so no need to for internet connection. You can see exactly where you are live in New York, Manhattan. It's so cool.
If you don't have a smartphone then a physical map is definitely handy, practically a necessity.
TIP 5: Get a map of the subway system of New York
If you're planning on traveling via subway and bus, find a map of the subway system. I downloaded the free NYC Subway App on my smartphone. For some reason the subways don't clearly indicate where you are, you have to look around for a sign and by that time the trains already leaving. An announcer tells you where you are and what station is next but through a HORRIBLE sound system. So knowing where you are in the subway by yourself is always best.
TIP 6: Don't bring with you any weapons of any sort
So tourists are fearful of being mugged or assaulted so they bring weapons of self defense i.e pocket knife, pepper spray etc. but if you go to city attractions like the World Trade Center Memorial, Statue of Liberty etc. they will confiscate those items so there's really no point. Instead, bring a really loud siren to carry around or something similar.
TIP 7: Plan your itinerary beforehand
That's an obvious tip right? But what I mean is be smart about it. You're not the only tourist out there. Line ups for the Statue of Liberty are LOOONNNGGG after 12:00 PM. Getting there at around 9:00 am is when the line is not to bad. Most of the time attraction lines ups are longest during the afternoon, so try for morning. Museums are fine around noon, but around 3:00 PM is when the line starts to really grow. Shopping is fine anytime but if you're going into Macy's go early because later in the day, when thousands of customers has gone through all the merchandise, all the shoes, clothes and whatnot are all on the floor and it's a huge mess. So, you know...good luck.
TIP 8 : Wear comfortable shoes for all weathers or bring 2 pairs
You're going to be walking around for over 12 hours non-stop. You'll need some good comfy shoes unless you want to stand in line groaning in pain, squatting here and there in public and walking with a limp. Shoes that have cushioning at the bottom with a slight heel will keep your feet from angling at 90 degrees that may be painful after long walks. It may rain so bringing an umbrella is important, also rain shoes. Walking around all day in wet shoes will not make your day.
TIP 9 : New York has wifi everywhere
Stores and restaurants sometimes have free unlocked wifi. So if you're in need of internet, go into a Mcdonalds, shopping mall/store or subway and use its free wifi.
Those are all the tips that I can think of atm. These tips are from my own experience and by no means does it make me an expert in any way. These are just things I thought of while going on my first trip to New York. Other tips are welcome in the comment section below. Thanks for reading everyone, I'll talk to you all laters but for now, here are some photos of my trip.
- Hello Kimmy
So I'm gonna give you some small tips from my own personal experience that you can live without but will make your trip to New York A LOT easier.
TIP 1: Find a hotel in New Jersey
Somewhere close to the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel because it's only about a 10 min. drive away from New York. Hotels in New York are costly, averaging $300.00 a night. We chose Comfort Inn & Suites on 1200 Tonelle ave. because it was close to the bus station. But getting back to New Jersey might take a lot longer, a lot of traffic happens in the tunnel at around rush hour. But traveling in the very morning and at night is fine. Also that hotel was a little difficult to navigate to get to. Which brings me to my second tip.
TIP 2: Get a GPS and LISTEN to it.
It will save you tons of time traveling, staring at maps and asking for directions. The second part is crucial. My mom & dad tried to listen to their gut and street signs but nope....we got lost, stuck on a highway that didn't have an exit until we were far far away from our destination and wasting precious time. So listen to your GPS, cause chances are, it knows New York better than you do.
TIP 3: Buy a New York Pass / City Pass or something similar
Those passes will gain you free entry to many sites and attraction famous of New York, such as the Statue of Liberty, Top of the Rock, MoMA, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum etc where normal entry costs about $20-60. Some places even let you skip the line or have a line specific for pass holders.They give you discounts and deals from buying in certain places such as the Cold Stone Creamery, or Macy's and gifts when you buy at retail stores like Century 21. They give you a booklet of all the attractions and a map. I got a New York Pass for 1 day, costing $ 80.00 per person. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.
TIP 4: Get an offline map and guide of New York on your smartphone
Offline in case you don't have internet access. So now you have a small portable map on your phone that you can take out whenever you want.
I have an iphone and I downloaded the free app GuidePal. I HIGHLY recommend it because it not only has the offline map and guide of famous attractions, but it also taps into your phones GPS signal offline, so no need to for internet connection. You can see exactly where you are live in New York, Manhattan. It's so cool.
If you don't have a smartphone then a physical map is definitely handy, practically a necessity.
TIP 5: Get a map of the subway system of New York
If you're planning on traveling via subway and bus, find a map of the subway system. I downloaded the free NYC Subway App on my smartphone. For some reason the subways don't clearly indicate where you are, you have to look around for a sign and by that time the trains already leaving. An announcer tells you where you are and what station is next but through a HORRIBLE sound system. So knowing where you are in the subway by yourself is always best.
TIP 6: Don't bring with you any weapons of any sort
So tourists are fearful of being mugged or assaulted so they bring weapons of self defense i.e pocket knife, pepper spray etc. but if you go to city attractions like the World Trade Center Memorial, Statue of Liberty etc. they will confiscate those items so there's really no point. Instead, bring a really loud siren to carry around or something similar.
TIP 7: Plan your itinerary beforehand
That's an obvious tip right? But what I mean is be smart about it. You're not the only tourist out there. Line ups for the Statue of Liberty are LOOONNNGGG after 12:00 PM. Getting there at around 9:00 am is when the line is not to bad. Most of the time attraction lines ups are longest during the afternoon, so try for morning. Museums are fine around noon, but around 3:00 PM is when the line starts to really grow. Shopping is fine anytime but if you're going into Macy's go early because later in the day, when thousands of customers has gone through all the merchandise, all the shoes, clothes and whatnot are all on the floor and it's a huge mess. So, you know...good luck.
TIP 8 : Wear comfortable shoes for all weathers or bring 2 pairs
You're going to be walking around for over 12 hours non-stop. You'll need some good comfy shoes unless you want to stand in line groaning in pain, squatting here and there in public and walking with a limp. Shoes that have cushioning at the bottom with a slight heel will keep your feet from angling at 90 degrees that may be painful after long walks. It may rain so bringing an umbrella is important, also rain shoes. Walking around all day in wet shoes will not make your day.
TIP 9 : New York has wifi everywhere
Stores and restaurants sometimes have free unlocked wifi. So if you're in need of internet, go into a Mcdonalds, shopping mall/store or subway and use its free wifi.
Those are all the tips that I can think of atm. These tips are from my own experience and by no means does it make me an expert in any way. These are just things I thought of while going on my first trip to New York. Other tips are welcome in the comment section below. Thanks for reading everyone, I'll talk to you all laters but for now, here are some photos of my trip.
- Hello Kimmy
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| World's Largest Hershey Bar in the Hershey Store |
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| Tubes of M&Ms mmmmm.... |
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| Port on Liberty Island |
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| New York from Liberty Island |
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| I was on LIVE! with Regis! just kidding, I was in the wax museum |
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| Met the Spice Girls! in wax. |
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| I was put into a torture device! |
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| I swam with the jellyfish in Jellyfish fields! |
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| Shrunken head, about the size of the palm in Ripley's Believe it or Not! |
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| New York city from Top of the Rock |
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| Wall of Lego in the Lego store |
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| Grand Central Station |
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| New York Bubble Tea, Strawberry, Papaya and Taro flavoured |
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| I actually visited Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken....I saw the sisters! It made my day |
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| Subway |
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| Statue of liberty! |
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| New York nightlife from the Empire State Building |
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| New York nightlife from the Empire State Building |
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