My elder daughter will turn 18 at the end of 2024, and I, 50. My younger daughter will turn 15 that summer, and she has always wanted to visit the US. So, when we discussed what we should do to celebrate these milestones, a trip to New York quickly turned out to be the winner.
I’m now in the planning stage and I have questions. Lots of questions.
While I lived briefly in Canada when I was a teenager and a bit longer in England later on, I’ve never been to the US. I want to make sure that this trip is something that will remain a happy memory for my daughters. In other words, I want everything to go as well as possible.
Now, to the (first) questions.
My current credit card isn’t valid outside of Europe. I was initially planning to use cash only, but I’ve been told it may not be a good idea. So, is a credit card absolutely necessary in the US, or could I get by with cash only for a week?
A couple of travel agencies have sent me offers that are within my budget, but really at the highest end, about $5,300. The hotels they suggested are all in Manhattan, but they also mentioned that I could get cheaper ones in Brooklyn. That’s tempting, but I don’t want us to spend hours in the metro. Is there an area where I could get cheaper hotels that are still within reasonable distance, say less than 30 minutes and ideally direct, away from Manhattan? If not, I’ll choose the more central but expensive location.
I asked my daughters to list two things each they wanted to do and the younger one wants to “go shopping”. Thinking about it, I realise that I’d also like to get something like a shirt or a t-shirt that says “New York” without screaming “Tourist”. Is there a place where we could find something that would be both original and instantly recognisable?
Does a budget of $2,150 for the week seem reasonable for our expenses? That would include eating, travel and the sights we have listed, i.e.
Shopping (see above - younger daughter) ;
Statue of Liberty (younger daughter) ;
Times Square (elder daughter) ;
The top of “that famous building which is not the most famous” (elder daughter) ;
Central Park (all 3);
One of either the Met or MoMA (Me).
Of course, feel free to share any advice on things I should know but haven’t mentioned.
It seems that most of the things you want to see are in Manhattan, so saving pennies by staying deep in Brooklyn may be counter-productive. Brooklyn is very large, and parts of it (Canarsie or Marine Park, for example) are a long walk to the subway and then a long train ride into Manhattan. If you stayed in Brooklyn Heights, though, that would be walking distance from Manhattan (literally, and a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is lovely and free). I don’t think hotels in Brooklyn Heights will save you much money, if any, however.
You can pick up a NY t-shirt at any number of shops selling hundreds of different ones, either in Times Square or in Chinatown, or really anywhere.
I don’t think “cash only” will work for you. It’s possible, but not so convenient. I’d try to get a credit card that works in the US. You’ll need some cash, of course, but hauling around hundreds of dollars every day would make me nervous.
I have done this with teens myself, just go ahead and stay in Manhattan. Lots of reasonably priced hotels around South Central Park. So here is my feedback.
Shopping (see above - younger daughter) ; this can be done everywhere, no shortage of places to shop and spend your money. If you a specific place in mind (say Tiffany’s) it may be worth a side trip.
Statue of Liberty (younger daughter) ; Go first thing in the morning. I cannot emphasize this anough. If you dont you will spend most of the day there, especially in the summer. Get there by 8 am.
Times Square (elder daughter) ; Overrated
, but a must do.
The top of “that famous building which is not the most famous” (elder daughter) ; Rockefeller Plaza, yes the kids loved this more that the One World Trade Center and I liked it better than the Empire State building. Take a tour of the SNL studio if you can.
Central Park (all 3); Take a horse drawn carriage ride. See the zoo. Walk a lot and take your time.
One of either the Met or MoMA (Me). The Met, trust me. And again, get there first thing in morning or you will be there all day, most of which will be waiting in a line. Everyone will ask if you went there.
Also, see a Broadway play while you are there. We didn’t and my stepdaughter has not stopped reminding me of this.
And get a cash card Visa and load it up. No one uses cash.
Street vendors are the cheapest breakfast options we found, sit down places are extremely expensive.
Take the subway, don’t use taxis or Uber unless you are just overwhelmed.
And stay away from Trump Tower unless you want to see people giving the building the moon and flipping Trump off. I saw this 20 years ago and can imagine that it has only gotten worst.
Dont bother with getting a car, it cost more to park it than it does to rent it. That and you will never use it.
Lastly, get those kids up earlier. This is not a vacation where you sleep in and enjoy the hotel. They will complain now, but years later they will understand.
You can use cash only - it’s actually illegal in NYC for businesses to refuse cash unless they have a reverse ATM to convert cash to a card. Some places do still refuse of course. I wouldn’t want to use rely on cash just because I wouldn’t want to carry that much cash around.
Another vote that that much cash is not smart. I’d start with contacting your credit card issuer to ensure your credit card can’t be activated for use in the USA. It might be just that easy, depending on the details. Can’t hurt to ask if you haven’t already.
As to the museums, investigate whether you can make reservations ahead of time. I don’t know specifically about NYC, but in many cities this is now commonplace to reduce the “long line around the building all morning” effect. One of the side effects of popular museums which take reservations is that their walk-up capacity is very limited, so that long line is much slower-moving than one might expect. It would suck mightily to spend most of a precious day standing in an almost unmoving line because you didn’t know reservations were not only available, but nearly mandatory.
The flip side of that is any reservations for anything that you make tend to put immovable anchors into your plans. Depending on how much you prefer everything pre-planned versus 100% make-it-up-as-you-go-along, reservations, or lack or reservations, will be stressful. You know how you travel.
Brooklyn was off my beat when growing up in NYC, but it looks like there are places to stay that are not horrendously expensive (compared to Manhattan) and a relatively short subway ride away from Manhattan attractions (for instance, it’s supposed to be 27 minutes from Prospect Park in Brooklyn to Times Square), so no “hours”-long subway rides.
One piece of advice: do not wear t-shirts or display other gear celebrating NYC while visiting the place; you’ll mark yourselves as tourists ripe for exploitation. Save that stuff for when you get home.
It’s strange to me that someone visiting the U.S. would want to spend all their time in Manhattan when there are so many beautiful national parks and other wild attractions to visit, but suppose that teenage daughters have other priorities.
I’m sure it’s easy, but I’d prefer to find something that is recognisably New York without being too obviously touristy.
Clear enough. For the record, I applied for a MasterCard a couple of days ago through my bank.
Will do!
I think so too, but it’s her choice, so it’ll be on the programme.
Good to know.
I don’t think they’d be interested but I’ll ask them.
I trust you. So, the Met.
I’ve done this for the past 20 years or so. It’ll be no different for New York. How long in advance do you think I should make the reservation?
True, but that’s not a problem as I like to have the important things anchored in the schedule, with some room for spur-of-the-moment additions.
Easy enough as I don’t drive.
No worries, feel free to suggest other things to do. I’d love to discover something off the beaten path. A more secret New York, perhaps but whithin reasonable distance from the centre.
Not really a secret, but a real nice walk is the Highline. We always try to do it while we’re in town. Plus, it’s in a fun part of the city.
I would definitely recommend a boat ride around the island. Circle Line is the classic, but we’ve been doing classic harbor tours on last few trips. A little more upscale. Either way, getting on the water is a great perspective on the city.
Also, Hudson Yards is worth checking out. Last summer we went up to the Edge, an observation deck about 100 floors up. Amazing, and unlike other attractions, there was no line or wait to get up there. (maybe that’s changed)
Riding the ferry from the bottom of Manhattan (“the Battery”) over to Staten Island and right back is a (IIRC) completely free boat ride (~10 minutes each way) and gives some excellent long views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, plus the various ships & industrial stuff along the harbor edge. Very iconically scenic in an urban way.
There’s nothing much to see or do at the Staten Island end, so no reason to do anything but stay on the boat if they’ll let you, or get off and right back on if they won’t. They’re certainly very used to tourists riding the boat as a cheapo harbor cruise; you won’t be the only ones aboard doing that.
My only other tip is don’t try doing this during peak commuting hours. Otherwise you’ll be waiting in a slow-moving throng for quite awhile to eventually get on a departing boat and the boat will be too jammed for you to move around to see all the sights.
A Yankees or Mets shirt would fit the bill, locals wear them all the time. If you want to be a bit less touristy, Rangers (NHL) or Knicks (NBA) or Giants (NFL). Stay away from the Jets (NFL) for your own benefit.
When traveling I like to get a t-shirt from a small local restaurant that we enjoyed.
You should absolutely get a credit card. What is the advantage of carrying around a load of cash that could get lost or stolen with no recourse?
The credit card networks (Visa etc.) use very competitive exchange rates for overseas purchases - they have clearly made a decision not to rip people of on forex, because they want you to use the card. Your card issuer may charge an international transaction fee (check about this), but for most decent issuers it is zero or 1%. Whereas changing banknotes can cost 5% or more - don’t be taken in by the “no commission” nonsense, the 5% is built into the exchange rate itself. So a credit card is not only far safer and more convenient, it will save you a significant amount of money.
For what cash you do need, you will usually get a far better exchange rate if your bank card is authorized for overseas use and you just use an ATM in New York when you arrive.
Credit card issuers and banks may allow you give them notice that you are traveling to the US to reduce the probability that your card is declined, but you are unlikely to have a problem in any case.
Kill two birds with one stone: buy your unmistakably New York t shirt in the Met gift shop. It’ll be classy yet distinctive and won’t mark you as ‘only a tourist’.
I’m a native but in exile, but we did three weeks in NY pre-Covid.
I agree with the consensus. Get a credit card, stay in Manhattan if at all possible, and go see the Met over MoMA unless some of you really loves modern art. The Met has so much it is impossible to see in a day.
Definitely reserve anything you can, since why waste your precious time in lines?
You have to see a show. We saw two a week when we were there. If there is something you love you can get tickets in advance, but if it is just to see a show go to the TKTS booth in Duffy Square where you get half-price tickets the day of the show. You won’t get the hottest shows, but there is a good selection, and you can download the app to see what is available in advance. If you save your ticket stub and want to see another show in the same week (automatic for you) you can show the stub to an attendant and jump the line.
Buy a week long Metro Card. Well worth it for saving time. Study the subway system well, and learn the difference between express and local stops.
Times Square is free, but not as interesting now that it has been Disneyfied. Central Park is free.
For shopping, you have to make a stop at Macy’s on Herald Square, 34th street. Alas a lot of the big department stores have vanished. Our department stores are no longer as interesting as the ones in London, Paris and Berlin. But Macy’s is still huge.
Some tips - Avenues run north south, streets east-west. When you get out of a subway stop orient yourself with a street sign - numbers get higher going north on avenues, towards the Bronx. Street numbers get higher going towards the rivers. That will help figure out which way to go without looking too touristy. (I was a messenger in Manhattan the summer after I graduated high school, back when the subways were ridden for 20 cent tokens.)
I’m not fond of the Circle Line myself - there is not much interesting stuff facing the Hudson and East Rivers, except for the UN. You can take a ferry that goes from Wall Street to Long Island City to Roosevelt Island for the price of a subway ride, I think, and there is a tram on Roosevelt Island that will take you back to Manhattan also for the prices of a subway ride. (And also a stop on the 7 line.) Definitely worth doing once.
And for all the nonsense you may hear about rude New Yorkers, we had none of that when we visited. More than once, we were standing on a street corner looking puzzled, and a New Yorker would say “Where you going to?” and then help with directions.
One that was a real New York moment was where an older couple popped up to help, and then they started quarrelling with each other, in strong New York accents, about the right way we should go. They finally settled on a route, which we took.
New Yorkers sound rude to people from other accent / dialect areas, due to the intonations of their speech, but are just as nice as anybody else. You might have an instinctive reaction to the tone, but if you can ignore that, people are really quite nice.
The last time I visited NYC I stayed in New Jersey. The hotel I stayed at provided bus transportation into the city. The hotel was much less expensive, and the bus was nice and worked well for us.
OK, now I realize that you are staying for a week; you may not want to bus back and forth that many times.
As for the perceived rudeness of New Yorkers, we were there with an elderly person who was in a wheelchair. I was 94 degrees F as we maneuvered her through crowded Manhattan streets. Folks were incredibly accommodating and pleasant to us.