We are so excited!! Alex and I are going on vacation to New York City in March. You see we live way out west and we grew up in little ol’ Idaho, actually very close to Yellowstone National Park which was quite cool to have the opportunity to easily go and our dozens of visits to God’s Beautiful Creation in that part of the country. So you see, New York City is quite a ways away and probably quite an experience for us Idahoans!
We’ve always wanted to go and it has been at the top of our “want to go to” places. The crazy part is that in the few years that we collected our $100K of consumer debt, traveling was a huge contributor, but somehow we never made it to New York before we woke up to the spending stupidity!
So… we’ve been debt-free for three years and we have saved for this trip during part of this time and from a portion of the 15% from our “extra income budget.” Most of our travel budget is for family vacations, but we have been setting aside a little for this couple’s adventure!
We were able to both fly from all the way out in the wild west to NYC for $400 total for the two of us. We booked our hotel room through Groupon for over 50% off (and it is right on Times’ Square…eeek!) and far more affordable than we originally planned – which both the cheap plane tickets and stumbling across the Groupon deal as brought us under budget. So you can bet that we will be enjoying NYC offerings like the sites, foods and sounds!
Here the deal……. we are leaving early on a Thursday morning next month and arriving in NYC later afternoon. So we will have Thursday night on Times Square. We will then have all day Friday and Saturday and then travel home all day on Sunday. So, we literally have only 2 full days in NYC. This is enough to get our feet wet and to see much of what we want to see (we think!) but we need your help!!
So here’s the questions we have for those of you that have been there, live there or visit there:
- What are your favorite things to see/do in Manhattan, NY? We have to make a list and be precise about what we plan to see.
- We are very interested in doing the 48-hour (or possibly the 72 -hour as we have Thursday eve. and Sunday am too) hop on, hop off bus tours or the double-decker bus tours. Are these a good way to go??
- Finally, what NYC eats should we NOT miss? We like to watch Man V. Food and so because of Adam’s recommendation – we have the 1888 Katz’s Deli on our list of a must eats! What other places should we try? Where is the best place for REAL NYC Pizza, other best deli’s and of course the best street vendor locations?
Do you have any other tips or recommendations for us? If you can’t tell, we are super excited and this has been a long anticipated vacation and we want to make the best of it!
We look forward to hearing your suggestions!
Photo Credits: stratosjets.com, nyctrip.com, smithsonianstudenttravel.com
Molly
How fun! NYC is a great place, I’m sure you’ll have a blast. The hop-on-hop-off bus tour is a great way to go. You get to see the city and just hop off at the spots that interest you. You get a glimpse at all of the neighborhoods you hear people talk about in NYC as well as the other tourist attractions.
As for food- Junior’s is the absolute best for cheesecake! Their main restaurant is in Brooklyn, but they have on in Times Square as well- http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/our_restaurants/times_square/.
If you’re into Cake Boss it’s a pretty doable train ride on the path over to Hoboken. But I’m not sure you’ll have enough “down time” for that.
If you’re interested in a Broadway show, hotels sometimes have discounted tickets for shows that day or you can stop by the TKTS booth in Times Square to see what they have available for the day (I’ve heard there can be a bit of a line) http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56
Hope you guys have a blast!
Cassie
Hi Molly – thank you so much for your recommendations and little did you know that cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts and so I can’t tell you how excited I am to try your suggestion. I had thought about the infamous NYC foods like the deli’s, street hot dog vendors and NYC pizza – but NYC Cheesecake hadn’t crossed my mind! And it sounds like they have a spot close to where we will be!
I’ve wanted to see Cats for years, but it is not there any longer. I am not sure yet if we will see a broadway show. It seems like the iconic thing to do….. decisions 🙂
Thank you so much!! Cassie
Julie
This is from another blog I follow. Funny that it was in my email today along with yours requesting info on NYC!
http://www.swaggrabber.com/onlinedeals/seeing-new-york-cheap-w-kids?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+swaggrabber+%28★+SwagGrabber+★%29
Even though it says with kids, I think it still has great frugal advice for visiting NYC. Have a wonderful trip!
Cassie
Thank you for the link Julie! It looks like there is some good advice. I know that taxi’s and transportation will be ridiculous – along with the price of some attractions. Which is why we really are considering doing the hop on hop off bus tours as it would “include transportation to the hot spots” and we looked at packages that were affordable and included tickets to Empire State building and a few other places. Also, a couple of small town tourists going to this type of city probably means it’s best to be a part of a tour and not on our own! It’s great that the article includes ideas with kids. The kids want to go, but we told them probably in about 4-5 years. Right now the thought of taking a 9,8,6,4, and 1 year old seems scary. I think when they are all about 5 years older and after we went once to check it out too! Thank you Jill!
Regina
Hoping you have a great time- Ive been twice. Its great to do all the tourist stuff. The 2 things I want to offer is 1. Have a frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity (they are not cheap but delicious and novel.) And 2. Hit up FAO Swartz- Again, not cheap, you don’t have to buy anything but its such an AWESOME toy store. Maybe you will find a great deal!
Cassie
Thank you for your suggestions Regina! Frozen hot chocolate sounds very interesting and we might just have to give that a try! I know about the Toys R Us there, but hadn’t thought about FAO Swartz! Thank you again!!
Liz
I’m happy that your going to be visiting my hometown. If you watch the today show, you can head over to Rockefeller center & see them live from outside and do some ice skating if you can. Also you need to walk thru Central Park. But one great advice I can give is please make sure to keep your personal belongings close keep your wallets and purses in front of you. I love my city but this is true for any place you visit you need to be cautious and be aware of your surroundings. I hope I helped a little. I hope you and your hubby havea great & safe time.
Cassie
Hi Liz! It would be fun to see the Today Show from outside. What are the times they start? Also, I take it that probably the only place that may be okay to be out at night would be Times Square and try to hit Central Park during the day?? Just trying to think about what would be fun and safe to do at night. Thank you so much for your tips Liz!
susan
would love details on how you got flights for that price as I would love to go there too
Angel
I am also going to NYC in March and was able to book my flights at $237 each. We are flying AirTran from Texas
Cassie
Awesome Angel! Maybe we will see you there 😉 Yes – it seems like this time of year is good time for low prices – until you get further into March where Spring Break starts. We are going early March. Is this your first time or have you been before?
Cheryl
I haven’t been there in years, but one of my favorite things was going to Fifth Avenue. I remember I saw Mayor Koch(RIP) coming out of the NBC building. My then boyfriend and I would drive in(we live about an hour away)and park the car in a parking garage on 42nd St. I also loved the street vendors. Nothing like a hot pretzel or a bag of chestnuts. Rockefeller Center is beautiful, especially at Christmas. When I worked for a company many years ago, the owner would have us bussed into Manhattan for our annual Christmas party. We would go to a Thai restaurant(I think it is long gone now) and party all night. Thai food is really good, and I recommend you try it if you haven’t.
I am not one for structured activities(tours on busses), I just like to go and walk and see and experience for myself.
Have fun!
Cassie
I really want to see these street vendors. Walking down 5th avenue would also be super sweet and fun! Thanks for the ideas Cheryl!
Janet
About 30 years ago I lived in Hastings-on-Hudson (a little village about 20 miles north of Manhattan). It was when I first moved away from home and, coming from suburban Southern California, it was quite a change, but I loved it. One of the things I really enjoyed about the city (besides the food — which was great!) was just walking around and enjoying the architecture. They have some of the most beautiful old buildings there! A friend and I would walk around various neighborhoods (keeping in mind that there were some neighborhoods you definitely didn’t want to be walking through!) just enjoying the pretty or unusual buildings we would find. So, my suggestion would be to find a book on walking tours of New York (and getting a really good map of Manhattan). This friend also happened to work at the Bowery Savings Bank on 42nd Street (across from Grand Central Station), which was an amazing building in and of itself. I have never seen the inside of a bank which comes anywhere close to what you would see when you stepped inside that building. In checking the internet it turns out that although the Bowery was gone after the mid-eighties the building is now being used for high-end catering affairs. Here is a link to an article about the bank /building from a sight called The Mindful Walker:
http://www.mindfulwalker.com/explore-new-york/bowery-savings-the-world-in-a-building (some of the comments after the article are interesting, too)
and here is a link to a rotating image of the interior:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/10/28/nyregion/ROOMS.html
and images of when the building was constructed in 1921-1923:
http://tinyurl.com/72hja4b
and images of catered events held there now:
http://www.cipriani.com/locations/new-york/events/42nd-street.php
Also on the Mindful Walker site is an article on Grand Central Station, which happens to be turning 100 years old today (Feb 13th):
http://www.mindfulwalker.com/explore-new-york/the-treasures-of-grand-central-at-100
So, my “more specific” suggestion would be to see the inside of Grand Central Station, which is definitely something to see (and get an onion or sesame or whatever your favorite bagel is at Zarrow’s if it’s still there) and see if you can get inside the Bowery Bank building across the street at 110-120 42nd St. If there’s a guard for the building he might let you have a quick peek, or maybe call the catering company (Cipriani’s) to ask if it’s possible to have that quick peek. Also, there was a doorway to the right of the main entrance which led to a hallway and some elevators, so you might see if there’s a guard in there. Also, check out the New York public library on the southwest corner of 5th Avenue and 42nd St. You’ll see the two stone lions out front (their names are Patience and Fortitude), and Bryant park is behind it to the west. The whole area should be close to where you’re staying in Times Square. Do a little research on Central Park (since it’s so large) to see what parts of it you might want to check out, and for a possible evening outing you might go to the Metropolitan Museum on 5th Avenue (open until 9:00pm Fridays and Saturdays) — here’s a link to their site:
http://www.metmuseum.org/visit/
One last thing about the Bowery Savings Bank — the words “A mutual institution chartered 1834 to serve those who save” is carved into the stone arch over the main entrance — so it seems particularly appropriate for the Thrifty Couple. I hope the two of you have a wonderful time in New York — Enjoy!
Cassie
Wow Janet – thank you for all of this fantastic information! We had Grand Central Station on our list, but this other site across the street sounds amazing too! We have lived and been raised here in the West and so there are just numerous buildings that are older than the entire West. I love history and I love those old buildings and so that is going to be a nice treat! Thank you so much!! I love the motto on the building – that is just too awesome!
Do you want to hear another cool thing about The Thrifty Couple. Both Alex and my name’s are Greek. The cooler part is that our name means exactly the same thing. His is the male version and mine is the female version – which is really cool in and of itself that we have essentially the same Greek names. BUT, our names mean “Helper of Men..” Isn’t that cool? Thank you again Janet!
Janet
That IS really cool! It seems that both of you are living up to your namesakes, too! I find so much useful information on your site (plus it’s fun to read) — thanks for being so helpful!
Carly Wiegand
Wow, how excited you guys must be!
New York City is such an exciting place to go.
I’ve been there a couple of times, its a total experience in its self just being there.
Your tour bus is a great idea, but I wouldn’t spend a ton of time on the bus. Just walking around NYC is an experience. Venders sell Tshirts and different souvenirs but don’t buy watches or anything going as designer, because they prob aren’t really designer items.
I would go check out a Broadway Play and they also shoot Kelly and Regis, which I know the name has changed but its right there (forgot the new name). I think they just let in a certain amount of people so you need to find out where its at and what time to get in line. They also shoot some of the night time shows there too, but usually I think its in the afternoon that they shoot them. That would be so much fun to be a part of.
Shopping is FUN in NYC too!
Most places stay open till the wee hours of the night. Hence being the city that never sleeps.
The traffic is CRAZY in NYC, so dont be surprised at all the horn honking and crazy driving that you will see as you walk around.
The food is pretty expensive too.
I am always very careful with my purse as I walk around too. So be careful, esp at night.
Have fun and be safe!
AdamRock
Not so long ago, I faced the problem of calling a taxi for myself, since most taxis were very expensive. Fortunately, my friend recommended this Nerja taxi service to me, in which I was able to find good service and reasonable prices, which now allows me to move around the city comfortably. I recommend this service to you if you need a taxi!
AdamHynes
Not so long ago, I faced the problem of calling a taxi for myself, since most taxis were very expensive. Fortunately, my friend recommended this Nerja taxi service to me, in which I was able to find good service and reasonable prices, which now allows me to move around the city comfortably. I recommend this service to you if you need a taxi!
Philipjut
Worrisome hemp products has been perfectly the journey. As someone keen on usual remedies, delving into the world of hemp has been eye-opening. From https://www.nothingbuthemp.net/online-store/THC-Gummies-c142238931 to hemp seeds and protein pulverize, I’ve explored a type of goods. Despite the confusion adjoining hemp, researching and consulting experts tease helped journey this burgeoning field. Entire, my sophistication with hemp has been positive, offering holistic well-being solutions and sustainable choices.
Philipjut
Disquieting hemp products has been quite the journey. As someone fervent on usual remedies, delving into the to the max of hemp has been eye-opening. From https://www.nothingbuthemp.net/online-store/THC-Tinctures-c142300582 to hemp seeds and protein pulverize, I’ve explored a miscellany of goods. Regard for the confusion surrounding hemp, researching and consulting experts receive helped cross this burgeoning field. Comprehensive, my experience with hemp has been optimistic, offering holistic well-being solutions and sustainable choices.
THC Gummies
Disquieting hemp products has been perfectly the journey. As someone rapier-like on spontaneous remedies, delving into the world of hemp has been eye-opening. From thc gummies to hemp seeds and protein puissance, I’ve explored a brand of goods. Regard for the confusion surrounding hemp, researching and consulting experts tease helped pilot this burgeoning field. Comprehensive, my experience with hemp has been favourable, contribution holistic well-being solutions and sustainable choices.