New York for Halloween

urranger

Hi,
Bringing 'er indoors to NY for 5 nights!!
First time going and I booked over the net so anyone got any tips.
Do I need any documentation/forms etc apart from my passport?
We're flying into Newark and staying in manhattan.
Should i take a taxi or book a car?
Good restraunts?

miss serena

Once you have a machine readable passport, ie it has all the numbers and letters at the bottom of the picture page and a return ticket, you're fine. Ireland have this deal going where you just get a green card to fill in at the airport and then when you leave America you give it back, so they know you've left. I think there might be a small charge when you get to the US, like $8 or something.

I was going to rent a car too but then thought about it...reckless american drivers + driving on the wrong side of the road, way too much like a car crash scenario! Defo spend the money on the taxi when you arrive. Avoid all the stress and confusion.

And if anyone can reccommend any places to visit/things to do, please tell!

zAbbo

Is that during the New York Marathon?

Yellow cab taxi from JFK to manhatton - 45dollars

Subway for everything else

miss serena

Well, Im goin from 17th Oct for 10 days, but don't know when the marathon is on. Im flying into JFK and think it'll be the taxi to Manhattan alright. The subway by there is supposed to be a bit dodge.

urranger

and should clarify I was thinking of booking a car (eg carmel Cars) and driver as opposed to driving myself !!

Gandhi

From Newark to Manhattan, cheapest and fastest way is to take the train - New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Line ( http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/r0070.pdf ) is slower but much cheaper than Amtrak (Inter City Train - www.amtrak.com ). Once you get to the airport, just follow signs for the "AirTrain". Buy tickets from the machines before you get on the train.

Taxis range from $40-$60 depending on where in Manhattan you go - plus tolls which would be around another $10. On www.panynj.gov they have info on Newark airport including official taxi rates to various points in Manhattan. It might be worth your while to do that if your hotel is nowhere near Penn Station (which is the basement of Madison Square Garden), as you would be getting into a taxi anyway then, and taxis make luggage much easier to handle.

I wouldn't rent a car to go from Newark to Manhattan - it is just not worth the hassle. It would cost less to have the taxi take you there, and a car is worse than useless in Manhattan. You could end up paying up to $100 a day to park it, most of the good stuff is within walking distance, and the subway is faster for anything else.

In terms of restaurants, I usually go to the hole in the wall Italian places in Little Italy when I'm up there. There are restaurant lists on www.littleitalynyc.com. You can check out restaurant reviews on www.nytimes.com to see where is trendy at the moment. Definitely make reservations - especially at the weekend.

To get into the US, I am pretty sure you just need your passport - I have had a US Passport for a few years now so I am not up on the regulations. There are other threads on here that deal with that.

Have a great time!!!

Edit:

You want to rent a car with a driver? Probably not any cheaper than a taxi for such a short distance. If you do look into that, it might be as cheap to get a stretch limo as a normal limo. By the way, in the States, when people say "limousine" they often mean minibus as in GAA club transportation, when they say "stretch limousine" they mean limo as in Movie Star transportation. Calling the front desk of your hotel might get you tips / discounts on something like that.

Oh, and the NYC Marathon is November 6th.

Gandhi

miss serena wrote:

Well, Im goin from 17th Oct for 10 days, but don't know when the marathon is on. Im flying into JFK and think it'll be the taxi to Manhattan alright. The subway by there is supposed to be a bit dodge.

It's not that dodgy. Just a strange experience going through Queens and Brooklyn when you are the only person on the train who's not Jamaican, then four stops later you are the only person the the train who's not Guatemalan, then Hassidic Jewish, and so on.

More than anything, a taxi is much easier when you have luggage to handle. After a 7 hour flight, the last thing you want to be doing is figuring out a subway map in a strange city, and then lugging suitcases through turnstiles, escalators, and stairs.

netwhizkid

There is a bis service from JFK to Manhatten for $20 afaik. A taxi ranges from about $40 to $50 from JFK to Manhatten and makie sure you get a licensed one as con artists are busy ripping off jet lagged and dazed tourists especially if this is your first time to the USA or overseas in general. Usually the Geniune taxis have a capital "T" at the start of their license plate.

netwhizkid

netwhizkid wrote:

Usually the Geniune taxis have a capital "T" at the start of their license plate.

Uhm the taxi rank is outside the terminal in jfk.
The taxis are yellow, theres an official queue and a set price.A steward hands the taxi you take a ticket.

As for Newark-It's pretty similar.
As for immigration, if its a direct flight from Dublin , then you will go through US immigration at Dublin.
Thats great as you avoid the queues at JFA and are sent straight to customs which wont take more than a minute, you just hand them the white form you filled and got stamped in Dublin.

If you are going to be in New York for 5 days and you are profecient at driving at the other side of the road, then rent a car.
It will be worth it for a few day trips, like a 2 hr drive down to the amish country in pensylvania or up to woodbury common where you can get all the cheap brand name clothes under the sun at a fraction of the cost of here in Ireland or even fifth avenue.

Dollar are good for car rental.
But hertz arent bad either as you can get their hertz "never lost" GPS system.
It has a computerised map showing you exactly where you are and talks you to your destination-its brilliant.


Oh and someone said theres an $8 charge for that green form and doing the immigration in Dublin...

Thats nonsense-there isn't.

RyanfromNJ

if you are only going to be here for 5 days, then I wouldn't bother renting a car.... as for the airport to the city ctr, take the bus... cheapest way... then when you are in the city, get a subway map and use it as often as possible... it's much cheaper than the cabs, and if the cabby thinks you're a tourist, and dont know the area, he'll take the longest way around to hike up the fare... someone mentioned Amish Country in PA... it is very cool there... I actually only live about an hour northeast of there, but the aeromedical flight program I work for, flies a lot out to Lancaster(where the Amish are)... it's beautiful, but would take a big chunk out of your time... but enjoy your stay in NYC... weather here has been unseasonably warm for this time of year... you should have a good time...

You could drive down to Amish country and back in one day and spend a few hours there as well as seeing some country outside NY-yet still be back in NY for entertainment that evening.

If you can't find the time to get out of NY on at least 2 of the 5 days to do something like that, that would be a pity.
I've said this before but speaking as a tourist, driving in the states and around NY is no big deal.
The talk of the traffic and a honking horns nightmare is all hype.
Dublins much worse tbh and you wouldnt have a problem driving around there.
Approximately $40 a day for unlimited milage by the way .

RyanfromNJ

you think driving in Dublin is harder than NYC? wow, I never thought I would have heard anyone say that... put it this way, I live in NJ, and refuse to drive in NYC... I take the subways and taxis all the time... when i was in Dublin last year, I didn't think driving around there was all that difficult... it was just the whole, 'driving on the wrong side of the car and road'.... LOL

Yup,I just think from experience, the hype about it being difficult is just that hype and over hyped.

It's about the same as Dublin from September to June (when all the schools are open and traffic is traditionally worse) which can be worse than NY in my experience at rush hour.

You want somewhere that actually is a challenge to drive in traffic-try the Arc de Triumph in Paris.
New York is a cake walk in comparison.

I just didnt want people to be put off by the hype thats all, a day or two by dattime out of New York is very do-able and Amish country is very worthwhile as is woodbury common for the bargains (too many people think thye are getting a bargain on 5th avenue-I got a Gant jacket in woodbury common an hr north of NY for a third the price of 5th AVE and less than quarter the price of Ireland-in actual fact the savings there in the various desigber and brand name factory outlets would pay for the 5 days rental if you are shopping for clothes!)

Gandhi

There should be plenty of bus trips you can take to the Amish country or to outlet stores. Better to choose an outlet centre in NJ or Pennsylvania to avoid paying sales tax on the clothes. Most likely your hotel lobby will have a table full of leaflets on trips like this. Do not go to the Amish country on a Sunday, as the Amish refuse to work on Sundays so you won't get to see them ploughing the fields with the horses etc. which is half the fun.

You can get bargains in NYC if you shop at Filenes Basement or Marshalls. I prefer Filenes myself, though I have friends who swear by Marshalls. Often Macys or JC Penneys will have incredible sales that will beat the prices at the outlet malls. You can check their web pages just before you go and see if they are having a good sale when you are over.

Don't forget that it is costing you several hundred dollars a day just to be over there, so spending a day traipsing around an outlet mall instead of seeing the sights might not be such a bargain unless you plan to do some serious shopping.

LegacyUser

I am only 21 and was driving all over the West Coast during the summer. Not a problem at all but then again I am a good driver unlike most people...hey it is true.

d-arke

miss serena wrote:

Im flying into JFK and think it'll be the taxi to Manhattan alright. The subway by there is supposed to be a bit dodge.

you should be able to get a bus to the port authority just off 42nd st. it will cost you a hell of a lot less. maybe $15, but thats just a guess.

Shivvv

Hi - I'm going to NY next week and have found this site with details of a bus service from NY Airports to Manhattan - http://www.nyairportservice.com/index.html

Its great JFK to Manhattan is $15 one way and $27 return!

paul moore

Just after been there,
What a place...it never sleeps!!!
Now you will get all forms in Dublin Airport from myour Airline to fill in,is it Continental???,A green form & a blueish one ! To avoid stress fill these after you check in,your next step is passport control,and then the finger print and photo job and your forms with the USA customs lads!!!
I have only landed in Newark so....When you collect your luggage simply just follow the crowd and have your passports on hand,you will meet staff every so often guiding you around.
Now when your just out and you can see the main doors in frount of you,just up at the doors on your very left you have the bus servce....threres always an old grey haired woman working there!!!just tell her your going to NYC (new york city) and she is very helpfull and it will cost you i think $22 or $32 each....this is return!!!! Thi wil bring you to the Port Authority in NY..takes about 40 mins,the place is massive!!
Now if you have a map see how close you are to your hotel,me & er indoors! walked to the Belvedare....its on 48th street between 7th & 8th.....took about 15 mins..look out for the blue man when crossing the roads!!!
If you dont fancy walking get out on the road and flag down a CAB (taxi!)Do it yourself and ignore the lads that offer you one...they will look for up $10 after they put the bags in the boot.....Ignore them,
I know my way around NY better than Dublin!!!you will see for yourself...its all on grid you can only get lost by 1 street.Try get a little pocket map for yourself,best of luck,
Oh dont forget to go to Woodbury Common!!!! Very Very cheap clothes
Good luck

urranger

We're flying into Newark from Shannon with Continental.
As it's the wifes birthday, I was thiking of hiring a "limo" as the yanks call it,
(I believe it's more of a luxury car!) from the airport to Manhattan.I think they are a bit dearer than taxis. We're staying at the Travel Inn on 42nd st. Plan to go to Woodbury Common for a day..is it as good as they say?
Can you recommend any good place to eat?

netwhizkid

urranger wrote:

Can you recommend any good place to eat?

Wendy's (cheapo mcdonalds type yank nosh out) Good Burgers in places though.

No seriously, I ate here while in NYC during August, I know it is out in the suburbss in Queens, But that was where i was staying, It had the best steak i have ever tasted and the Calamari (squid) was simply to die for. The best thing i could say about it was the portions were more european, not like another restaurant i went to where i ordered a steak, and got half a cows leg. The american portions are gigantic, at least twice our portions but that restaurant the bliss was just right more like one and a half times what you'd get here. It was nicely furnished and had a roman waterfall type faucet in the restroom. Give it a try if your ot in the suburbs. I can't remember what it cost as i was in a party of eight and the check wasn't mine to pick up. I remember someone commenting after how it was not too expensive although slightly dearer than the norm.

If you want a good big breakfast and a lingering read of the NY times then I would highly recommend the Mayrose 920 Broadway and 21st-just up from the flat iron building and union sq
Forget over priced hotel breakfasts.

TBH you dont need advice on where to eat in NY, theres so much choice.
Just take a walk down Grenwich village any evening.

During the day time, any diner or simply a hard rock café will do the trick.

Definitely go to woodbury common about an hour north of NY

Jeans in Gap for $10-pack the suit case

Theres a sony shop there too.

paul moore

Sorry for the late reply,.......
Woodbury common is the place!! You wont beleive the prices there,the most expensive pair of tommy hillfinger jeans is about $50 !!!! Its a full day event !!

Good Luck