I am a 23 year old girl, travelling to New York for a few weeks in late September/ early October.
Any travel advice on where to stay, eat, shop etc? I have never travelled alone so any info would be great appreciated.
Hey samantha, one option is to check out airbnb.com which is website people use to rent out a room in their apartment....
when i went i stayed in someone's room in the lower east side, East 2nd i think it was which is really good if you want good nightlife, full of students, i'm 21 so was perfect for me
my host was really good and being a local he was great for giving advice about where the best places to eat, go out are etc
I like to stay just a ways northeast of Times Square. This is a fairly trendy area with trendy hotels and shops.
Best shopping is in Soho area, although you have to at least walk up and down 5th avenue just south of Central Park and also have to go to the diamond district on 49th Street between 5th avenue and 6th Avenue. Also, get a ticket to a Broadway show. They are worth going to. I personally enjoyed Jersey Boys which I saw on Broadway about a month ago--and Wicked, which I actually saw in London. Lastly, visit the Macy's down on 34th street--it is huge--and claims it is the world's largest store (although I'm positive it isn't since Shinsegae in South Korea is almost twice its size). Still, it is impressive and worth a shopping trip.
Enjoy
Hi Samantha,
Truth is it depends a lot on your budget and what you like to do. I've lived here in NYC most of my life and the range of things to do/places to eat is so wide that budget often shapes what you want to do from street food to fine dining.
Happy to answer any specific questions, or point you in the right direction.
and I'll disagree strongly with Calcruzer about Soho being the best shopping.. but that's just opinion.
thanks for all the info guys
At the moment I'm trying to figure out accommodation, i have been looking at a hostel called Broadway Hotel and Hostel.It looks pretty nice, but you can never tell (and i have been fooled before) Any recommendations of places, which are well prices and located would be good
I have also managed to get a girlfriend to come along with me, so i won't being travelling solo anymore
DocNY,
Well, the best shopping is actually in New Jersey (Garden State Parkway or Secaucus) because you pay no sales tax on clothing there.
In New York, in order to compete with New Jersey, in 2007 they eliminated all sales taxes for items costing less than $110. However, from October 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011, statewide sales taxes for clothing and footwear sold for less than $110 was reinstated again. For New York City, this meant articles of clothing costing less than $110 were charged 4.375% tax. A state sales tax exemption for clothing and footwear under $55 then went into effect from April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012. And now the original ($110) exemption will be reinstated after March 31, 2012. Confusing, don't you think.?
My wife liked Soho for bargains, but did think selection was limited.
Where do you (or your family) like to shop in New York?
[ 04-Feb-2012, at 17:51 by Calcruzer ]
You will have a great time. It is such a great city.
Firstly though you have a friend going with you now, I must say New York is surprisingly safe (I was expecting it to be a bit rough for some reason and was a bit nervous when I first arrived) but there are always people around, especially in tourist areas and most areas are lit up.
There are some terrible hostels there. It's hard to find any that don't cost the world or don't have rats. They also have hotel tax so prices are a bit dearer than advertised which if you are not American and used to that, its something better known now.
I ended up staying in Brooklyn last time I went. It was a really nice hostel, new and clean and actually pretty easy commute in and the metro is pretty cheap. Otherwise somewhere central is good because if it is your fist time you will walk everywhere and Manhattan is big with lots to see. So I would recommend either being walking distance to where you will spend most your time, ie. a lot of the sites are around times square and several blocks either side. Or being close to a metro stop.
There is shopping everywhere depending what you like, all the chain stores are there and i think clothes and food for that matter is pretty cheap. Fancy stuff along 5th ave are fun to walk along, Saks and Tiffany's and Henri Bendel. Soho has lots of your chain stores etc.
Food wise you should try the pizza, and the deli's like Carnegie and Katz are famous for massive pastrami/corned beef sandwiches etc. Chinatown is good. You wont have trouble finding good food at all.
If you want to do the sites when i went the first time i got a New York Pass which was good for skipping queues esp if you are going to be there in summer. Rockefeller centre is cool and I think a better view than Empire State Building. Also have a wander in the different areas, the Lower East Side, Greenwich, Upper East Side etc. they are all very different areas of the same city.
If you take the Staten Island ferry its free and you get a nice view of Manhattan from the water for free. The High Line park which starts on the lower west side is pretty cool too, an old subway line turned into a park.
There is heaps to see and do and eat and buy. You wont have trouble filling your time at all. Have fun.
Hey samantha, one option is to check out airbnb.com which is website people use to rent out a room in their apartment....
when i went i stayed in someone's room in the lower east side, East 2nd i think it was which is really good if you want good nightlife, full of students, i'm 21 so was perfect for me
my host was really good and being a local he was great for giving advice about where the best places to eat, go out are etc
I also used to find a NYC apartment (instead of those VERY EXPENSIVE HOTELS). I stayed in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn for $79. a night - a very nice apartment with an excellent host. This location was about 15 minutes from Manhattan by subway.
I agree with Todders, Airbnb was wonderful, and having a host really comes in very handy in New York - they can help you with where to go and how to do it inexpensively.
[ 05-Feb-2012, at 11:10 by Daawgon ]
I'm going to New York City in 18 days with my family and we are renting a 2 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn for 7 nights (700$ for 5 persons for the whole week, which in the end is 20$/night/person) We used the French version of which is a vacation rental website, I've never tried Airbnb but I've only heard good things about it so far. I usually go to hostels or use couchsurfing, because it allows you to meet wonderful people and stay in fun and unique places.
Last time I went to New York (winter break 2009/2010), I stayed at and really liked it! It's very clean, not far from the subway (it's in Harlem but I always felt safe, I was staying there with 2 guys though) and they have a rooftop! My friend and I also participated in their New Year's Eve bar crawling tour and had an awesome time.
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