For as long as I can remember I have spent way too much time obsessing over New York and forcing everyone I know to watch Home Alone 2 on repeat over the festive period. After several years of persistent begging and not-so-subtle hints at my boyfriend he finally cracked and let me book our first trip to the Big Apple.
Booking
We had initially intended on visiting for a couple of nights between Christmas and New Year, but after researching prices we decided to book a little later in the year as we could get a longer trip for less money. Generally, the cheapest time to visit New York is between January and March as the weather is quite chilly.
I spent a couple of months pricing up both DIY and package deals and found the packages were coming out a lot cheaper, but prices literally changed daily and hiked up every weekend. If you have the patience to wait I'd suggest setting yourself a realistic budget and when you think you've found a good deal, BOOK IT! In the end we opted to book a 6 day package with Expedia for £650 each. Our flights were direct from London Heathrow to JFK and we stayed at Yotel which is just off of Times Square and had great reviews on Tripadvisor. By watching the prices I managed to save us over £600. My top tips for getting the best deal are as follows:
- Try to be as flexible as possible with your dates. If you are able to travel on a day where the flights are less popular and not as many seats have been booked, the chances are that prices will be lower to encourage more people to buy. This can work particularly well if you're booking quite late because airlines will be trying to shift seats quickly.
- Compare package deals with DIY as it doesn't always work out cheaper to book a package. Take advantage of any cashback or discount codes. I use Quidco for most things and got £49 cashback on this package booking with Expedia.
- Try to book as early as possible as prices do tend to go up throughout the year. However, with that said, you can often get a good price booking late if airlines haven't sold many seats but you do run the risk of not getting the flight or hotel you wanted.
- Watch out for any additional costs such as luggage as this can get pricey, especially if you book with a low cost airline. British Airways appeared more expensive than some of their competitors but when factoring in hand bag, hand luggage suitcase, 23kg's of hold luggage, food and unlimited drinks (including alcohol) they were easily the best value for money. Remember to read the small print and beware of any additional service charges or taxes that may be payable when you arrive at your hotel as they can soon add up and make a good deal not so great.
- Watch the prices and try to book midweek. Prices seem to inflate over the weekend. I watched them over a couple of months and found late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning around the middle of the month where when the packages seemed to be coming up cheapest.
To save ourselves the stress of driving down to Heathrow in a hurry on the day of our flight we decided to book a hotel and airport parking deal with Holiday Extras. For £99 we got 7 nights parking (including transfers to Terminal 5) and one nights stay at Sheraton Skyline. I put it through Quidco and got £14 cashback. When we arrived we found out we had been added to the preferred guest programme which meant we didn't have to pay for the hotel parking that night (usually £15 a night for guests) and also didn't have to pay for the high speed wifi.
Planning and top tips
I am one of those irritating people that has to plan everything right down to the very minute. Before I went to New York everyone told me to have a rough idea of what I wanted to do but to go with the flow. I found the following tools so useful for planning my trip:
- Countdown+ app is first on my list because it's exciting to count down the days until your trip!!! It was also way easier than replacing my post it note on my desk each morning.
- Tripadvisor. It's a bit of an obvious one, but it's so easy to filter through thousands of attractions and restaurants. I picked most of the places we ate by searching within the location and sifting through the reviews, menus and cuisines. When looking for a hotel Tripadvisor is my number one 'go-to' website as the search and ratings features are ideal when there are so many choices.
- 'NYC The place to be' Facebook group. The page has a number of both friendly first time and experienced travellers sharing their tips. I found this particularly useful for restaurant recommendations and grouping attractions together. Seeing other peoples posts and photos made me really excited.
- NYC mtrip app was easy to use and allows you to plan your own itinerary or the app can create one for you based on your preferences. I used this app for the whole trip to keep us on track and plan out each day. It's a bit easier than a paper itinerary as you can make amendments quickly and it's always easily accessible on your smart phone. The best feature is the offline maps and directions.
- New York Subway MTA Map and Route Planner was a life saver. I have an awful sense of direction and struggled to get my head around the system. We purchased a 7 day subway pass for $30 dollars and used the app for every journey. It saved us a fortune in taxi's and you can find subways based on attractions too.
- Reading other blogs and webpages on itinerary's. It's always useful to see what others have done and compare.
- We purchased the New York Pass before travelling which had an app, a guide book and lots of details about the attractions. Price up the attractions you want to do and then compare this to the price of paying for everything individually. For us it made sense to get the 5 day pass as they had $30 discount per person at the time of booking and we wanted to do quite a bit whilst we were there. There are several different passes out there but this one worked best for us.
- Invest in a MetroCard as soon as you arrive. For $30 dollars you can get a 7 day pass which saves you a fortune in taxi fares and it's nice to get out of the snow for 5 minutes.
- Try to group together your attractions to save you time, and also pick your times wisely to avoid queues. We chose to visit Top of the Rock late afternoon/sunset and Empire State Building late at night. The views from both were amazing and we didn't have to queue at all.
- Pick your footwear carefully. I took UGG's and Adidas Superstars which were both absolutely soaked through by the end of our first day. The snow was really heavy and there were massive puddles on the sidewalks which are a bit of a nightmare. On the second day I invested in some Timberlands ($99 + tax at Woodbury Common Premium Shopping Outlet) which I lived in for the duration of our stay as they were waterproof but also ridiculously comfy.
- Save yourself worrying about carrying around large wads of cash by getting a pre-paid card. I got one through Travelex with a really good exchange rate ($1.51 to £1) and they are so easy to use. It's basically a debit card and you can use it for free withdrawals and also manage your recent transactions. It's easy to convert leftover money back to another currency. Be careful when deciding what card to take out as some charge hefty fees for withdrawals. I used Money Saving Expert to compare products. I got good cashback on my travel money too.
Itinerary
Day 0
We drove down to Sheraton Skyline hotel. We stayed in a classic room and were pleasantly surprised at how spacious and sophisticated it was. They have 'Sweet Sleeper' beds which are ridiculously comfy, an arm-chair and table, desk with high speed wired internet, 32 inch TV and a modern bathroom with bath. It was great value for money. Unfortunately we forgot our swimming clothes so we couldn't use the indoor heated pool, but we instead enjoyed cocktails in the Sky Bar. There are a number of restaurants and a Starbuck's on site which is really handy.
Day 1
We flew from Heathrow to JFK with British Airways. We pre-booked twin seats for £35 each before flying which was worth doing as we flew in the day and I was far too excited to sleep. Our flight was delayed which meant we arrived later than we'd planned and immigration control was really busy so it took ages. Make sure you have your landing cards, passport and accommodation details ready for when you are called forward. If you pre-book seats it's worth upgrading to premium economy or choosing seats closer to the front of the plane so you don't end up at the back of the immigration control queue. Once we cleared immigration we collected our suitcases and hopped straight into a yellow cab. They charge a flat rate of $52 plus tolls and tip and it took us about an hour to get into the city.
Check-in at Yotel was quick and easy and we were pleased to find that we had been upgraded to a premium view cabin on the 26th floor with a great view. I had originally wanted to upgrade to a executive view room but I'm glad we saved the money as our cabin was perfect for the two of us. The only downside is that the bathroom is literally in the bedroom, but we didn't find this was a problem as we just pulled the curtain across.
Day 2
We walked into Times Square and had a quick look around before eating lunch at Five Guys. We walked down to the Circle Line boat cruise but it wasn't running and everything was shut down due to the snow so we decided to head to the Subway station. We purchased our 7 day metrocard's for $30 and got the subway down to the 9/11 Ground Zero memorial and museum. It was so interesting and we literally spent four hours in here. There is a section where you can't use your phones or cameras which is brilliant. It was a really factual experience and it all becomes so real when you hear the voice recordings and videos taken on 9/11.
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We then got the subway to Brooklyn and ate at Grimaldi's. They serve the tastiest pizzas and the portions are massive. It was snowing really hard but we walked back across Brooklyn Bridge and admired the views. I'd definitely recommend going at night as the skyline is beautiful.
Our next stop was Grand Central Station which is stunning throughout. There are a few good places to eat and it's way bigger than I'd imagined. We got the subway back to Times Square and had a stroll through before heading to Carlos Bakery on our way back to Yotel. During the day the queues are massive but in the evening it's empty, with just as many treats available.
Day 3
We visited Woodbury Common Premium Shopping Outlet which is definitely worth the trip if you have enough time and want any branded items. I had a list of things I hoped to purchase in NYC and managed to get the majority of them here much cheaper than in the city. We booked our transport through the concierge and the trip included a great VIP coupon booklet, but I've seen the trip much cheaper on Groupon if you book before you go. It takes about an hour to get there and it features shops such as Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Levi's, Timerland, Ralph Lauren, etc. I got some real bargains here - my best buy was a Calvin Klein clutch which retails here in the UK for £110 but cost me £53 dollars including tax which works out around £35. We were really lazy and went to Applebee's as it was so close to our hotel, but I wish we'd gone to somewhere off my to-do list as we ran out of time to eat everywhere.
Day 4
We made a bit of a last minute plan and booked a helicopter ride with Manhattan Helicopters. If you book with the New York Pass you can get a 15% discount. The usual price is $175 per person. It was pricey for a 15 - 20 minute journey but I've ticket it off my bucket list and the views were stunning. I think it's something that everyone should do at least once in their lifetime! I wish we had done the helicopter ride on our first day as it really did help to understand which area different landmarks were in.
We then got the free ferry to Staten Island past the Statue of Liberty and did a bit of exploring. Our New York Pass included a boat cruise that went by SOL close up but unfortunately wasn't running due to the snow. We then went to Rockefellar Centre and did Top of the Rock and a tiny bit of shopping. We walked past New York Public Library and then back to Times Square for some food at Dallas BBQ. The portions at this restaurant are HUGE and the cocktails are very pretty. I had the best steak I've ever had here, whilst drooling over the sticky chicken wings.
Day 5
On day 5 our first stop was Shake Shack. It's by far the best fast food and the shakes are insanely good. Our nearest one in the UK is in London so I couldn't resist stopping for one on Eighth Avenue before heading down to Central Park for a stroll in the snow. (I say stroll, but what I really mean is being pushed into the snow by my 'adult' of a boyfriend. He also really enjoyed climbing a snow hill with some american children too...)
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We then spent the rest of the day with my favourite activity - SHOPPING!!! We walked down Fifth Avenue and then spent hours in Macy's, followed by all the shops surrounding Macy's (including a massive Urban Outfitters!). Macy's is the best department store I've ever been to with soooo many floors filled with great buys. The exchange rate makes everything a lot cheaper than buying here in the UK, and also much easier to part with your hard earned cash. I also loved Sephora in the US and stocked up on all my favourite make up and beauty products. My best buy was Anastasia Contour Kit ($40) which is pretty hard to get hold of in the UK unless your willing to pay an extortionate price. MAC lipsticks are also a fair bit cheaper so I purchased a few of those too. We then went to Tick Tock Diner which is the cutest retro style diner. It was still snowing so we sat in the warm watching the world go by. The honey fried chicken wings are really good. We then went up to the Empire State Building and although visibility was poor (our own fault for leaving it until the last minute!) the views are out of this world.
Day 6
We spent most of the morning battling with our suitcases to try and squeeze all of our new things in so we could store our suitcases in the Yotel luggage robot. We then grabbed some cheese fries and a hot dog each before taking the subway down to a candy shop called Economy Candy. I spent ages looking for somewhere a bit cheaper than Dylan's Candy Store and came across this shop on Tripadvisor. It's a hidden gem and I'm so glad we took the trip down as they stock so much candy and my favourite, salt water taffy! Between us we spent a small fortune on american goodies to bring home with us.
We had a wander through Broadway, Soho and Little Italy before heading back to Times Square for some final bits of shopping. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe which was great, but you do just pay for the name and to say 'I've been there!'. We then walked back to Yotel for the final time to collect our luggage and get the car back to the airport. When we arrived at the airport and passed through security our flight was typically delayed for a number of hours as the snow meant only one runway was open.
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