NYC questions

[SecondCor521]

My daughter and I are going to be in NYC early next week. I've been there quite a few times, this will be my daughter's first visit.

We're staying by Newark airport and going to have a day in NYC. We've got a list of things she'd like to do including see the Statue of Liberty.

Which of the following options would you recommend?

A. Newark airport taxi to St. George terminal then Staten Island Ferry over to NYC...then finish the rest of our day in NYC. This seems like the taxi might be pretty expensive - Google shows it as a half hour drive.

B. Newark airport taxi to Newark Penn Station, PATH subway to WTC, taxi to Staten Island Ferry, then take the ferry over to Staten Island and back...then finish the rest of our day in NYC. I know you have to get off the ferry and re-board; not sure if we can make it back on the same ferry going back (without waiting for the next one?) and this would be two ferry rides instead of one.

C. Newark airport taxi to Newark Penn Station, PATH subway to WTC, taxi to Battery Park, look at Statue from there...then finish the rest of our day in NYC. The ferry ride might be fun, and I'm not sure how much better/closer the view is of the statue from the ferry vs. from the tip of Manhattan.

D. Other suggestions?

 

[brucethebroker]

Personally, saw enough of the statue of Liberty from the Staten Isle ferry-did not need to walk around the base looking up and pay for the privilege...
Really enjoyed renting a bike and riding around Central Park. Very affordable. Really enjoyed checking out Apple store...free. Trump tower...free. Time square...Rockefeller plaza...walking the Brooklyn Bridge...Today show audience (outdoors)... free, free, free. Lots of nice coffee shops and neighborhood cafes to check out at reasonable rates.
Could have spent even more time walking around looking at Art Deco skyscrapers....

 

[Bamaman]

NJ Transit express buses run between Newark Liberty International Airport & New York City--$16 for one way, or $28 for round trip. Each bus stops at 3 New York stops where you can catch a subway down to Battery Park.

You can then ride the Staten Island over and back--for free.

 

[up_north]

The answer to your question depends in part by what you mean when you say your daughter wants to "see" the Statue of Liberty and in part on where you come down on the trade-off between time and money.

You can "see" it from NJ, from Manhattan, from Brooklyn, etc. I used to commute on a subway that went over the Manhattan Bridge, from which the Statue is visible, and I would stare like a tourist almost every time. Maybe that's enough. The view from the Staten Island Ferry is much better. The best is from the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Ferry, which is also pretty much the only way to set foot on Liberty Island. Note that you can get that ferry in NJ, from Liberty State Park, as well as from lower Manhattan. You can start in one location and end in the other if you like, but I would not choose to go to or from Liberty State Park without a car.

To answer your question about the SI Ferry, you must get off the ferry in Staten Island, exit the terminal, reenter the terminal, and take another ferry. You cannot remain on the same boat when you get there. So this does involve killing some time in Staten Island. Check the ferry schedule at The Staten Island Ferry Weekday Weekend and Holiday Schedules -- the amount of time depends on when you go. It's an easy walk to the SI Yankees baseball field but they won't be playing yet. You can have a meal or a drink at the terminal (of the cost and quality you would imagine).

As to the transportation options, I think you can forego the taxi(s) with the possible exception of if it's the only way to get from your hotel to public transportation. NJ Transit goes from Newark Airport (and downtown Newark) to Penn Station in Manhattan, from which you can get the subway to the SI Ferry Terminal, the S of L/Ellis I Ferry, and everywhere else. Rail is about $15, subway about $2.75.

I'm a fan of public transportation in NYC. The price is reasonable and the service is often excellent, with subways often faster than above-ground options. You said you have a list of things you want to do, though, and I'm not sure how long it is, what your tolerance for walking is, and so on, so I hesitate to say whether using a taxi at some of the points you suggest might speed your trip and let you hit other items on the list.

Enjoy your trip and do leave yourself some time to walk around some of the places mentioned by brucethebroker. I'd add the High Line if the weather is good, and of course the museums. People usually think in terms of the Met, Modern Art, Natural History, Guggenheim, and the other big names. Two others that ought to be on your radar, depending on your interests, might be the Rubin Museum (Indian & Tibetan art) and the Museum of the City of NY (great exhibits on the city's history). There's also a cool and free exhibit at Parsons, which is part of New School University, about the US-Mexico border (https://events.newschool.edu/event/state_of_exceptionestado_de_excepcion).

 

[Texas Proud]

We just got back...

If you want to go to the island for the Statue of Liberty I would suggest you buy your ticket now... they have one where you can go into the base or one where you can go to the top... but you have to buy before you go as they sell out....

We just went to the island and walked around... no big deal IMO...

We also went late so we could not go to Ellis Island which is included in the ticket....


As for transportation.... I used to take the airport train to the regular train that took me to NYC.... then the subway... WOW... just looked at the price and I do not remember it costing so much!!! It used to be a cheap way to get there...


I would also suggest the NJ bus... we took one for $17 and it was great... we used Academy.... but since you will be closer you might take a local...





https://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/Station_Page&code=EWR

 

[SecondCor521]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

"The answer to your question depends in part by what you mean when you say your daughter wants to "see" the Statue of Liberty and in part on where you come down on the trade-off between time and money."

This is really the essence of it, and I'm not sure I know the answers well to either.

I think she'll just want to get a good look and a picture. I don't think she's into the history of Ellis Island or needing to go up into SoL's head. So I'm pretty sure the Staten Island Ferry would be good enough. I think the second Staten Island Ferry, if we did that, would be extra/a waste of time. A view from Battery Park may suffice, I dunno.

I know personally I am willing to trade off and pay for taxis in the city even though the subway is cheaper. Last time I was there (admittedly a long time ago) there was a tiny learning curve in terms of reading subway maps, and the subways had some areas that were less than clean and had some other issues. Trains and buses are fine, just don't want to wait around for more than 10-15 minutes to catch one. We're on vacation and I have enough money for any reasonable expense. Something in the 1/2 hour range for $20-$50 would work.

Timewise, though, I think Google estimated it would take two hours to get to the city if we took strictly public transportation, which seemed to be the bus to Newark Penn then NJT over to Penn NY. I can handle the complication, but the time sink is too much. Since it's only an 11 minute drive to Newark Penn, I figured a taxi from the airport hotel then the PATH would be relatively cheap and quick. I'll look further into the bus and NJT options mentioned here.

We arrive Monday afternoon at Newark and are staying at the hotel there at the airport (I know), so we could go into the city Monday evening too if we wanted to, but some things on our list close 5:30ish. We also have all of Tuesday there, and she's 15 and usually has a positive attitude about walking and trying new things.

The list of things she wants to see in descending order of priority for her:

High priority/"musts":
Hamilton (the play; we have tickets)
Empire State Building (might go to the top, might not)
9/11 museum / Ground Zero
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Statue of Liberty

Medium priority/"could skip":
Central Park
Highline Park

Plus just sort of absorbing the city and it's atmosphere.

So my general idea, since we're starting at Newark Airport, was to start at the southern end of things and go north throughout the day, finishing up at the Met Museum of Art in early evening, then heading back to the play then back to the hotel.

 

[euro]

Sounds like you have it sorted - it is a very ambitious schedule (probably would take ME two or three days ) but a good plan!

Enjoy!

 

[rodi]

I think your list needs trimming given your time constraints. Hamilton should be great... we tried hard to get tickets last summer when we were there - no luck.

The Met is right on Central Park - so you'll get a taste of the park if you go to the Met.

Combine the Battery Park/SL and 911/Ground zero stuff - they are very close to each other. If you walk between them you can also see the Wall Street bull sculpture - not sure if they still have the girl standing in front of the bull - if so, that might be nice for your daughter to see.

My biggest tip - wear comfortable shoes. Even if you splurge on taxis - there will still be walking.

I believe you need to pre-buy tickets to the top of the Empire State building... so if you decide to do that - you'll need to commit ahead of time.

When we went last summer (myself, hubby, and 2 teenagers) we used public transit excusively. No issues, and very fast to get between places. Parts of NYC cabs are few and far between. You might want to have the Uber app on your phone as a back up. (I assume Uber is in NYC - but not sure.)

 

[rodi]

One more thing - we flew out of Newark on our way home - we took NJ Transit to Airtrain and it was faster than a car. It's almost an hour by car because of the tolls/tunnel/traffic thing.

From Penn Station to the AirTrain terminal was less than 30 minutes - and you could walk (if you wanted to) to the terminal from there. The Airtrain was just a few minutes.

 

[stepford]

My recollection is that the Metropolitan Museum is immense, and one can easily spend a whole tiring day wandering around there. I prefer the Museum of Modern Art when in NYC, but that's just me.

Taxis are OK, but I really think the NYC subways are the greatest thing since sliced bread. They go everywhere. They run frequently and promptly. Thery're pretty safe these days (the scary 70s and 80s were a long time ago) and I generally find they're not much dirtier than your typical city bus.

Last time we were in the city we did the Highline walk. A novel way to walk down the west side, but crowded and not really all that exciting IMO. As a visitor you can get more of a flavor of the city just wandering the surface streets down from the Village through Soho and Little Italy to the various corners of TriBeCa.

 

[SecondCor521]

Based on these comments, I'm thinking we may try to do something Monday evening to shorten the list for Tuesday / give us more time. Either SoL or ESB maybe.

@rodi, yes, we'll group things as you describe. I'm planning on wearing running shoes - may be tacky for Hamilton but I don't care unless I embarrass my daughter (a possibility). I think the girl is a permanent installation, but maybe not. Advance tickets to ESB are preferable because one doesn't need to stand in line. I'll discuss in advance with DD to see what she wants to do and go from there. Thanks for the airtrain comment - I looked that up and that looks like the way to go for most things.

@stepford, thanks for the suggestions on the subway. Don't know where the various parts are you describe, but can google it I guess.

When I was there before, there were *lots* of taxis everywhere and they were more expensive than the subway but still not terrible. I took them as a college student and IIRC I was broke then...sounds like things may have changed in the last 25-30 years LOL.

 

[Texas Proud]

I think your list needs trimming given your time constraints. Hamilton should be great... we tried hard to get tickets last summer when we were there - no luck.

The Met is right on Central Park - so you'll get a taste of the park if you go to the Met.

Combine the Battery Park/SL and 911/Ground zero stuff - they are very close to each other. If you walk between them you can also see the Wall Street bull sculpture - not sure if they still have the girl standing in front of the bull - if so, that might be nice for your daughter to see.

My biggest tip - wear comfortable shoes. Even if you splurge on taxis - there will still be walking.

I believe you need to pre-buy tickets to the top of the Empire State building... so if you decide to do that - you'll need to commit ahead of time.

When we went last summer (myself, hubby, and 2 teenagers) we used public transit excusively. No issues, and very fast to get between places. Parts of NYC cabs are few and far between. You might want to have the Uber app on your phone as a back up. (I assume Uber is in NYC - but not sure.)

Yes, girl is still there..... but, when we were there there were so many people that we could not see much of the bull and only got a glimpse of the girl...


As for the subway.... download an app that give you directions.... we did and it was pretty good... just put in where you want to go and it knows where you are.... gives you a few suggestions on which subway to take and how much walking you will do...

 

[Texas Proud]

I will ask why you want to stay at the airport

You can get a hotel in Newport or Hudson Exchange and take the PATH across the river... be there in minutes and no taxi...

 

[mystang52]

There is a Hilton right next to Newark Penn Station. From there, easy to get to lower Manhattan via PATH, or to NYC Penn Station via Amtrak or NJ Transit. Might be a better base of operation for you, and is just a short cab ride from Newark Airport.

 

[explanade]

Uber or Lyft might be a good way to get around too.

I've also heard of this ride-sharing service, rides within Manhattan are a flat $5 plus tax and $3 for each additional passenger:

Via | How much does a ride cost?

I'm not sure if it picks up other people who happen to be going the same way though.

 

[Souschef]

Another option is the hop on hop off bus. we really enjoyed it. You can Google the info on it.

 

[Gumby]

If you want to go to a classical art museum and are concerned about spending a whole day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, let me suggest the Frick Collection. A beautiful collection of art (including 3 Vermeers) on a human scale. The Frick Collection

 

[FIRE'd@51]

I have always enjoyed the Circle Line. It's about a three-hour boat ride around the island of Manhattan, complete with a narrative:

https://www.circleline42.com/cruises-and-schedules/best-of-nyc-cruise/