#airplanewindows

Let's start off with a photo of my last trip to NYC in September!

New York is a city that soooooo many people ask me about. In my intro I mentioned that I fell in love through traveling, New York City was where I met my first love (awwww) so it is extremely close to my heart and somewhere I have revisited many times, it just makes sense to cover it first! 

Something you have to know about New York City is that it is EXPENSIVE. I'm not talking 100$/night expensive, if you want a branded hotel you're looking at 300-1000$ PER NIGHT. That being said NYC has SO many great budget hotels that I can vouch for that won't leave you working just to pay for this trip. I will cover hotels later though because you don't need one until you find a way to get there! 

TRANSPORTATION: 

Being a Canadian I want to focus as much of my postings on ways for us to explore! Unfortunately there are no budget airlines in Canada like our American friends have so we are kind of stuck if we want to do things on a shoestring budget, that doesn't mean there are not options though, just if you want to save money expect to lose a day travelling. 

Working in the airline industry I am fortunate enough to just hop on a plane and venture off wherever I please but that being said I absolutely HATE, let me repeat, HATE, flying into LaGuardia International Airport (LGA). LGA is SO inconvenient and when I head to NYC I want to be right in the centre of the action. From what I have heard JFK is closer but I have never flown into it.

Back to LGA; LGA-Manhattan (Times Square, Central Park etc.) is over $40 to cab. Keep in mind the traffic situation in NYC is ridiculous so if you go in peak times maybe multiply that by 3. Usually if I have to fly I will subway and bus, this is only $1.50 for each transfer so at most $3, that being said it takes upwards of 1.5 hours.

Something you should also know, the bus that leaves LGA to the subway station does not take 1 dollar bills. You can only imagine my surprise when I was asked to leave the bus because I didn't have 1 dollar coins, who even knew americans have 1 dollar coins, and this is coming from someone who lived, worked and frequents there on a bi-weekly basis. If you want to fly, you will pay - RT from YOW (Ottawa Intl. - my home base!) is 800$ - you can always find a seat sale but now-a-day's they are few and far between and even so I can't see you getting cheaper than $600 RT. That flight is also assuming you make one stop, a direct flight with Air Canada is currently showing at $1,203 RT. Of course you can always look at flights into Newark, NJ (EWR) which is direct from YOW on United and take the PATH train into the city! 

I really hope I strayed you away from flying to NYC, especially if you want to do this trip on a budget. There are SO many affordable ways to get to NYC from Ottawa, or anywhere in Ontario for that matter. 

The great thing about living in Ottawa is how close we are to Montreal! Did you know Montreal is an AMTRAK stop? AMTRAK is the American Via rail for those of you who didn't know. Ottawa-Montreal (Union Station/Gare Centrale) is only $29 on an escape fare (web-only purchase) plus, VIA has seat sales almost bi-weekly so with some planning ahead you can easily score a great deal! AMTRAK from Montreal-NY Penn Station (right in the heart of the action!) is only 65$ one way. This is where I said you need to devote a day to travel though because it is an 11 hour train ride but the route is beautiful and you see SO much beauty in upstate NY. Round trip the train would cost less than $200, plus you are saving on taking a cab! It's a total steal. 

If you are more the bus type (not me!) Greyhound also goes from Ottawa-NYC (Penn Station again!) ranging from 12-14 hours. The thing I like about Greyhound though is they offer the overnight bus so you can sleep and wake up in NYC! This comes in at $198 (REFUNDABLE FARE!) so really if I had to pick between train/bus I would save the few dollars, take the shorter ride and enjoy my free wifi on the train. Greyhound offers better rates for advanced purchase though and does have seat sales so if you can plan ahead you can easily go for cheaper.

LODGING:

Working in the airline industry I am fortunate to have friends in all the right places so recently when I have ventured off to NYC I have been able to stay at a friend's who lives right in Union Square. It is always nice to stay in hotels though and I have had my fair share of them! 

Don't be scared away by the fact that every hotel in NYC has bed bugs, I have been countless times and NEVER seen a bed bug but obviously people have otherwise this website wouldn't have to exist. There are great videos on YouTube of how to check for bedbugs, I am now a seasoned pro so as gross as it is, watch the video and follow their suggestions. 

In terms of best location my choice for NYC is Hotel Edison that stereotypical giant Times Square sign that every movie filmed in NYC shows can be seen out of some of the rooms windows, I was lucky enough to get one of those rooms over New Years Eve which was absolutely fantastic and soooo lucky since NYE sells out months and months in advance. LIke I said, this is NOT a branded hotel, I am a loyalty whore and devote my stays strictly to Starwood whenever I can. An average Starwood hotel in NYC with a great location (i.e.: W Times Square which is next to the Edison, is $529 A NIGHT, on a Tuesday! So if you want to go on the weekend I hope you have a pot of gold!) the same days at the Edison are $191. That is being booked through both hotel's respective websites, you could probably find it cheaper through Expedia or Hotels.com but if you are like me and an avid mile gainer you can't get points on third-party stays. 

If money really is all that matters I suggest staying in New Jersey, you can get hotels near EWR for like $50 a night and then you can just hop on the path train ($1.50/way last I rode!) and venture into the city. Only thing is I don't think the path is 24 hours so if you plan on going out you have to make it an early night so you aren't stranded in the streets of NYC, unless that's your thing. Whatever you do make sure you get a hotel near the PATH station though just to minimize your commutes :) 

One thing you have to understand about me is I vacation on a whim, usually a days notice. Most people assume buying trips last minute is the way to go, working in the industry I can tell you that is not entirely true. All-inclusive vacations, yes, you're going to a third world country that is desperate for your business. If it is somewhere like NYC, even smaller metropolitan cities like Philadelphia you can expect to be paying more booking 5 days in advance than 21. A lot of times when I travel I am forced to take what I can get but that's why I join loyalty program's (like SPG) since I know no matter where I end up being stranded it will be nice, plus if you're a gold member (something I achieved this past weekend!) you're guaranteed to have a room at your exclusive rate provided you book 72 hours before. Huge thing for last minute people like myself! 

This October although I have a planned vacation (yay!) to NYC to try out The Roosevelt, super excited as I have never stayed in Midtown Manhattan before and this hotel is a legend! 

In the end I have stayed in both NJ and at the Edison in Times Square, if you want the NYC experience, pay the extra and stay at the Edison. Google Street Map it, the location is really unbeatable and you can honestly walk to everything you want to see. 

WHAT TO DO:

If you know me you know I LOVE to eat, I love experiencing new restaurants and ultimately dining out so NYC is a great place for me. There is some crazy statistic I learnt on one of my NYC trips, something like it would take you 10 years to eat at every restaurant in NYC provided you ate out for 3 meals a day? That means there is a ton of variety which is great if you're a picky eater like me, also great if you aren't picky and like a large variety! 

If I had to pick my all-time favourite restaurant in the entire vicinity of NYC it would without hesitation be Max Brenner's aka "The Bald Man" which is in Union Square, see the menu for yourself, I drool at my screen just re-reading it and I don't even like chocolate, but this place is a gem. It was introduced to me by my resident New Yorker friend Yannan so it is not too well known to tourists and away from all the tourist traps which is nice. 

If you watched Seinfeld you are aware of the "Soup Nazi" I made the trip last time to try it out, I had the chilli (it was December!) and it was so good!! They give you a little piece of bread and a tangerine orange, how cute! 

I absolutely love Canal Street which is the legendary knockoff row but beware it is severely patrolled by cops now and they crack down on almost every good knock off store. Plus in retrospect of all my times venturing into sketchy back rooms with people who didn't speak english it is not safe and extremely risky. Don't go alone! The fun thing about Canal is a lot of the people really do not care, they will pop a squat mid street and sell their louis bags, good for them for rebelling against authority, but those are the ones who will charge you 3x what sketchy back room guy does, I guess you have to pick your battles. I would tell you some of my favourite Canal St. shops but they get busted so often that no matter how often I go I can never keep track, the experience itself though is worth making the trip for. 

If you haven't been to NYC before and like to take photos and admire the view I recommend "Top of the Rock" which has the best views in NYC. 

If Broadway is your thing and you can tolerate waiting in line don't buy your tickets before but instead go to ticks, or tkts or something, its right in Times Square (here is a link!) you can get them ridiculously cheap for same-day performances! Also good if you have no concrete plans and decide you want to catch a show!

General NYC stuff, Central Park, Times Square, Madison Square Garden, Fifth Avenue and Wall Street are all good if you want to really experience NYC for what it is known for. Something a lot of people don't think of is going to where the World Trade Centre's used to be - they have rebuilt them now to the Freedom Towers, bring kleenex because without fail I bawl every single time. It is so sad even though its been built into something new now, you cannot help but remember what once was. 

Due to terrorism you can't go into the Statue of Liberty anymore which REALLY sucks, that's on my bucket list and I don't know if I will ever get the chance now but you can take the ferry to Ellis Island and get very close to it! 

If you are into Cake Boss, Carlos' Bake Shop is literally a 5 minute path ride just in Hoboken, NJ which is directly across from NYC. I tried to go last time but it was a six hour line just to buy a cannoli, not my thing.

New York City is amazing for fun, free activities and festival's check out http://www.nycgo.com for info on upcoming events! This year I am doing the halloween parade!

Something worth mentioning is group tours, many travel companies offer group travel to NYC and you save a great deal of money! Check out some of my faves: Contiki (who I am taking to Europe in May!) and McCoy who is based out of Kingston!

McCoy is who I took to New York City when I went for New Years Eve! Yes, I was the fool who spent 15 hours in the cold to watch a ball drop for 60 seconds. This is where adventure comes in because I met 3 fantastic Americans also stupid and waiting in the cold, and still keep in touch with them to this day! Travelling is the BEST way to meet people! My experience with McCoy was fantastic, I paid 600$ for 4 nights at the Edison and round trip bus from Ottawa-NYC. That is an absolute STEAL so I highly recommend you get a hold of someone from McCoy if you want to do the pre-packaged thing! It was great cause all they did was drive you there, you do your own thing the entire time you are there. 

Whenever I travel somewhere new and do the whole tourist thing I always buy a CityPass since it pre-packages everything that is on most people's must see list but you get it cheaper! Even better you can buy them at Costco (just saved you another $20!)

As I said, New York City is one of my favourite places in the United States and I really encourage you to try it out for yourself. There is honestly never a dull moment and the city really doesn't sleep! While you're there check out if any TV shows are filming so that you can see it live, it really is a lot of fun! 

Bonne voyage and please email me or reach me through here if you have any questions or I didn't cover something!

Be well,