Two weeks in NYC - What'll she do? All suggestions welcome

Hi, this message is for a friend of mine. It%26#39;s her first visit to the US, she wants to experience as much culture and history as possible but also to have a fun time (!), she%26#39;s interested in having an active and fun visit and she%26#39;s travelling alone. She%26#39;s 32.

She plans to visit in October, maybe the 22nd to November 2nd. What she wants from her trip is to experience the city and all it%26#39;s quirky coolness and also some of the countryside around NYC for natural beauty. She doesn%26#39;t want to travel more than 5 - 6 hours outside NYC. Here are some specific questions.

- Does all accommodation need to be booked in advance or can she leave it open to see what happens when she gets there? (given the time of year, election etc)

- Can anyone recommend any good tour operators for 3 or 4 day trips from NYC ?

- Would it be better for her to hire her own transport to get out of the city or to use public transport, given that it%26#39;s her first time to the US?

- She wants to eat cheaply, diners, delis etc, what amount of dollars should she bring as a daily allowance at a guess?

THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking the time to reply, if you do!

x

Two weeks in NYC - What'll she do? All suggestions welcome

Do not leave it open for when she gets here, there is a good chance she will be homeless. This is the height of tourist season, pre book your reservations, sooner rather than later.

Be forewarned, Apartment rental in NYC is illegal for many reasons, use the search feature to read other posts regarding it.

Two weeks in NYC - What'll she do? All suggestions welcome

New York has some great day trips and 3-4 day trips. Here are some that may be fun to do.

Travel up the Hudson river to check out the mansions. See FDR%26#39;s home at Hyde Park, and see Eleanor%26#39;s at Valkill. If you want to get the same experience with a local flavor, visit Wave Hill in the Bronx. It%26#39;s a wow.

Boston is only four and a half hours from NYC. It is a really great place to visit. Check out the commons and Beacon Hill. Wander around the great stores in Back Bay%26#39;s Newberry Street. Visit the USS Constitution in Charleston.

Baltimore is in the other direction. You can see the Inner Harbor, visit the Museum of Outsider Art and go for some good crabs in Fell%26#39;s Point.

As to eating, New York can be as expensive or as cheap as you want. New York has great ethnic foods. Get some Indian on 6th street, or do Chinese in any one of NYs Chinatowns. There is no problem finding great local restauants. Check out Chowhound.com for restaurant information.

Hope its a great trip.

Thanks for that, really useful.

HI Uisce! Just came back from NYC and did a 4-night/ 5 day escorted tour to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Washington DC and Philadelphia. We got to see a lot in such short amount of time! Our guide was very good, we always stayed in 4 star hotels and the coach they used was very comfortable.

The tour company we used was Allied TPRO

You can see a list of their itineraries here: alliedtpro.com/escorted_tours/itineraries/20鈥?/a>

We did the ';Eastern Triangle';.

If you have any questions just ask ;)

';Does all accommodation need to be booked in advance or can she leave it open to see what happens when she gets there? (given the time of year, election etc)';

Absolutely she MUST book in advance. It%26#39;s already late if she%26#39;s on a tight budget!!!! There are women%26#39;s residences that are very cheap and include some food. The Brandon is one such place on the upper west side.

http://www.thebrandon.org/

Since she may have trouble getting 1 place for 2 weeks, she might consider splitting the trip in 2 places.

Leo House is another inexpensive option owned and run by the Catholic church but clean and includes breakfast. You must phone or fax them. Do a text search for contact details.

If you give us more info on her budget and style, we can make other recos. Renting an apt. privately is a definite NO NO. If she doesn%26#39;t want to commit to a place for the whole time, let her book something cancelable for the 2 nd week.

';Can anyone recommend any good tour operators for 3 or 4 day trips from NYC ?';

She doesn%26#39;t need a tour operator for a day trip. There are dozens she can take on her own. Again do a text search here for daytrips but here are some ideas

littleviews.com/home/newyork/day_trips.cfm

';Would it be better for her to hire her own transport to get out of the city or to use public transport, given that it%26#39;s her first time to the US?';

Not sure if you mean to/from the airport or for these day trips, but many daytrips can be done on public transport. If there%26#39;s some place specific she wants to go, we can advise best way to get there if you tell us.

I can%26#39;t begin to estimate a dining allowance, but she can eat as cheaply as she choses if she%26#39;s not a fussy eater. Pizza is probably the cheapest (and I think most filling and tastiest) of the options.

menupages.com

will show delis, diners and coffee shops all over the city and give an idea of prices.

NYwhiz, what a fabulous response, I really appreciate it, thank you. I%26#39;ve set up a TA screenname for her and passed all the info on hoping she%26#39;ll get in touch herself. Thanks again!

I will add, things like walking tours (foodsofny.com is very popular) and

accomplicenewyork.com

are good for solo travelers as a way to meet other people. There are trip reports from solo travelers in the bottom of the FAQ here

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k1948627鈥?/a>