Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think if you penny pinch too much it will make for a miserable experience.
I would spend the whole time exploring the city.
Rent a motel,hotel and car near JFK.
Explore Queens and Brooklyn by car.
You will be amazed.
Keep the car out of Manhattan.
Park your car near a train station in Queens.
Observe Parking Regulations.
Certain spots in some neighborhoods like
Glendale,Woodhaven,OzonePark,
Howard Beach, Rego Park
allow you to park all day.
Observe Parking Signs to be safe.
Park car and walk to train station or bus stop.
Train or bus into the Manhattan only !
Keep the car out of the city.
Once in the city. Walk.
If tired walking take the subway for a few stops.
Use Subway to explore Manhattan!
Avoid bus in Manhattan at all costs. Too congested.
Take train back to car and car back to Motel,Hotel.
Drop of car at Airport,hop on plane, return home.
Flights to Buffalo are around $200 or less if you pack light and don't check a huge suitcase. JetBlue out of JFK or United out of Newark. Don't be a cheapskate and waste precious vacation time on the perpetually delayed train.
Been back for about a week now and I must say it was a blast. We decided to throw our budget out although we were still reasonable with our spending.
Niagara Falls was breathtaking. We ziplined, journey Behind the Falls, took the Hornblower cruise among other things. Clifton Hill is a must. I loved Kelseys... service and food was fantastic. Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville was horrible in all regards - but that was the only low point.
The train from Niagara Falls to NYC was a blast. My wife and I had a great time. We viewed a dozen cities we've heard of but never seen. The last half of the ride particularly spectacular.
NYC was far more fun that I would have imagined. Our hotel was on 37th between 7th and 8th. We were a few blocks from Time's Square and Penn Station. We took the subway to Coney Island and had beers at Ruby's. We visited Central Park, the WTC Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Chinatown, Little Italy, SoHo and on and on. We walked an average of 10 miles per day and was completely energized the entire time. We only ate at local, small restaurants and visited distinct local bars.
It sounds like we did a lot, but the beauty of this vacation is that we literally wondered around. We picked a point in Upper Manhattan and Uber'd there, meandering back to the hotel later in the day. Same with lower Manhattan. When we went to Coney Island, we got off at a stop about 2 miles from Coney Island just to take in the local scenery. It was just a fantastic trip.
Been back for about a week now and I must say it was a blast. We decided to throw our budget out although we were still reasonable with our spending.
Thanks for checking back it with us .
Glad you enjoyed your trip.
I'm glad you enjoyed just taking in the views and city life versus concentrating on some many of the tourist attractions.
I do agree having a budget is fine but Doing it on the cheap side is something I always advice against. If your coming here and want to enjoy the city for what it is, it costs money. Yes it can be done on a budget, I live here on a budget and live a great life. But when people come and cut corners left and right they miss out I believe.
I have a a few thousand Delta SkyMiles to use so the wife and I are planning a 6 day trip to NYC and Niagra (both US and Canada). The tentative plan is to arrive at JFK on day 1, take the Penn Station train to Niagra on Day 4, do Niagra on day 5 and drive back to Buffalo at the end of day 5, flying out on day 6.
I welcome criticisms/suggestions to make the most of this trip while remaining somewhat frugal - my wife is cheap.
3 days in NYC is tough but can be done if you hit just the big tourist attractions, which you should do.
My concern would be a "train" to Niagra? Never heard of it. I've driven up there several times, and it's a beautiful drive...but is quite a trek. Pretty sure you'll need a car once you get up there anyway.
I think if you penny pinch too much it will make for a miserable experience.
I would spend the whole time exploring the city.
Rent a motel,hotel and car near JFK.
Explore Queens and Brooklyn by car.
You will be amazed.
Keep the car out of Manhattan.
Park your car near a train station in Queens.
Observe Parking Regulations.
Certain spots in some neighborhoods like
Glendale,Woodhaven,OzonePark,
Howard Beach, Rego Park
allow you to park all day.
Observe Parking Signs to be safe.
Park car and walk to train station or bus stop.
Train or bus into the Manhattan only !
Keep the car out of the city.
Once in the city. Walk.
If tired walking take the subway for a few stops.
Use Subway to explore Manhattan!
Avoid bus in Manhattan at all costs. Too congested.
Take train back to car and car back to Motel,Hotel.
Drop of car at Airport,hop on plane, return home.
Works every time.....
As a Queens native, this is some of the worst advice one could give to a tourist. "Drive around Bk and Queens?" Are you for real? Sure, get stuck on the BQE and LIE for hours and hours.
3 days in NYC is tough but can be done if you hit just the big tourist attractions, which you should do.
My concern would be a "train" to Niagra? Never heard of it. I've driven up there several times, and it's a beautiful drive...but is quite a trek. Pretty sure you'll need a car once you get up there anyway.
Glad you enjoyed your trip.
I'm glad you enjoyed just taking in the views and city life versus concentrating on some many of the tourist attractions.
I do agree having a budget is fine but Doing it on the cheap side is something I always advice against. If your coming here and want to enjoy the city for what it is, it costs money. Yes it can be done on a budget, I live here on a budget and live a great life. But when people come and cut corners left and right they miss out I believe.
We tried to be "New Yorkers" as best we could coming from the South and it worked quite well for us. We will be back.
I was surprised that Hell's Kitchen isn't exactly the bastion of crime and badassery that Netflix Marvel makes it out to be. And Mickey Spillane's was not exactly the gangster throwback I expected. But we had a blast. And there's an awesome thrift store just around the corner.
Been back for about a week now and I must say it was a blast. We decided to throw our budget out although we were still reasonable with our spending.
Thanks for the update on your trip. Glad you guys had a good time!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
