Visiting NYC this weekend 5/2-5/3 with 7 months old baby (New York: credit card, how much)

[dvdg12]

Hi,

I'll be visiting NYC with my spouse and we have a 7 months old baby. We kindly need some advice about what places should we visit and in what order and how to get there.

We will be staying in Edison, NJ and most likely be traveling on a subway to NYC. We will be in that area all day Sat May 2 and Sun May 3. We will check in at the hotel on the night of Fri May 1 and check out on Mon May 4.

Also will it be too much of a trouble to take stroller with us to NYC because using a pouch/sling all day long will be very tiring for us and for the baby.

The things we are interesting to see are as follows. Feel free to mention if it is not feasible or too much time consuming or not safe to go there.

- Statue of Liberty (I have a monument pass on Sun 5/3 but now I am thinking to cancel it and get a flex pass for Sat 5/2 as it will be too much of a hassle to go inside the monument with a baby - any advice?)

- Empire State Building or Rockefeller Plaza Top of the Rock (need advice which one to choose, would like to go to the observation deck preferably at sunset)

- Wall Street - to take pictures

- NY Stock Exchange - to take pictures

- United Nations Office - to take pictures

- Chrysler Building - to take pictures (not very imp)

- Carnegie hall - to take pictures

- Times Square - to take pictures

- Brooklyn Bridge - Walk over & take pictures

- Fulton Park (not very imp)

- Grand Central Terminal - to visit

- Sony Wonder Technology Lab - to visit

- Chelsea Piers - to visit (not very imp)

- Staten Island Ferry (not very imp)

- 5th and madison aves in midtown (especially between 49th and 59th streets)

- Soho Neighborhood

- Nolita neighborhood

- China Town Neighborhood

- Upper east side Neighborhood

- Brooklyn heights, Brooklyn

Thanks in advance.

[dman72]

Originally Posted by dvdg12

Hi,

I'll be visiting NYC with my spouse and we have a 7 months old baby. We kindly need some advice about what places should we visit and in what order and how to get there.

We will be staying in Edison, NJ and most likely be traveling on a subway to NYC. We will be in that area all day Sat May 2 and Sun May 3. We will check in at the hotel on the night of Fri May 1 and check out on Mon May 4.

Also will it be too much of a trouble to take stroller with us to NYC because using a pouch/sling all day long will be very tiring for us and for the baby.

The things we are interesting to see are as follows. Feel free to mention if it is not feasible or too much time consuming or not safe to go there.

- Statue of Liberty (I have a monument pass on Sun 5/3 but now I am thinking to cancel it and get a flex pass for Sat 5/2 as it will be too much of a hassle to go inside the monument with a baby - any advice?)

- Empire State Building or Rockefeller Plaza Top of the Rock (need advice which one to choose, would like to go to the observation deck preferably at sunset)

- Wall Street - to take pictures

- NY Stock Exchange - to take pictures

- United Nations Office - to take pictures

- Chrysler Building - to take pictures (not very imp)

- Carnegie hall - to take pictures

- Times Square - to take pictures

- Brooklyn Bridge - Walk over & take pictures

- Fulton Park (not very imp)

- Grand Central Terminal - to visit

- Sony Wonder Technology Lab - to visit

- Chelsea Piers - to visit (not very imp)

- Staten Island Ferry (not very imp)

- 5th and madison aves in midtown (especially between 49th and 59th streets)

- Soho Neighborhood

- Nolita neighborhood

- China Town Neighborhood

- Upper east side Neighborhood

- Brooklyn heights, Brooklyn

Thanks in advance.

I'd dump a few on that list and walk around Greenwich/West Village. A beautiful area of lower Manhattan, great restaurants, cozy neighborhood feel. China Town is dirty and crazy, Upper East Side is kinda boring although mega-wealthy, Nolita and Soho are a couple of blocks each. Wall St, NYSE, United Nations..bleh, I'd pass on those. Plenty of good pictures online. Experiencing neighborhoods and really cool landmarks (Grand Central is worth seeing) would be my priority. Also, 2 full days...you're putting a lot on your plate and setting yourself up for exhaustion, especially with a 7 month old. My suggestion would be to site-see one day, and go slow the second day and try to enjoy a neighborhood..but that's me. I went to Paris for 8 days and didn't see as much as you want to in 2 days in New York, and I didn't have a kid then.



A baby stroller in NY is fine. Obviously you probably can't climb the stairs in the Statue of Liberty with a stroller.

[UpstaterInBklyn]

I agree. That's a lot to cover in two days.

A few random words of advice:

• All of the places on your list are very safe.
  
• The stroller: No problem. You'll see lots of other strollers in the city. On the Subway, however, the rule is that you have to fold it up.
  
• To get from Jersey, you won't take a subway. You'll take NJ Transit into Penn Station where you can connect to the subway. Hopefully one of the New Jersey experts here can give you some specific advice. Edison is pretty far. I assume it's a long ride on the train.
  
• The Statue of Liberty will take longer than you think because there are long lines to board the boats. Get there as early as possible to avoid long lines. When you get to Liberty Island, there isn't much to do except walk around the island. The best photo opps come from the boat as you approach the island, but everyone else on the boat will be clamoring for good positions.
  
• Regarding your question about Top of the Rock vs. Empire State Building. Note that the ESB has long lines too. The lines at Top of the Rock are shorter (I think) and I believe they move faster because the observation deck is larger. Another big difference between the two is that the Top of the Rock offers unobstructed views. The ESB observation deck is enclosed with a fence. Both offer equally stunning views. Some people think the Top of the Rock is better because you can see the Empire State Building from there! Weather plays a big factor. High clouds are OK, but if there is a low cloud deck or rain, especially at sunset, you won't see much and you'd be better off skipping them both.
  
• The Brooklyn Bridge walk is great - and it's free. Since you want to visit Brooklyn Heights too, you could walk over there from the bridge. You'll probably want to hit the Brooklyn Heights Promenade for nice views of Lower Manhattan. Montague Street has a lot of reasonably-priced non-touristy restaurants.
  
• Chelsea Piers is not easy to get to except by taxi or the 23rd Street bus (M23). Probably not worth the time, given your tight schedule.

In general, be prepared for a lot of walking!

It may be too late to change plans but I always recommend staying at a hotel in the city. It is more expensive, but when you don't stay in the city you are literally commuting to your vacation, which IMO takes a lot of fun out of the experience.

[dvdg12]

Thanks guys. Where can I get a pass (metro pass) so that I can use it on Subways and Buses so I have don't have to pay full fare every time. How much does it cost and after how long does it expire?

But let me first ask a stupid question. How does the bus system works? I've never used a bus/subway system in bigger cities. Do I have to pay $2 for every ride even if it is a 1 minute ride on a bus all in one direction? What is transfer? I have used the bus system in Toronto one time and I think if you are going one direction (North Bound or south bound), they don't charge you full fare every time but I guess you have to take some kind of ticket from the previous bus driver to show it to the next one. Can some one please explain how it works? Thanks

[Viralmd]

You can get a MetroCard in any subway station (including the subway at Penn Station where the train from Edison arrives and you'll transfer from NJ Transit to the subway). You can buy it in various amounts, with the greater the amount, the greater the discount, BUT be aware that if there are two adults, I'm not sure you can immediately swipe the card twice in quick succession - I think you have to wait a few minutes. So it's probably best for each adult to have an individual card.

As for the buses, they take the MetroCard, as well. You just insert it into the machine and you're good to go, and it includes a transfer, if necessary. You can't change from Northbound to Southbound on the same route without paying another full fare, however. You CAN transfer from a crosstown bus to an up or downtown bus without paying another fare. It's electronically encoded in the card.

[UpstaterInBklyn]

You can buy a 1-day unlimited pass for $7.50, then you won't have to think about transfers, etc. The MetroCards are sold via touch-screen kiosks that you'll find in any Subway station. You can use cash or credit card.

[Gxl35]

I would take the subways instead of buses whenever you can. The subway system is extensive, will get you to all the places on your list, and is much much faster than taking a bus that has to deal with NY traffice. Get two unlimited passes (one for you and one for your spouse), and you should be set.
That's quite a lot of places in two days though. Make sure you set out really early! Instead of going through the Upper East Side, which is primarily residential, I would just walk on that area along 5th Avenue, because you have Central Park on one side, and you get a sense of what the UES is like on the other. Plus lots of museums on that strip.

[clevedark]

Take a lightweight stroller you can carry up and down the stairs in the subway, and be very careful that the wheels don't get caught in the gap between the platform and the subway train when boarding.

[dvdg12]

Thanks for all the help. I thought I should give the report of the recent NYC trip. We used the Penn Station Newark for the train to go to NYC but getting there was a challenge on car as I lost few times even though I had a printout of Google maps and also a GPS.Some of the exits were wrong in the map. The Parking at Penn Station was very expensive. $25 until midnight. From Penn to Journal Square was one train and then we had to change trains at Journal Square. Then we had to take another train from 33rd St stop to get to Rockefellar Plaza. so total 3 trains to get to NYC. It took us 1 hour 30 minutes only on the trains plus it was not a very good experience. NY people were very helpful and they have changed my opinion about New Yorkers.
Once in New York, it was nice but with all the tiredness from train travel and to carry stroller, diaper bags and baby some time, we didn't see a whole lot. Just the top of Rockefellar plaza and stroll thru time square. The train experience on the way back was also not very nice. Little hard to change three trains with a small baby.

Next day, on Sunday, May 3rd, it was raining and we thought that how difficult can it be to drive to NYC so I drove to Liberty State Park first, no problem at all. Visited Statue of Liberty, no lines at all at the Park. Stayed there for an hour and then came back to Liberty State Park. Then I drove towards Manhattan via tunnel. $8 toll....expensive but just one-way. Since it was Sunday there was not much traffic at all and parking was all free in Manhattan. I had a AAA map of Manhattan and we drove near WTC site, Brooklyn bridge to Brooklyn, came back to Manhattan via Manhattan bridge, drove through China Town. I parked my car near Broadway Street and Wall Street intersection on the side of the road and then walked towards NYSE took some pictures. We had some coffee at Starbucks near NYSE. Then I drove to famous Lombardi's Pizza in Nolita and found parking right infront of the restaurant...wow. There was only 1 more car parked over there. Then I drove back to NJ to our hotel. No traffic on the way back either. We all enjoyed this day very much. It was easier on my 7 months old baby, my wife and also on me as I didn't have to carry diaper bag and stroller up and down the train.

In the end overall thanks to everyone who provided advice on this topic.

[dman72]

Originally Posted by dvdg12

Thanks for all the help. I thought I should give the report of the recent NYC trip. We used the Penn Station Newark for the train to go to NYC but getting there was a challenge on car as I lost few times even though I had a printout of Google maps and also a GPS.Some of the exits were wrong in the map. The Parking at Penn Station was very expensive. $25 until midnight. From Penn to Journal Square was one train and then we had to change trains at Journal Square. Then we had to take another train from 33rd St stop to get to Rockefellar Plaza. so total 3 trains to get to NYC. It took us 1 hour 30 minutes only on the trains plus it was not a very good experience. NY people were very helpful and they have changed my opinion about New Yorkers.
Once in New York, it was nice but with all the tiredness from train travel and to carry stroller, diaper bags and baby some time, we didn't see a whole lot. Just the top of Rockefellar plaza and stroll thru time square. The train experience on the way back was also not very nice. Little hard to change three trains with a small baby.

Next day, on Sunday, May 3rd, it was raining and we thought that how difficult can it be to drive to NYC so I drove to Liberty State Park first, no problem at all. Visited Statue of Liberty, no lines at all at the Park. Stayed there for an hour and then came back to Liberty State Park. Then I drove towards Manhattan via tunnel. $8 toll....expensive but just one-way. Since it was Sunday there was not much traffic at all and parking was all free in Manhattan. I had a AAA map of Manhattan and we drove near WTC site, Brooklyn bridge to Brooklyn, came back to Manhattan via Manhattan bridge, drove through China Town. I parked my car near Broadway Street and Wall Street intersection on the side of the road and then walked towards NYSE took some pictures. We had some coffee at Starbucks near NYSE. Then I drove to famous Lombardi's Pizza in Nolita and found parking right infront of the restaurant...wow. There was only 1 more car parked over there. Then I drove back to NJ to our hotel. No traffic on the way back either. We all enjoyed this day very much. It was easier on my 7 months old baby, my wife and also on me as I didn't have to carry diaper bag and stroller up and down the train.

In the end overall thanks to everyone who provided advice on this topic.

I was wondering how this all went. Lugging a kid around NYC can be tiring, trust me I know, I have a 2 year old. I live on LI and my friends don't understand why I haven't come in to see them more since he was born. Because it's a pain in the neck to get around!!