I want to go on family vacation in New York, tell me your area and why (Buffalo: amusement park, hotel)

[cheese9988]

Originally Posted by FedupWNY

Upstater, yes, we're considering a full week, one or two stops might be nice though. We'll probably drive to & fro of the family vacation and I have a couple of kids (myself included ) who'd love to see Cooperstown. Baseball is "All American"

I was born a "New Yorker" and I would love to spend atleast a month getting to know "Lady Liberty" (with my camera). I have never seen "The Statue" with my own eyes in all my years as a Buffalonian.

With your road trip plan, it's good. Thanks for your suggestions. If, or when considered that is, I'll be DM'ing. Thanks.

My wife and I went to NYC for our honeymoon. We spent a full week there and still didn't have time to see everything. We had never been anywhere that is like NYC. Although I would highly recommend going, I would plan a dedicated vacation just to the city.

[plattsburgher]

Even though I know you would enjoy coming to upstate New York, Lake Placid, the Adirondacks and the beautiful mountains, Montreal, and possibly taking the ferry across Lake Champlain to Burlington, Vermont and even more picture postcard landscape, I have to be realistic......

With the current economic situation and tourism looking grim for the immediate future, I would suggest taking full advantage of the economy and grab a great deal on lodging and whatever else you want to do in NYC white there are deals to be had this spring/summer........

Economically, we (upstate) will always be affordable, but with the current travel downturn, I don't think you will find a better time to get a killer deal or two for NYC.............And if you do decide you have extra time to spare, you can take the Amtrak to Pburgh, do the historical Revolutionary War tour with towns full of stories from the past, underground railroads, beautiful lakefront, awesome mountains and great people.........Amtrak does go straight from Penn Station to here. It also is a spectacular ride all along the Hudson.....Made the top ten Amtrak beautiful scenery routes......... : )

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by plattsburgher

Even though I know you would enjoy coming to upstate New York, Lake Placid, the Adirondacks and the beautiful mountains, Montreal, and possibly taking the ferry across Lake Champlain to Burlington, Vermont and even more picture postcard landscape, I have to be realistic......

With the current economic situation and tourism looking grim for the immediate future, I would suggest taking full advantage of the economy and grab a great deal on lodging and whatever else you want to do in NYC white there are deals to be had this spring/summer........

Economically, we (upstate) will always be affordable, but with the current travel downturn, I don't think you will find a better time to get a killer deal or two for NYC.............And if you do decide you have extra time to spare, you can take the Amtrak to Pburgh, do the historical Revolutionary War tour with towns full of stories from the past, underground railroads, beautiful lakefront, awesome mountains and great people.........Amtrak does go straight from Penn Station to here. It also is a spectacular ride all along the Hudson.....Made the top ten Amtrak beautiful scenery routes......... : )

We'll be driving on this trip but a Revolutionary War tour sounds very interesting. The kids would enjoy, they appreciate the History of New York. Thanks.

[HomerBrink]

The east end of Long Island from the Hamptons to Montauk. The beaches are sandy and accessible - no ugly boardwalks, concrete walls or cheap high rise hotels - and it's very coastal compared with what you are used to the western NY. Fire Island also because there are no cars allowed. Beautiful.

[Newarkbomb]

It's hard to me to say NYC, since i lived right over the bridge from it all my life.. but i been to Lake George which is beautiful, and it has all sorts of water sports and nature trips you can do... i been there a few years ago.

Im sure you'll like it.

But if you never been or been very few times to NYC, then i think NYC would be a great trip.

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by Newarkbomb

It's hard to me to say NYC, since i lived right over the bridge from it all my life.. but i been to Lake George which is beautiful, and it has all sorts of water sports and nature trips you can do... i been there a few years ago.

Im sure you'll like it.

But if you never been or been very few times to NYC, then i think NYC would be a great trip.

Thank you for your reply from NJ. We are looking for ideas more than NYC. Lake George was mentioned before, so it sounds like it might be of interest.

[AnesthesiaMD]

I live in East Hampton (at least on weekends) April through November, and I love it in the spring and fall much more than in the summer, so I think it would be great for a spring trip. There are a lot of nice B&Bs there. The spring foliage is beautiful as are the beaches, and in the spring you dont have to deal with the crowds on the roads, in the stores and restaurants. There are a lot of great day trips too. You can take the ferry over to Shelter Island, go wine tasting on the North Fork, or take a ride out to Montauk and climb up the light house.

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by AnesthesiaMD

I live in East Hampton (at least on weekends) April through November, and I love it in the spring and fall much more than in the summer, so I think it would be great for a spring trip. There are a lot of nice B&Bs there. The spring foliage is beautiful as are the beaches, and in the spring you dont have to deal with the crowds on the roads, in the stores and restaurants. There are a lot of great day trips too. You can take the ferry over to Shelter Island, go wine tasting on the North Fork, or take a ride out to Montauk and climb up the light house.

For me, this sounds perfect for a good week away, though how entertaining is East Hampton for 3 teenage boys?

[AnesthesiaMD]

Originally Posted by FedupWNY

For me, this sounds perfect for a good week away, though how entertaining is East Hampton for 3 teenage boys?

Hmm. My kids are little so I never really searched out stuff for teenagers to do. I know in the summer they would have a blast but in the spring, unless they like doing grown up type stuff, I'm not really sure. There is a book called Jodi's Shortcuts that we often use to get ideas of places to bring the children. Unfortunately it is at my house out there and I am in NJ now, but maybe there is an online version or something. Hopefully someone with teenagers will chime into this thread.

[piperspal]

All suggestions so far are great ones - but since you are planning for a springtime visit, I'd go with a NYC/Long Island combo. The Adirondacks & especially Lake George are still a little cool, especially if the kids want to swim in Lake George. Not that LG waters ever really "warm up" , but I swim in the northern end and find it a lot more enjoyable toward the end of summer.

Springtime in NYC, ahhh...nothing like it. It's fresh & clean, everyone is in a great mood. You don't have to worry about lugging your heavy winter gear everywhere. Tons of free stuff - park concerts, waterfront festivals, etc. You can take the one of the CitySights bus tours - I think they have other names/companies as well. Took my nephew & his GF to NYC last summer & we did the hop on, hop off bit with the double decker buses. It's great to pick & choose what to see without having to stick to a rigid schedule.

We scoured the web for coupons; downloaded some from a NYC tourism site - that alone gave us ideas. We stood in line for less than 15 minutes & got half price tkts to a Broadway show and had quite a few to choose from. We did the Statue of Liberty & all the other "touristy" things. I've been to those every time I have an out-of-town guest, and I never get tired of it. Capped off the trip with a stop at Ground Zero.

My nephew said he really felt the strength of the human spirit throughout NYC. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the places you list - but for the time of year; springtime in NYC is tough to beat.