New York City is one of the most amazing cities in the world, as well as one of the most visited cities in the world. With NYC just a quick trip away from Boston, we are in NYC all the time. So we have definitely learned a thing or two about what to avoid to have the best time in the Big Apple. Listen to this week’s episode for all our tips on travel mishaps to avoid in NYC!

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Transcript:

Juliana:  Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, this is what you think of when you dream of visiting New York City, but it is also one of the busiest, most crowded cities in the world. So there are a few things that you want to know before you go.

JQ:  This is travel babies. We’re just two sisters trying to travel the world in style, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. Each week we talk about important travel topics to help you decide when, where, and how to explore the world in style. I’m JQ from the travel blog jqlouise.com

Juliana: And I’m Juliana from Travel with Juliana. Over the years we’ve learned a lot about where to go, what to eat, what to see and do. But even more importantly, we learned about what not to do. This is the last episode for our Travel Mishap series.

JQ: This week we’re headed to New York City.

Getting There

Juliana: OK, so let’s start on talking about how to get there from Boston.

JQ: So there’s a couple of ways from Boston you can get to New York by flying, driving, taking the train or taking the bus.

Juliana:  Right. And so I would say my favorite way to get there from Boston these days is taking the train because it’s pretty cheap, especially now with covid. You know, prices are pretty low and Amtrak and even without covid, if you’re going during the week or if you book far enough in advance, you can get some pretty good deals on coach seats and Amtrak. And, you know, they have Wi-Fi. You can work the entire train ride. It’s it’s pretty comfortable. The seats are huge. So definitely taking the train is my favorite way to get to New York.

JQ: I agree Amtrak is the best. And for us that live in downtown Boston, I mean, just hopping over to South Station is super easy. You can just walk there. And then after about a four hour train ride, you’re right in the center of New York City and Penn Station.

Juliana: I’ve flown to New York before from Boston. But I think it’s you know, it’s kind of hard because you have to allow so much travel time on both sides of just getting to the airport in Boston, waiting for your flight and then actually flying there is really quick. But then when you get to the airport and there are three airports in New York, it’s going to take you a long time to get into the city once you’re at the airport. So if you take all that into account, it’s, you know, probably as long as a train, if not more.

JQ: Exactly. So if you figure you need to get to the airport at least an hour ahead of your flight, the flight time, you know, between taxiing take off and actually landing, you know, it’s probably about an hour, even though you’re only in the air for probably a half an hour. Right. And then actually getting out of the airport, like physically getting out to the taxi stand and then paying for one hundred dollar taxi ride and waiting in traffic over the bridges, getting into the city. I mean, that’s another hour. So I think the time you’ll probably save time by taking the train, honestly, when all is said and done

Juliana: And you’ll probably save money because you want him to pay for, you know, a hundred dollar taxi. And then the other thing I wanted to mention is you can take the bus. So the bus starts from South Station. And so, you know, it’s easy again if you live in downtown Boston to get there. But it does take longer because especially when you’re getting into New York City, you know, I’m always I used to take the bus in college a lot when I wanted to just save money from Boston to New York. And I would be looking at my phone and seeing how long it’s going to take us, like on Google Maps. And he would say, OK, in another hour, it would easily end up being another two hours. Just because of all the traffic getting into New York is just, you know, it can be the worst sometimes.

JQ: Exactly. I know when I’ve taken the bus, it it’s never been on time or even close to on time. Yeah. Like the bus schedule will say four hours, like it’ll say the same time as the train. But then once you’re on the bus, another hour, another hour or another hour. So it’s easily like six hours because of the traffic and just you’re on a bus so anything can happen. Right. So unless you really want to save money, take the train.

Juliana: Yeah, I totally agree.

JQ: And just one more travel mishap on getting to New York is when you are flying in, make sure you’re very clear on which airport you’re flying into. There’s La Guardia, JFK and Newark and each of them have different travel times into Manhattan or into Brooklyn or wherever you’re going. So just plan ahead, make sure you, you know, look at your ticket and you know which airport you’ll be flying into.

How to Get Around

Juliana: OK, so now you’re in New York City. How do you get to your hotel? So there’s a couple of ways. I think the best way, if you need to go a further distance, is to take the subway. You know, look ahead of time to see where you need to go and what line do you need to take. But it’s definitely the cheapest, fastest way to get somewhere more far. And if you’re close enough, then definitely walk, because even taking the subway can sometimes take longer than just walking.

JQ: Exactly. Whenever I’m in New York, I always try to pick a hotel that’s close to wherever, you know, what neighborhood I need to stay around. So I always just try to walk because New York is a great walking city. It’s very easy to figure out, you know, once you kind of get your bearings. I mean, the streets are laid out in a grid form that’s, you know, if you’re going. North or south or east or west, based on the street name, so you’re not going to get lost as long as you know the general direction you need to head in. So I always try to walk as much as I can.

Juliana: Right. And I would say one big thing to avoid is taking cabs when you really don’t need to. There’s tons of the classic New York City yellow cabs and, you know, driving in New York City pre covid. It was always so crazy. It would, you know, could take forever just to go a couple of blocks. So, again, like Jacqueline said, if you can walk, definitely walk. If you do need to go a little bit further distance like you’re going across the city, then taking the subway is definitely your best bet.

JQ: Yeah. And I mean, Uber is available in New York. I mean, there’s plenty of Uber and Lyft. So if you are going far across the city or if you need to walk, you know, if you need to get somewhere by yourself at night, you know, obviously be safe and pay for an Uber or Lyft. But, you know, just know ahead of time that there’s always going to be traffic. So just take that into account when you’re planning your schedule for the day.

Juliana: Right, exactly. Even late at night, there’s tons of traffic

JQ: And one more travel mishap to avoid in New York is actually bringing your car with you. I mean, I think there’s really no benefit to having your car with you while you’re in New York City because there’s so much traffic and parking is super expensive. And it’s also just very stressful driving in New York if you’re not used to it. So I just highly recommend fly or take the train and then just plan on walking and taking the subway and the occasional Uber when you’re in New York to get around. So skip the car.

Where to Stay in NYC

Juliana: OK, so now let’s talk about where to stay when you’re there. So there’s a couple different options. So obviously New York has tons of hotels in all the different neighborhoods, but there’s also Airbnb. So what do you think is the best in terms of price point where to stay JQ?

JQ: So New York, in normal times, usually the prices for lodging really fluctuates depending on the season. If there’s a big holiday coming up, if there’s a big sporting event coming up, and then also if there are any big conferences in town.

Juliana: Right. And if it’s a week, you know, during the week or on the weekend.

JQ: Exactly. So it’s kind of funny. Like New York, sometimes you get really good deals or sometimes you can be paying, you know, twelve hundred dollars a night for a basic room.

Juliana: Right. I know it’s crazy. So that definitely also depends on the neighborhood, too. So, I mean, just like any other big city, there’s a hotel on every, you know, multiple hotels on every block. So really take the time to look around and rebook your trip is as far in advance as you can to try and get a better deal. But there’s also, you know, I love looking on like hotel tonight. Hotels.com, like, you can find some, you know, daily drops on those websites as well.

JQ: Yeah, I love those. That’s such a good tip, Juliana, because, you know, if you do have to be in New York during a busy time or during, you know, a weekend or during the summer or on a holiday, I mean, check out like a hotel tonight to find those hotel deals because you never know what you might find. And usually those hotel deals are for the bigger hotels that are like right in midtown, where it’s probably where you’d want to be anyways.

Juliana: Exactly. And so now let’s talk about more of the different neighborhoods. So, I mean, almost every time I go to New York, I’m usually around Midtown or Gramercy or, you know, in in the main general area, just because I want to be able to go be more central, because if I want to go to a restaurant in the Upper East Side and then go to, you know, something in Gramercy, I want to be able to be not so far and even walkable. Like I love walking in New York City. I’d rather walk than do anything else. So I my favorite area to stay is Midtown.

JQ: Yeah, I would agree. I mean, most of the times I’ve been to New York, it’s honestly usually been for work trips or for a specific purpose rather than just a vacation. So most of the time I’ve stayed in Midtown as well. But I’ve also stayed in Brooklyn a few times and I’ve even stayed just across the bridge on the New Jersey side as well for a work trip in the past. So really, since New York is so big, try to find a hotel that’s close to where you’ll be staying in terms of activities and events, because then also, like Juliana said, you can just walk the whole time that you’re there and it makes things a lot easier.

Juliana: Exactly. And Jacqueline brought up a great point. I mean, you don’t have to stay in Manhattan the entire time. I definitely recommend venturing out to Brooklyn because there’s so many great spots there, so many great hotels and restaurants in Brooklyn as well. So, you know, don’t spend all your time just in Manhattan.

Where to Eat in NYC

JQ: So now let’s move on to restaurants. So obviously, New York has thousands of restaurants and they have all different types. I mean, there’s cafes, there’s bars, there’s bistros, there’s fine dining. But of course, there’s lots of chain restaurants as well.

Juliana: Right. And one big travel mishap that I think, you know, a lot of tourists when they come to New York, kind of fall into is eating at chain restaurants because New York is so big and there’s so many different chain restaurants all around, you want to try to avoid these just because they’re going to be overpriced. And again, the food’s not going to be as good as it would be at more of a boutique restaurant like any major city. So you want to try and avoid those chain restaurants, although I will say that one of my you know, they have these everywhere. And it’s great if, like JQ said, if you’re going there for work or if you just want something quick is Pret a Manger. I actually love Pret because there’s some everywhere. And if you want to just grab a quick coffee or something, it’s great for that.

JQ: I agree that is one of the only chains that I go to in New York as well, because they have tons of them in New York. And one reason I think a lot of tourists get stuck in that chain restaurant trap is that it can be intimidating actually picking a restaurant to go to when you’re in New York, maybe it’s your first time. You’re just super overwhelmed with everything there. You know, there’s just so many places everywhere you look, it can be overwhelming. So you end up just going to a chain that you’re familiar with. And I think that’s really doing a disservice to all the amazing restaurants that New York has, because, I mean, they have some of the top restaurants in the world.

Juliana: Yeah, definitely. And I mean, I think Japan has a good point. It can be overwhelming. But if you have time trying to do your research beforehand about where you want to go to eat, because if you read reviews, you know, you can really learn a lot from just reading reviews about restaurants on, you know, the service and the food and how, you know, whether it’s tourists or not, basically, is it overpriced for what you get? So I think if you can take the time and read reviews about places that will definitely help

JQ: And use social media, I mean, if you really have no clue where to start, I mean, what I always do is just go to the location tag of the neighborhood you’ll be staying in on Instagram and just look at the top posts. New York has so many amazing food bloggers and food photographers that there’ll be plenty of great recommendations. And thanks to their nice photos, you can really just see what each restaurant looks like.

Juliana: Yeah, totally. I mean, every time I go to New York now, I have a couple of friends who live there, so we have our favorites. So every time I’m like, OK, I need to hit this place, this place, this place. And I’m only there usually for like one or two days. So it’s it’s a lot of just eating when I’m there.

JQ: Yeah. I mean, I love trying new things in New York. I mean, you can find every type of cuisine in New York City. I mean, that’s one of the great things. New York is so international with so many people from all over the world. So if you want to try something and you can’t go to that country, you can try it in New York.

What to See in New York City

Juliana: Oh, absolutely. I totally agree. So now let’s move on to museums. So just like other big cities, New York has so many amazing big museums and some of them are really, really touristy. Some of them aren’t. I think, you know, if you’re going for your first time, you want to see all of the main ones like the Met and the MoMA. But I think it’s you want to also not miss out on some of the smaller museums as well.

JQ: Yeah, I mean, I think just like Paris and Rome, New York is similar in a way that there are these big museums that you should visit. But also just like check out wherever you’re staying, like check out the neighborhood. There’s tons of art galleries and little smaller museums that are more niche, but they might be just as interesting. That might not be as crowded.

Juliana: Yeah, I totally agree.

JQ: And also, if you are going to go to the big museums, try to find out when they have free days. And that’s one of our tips that we love. I mean, I think some of these museums, you know, take advantage of their community days or their neighborhood days. Usually they’re on like Friday nights or Thursday nights. And during, you know, not during the pandemic. They’re open late. They might have entertainment. And it’s just a lot of fun.

Juliana: Yeah, I think MoMA has free Fridays and I went there once before the pandemic and it was just so great. I mean, it’s crowded, but I would say anywhere in New York City’s pretty crowded. So it’s not like it’s going to feel way overwhelming. Like if you went during the week, maybe it’s a little less crowded. But I think, you know, like JQ said, take advantage of all of the free kind of open museums that they have because it’s really worth it. You get to see everything. There might be entertainment, like she said. So, yeah, it’s just really a great tip.

JQ: And I especially love it because then you don’t have to worry about waiting in line for a ticket. You can just head right in.

What to Avoid in NYC

Juliana: Yeah, exactly. OK, so let’s also keep in mind some things to watch out for in New York City. So, I mean, I think the first time I went there, I was kind of a little bit overwhelmed by the amount of just, you know, people selling stuff on the street that’s like knockoffs of different brands. And so I think, you know, they maybe they could be aggressive, but, you know, or they could just be standing there minding their own business. But I think that is something to be aware of because, you know, like Paris and Rome, there’s people selling different stuff on the street and sometimes they can kind of get right in your face, but you just have to be aware of it and try to ignore it.

JQ: Yeah. And definitely just don’t buy the knockoffs. I mean, there’s really no reason to I mean, even for what you’re paying, you’re not getting a high quality product. So even that’s overpriced. So just. Walk right by and just ignore it. Exactly, and there’s so many different like stores and shops in New York, so you’ll definitely be able to find some good shopping if you really want to.

JQ: Exactly. I mean, New York is everything from, you know, the best designers in the world to cool boutique brands, to fast fashion. So, there’s plenty of shopping for everyone.

Juliana: We hope you like our discussion of what travel mishaps to avoid in New York City. Hopefully, when we are able to travel again, these tips will be helpful. Catch us next week for our new series on outdoor trips to take this winter. Thanks, JQ.

JQ: Thanks, Juliana.