I mentioned previously that I was heading to the East Coast for a seminar in September. I plan on spending the following week on vacation - just little old me. I will be spending 3 days / 2 nights in New York City (I'm thinking Wednesday through Friday - with my flight home Friday night out of JFK). I've been to NYC a couple of times before but don't even pretend to really know anything about the it.
Here's my question for those living there or more in the know than me: Should I stay at a hotel near JFK and taking public transportation into the City for my adventures? I'd rather note spend a small fortune on lodging. Keep in mind that I'm boring. I will be seeing museums, tall buildings, historical sites, etc. I will not be clubbing or out late at night. Like I said boring.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?
There are much closer places to stay to Manhattan than the area near JFK. The neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens near the East River might be a better option. Probably the best combination of cheap and accessible is to stay in NJ near a PATH station (Hoboken, Jersey City, even Newark), but that's on the other side of the island from JFK, so it will make your travels to and from the airport a little more difficult. On the other hand, though, it's really just a matter of transferring to the A train, so not that bad.
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on what you consider to be a small fortune. I just got back from staying in NYC for several days and stayed at a very decent hotel near Grand Central Station. It was within walking or subway distance of everything I wanted to do. I had a good sized room with a king-sized bed, excellent A/C, clean, quiet, etc. I paid $131/night, which I didn't consider too expensive. Found it on Hotwire.com
ReplyDeleteHow I afforded my last trip to NYC...a home exchange! I got a nice Village apt while the lady stayed at my home in Palm Springs... Perfect trade and worth checking out. I blogged about it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://dadsprimalscream.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/10-highlights-of-my-nyc-trip-and-how-to-maximize-your-nyc-trip/
For just 2 nights, I'd fork out for a Manhattan hotel personally just for the convenience
When I visited NYC several years ago with the family we decided to stay close to JFK because that's where the cheaper hotels were.... big mistake!!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't consider that it would cost a daily tip for the hotel driver or taxi money to take us to the shuttle station which cost $7 and that only took us to the actual train station where we got a daily pass and the 1.5hr train ride into the city---and all of that back to the hotel, you can see how it all adds up really fast.
It would have been just about cheaper (or who knows about the same) to stay in the city but not having the back/forth issues. It was a great trip though, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it but it was tiring, so stay in the city, I can't recommend it enough!
Hugs,Miguel