Your New York Experience: Know Before You Go

by Sue Bryker

Although New York City is a great place filled with wonderful tourist destinations, there are a few hazards to visiting. However, an ounce of prevention is usually all it takes to keep your dream trip from becoming a nightmare.

Getting around the city is one of the biggest hurdles for many first time visitors. The city is a sprawling labyrinth of buildings, streets and people, and it can be very intimidating for those who aren't used to the bustle.

If it's your first time to New York City, I'd also recommend spending your first day on a bus tour, which allows you to see many of the sights in a safe environment. It's also a great way to learn great places to go on your own. (See my first post for several great tour ideas.)

But what about those twin modes of transportation for they traditional New York experience: taxis and the subway?

Although traveling on the subway is a truly local way to see the town, it's often one of the least pleasant parts of being in the city. Not because of crime (although it does happen), but because the subway is used mainly by daily commuters and city residents who may not be too patient with tourists.

So, how can you have a safe subway experience? Just take a shuttle to Grand Central Station, and take the tour. When you're done, you can take the shuttle back to Times Square.

Taxis are generally safe, but that doesn't mean that all cabbies have your best interests at heart. You pay by the mile in a cab, and some disreputable cabbies may try to take advantage of your ignorance about the city to take long routes from one place to another. Here's another important thing to know: four people can fit in a cab. Sometimes, cabbies are reluctant to take on that many passengers, and will recommend you split up your party. That means you have to pay for two cabs ... and two tips! But, by law they have to accept four riders (although that's the maximum). Don't let a driver tell you any different, either!

So, what's my recommendation? Instead of taking the subway or a cab, you can also use the public bus system. It's much easier to navigate than the subway, it's generally cleaner and it's very safe.

I also don't recommend trying to drive in New York City. The traffic is horrible, the parking is expensive, and unless you really know where to park, you are very likely to wind up with either a ticket or a towing bill. Public transportation is cheap, easy and relatively safe.

As an ex-New Yorker, I'm also able to help you set up an itinerary that takes full advantage of the time you have and the sights you'd like to see.

For instance, many folks arrange their trip by the sights they'd like to see, forgetting that navigating the city can take hours out of their day. But, it doesn't have to be that way! The last thing you'd want is to spend all day on an exhausting itinerary planned by someone who may not know that the South Street Seaport and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are across town from one another. A little planning can free up huge amounts of time, giving you a chance to really enjoy yourself at each destination. I can also help you find accommodations close to the things you want to see, and help you find the best deals on rooms.

There are other dangers out there as well. Petty criminals like muggers and pickpockets often target tourists, relying on their disorientation and awe at the surroundings to make them easy targets.

My best tip is simply to have your wits about you. After all, just because places like Times Square have been cleaned up, that doesn't mean that it's completely safe. Pickpockets and other criminals who prey on tourists tend to look for specific things, such as people who spend a lot of time staring up at buildings. It's almost like having a sign painted on your back reading "Victim Here!"

But, since you're there to look around, what can you do? It's simple: When you want to stop and admire something, try to step to the side so that you aren't standing in the way of other people who are walking.

For women, the fear of having their purse snatched can take away from enjoying the sights. Here's a simple tip: Carry your purse across your shoulder, and on the inside of your coat. It can't be easily clipped and snatched, which means that potential a cutpurse will look for an easier target. It's just one less thing to worry about.

I have tons of other commonsense advice, and I'll be glad to share it with you. It's part of my job to help you have a safe, fun experience in the Big Apple. The more you know, the better prepared and confident you'll be, and the more you can focus on having a great time in New York City.

Your New York Experience: Eating Your Way Through the Big Apple

by Sue Bryker

Last week, I told you about how an ex-New Yorker and travel agent like me can help you book an itinerary that gives you the exact experience you are looking for. This week, I thought I'd focus on the tasty details of eating in the big city. With so many things to see, you're sure to work up an appetite. Thankfully you'll be in one of the culinary capitols of the world.

Let's start with the big names. Sardi's is the world-famous place to eat in New York, and they offer a variety of menus depending on the time of day you visit.

A favorite of mine is Frankie & Johnnies, which is a former speakeasy. They have two locations, both of which are frequented by a lot of celebrities. I was eating there one night, and Tom Selleck was eating only a few tables away!

New York City was a haven for Irish immigrants, and it's second only to the Emerald Isle itself for great Irish food. I'd recommend The Playwright Tavern & Restaurant. It's owned by Irish folks, the entire staff is Irish, and they serve great Irish fare. I've eaten there many times, and I'd personally recommend any lamb dish, which are all excellent. Make sure you wash it down with a Guinness!

Another great ethnic food option is Italian. Pellegrino's is personal favorite of mine. It's a family-owned place, and they've been there forever. It's also right next to La Bella Ferrara Pastries, so you can eat a great lunch and go right next door for dessert.

And then there's the Jewish delis. If you find yourself in Brooklyn, I'd recommend Junior's. It's a nice Jewish deli, owned by nice Jewish folks. It has a world-famous cheesecake.

For memorable and family-friendly place to eat, I'd recommend visiting a themed restaurant like Mars 2112 in Times Square. It's an immersive experience that starts with a virtual-reality ride of a rocket launch and landing on Mars.

If you plan to spend the day shopping, you'll probably be able to eat at your favorite stores. Macy's has a great lunch counter, and Barney's Department Store has an excellent restaurant. It's a good way to eat like a local, and both are great places to spot celebrities, too.

For a romantic night out, I'd recommend dinner and dancing at the Rainbow Room. Or, if you'd like to have a more traditional New York City experience, you could dine at Tavern on the Green, followed by a Hansom Cab carriage ride through Central Park.

And lastly, no visit to New York City would be complete without eating the way the locals do. Like a hot dog from a street-corner cart, which are usually fantastic. (Especially the later in the day you eat them, because they've been marinating all day, and are inundated with flavor.) You should also try the bagels at any Jewish deli, which is a classic flavor of the city. And, of course, you should try the pizza. My rule of thumb is that unless it says Pizza Hut or Domino's, it's probably an authentic New York-style pizza place. Even chains like Sbarro make their pizzas to cater to the local tastes.

Of course, that's only the basic list of what's available to eat in New York. As a truly cosmopolitan city, you can find foods from nearly every nationality at a range of prices. As your travel agent, I can help you find anything you are looking for. And as an ex-New Yorker, I can help you do it in the best way to get the most out of the experience, whatever your budget.

Next week, I'll be talking about some smart ways to keep your trip fun and safe! Stay tuned.

Your New York Experience

by Sue Bryker

In May of last year, I took my fiancé to New York City for the first time. It was Memorial Day weekend, as well as the tail end of Fleet Week, and all of the major tourist destinations were packed with people. He grew up in Greenville, and hadn't been to any city bigger than Atlanta, so the hustle and bustle of the city was nearly overwhelming -- particularly when we had to navigate through the huge crowds around Times Square.

This is a situation a lot of first-time travelers to the Big Apple face. New York is huge, busy and filled with strange sights and sounds. In other words, it's incredibly intimidating. For a typical visitor, just learning how to get around can be a challenge: Do you take a cab, the subway or a bus? What's a better sight, the MoMA or the Metropolitan Museum? And where should we eat?

Thankfully, as a former New Yorker, I knew just how to make the most of the experience. Instead of fretting about all the details, we were able to make the most of our vacation. I was able to give him my personal tour of the city, he was able to relax and enjoy himself. As a result, the trip was romantic, memorable and affordable.

Having a knowledgeable person to guide you can be the difference between a good travel experience and a horrible one. That's one of the best things about my job as a travel agent. I can put all my years spent getting around the city to good use, and I can help people have the exact New York City experience they are looking for, without being overwhelmed by the details.

But where do you start? One of the first things I ask folks who are thinking about taking a trip to New York City is: "What kind of experience do you want to have?"

You see, not everyone has the same ideas about what the "New York experience" is. For some people, it's the view of Manhattan or a close-up of the Statue of Liberty. For others, it's shopping at Macy's and taking in a Broadway show. For others (like my fiancé) it's seeing the blue whale suspended from the ceiling of the Museum of Natural History. And, for a good many people, it's visiting all the places they've seen a hundred times in their favorite movies and TV shows.

As almost everyone knows, New York City has been the setting of hundreds of films, and there are plenty of tours to show you where your favorite flicks were filmed. From Central Park (The Fisher King, Elf and The Producers) to the Empire State Building (King Kong and Sleepless In Seattle, just to name a few) to the Upper West Side (where some of Woody Allen's movies were filmed), there are few places in the city where a camera hasn't rolled. Not surprisingly, there are a number of tours that focus on the major sights, as well as tours of locations used in specific movies. You can even see the real-life locations that inspired movies like The Gangs of New York. And if you prefer TV, there's even a number of tours like "Kramer's Reality Tour," which is run by Kenny Kramer (the guy who inspired the Seinfeld character). If there's ever been a movie or TV show shot in New York, there's probably a tour that covers it.

Speaking of TV, there's also the Museum of Television and Radio, which is a wonderful experience. (I'm a little biased, because I used to work there.) Instead of having regular standing exhibits, they show old TV shows! In addition, they often have special events where you can meet the people who created and starred in some of America's favorite shows. Of course, to see the people who made your favorite show, you'll have to plan your visit in advance.
And if you really love television, why not take a tour of the NBC Studios? Located in Rockefeller Plaza, the studio tour allows you to see where shows like Saturday Night Live and the Today Show are filmed. It's also home to the Top of The Rock, which is a great alternative to the Empire State Building view. (Which, at $20 a pop to visit the 86th Floor Observation Deck, isn't exactly the best deal in town.)

But let's not forget the stage! Catching a Broadway show is a must when you're in New York City. Or, if you're on a budget, there are plenty of excellent off-Broadway productions. My current personal favorite is Spamalot, which is based on the comedy of Monty Python. Another popular show is Jersey Boys, but it can be difficult to get tickets for. As a travel agent, I can help people get tickets for anything, but costs will vary depending on the dates. Advance planning is the key, but if you're willing to pay $500 per ticket, I can get you something for next week.

City tours are a major tourist highlight, and it's a great way of seeing all the major sights without having to learn how to navigate the city. It's also one of the best deals in New York, because tour companies like Gray Line and Big Apple offer “hop-on, hop-off" service. That means that as they are telling you about the next point of interest, you'll be able to get off and spend as long as you like at it. Then, when you are ready to leave, all you have to do is go back to the spot you were dropped off at and wait for the next tour to stop by. The next tour bus will be along in only 15 or 20 minutes!

If you'd rather see the city from the water, there's the Circle Line tours, a series of boats that go around Manhattan. It's great for getting perfect photo views of the city.

There's also DUCK tours, which use refurbished amphibious vehicles from World War II. They'll drive you around the city, and then drive right into the waters around the city to give you a guided boat tour. It's a lot of fun, and it's a lot more rambunctious than the typical bus tour. These tours will begin operation in April 2007, and you can combine them with a hop on/hop off bus tour through Gray Line.

As you may have guessed, there are tours for almost any interest. There are tours that focus on architecture, for example. There are walking tours, such as the literary pub crawl in Greenwich Village. You can learn about the favorite places of Samuel Beckett and Edgar Allen Poe, and see the pubs where they spent their time, and where they drew the inspiration for some of their writing. You can also try some of the "insider" tours at landmarks like Yankee Stadium or The Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Or, if you're an investor, you might like to take a tour of the New York Stock Exchange, so you can see the furious business of stock trading in action. While you’re in the financial district, you can also tour the Federal Reserve Bank’s Gold Vaults, which store more than 25% of the world’s gold bullion. Those who wish to pay their respects to the victims of Sept. 11th can also visit Ground Zero, just a few blocks away.

Shopping is also a major attraction, and there are few places better than Fifth Avenue. The famous street is home to stores like Brooks Brothers, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Tiffany & Co., not to mention Saks Fifth Avenue. If you’re looking for bargains, the Fashion and Diamond Districts may be more appealing.

There's also plenty of shopping around Times Square, particularly if you have kids. You'll probably want to visit Toy's 'R' Us (the biggest toy store in the world) and the Disney Store, followed by a chocolate-covered visit to Hershey's.

And then there are the museums! You can easily spend a day each in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the two Guggenheim Museums, the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Modern Art, the Frick Museum, the Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design or the Whitney Museum. If you're on a schedule, however, taking in all the great art and history can be a challenge. I usually recommend going to see a specific exhibit, rather than trying to see everything in a hurry. My personal favorite is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, because there are many famous paintings on display, like "George Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze. If you like world history, I'd recommend the Egyptian art exhibit and the Arms & Armor medieval exhibit also found in the “Met.” Or if you’d like to view beautiful art but don’t have time for a walk around a museum, check out the Chagall murals, “The Source of Music” and “The Triumph of Music,” on display daily after sunset in the front windows of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts.

Other classic points-of-interest for any history buff are the tours of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. They're great, particularly if you have family members who were immigrants. The Statue of Liberty herself is fascinating, although the inside of the statue is no longer open for security reasons. You can still enter the pedestal, however, which houses exhibitions about the history of Lady Liberty and early immigration to America. Timed tickets are available for the Statue, so make sure you have all the necessary details before you hop on that ferry!

But, we've only scratched the surface of what's available on New York. As your travel agent, I can help you come up with an itinerary that includes the exact things you would like to see and experience in New York City. And as an ex-New Yorker, I can help you do it in the best way to get the most out of the experience, whatever your budget.

Next time I'll be talking about one of the most important parts of having a great time in the Big Apple ... eating! Stay tuned.