Dougie Baird - Blog. The Travel Guy

Dougie Baird was back in the Big Apple in October, 2009. We first visited the city in May 1995 . This time we arrived at the start of the Fall. We had a wonderful time and thought we would share our experience. It might be of some help if you are planning a budget trip to New York.

It's an incredible city with no end of fascinating places to see including: Manhatten, Brooklyn Bridge, Staten Island, World Trade Centre, Times Square, Central Park, Empire State Building. Hopefully, we can tell you a bit about this wonderful place and encourage you to plan a trip your own trip. You'll love it.

Flights

One of the main costs is your flight and we were lucky to get a good deal through British Airways.£340 return - Glasgow to London Heathrow and then on to JFK.

Tips:

• You need to book well in advance to get the best deals.
• It also pays to be flexible with your dates.
• There are direct flights from most large British cities but these can be more expensive.
• Expedia are worth checking out as they can have some good fares.

Warning

Twelve dollars for a beer at JFK airport .That`s around £9 . I had swallowed half of it it before I was asked to pay. I only had one.

Where we stayed

Bairdstravel stayed at Hotel 31. After searching the internet for weeks it was the the best deal we could find. It was clean and handy for the Empire State building,Times Square and all the midtown sights. If you're on a tight budget it's a good choice. However, if you're looking for somewhere special to stay be prepared to spend a large amount.

Hotel 31 is on 120 East 31st Street, New York, NY, 10016
Telephone: 001 (212) 685 3060
It's conveniently located in the heart of New York City on 31st Street between Lexington & Park Avenue. Featuring all of the amenities that you would expect from a budget hotel including private air conditioned rooms, twenty-four hour concierge, daily maid service, cable T.V., telephone and multilingual staff. We booked through Hotel.com

Tip:

Tripadvisor is very useful for checking out hotels as it has lots of customer reviews. It provide recommendations for hotels, resorts, inns, holidays, travel packages, holiday packages, travel guides and lots more.

www.tripadvisor.co.uk

Airport Transfers

A taxi from the Airport will cost you a lot so we used Go Airlink. Thanks to Grace for this information or we would have used the cab.

Tip:

"GO Airlink NYC provides on time, economical and safe share-ride van transfers, door-to-door in each direction between Manhattan and JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports. We serve hotels, neighborhoods, major transportation terminals and corporate offices with a fleet of modern, comfortable vans operated by a team of professional, trained and courteous drivers who know the City."

Share Ride Vans www.goairlinkshuttle.com

Food and Drink

Breakfast we ate at Guy and Gallard .It was just round the corner from our hotel at 31st and Park. Food was good,fast and tons of it. Try the pancakes, bananas and maple sauce.

Dinner

This depended on where we were in the evening. However, food is availble everywhere in the Big Apple. We had the usual hamburger and chips. Steak in Guy and Gallards. Pizza in Lombardi`s, in Little Italy, which was excellant, and pasta at the Jizza Joint on Park Avenue,

Drink

Alcoholic drink is expensive for a budget minded visitor to the city. The poor value of the pound it certainly puts all costs up; saying that we still had a few .

What's free in New York

However, there are plenty of free activities to enjoy in New York.

Tip: Take a walk through Times Square, it's free and exciting.

"Times Square is a major intersection in Manhattan, a borough of New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. The Times Square area consists of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues from east to west, and West 40th and West 53rd Streets from south to north, making up the western part of the commercial area of Midtown Manhattan."

Tip: Take a sail on the Staten Island Ferry

The Staten Island Ferry is a free passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between Manhattan Island and Staten Island. The ferry departs Manhattan from South Ferry, near Whitehall Circle, at the southernmost tip of Manhattan near Battery Park.

Tip:Take a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, stretching 5,989 feet (1825 m) over the East River, connecting the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Take a walk through Central Park

Central Park is a large public, urban park that occupies over a square mile (341 hectares) in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. It is host to approximately twenty-five million visitors each year. Central Park was opened in 1859, completed in 1873 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.

Walking round the city is easy but tiring . The first time we went we split the city into three days. Day 1 Downtown , Day 2 Midtown and Day 3 Uptown.

This time we spent most time of our time in Midtown making various trips out to investigate specific areas.

Tips:

• Wear comfy shoes as you will walk till you drop .
• The number 1 bus is great for tourists to get from uptown to downtown .
• Buy a Metro Card from any Subway station . You can add on as many journeys
• as you want.
• Hop on Hop of Bus is great for first time vistors

Douglas Baird. October, 2009.

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