NYC Trip - Advice Needed

C

changingman

Well-known member
We're planning on taking a trip to NYC next Summer as a delayed 40th present for my wife.

Having been a few years back and doing 7 days in the city I'm hoping to take a few trips away whilst there (maybe staying overnight some places) - probably do 10 nights in total.

Looking for advice for the best places to go (current thinking below) - ideally reachable by public transport.

Long Island/Montauk
Atlantic City (love Boardwalk and genuinely intrigued by the place)
Asbury Park - initially the Springsteen connection piqued my interest but seems it's quite a cool place generally?
Woodstock/Catskills - I'd love to see Big Pink (I know!) but there's some very good breweries out that way I think?

I guess the main criteria for any trips out of the city are good restuarants/bars and some outdoorsy pursuits - lounging on a beach or walking etc.

Any suggestions greatly welcomed!
 
changingman said:
We're planning on taking a trip to NYC next Summer as a delayed 40th present for my wife.

Having been a few years back and doing 7 days in the city I'm hoping to take a few trips away whilst there (maybe staying overnight some places) - probably do 10 nights in total.

Looking for advice for the best places to go (current thinking below) - ideally reachable by public transport.

Long Island/Montauk
Atlantic City (love Boardwalk and genuinely intrigued by the place)
Asbury Park - initially the Springsteen connection piqued my interest but seems it's quite a cool place generally?
Woodstock/Catskills - I'd love to see Big Pink (I know!) but there's some very good breweries out that way I think?

I guess the main criteria for any trips out of the city are good restuarants/bars and some outdoorsy pursuits - lounging on a beach or walking etc.

Any suggestions greatly welcomed!
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Long Island is pretty well served with public transport. The LIRR runs right to Montauk, and you can get close to most places on the train. Personally, I like the Hamptons, Fire Island, Jones Beach. There are some really nice towns all the way to Montauk Point. If you are going in the summer - July or August, the prices on Long Island for hotels and b&bs will be huge. The whole of NYC decamps to Long Island.

Atlantic City - it's ok, the boardwalk is good.

Asbury Park - never been.

The Catskills is still very Jewish oriented. The great resorts from movies like Dirty Dancing have mostly gone now. Grossingers at Liberty closed in the 1980s. There are some lovely B&Bs though. Woodstock wasn't held in the town of Woodstock, it was moved at the last moment to Bethel in Sullivan County. There is a museum there, but that's about it. You can't camp or stay there. I love the Catskills. If you like walking - or hiking - it's great. Try the Canonville reservoir for some amazing scenery. Watch out for bears and snakes though. The rattlesnakes are really nasty. The Appalachian Trail runs through the Catskills, you could tick off about 20 miles if you feel adventurous. You probably need a car to do the Catskills though. There are buses but they aren't fast and there isn't a big network. The O&W railroad closed in the 1950s, that was how most people got to the Catskills in the great days of the Borscht Belt.
 
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Thanks - really useful.

Beach wise I'd love day out at Brighton Beach + Coney Island so it might be that we trade that off for any exploration of Long Island.
I'd heard that about Woodstock, I guess while it might be cool to venture to the site I've assumed it's just farmland basically :)

Bear and Snake advice - good point! Hadn't considered that!
 
Yes, it's a farm. There is a performing arts center there and other stuff too. I think they have concerts in the summer but probably not this year.

The town of Bethel trades on its Woodstock heritage. Visitors are regaled with books and t shirts and all manner of stuff.

Coney island and Brighton Beach - you can do that easily from Manhattan. Don't choose the weekend before or after July 4 though. There are great beaches all down Long Island, a lot of them quite unspoiled. If you do some research you can find small hotels that are right on the edge of the beach. There are good ones at West Hampton and Quogue - sorry can't remember the names.
 
The Jersey coast is nice, Cape may and wildwoods give that nostalgic seaside break feel
 
Also the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can get in there an MOMA if tou get a NY City Pass amongst other attractions.

Sals in Little Italy is great for old school Italian food and atmosphere. The Brick Lane Cury restaurant was decent from memory.

I've put the below. If it doesn't work it's easy to find on the Internet. Enjoy.

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Thanks - we did MOMA last time round so might do the Met this time. Ellis Island also a good shout as we missed that last time.
 
Kowalski said:
Ellis Island is a must, extremely thought provoking to imagine how many immigrants passed through.

If you like art the Museum of Modern Art is excellent.
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Or the Guggenheim, or the Frick. The Guggenheim is a wonderful FLW building.

Also St John's Cathedral (St John The Unfinished) is well worth visiting. A slice of NY life and history, and much more interesting than St Pat's.
 
If you get on the Staten Island ferry don’t make the mistake I made by not getting straight back on it when you get to other side. Not the most interesting half hour of my life…..
 
Catskills is not easy to do by public transport. Depending on the time of year, Seastreak do trips up the Hudson as far as Cold Spring, with a lunchtime stopover - the barbers shop/craft beer bar is interesting. Metro North railroad runs from Grand Central up the Hudson as far as Poughkeepsie - Peekskill is a good stop off - the station's about 2 minutes walk from Peekskill Brewery.
 
Out of the box, but Washington DC is only four hours away by coach (and can often be done for under $30 return on Megabus).
 
Yep Boston was on the original list - how long do you think to do it justice? Couple of nights? Temptation of Cape Cod might be quite strong that time of year as well.
 
Yeah you could see Boston in a couple of days realistically. I really enjoyed cape cod when I was there, but you'd probably want a few days there to chill out to make the most of it.
 
1CC164FB-BCB6-41AF-8692-8DA97E7C8AEC.jpgI’ve done Asbury Park etc (was a Bruce pilgrimage to AP, Belmar, various childhood homes). We hired a car out of Brooklyn with an NYC-based relative. Not a long drive. Really worth it. I have places saved on a Google Map if that ever helps.
 
I really like Philly. It’s only 90m on a train and easily doable for just 1-2 nights, see the Liberty bell and the Rocky steps (if that’s what you’re into). It has a nice feel and is a bit less touristy than NYC.
 
Second the Tenement Museum - did it last time but would be tempted to do a different "tour" this time. We also stayed a couple of blocks away. Philly also appeals, we'll need to narrow these down at some point - ha!

Other things in NYC we didn't do last time, but will do this, include Guggenheim, Harlem (Apollo or Jazz Club) and maybe take in a baseball game.
 
atypical_boro said:
I really like Philly. It’s only 90m on a train and easily doable for just 1-2 nights, see the Liberty bell and the Rocky steps (if that’s what you’re into). It has a nice feel and is a bit less touristy than NYC.
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Plenty of good pubs and a significant number of them serve cask beer. Yards brewery also worth a visit. ( I have seen the Liberty Bell, if only from the outside) :cool:
 
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