Forum • Non-Gaming • Travel

New York and the East Coast

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  • Deleted user 30 January 2012 10:35:38
    Hi,

    just booked flights to New York for me and my lass, heading out on 31st July and back on the 15th. So far all we have arranged is a hotel in NY for the first two nights and the "Top of the World" experience on the Rockerfeller Building (and I'm scared of heights!).

    We're thinking of then getting a train down to New Orleans via Washington and a couple of other towns before returning on a sleeper train (or maybe a plane, I'll see). Any comments, ideas, suggestions? Looking at places to go on the East Coast enroute to NOLA and and tips for unusual things. We prefer "different" stuff to the normal tourist trip, so will not go within a million miles of Disney Land.

    Really hope I DO get a bonus this year or I'm going to have to sell a kidney or two when the credit card bill comes in. Couldn't wait longer though as flights are only going up in price and my lass is a teacher (so its school holidays prices!)

    Ta
  • localnotail 30 Jan 2012 13:55:50 21,449 posts
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    Top of the Rock is fine, you aren't really near edges, so I think it's harder to get afraid of the heights if you can't see the drop so closely. They have a room up there that lights up / makes sounds in response to movement. That was fun. Not sure anyone else realised that, so probably thought I was a loon for prancing about.

    Don't know anything about the trains. Car hire is pretty cheap over there and easy to get the hang of in an automatic, gives you a lot more freedom. There are some pretty cheap coach options, like Bolt Bus, although I'm not sure how large their range is.

    I really liked Philadelphia (if you go, make sure you go to the Magic Gardens. It's a very creative place, loads of murals / street art, friendly people.
    Baltimore was nice, although we were on a bit of a Wire tribute mission. Washington had tons of free museums and galleries, well worth a visit. Good public transport, alarming homeless problem.

    Didn't get any further down that than because we only had 10 days and we left NY for a loop roadtrip to visit Boston and then upstate NY and a pilgrimage to the Woodstock site (man) in Bethel, then round to Atlantic City (a curious place, mini-Vegas-on-sea).

    Edited by localnotail at 13:56:46 30-01-2012

    Playing all the right notes— but not necessarily in the right order.

  • spudsbuckley 30 Jan 2012 14:08:04 3,815 posts
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    2 days is nowhere near enough for New York. There's a silly amount to see and do.

    Top of the Rock is great. Been up once at night and once during the day. Amazing view, better than the Empire State but it was snowing when I was up there.
  • neilka 30 Jan 2012 14:16:07 12,018 posts
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    FHUTESB

    if you have nothing intresting to say then you might as well just throw your bags on the truck and drive away

  • TheSaint 30 Jan 2012 14:19:18 11,598 posts
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    I'd stay well away from Amtrak if I was you, if you really want to experience the country then hire a car and plan a route down on two lane highways rather than the interstates.

    Flying each way would be by far the cheapest though and give you more time in each of the cities.
  • mcmonkeyplc 30 Jan 2012 14:28:50 35,847 posts
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    I did this in 2010 great fun but we went from NY to Vegas. NY to Tucson on Amtrack via DC, Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Tucson.

    From Tucson I drove 8 hours to Vegas...a local drive. Hireing a car long distance one way does actually cost alot of money by the way.

    It was awesome. Atlanta was slightly depressing cause you could see the recession take hold right in front of you. New Orleans was awesome, certainly not your typical American city.

    You need 4 days in NY min...

    We did the trip over 3 weeks, didn't feel too rushed but we didn't get to see everything we wanted to.

    Come and get it cumslingers!

  • coojam 30 Jan 2012 14:32:15 618 posts
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    Boston is apparently a great city, then you've got the coastal areas around it such as Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Rhode Island, Mystic Seaport, Salem... I could go on :)

    Duck Up! is out now on the iPhone and iPod App Store

  • Deleted user 30 January 2012 19:46:41
    Thanks all! Some good ideas there... esp the FHUTESB ;)
  • Trafford 30 Jan 2012 20:38:32 4,004 posts
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    DC and the Virginia coastline.
    Led Zeppelin rollercoaster in South Carolina.
    Check JetBlue for low cost flight from NYC.
    New Orleans is a shithole.
  • Khanivor 30 Jan 2012 21:53:21 38,677 posts
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    Wherever you go it's gonna be hot and muggy. Not "my passport! my knife wound!" kind of muggy.

    If you happen to drive down to the SE then I can give you some recommendations, non-touristy stuff.
  • spudsbuckley 30 Jan 2012 22:07:14 3,815 posts
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    ecosse_011172 wrote:
    spudsbuckley wrote:
    2 days is nowhere near enough for New York. There's a silly amount to see and do.
    .
    This.
    I went for 4 days, stayed for 8 and still didn't want to leave.
    I've been there twice for a total of about 3 weeks altogether and i'd still go back tomorrow if i could.
  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife 30 Jan 2012 22:28:29 6,979 posts
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    Best things to do in NYC that are a bit different (although doing the touristy things is also awesome!):

    Go for a walk along The High Line: http://www.thehighline.org/
    Have a cocktail at The Campbell Apartment Bar at Central Station
    Eat Oysters are Marlow & Sons in Williamsburg: http://marlowandsons.com/
    Visit the Tenement Museum (booking essential): http://www.tenement.org
  • meme 30 Jan 2012 22:36:44 15,417 posts
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    Come to Idaho. You can see the potato fields and...

    ...

    That's about it, really.

    GHOSTBUSTERS

  • Khanivor 30 Jan 2012 22:40:59 38,677 posts
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    You get to see lots of contrails, dontcha?
  • altitude2k 4 Feb 2012 08:50:35 1,265 posts
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    I did a 1 month trek in 2006 starting with 6 days in NY, then DC and a trek down through the southern states to Florida eventually flying from Miami.

    Amtrak was absolutely fine. Needed to book a few days in advance of each journey, but was reasonably cheap, easy and got to meet some friendly people.

    The last leg, though, was a different story as the train from Orlando to Miami was cancelled because of a hurricane. We were forced to travel via Greyhound instead. It started with a grotty downtown bus terminal, some very strange folk, and being a bit concerned we would actually get to Miami. A good anecdotal story in retrospect, but a pretty grim experience at the time!

    Apparently all convicts are given a free Greyhound ticket in the US upon release, which says a lot.

    So to sum up: east coast US, good; NY needs more than 2 days; Amtrak, good; Greyhound, avoid like the plague.
  • pinebear 4 Feb 2012 10:24:01 8,555 posts
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    meme wrote:
    Come to Idaho. You can see the potato fields and...

    ...

    That's about it, really.
    My favorite potato fields:

    ツ

  • Deleted user 28 February 2012 14:15:06
    Update on this so far:

    New York for 2 nights (New Yorker Hotel), where we are going to surprise a couple of mates we have who are going to be there on holiday. Then Amtrak Roomette (sleeper) to New Orleans, arriving Friday 3rd August. They've the Louis Satchmo Armstrong festival that week and we're staying 5 nights in Place D'Armes in the French Quarter. Might be meeting an American mate of mine who will show us around the place...well the bars as that is her specialist area of interest. :) If she cant make it, then we'll get tips off her as she's been loads.

    We're "probably" then going to get a flight to DC/Baltimore and stay 4 nights in either DC/Baltimore or Phili and see the sights of each (via hire care or public transport) before another 2 nights in NY and then home. Last part of the holiday is still up in the air at the moment, but I think I'll avoid Greyhound buses for sure.

    Will try to fit Niagra into it somewhere.
  • Razz 28 Feb 2012 14:31:19 57,922 posts
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    Maple Leaf Express from NY to Niagara.

    Edited by Razz at 14:31:55 28-02-2012

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  • Khanivor 28 Feb 2012 15:00:34 38,677 posts
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    If you plan a day at Niagra then have your passports with you in case you want to go into Canada, which is right across the street.

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