new york city
flying into nyc
- Average: 30 min drive, 40 min subway.
- Directions: Getting to NYC from LaGuardia Airport
LGA
- Average: 35 min drive, 1 hr train/subway.
- Directions: How to get to Newark Airport on public transit
EWR
- Average: 1 hr drive, 1 hr 15 min subway
- Directions: How to get to New York City from JFK Airport
jfk
When leaving NYC to the LGA airport, leave at least 3 hours before the flight. (After a 30-40 min Uber, you will arrive at LaGuardia around 2 hrs before your flight)
Extra tip
NYC has 3 international airports
getting around
Use Google Maps to figure out how to get anywhere via subway. Instructions are laid out step by step and are very easy to follow.
How to pay: You can now just tap your credit card and pay for each subway ride or they also have different passes available if you want to have unlimited rides and can purchase at almost every subway station on the machines.
Hours of operation: NYC subway runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
subway
When getting on the subway always check the sign to know which direction you are going on. There are sometimes 2 entrances and depending on the entrance you can go in a certain direction. If it says “uptown” you are going North and if you are doing “downtown” you are going South!
Extra tip
If traffic isn't bad, it's worth checking Uber if Google Maps is showing you more than 30 min to get to a destination.
uber/lyft
When New Yorkers give an address, they give the cross streets instead of a full address unless it’s a super popular destination like Times Square. (Ex. I’m on 27th between 7th and 8th ave)
Manhattan basically runs on a grid of North and South and East to West. For the most part, the streets are all numerically numbered. The further up you go, the higher the numbers. The further down you go, the lower the numbers until you get downtown, and it turns into street names. Speaking of navigation, there’s the Westside, Eastside, and Downtown or Uptown.
Extra tips
Neighborhoods
& Main Attractions in Manhattan
There’s so much to see in NYC and not just Manhattan! For first timers the majority of time will be spent in Manhattan as the majority of major attractions are located there.
Some of the best NYC skyline views are from Brooklyn or Queens! Especially to catch the Sunset.
Extra tip
things to do
- Viator - Great site to book activities! Viator is part of TripAdvisor, there's a ton of reviews and free cancellation on all bookings.
Broadway Tickets
- Check Broadway.org - the Broadway League’s official site for details of which shows are open and details about the shows.
- You can buy tickets online on Broadway.com, TodayTix, Ticketmaster, StubHub, VividSeats and SeatGeek or you can purchase tickets through the production’s website directly or by visiting the theatre box office. If you’re not set on a specific show, a wonderful and definitely cheaper option is to visit a TKTS ticket booth. TKTS ticketing booths sell day-of tickets anywhere from 25 to 50 percent off the regular ticket price. (There’s one located in Times Square)
- The Django - my favorite jazz bar in NYC!
- Gotham Comedy Club & Comedy Cellar - comedy shows, prices are usually not bad and have a 1 or 2 drink minimum.
Trustworthy Resources
- The 37 Best Things to Do in New York City (CondeNast Traveler)
- 35 Best Things to Do in New York City, According to Local Experts (Travel & Leisure)
- 35 Best Things to Do in NYC (US Travel News)
- 15 of the best things to do in New York City
- NYC Tourism - Official Site
food & drink
Pizza
- Joe’s Pizza
- Prince Street Pizza
- Rubirosa
- John's of Bleecker Street
- Lombardi’s
- Roberta’s (Located in Brooklyn)
- Lucali (Located in Brooklyn)
Bagels
- Ess-a-Bagel
- Russ & Daughters
- Murray’s Bagels
- Zucker’s Bagels
- Sadelle’s
Some of my favorite
Hotels in nyc
- The 1 Hotel Brooklyn
- Virgin Hotels NYC
- The Standard
- The Roxy Hotel
- Williamsburg Hotel
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