Thrush

iTrader: (1)

After reading Adam's "Has anyone been to New York?" thread, I have decided I AM going to NYC this year, since I have been meaning to get out there for the last three years!!!!

With much help and advice from Erik (Fastmaul) and Taryn (Ztee24) it looks like a plan is forming!

But, I need more help and advice from exprerienced flyer's and people who have done the London > NY trips! At 24, I have never been on a plane! FFS, last time I went out the country was 8yrs ago, and even then I have only gone to places in Europe! So this is ALL new to me - I don't even have a passport at the mo!!!!!!!!!

So... The details!

So far, the plan is to fly from a London airport (probably Heathrow or Gatwick) and fly into Newark airport (EWR) rather than JFK. Reason being is I will most likely be stayting in Jersey City (very close to Fastmauls place) as opposed to NYC - simply to try and curb a few costs!!!

Dates planned are 20th Sept (Wed) to 26th Sept (Tuesday) - so thats 6nights, with the 25th being the last night and actually flying out on the 26th...

First things - apart from a valid UK passport (I need to get one of these NOW!) what else do I need? I pressume by getting a new pasport I will get one of the machine readable passports (MRP) which I understand from reading Gov UK sites means I don't need a Visa waiver form - do I still need a visa tho? What are the actual items I will need to get on a plane in this country and get off it again in America without being told to fuck off again

Secondly - jet lag! I don't have a clue, never expirienced it before! My simple logic says : a non-stop flight to NY takes (average) 8hrs, and NYC is 5hrs BEHIND London... So if I leave at say 6pm London time, I will travel for 8hrs (arrive 2am UK time) I will actually arrive at 9pm NY time... How will this help/affect jet lag? I reckon I could fly in on those times, grab summat to eat, go to bed and sleep till what would be 9/10am NY time, which is like 3pm UK time - follow me so far? - would this help cure jet lag?

I doubt I will do any sightseeing on the 20th when I arrive anyway if this jet lag is as bad as it is made out to be by the guys at work, so this gives me the full day on the 21st to go out, then if my "cure jet lag" plan works, also a full day on the 22, 23, 24, and 25th - five full days, then on the 26th get a late flight out (8/9/10pm NY time) to arrive early morn UK time - not fussed about jet lag getting home - just sleep for a couple of days as there's nothing to miss here lol

Lastly - money. Whats best? Travellers checks? Get GPB converted to USD, or use my visa debit card everywhere? I bank with Barclays - can I withdraw cash from ATMs in NYC? Plus how much should I take? I'm not going on a spending spree - will buy some stuff (Rhys suggested that rather than take loads of clothes and stuff with you, it's best to pack lite and buy most what you need there as it's dirt cheap) but mainly going for the sites and to see a few people - Erik and Taryn (and the will be "Mini-Maul" ) plus a few other pals I know out in the city and surrounding area's (if they are available). I'm going on my own a) because no fucker here is able to go with me and b) cos I reckon thats a good way to see the place the way I wanna see it - no one to worry bout but me, do things when I want to etc.... But not knowing how far a dollar goes, I don't know roughly what I will be spending per day, simply on food or travel (subway and cabs). I hope to have about £500 to last me 5days - in USD this is $870 (so could get $900 at a push) Is this likely to be enough?

If anyone has advice and help for me I would soooooo appreciate it! This is my first trip out the country ON MY OWN and my first time in America, and even tho it's short I wanna enjoy it as much as poss, without worrying too much about silly stuff (just concentrate on not gett pounded in the ass in Central Park )

Reason for the post now is cos I wanna book this as early as poss, while the fares are still pretty cheap (looking at about £300-£350 to flights, and £200-£250 for the motel) The longer I leave it the more chance rates will go up and I don't wanna get stuck not being able to afford it later on, or worse booking the flights and not getting accomodation or vice versa, cos prices have hiked......

Thanks in advance!!!

**Travel Insurance**

Just been looking at insurance, and I will probably be booking the flights thru Expedia.co.uk as they appear cheapest there - still £338 tho!!!!). If I book with them I can add travel insurance onto the bill aswell, and this is their "Single Trip" insurance;

Cancellation & Curtailment – Up to £5,000
Emergency Medical & Repatriation – Up to £5 million (including 24-hour medical helpline)
Personal Possessions – Up to £1,500
Personal Money – Up to £500
Personal Accident – Up to £25,000
Missed Departure – Up to £500
Departure Delay – Up to £250 (delay) or Up to £5,000 (abandonment)
Personal Liability – Up to £2 million
Legal Expenses – Up to £25,000
An excess of £35 applies to certain sections

Cost £45 to add this - knowing NOTHING about it, is this a) a good list of stuff, and b) a good price? Basically, what worry's me is if I have an accident or something and need to visit a hospital - obviously I ain't getting covered by the NHS, so don't wanna get stuck with a fooking huge (well any ammount really) medical bill out there - that sort of thing really...

Idea's?

JxBabe

You're flying West, so the jet lag won't be as bad as it would be if you were travelling East (so it will be worse on the way home). Still, it's quite a difference - apparently melatonin is good for relieving jet lag, I'm not sure where you can get it but might be worth asking in a chemists about melatonin products!

Err... that's all I know

I find flying on my own much less stressful than flying with other people, because you don't have to rely on them, or look out for them! I'm selfish

Make sure you allow some extra money for things that you haven't planned on, just in case...

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Porkie says two bottles of red wine and a Nitol tab should do it

Just another thought - travel insurance? Why? How much? Where from?

DanS

Avoid all burger bars on 42nd street 7th avenue.... i had food poisening from one of them. But there is a quality sweet shop in that area

Travel insurance - Deffo worth every penny when going to the states, you may get this free if you book your flights using your CC but check the small print!

Money - I only bought very small items (value wise) to bring home but still spent over $400 just on food, taxis, the tube and tourest attractions in 3 days. But i did go to see the baseball and basketball which costs a bit.

I found the tube quite annoying as its no where near as accessable as the london underground. But at $2 a journey in Manhatton its far cheaper than taxis.

NYC is very easy to find your way around, but invest in a decent map beforehand as they can be very useful when trying to tell a cabby where u want to go! Depsite speaking plain english they really find us hard to understand!

saff_cossie

Here is some info, hope it helps a bit at least with the flying bit as I havent been to the US.

First time I flew was 96 (16 yrs old) and went to Spain. Have always had a fear of heights but reserved judgement on flying as I had never done it. Flew out to Spain fine but had a bit of a bumpy landing coming back into Bournemouth which scared the crap out of me. Looking back, I have been thrown around worse on roads than that landing but back then it was a lot to me.

I then spent 5 years building a fear of flying based solely on that experience. Thought about it most days as I had a huge desire to travel and especially to Oz. Spent a lot of time at Heathrow, watched planes, mixed with passengers, watched Airport etc. Determined I would beat it.

Met my current g/f who is an aussie who said come over and see me. I went straight to the travel agent in 2001 and booked a ticket, got straight on the plane and flew here. I was the happiest bloke alive, not because I had flown to Oz but because had I not met my g/f I would not have got on a plane and would have spent the next 50 years in England visiting Heathrow! Funny but true.

I dont pretend to be a great flyer and have flown UK - Oz 5 times, Thailand etc also. I am still choosy about my flights but the longer the distance, normally the bigger the aircraft and normally the better the flight.

And jetlag, West is worst as someone mentions above. My advice, get a flight that for that length is at least partially over night and lands you somewhere near late afternoon if possible. That way you have a couple of hours to suss a few things out, hit the hay and you will be fresh the next morning their time. I always fly into Oz on the 7 or 8pm flight and back to the UK on the 3pm flight. Makes a massive difference. G/f's family always fly the 5am into Heathrow and 5am here which means you get off a metal tube and have to endure a whole day before getting to bed.

Anyway, I hope that helps a bit and definately a big achievement to even be planning a trip like that as most I know from the UK wouldnt leave their local, let alone Europe. Well done

moonstonematt

I got one of those travellers cheque cards, you put money on it before you go then when you are out there you can get money from ATMs and use them like a debit card but you get all the benifits if its lost or stolen like travellers cheques!

September is suposed to be the best month to go to as its the most quiet! If you are goin to do any of the main sites tho, book them as soon as you get there! We could only got on liberty island as they only let 2000 people a day go up the statue and you have to book!

As JxBabe said, have a little extra money put aside as you will definately spend more than you have got!!

-beefy-

iTrader: (6)

take as much dosh as u can mate , as its easy to get swpet up in bying things even though its cheap ,

im gonna be out there all summer working in a camp ,

its a shame u couldnt make it eairly sept as ill still be there and could of took u for a pint with a bunch of lairy 19 -20 -21 yr old american girls lol

theres some great places to see and giving u info really depends on what it is u want to do ???

but ive got friends in manhattan,queens, jersey and other places so let me know if theres any more specific info . also on teh jet lag note ,

ive been there 3 times now and i find as long as u get ur head down the night before ull be ok ( kip on the planes good ) , i dont seem to suffer with it , if u do however have jet lag ull find it dont hit u till the next day ,

best thing i find is to just get on with ur hols and ull find u wont even notice ur tired once u get to the big apple !!!!

hope this helps , any questions feel free to ask bud

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all the replies! Some usefull advice there!

Flight wise, it's actually looking like either a mid morning (10:30) flight out of London to arrive in NJ at 1pm-ish (their time) or a 12:30 flight out of London to arrive 3:30pm their time.... So not much choice there - might waswell go for the later one tho, get as much sleep the night before as poss I reckon - so as not to get up 4hrs early for the flight (to allow travel and check-in time etc)

As for Sept being quietest - that's great! As for attractions - I don't really know yet, the usual I guess... Deffo Liberty, so will look into booking that ASAP when I get there! Other than that (and maybe the helicopter ride, etc) I'm just looking around really - just see the buildings and the streets and - sounds so weird, lol - just watch/observe people in NYC. Not in a twisted, pervy way Just to get a feel for the city, if you get what I mean.... Lol Take a shit load of pictures and just take in the city expirience as a whole really... It's probably like London in a lot of respects, but London is cack as I seen it all, virtually everyday

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Edit about travel insuance I found now in my first post Advice please!

-beefy-

iTrader: (6)

new york is like london on cocaine and steriods mate ,

id recomennd just sitting somewhere and watching the world go bye ....

one of my best ever moments was walking down a really busy street with my i pod on , sun shining , everyone doing there own thing and this lad from the boro stuck in the middle of it all ..

i know it sounds corny but whenever i hear that song not im instantly taken bk to that moment

I FOOKIN LOVE NYC !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Beefy - I know what you mean, and thats kinda what I intend to do! Kinda what I meant by "observe" but in a less pervy "stalker" way of putting it

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Plus, are hookers cheap in NYC?

The Sludge

sounds like fun- i intend on going next year to see Eric and Taryn as i have never been to usa but was fotunate to meet eric in July 2005. Youl have to let us know how you get on when ya go even tho its many months away.

Hope ya have a good tim ebuddy

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

I met Erik once, for about 5 mins at the wettest central day ever (2004 maybe?) and I was sooooooooooo horrendously hung over I couldn't even see.... Can't even remember what he looks like! lol... But he seemed a nice chap And he's helped me no end so far with this so it will be a true pleasure to meet him, his lovely wife and by the time I get out there - his newborn baby!

saff_cossie

I took travellers cheques on my first trip to oz and it was a nightmare. Not only did I have to carry my passport when I wanted to cash them but had to find somewhere to actually cash them.

Rest of the times, I just took credit card and worried about it when I got back. Assuming it is clear when you go and you have the same amount clear as you would have taken in travellers cheques, thats what I would do.

Perhaps take a travellers cheque to keep seperate incase you get your wallet stolen but I didnt even bother with that.

Fastmaul

Let me speak with T and see what we can do about you staying here.

Ztee24

please remove

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Well I just got some more great advice from my friend Chris, who is a firefighter somewhere in NYC - said I can get a 7day unlimited subway/bus ticket for $24, which sounds like a good idea, although it isn't useable on PATH, but I can get an 11 trip PATH pass for $15, which will probably do, since I will only be there 5 full days, so will probably only use it 10 times....

I deffo wanna ride the boat T The pics Erik took from the boat were cool as fook!

Seriously tho, I am happy to stay at this motor lodge (provided the fookers get back to my email I sent 2 days ago!!!!) as I really don't wanna be in the way of Taryn and the young'un Thats gonna be stressfull enough as it is, without worrying about me staying there also! And for $61 a night, the motor lodge sounds cheap enough for me (I wonder if it's "full of rats" cheap tho Might have to ask you to check it out for me Erik )

But as I found out last night, I can't book the flights without given them a passport number, which I don't have yet as I don't currently have a passport So it's gonna be three-ish weeks yet till I can book the flights! Hope they don't go up!!!![/list]

Rhys

11 trips on the Path train where you going to go 11times Dont worry about that its only $1.50 per trip any way mate so peanuts. But deffo get the subway pass thats what i always do!! I never get taxis to freaking expensive plus most of the time i got subway pass so will be wasting my money and i dont like that

IMO best way is just get a map and walk around a tube it everywhere best way to get to know the city. I fairly know my way around now, though the only thing that gets me is when u get of the tube and you back on normal level ground is knowing which way you are pointing on the block! confuses me all the time and i quite often go walking of the wrong But u will soon know u have gone the wrong way once u hit the next street u should have

As for bars and clubs etc, u like all heavy metal stuff dont u? Well tbh mate i havent got a clue where any bars etc are like that in NYC im sure there are some but i havent got a clue. And the bars arnt really clustered in one area lke in UK.

imo Downtown where E & T work is the best the trendy shops etc much better than uptown big stores. Though of course nice ones uptown too. Go to Times Square in the night its good to see but VERY touristy. Best thing meet up with E & T Friday eve after work to take u to local bars! Very good laugh and one night got a bit tipsy but was awsome laugh! and damn Cheap! Happy hour means fooking Over the moon happy hour LOL

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Rhys - Cheers dude! Nice write up! Especially the " u like all heavy metal stuff dont u?" Yes I do, but I'm not narrow minded and like most things "normal" aswell As for PATH trains - if I am staying in Jersey, then I will probably use the PATH train to get in and out of NYC everyday won't I? Over 5 days, thats gonna be 10 trips easy (unless I take the boat thingy) But I'll check it with Erik when I get there anyway

To be honest I am not a *huge* nightlife kinda person, but of course on holiday I am gona go out to a few bars Hopefully apart from E+T I will meet another couple of people I know out there, so hoefully I won't be short of company of an evening, since I am going on my own...

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Fastmaul

This is what happens when you have too much much fun at happy hour...LOL oh, I think Rhys was pisssssed by like 8pm!!!





Then at another time....




And finally....Good night!

SS1

iTrader: (3)

awesome thread ..

just from a post your doing it THRUSH

wanna do aus soon "great white sharks cage " this year

got a mate sammy in aus to shack me up

just need to find there real feeding time

but looking at the google searches there eating 24/7 this year so far

saff_cossie

That picture is so good. I have an image of someone somewhere doing that from a movie I think but I cannot for the life of me put a name to it. Fantastic effort Rhys.

Rhys

FPMSL Damn u and those photos Was good laugh though

Thrush i didnt go out that much in the night mate either as you do so much in the day by nighttime your fooked Ask Erik i was in bed by 11 Was sooo tired from walking around etc etc.


Ah fair play Diania

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Hmmmmm.... Thats two emails sent to the Holland Motor Lodge now asking to book a room, but neither has been replied too

Fastmaul

I'll see if I take pics of them for you.

-beefy-

iTrader: (6)

pi thrush u saying im a perv !!! lol

mabey ur right ha ha

anyway i just hope u hav a great time mate

currently in the process of selling everything i own so i can make a go of staying out there !!!

and if that happens ull be more than welcome to stay with me when u go bk next year lol !!!!!

oh and dont let the fact that im a perv put u off , by then ill know all the best titty bars in the city !!!!!!!!!!!!

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

^^^

Erik - take pics? lol... I just wanna know if they'll rent me a room

Ztee24

please remove

mark

there could be a good reason for that matt


good luck with it all tho m8 hope ya get out there

Iain Mac

We stayed in The Palace Hotel in New Jersey, just for two nights. It was a bit mexican, but that might just been the guys on the trumpets playing the tunes you get in the cowboy movies!

We were too chicken to take the car into NYC, so booked on a tour bus which took us onto Manhattan via a tunnel and whizzed us around the main place - Empire State Building, Rockerfeller Plaza, Macys (I think), The Bronx (seriously!), Hells Kitchen, Battery Park, Ellis Island and Liberty Island.

If you can afford the time and the extra cash, I'd suggest a few days in Washington DC too - I don't think an internal flight would cost much and you should be able to open-jaw the transatlantic flights. We really loved DC, even more than NYC. Boston, on the other hand isn't somewhere either of us would bother about again.

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

It's three thousand miles away - surely they can't of heard my me and my hotel antics

STILL NO REPLY FROM EM

Rhys

Yus i can second that!!!! Awsome girls there im still waiting for you to sort me out with job as tea boy Taryn!! lol

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm, well the Holland Motor Lodge finally got back to me - gonna cost a little bit more than I originally thought... Their cheapest rooms are only if you have AAA mebership (don't even know what that is lol) and Friday night and Saturday night rooms are a bit more dosh..... So looking at $422 (£240) plus 13% tax = $476 (£273) + £393 for flights and insurance = £666

Now whilst I am a "metaller" I don't really like the idea of that number very much So I think I'll just pay the £684 for everything all in one at Expedia.co.uk Mainly cos I think it will all be a little safer that way, as if anything fucks up, it's thier fault not mine Bit like buying thru ebay rather than just off some random bloke on the net lol

So, soon as my new passport is sorted out and arrives, I will book that up (provided it is still there and at the same price of course!)

mark

Iain Mac

AAA is the American Automobile Association. It's not supposed to work but we found that showing our AA card got us the discount in a few places.

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

I've not got an AA card either

Wonder if I can wangle my way out of the 13% sales tax they have? Being foreign an all

Iain Mac

Not sure about the USA but we got some back from Canada after we got home - had to fill in a claim form and post it with receipts. TBH it was more bother than it was worth!