Holidaying in NYC

Here we go again. How to holiday in New York City. Aka The Big Apple. The city that never sleeps. A lot of the info still stands from our week there in 2019 - post here - but here's all the lovely new things I know that will help you to have the best time ever in one of my favourite cities in the world.


When to go:
Last time round we went for a week in December, this time round we went for a week in May. Both are very different experiences. Both are very awesome experiences! We were there at the end of May, which I would say is right at the cusp of getting into the sticky, uncomfortable New York summer season. Temperatures hovered around mid-20s but because it's a city, it felt a LOT hotter. Like the photo below from Central Park on Memorial Day shows. I don't think I could visit in actual summer - October to May feels like the sweet time to go.



How to get there:
Fly direct from London, landing at either JFK or Newark. We flew to JFK from Heathrow with British Airways. And because we had a companion voucher, we got to fly Business Class both ways for a mere £350 each. (Plus a load of Avios.) Yes, that's £175 each way - cheaper than flying economy! Flight time is around 8 hours there and 6 hours back. And you can gain a cheeky extra day by booking the last red eye home - we flew back at 11pm and were back in London for brunch.


Where to stay:
This time round we stayed in Manhattan, which was amazing. We stayed at The Evelyn NoMad, which meant we could walk around most of Manhattan easily as we were mere metres from Fifth Avenue. From the hotel to Central Park took us around thirty-minutes; it was about the same sort of time from the hotel to Hudson Yards. 

The hotel is a pretty cool art deco hotel, just around the corner from the Flatiron Building and a quick walk to the Empire State Building. Room size was generous for Manhattan, though no amazing view from our window. (Side of a building.) Breakfast was included at the deli next door, which was average, and the hotel offered "wine hour" (free wine) on Mondays and Wednesdays - but we could have gone to the other Triumph hotels on different nights, if we wanted to. A decent place to stay! 

How to get around:
As we did before, we took the subway but, mostly, we walked as were staying in central Manhattan. So we didn't buy an unlimited weekly MetroCard or load up a card to PAYG this time. That's because OMNY has finally rolled out which means that you can now tap your debit/credit card at the turnstiles, just like you do in London. And a journey still costs the same as it did in 2019, a mere $2.75 (roughly £2.20), regardless of how many stops you travel.


Cab-wise we, again, used Lyft to/from JFK. From JFK to Manhattan was $84 (£68); the return journey cost us $76 (£61). We took cabs a few times but the subway is the quickest way to get around for longer distances. It's sometimes unpleasant, but it still beats sitting in traffic.

What to do: 
Last time we got the New York Pass, which did save us a lot of money - £110 each, to be precise - but this time we wanted the flexibility and to take the city at a bit more of a relaxed pace so we sacrificed money for freedom. These blog posts share what we got up to this time:


And these blog posts are all about what we did on our holiday before: 


Whenever you go, wherever you stay and whatever you do though, you're going to have an amazing time! x

♥ at
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