Hi Everyone! I'm looking to go to NYC for the first time (with 4 other people) for a few days mid to late August. The dates are flexible and we will be flying from Toronto. Are there any special deals for flights, hotels, tourist attractions around this time? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

try porter, that's who we usually fly with and they get there faster than the big planes out of Pearson

if you go before 10 a.m. to the theatre you want to see the show at, they sell "rush " tickets for a great reduced price for the show that night

We stayed here, and they appear to be having a sale . It included breakfast when we went and the snacks in the evenings on certain nights are great, one night the snacks were so good we ended up making that our dinner, it also offered wine and draft beer with the evening snacks for free http://www.travelzoo.com/ca/hotels/new-york-new-england/-159-202-NYC-Suite-near-Times-Square-40-Off-1800884/?utm_source=localdeal_ca&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1804518_html_ontario_deal%3a0&utm_content=1804518

thanks!!

I recommend a city pack for attractions. Good deals. And tip: museums like the Met and galleries are pay what you can but don't advertise it. Don't bother with the lineup. I walk right in.

Also take advantage of all you can drink brunch before it's made illegal. Make a reservation for everything. Call in or use Open Table. Gilt City has amazing Groupon deals. May I suggest Yerba Buena in the West Village for brunch and unlimited cocktails for 2 hours. The food is outstanding. And Boulud Sud for fine dining but without the price. They do a cheaper fixed price menu for dinner. If you want to experience one of the New York's most famous chefs. Gotta try a great $2 cheese slice but also a real Italian restaurant. Rubirosa's is in Little Italy but isn't touristy and gimmicky.

I'm big into food so if you have anything in mind, feel free to message me. I've eaten my way across nyc and some of Brooklyn.

Fly from buffalo if you can. So much cheaper.

staten island ferry is free , and goes by the statue of liberty, just when you get to the other side, just stand in the line and you can get back on the exact same boat you just got off to go back lol

I always airbnb it. I've been doing it for 7 years. No issues. You can now find really great cheap places to stay in Brooklyn close to a train station (that's pretty key). If not, try a little higher like past the 80s and you can probably find a room or a place for around $130 a night.

i am flying on labor day for 263$ and staying park central only 889$ US for hotel for 3nights

prices still aroudn 270s. Flying is better

Btw, Jewish car services will take you to the airport for around $35. Chinese car services will do it for about the same. They're in the Yellow Pages or phonebooks. Cash only. I've used them often for the better part of 15 years. I guess it can be scary but ... Hey, when in New York, right?
When at the airport, DO NOT get into a cab that's outside of the taxi stand manned by staff. Stick to the shuttles, the train or the subway. A real cab will cost around $65 + tolls, tip blah blah blah. NYC is a money-grubbing place. God bless them.

Cabs are pretty cheap if you're flying in to LGA.

$25 to $30 from LGA. Unless they convince you to do metered and milk it for all it's got. Depending on your arrival and what route , you can sometimes sit in traffic for hours. Get a flat rate.

Amazing tips Sunny ... Thanks*

Nadine Leone

Thanks everyone!

if you have any free nights from hotel chains, NYC is by far the best place to use them. Lots of hotels available, and always expensive.

have got nice airbnb places in manhattan for between 125-150 a night. check out booking.com and compare hotel prices there sometimes good deals to be had

Has anyone done the drive?

Do the Hop on Hop off buses. You can negotiate with the sellers in Time Square. You can spend three days just doing each line and seeing the sites along the way. Well worth the money, although touristy, but we thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as we had never been there before, a great orientation. Be sure to do the downtown core one, the last run, at night, totally different perspective. We usually just do the tour once for sightseeing and then do it again, picking our hop of points for exploration.

Driving from TO to NYC, Shelly? I have. If you can take turns for every 2-3 hours, it is doable, but it is still too much back and forth, plus traffic and parking in NYC, u don't want to deal with it.

Shelly we drove, actually we drive every time. the drive is super easy, we stay at a place with airbnb that offers parking.(most times that means on one day of the week you park on one side of the street and the next day you park on the other side) we have driven in the city but tend to leave the car parked as much as possible. we tend to ride our bikes to get every where or take the subway.

We would definately leave our car in one spot, maybe even outside the city (any thoughts on that?). Thanks!

we've always got a place with at least the above describe parking situation. as for parking outside the city the done points I would see is finding somewhere safe and secure to park. and that is on a transit line to the city and the pain of having to go back and retrieve said car. that being said maybe it's easier then I think. we tend to stay in Brooklyn I can send you the airbnb link, there's parking and 2 subway lines with in a 5 minute walk. we ride our bikes and are on the Brooklyn bridge in 10 minutes.

If you have lots of time and don't mind gas cost, car getting worn out, etc, by all means, you should drive.

Clark I drive a TDI so at 700 km I'm just coming off the half tank mark so much cheaper for us to drive then fly. return trip is just over a tank.

Yeah, it would depend on the model and condition of your car, how many people & stuff you carry, and etc. Gas cost is definitely cheaper than flight. My emphasis is more on the time you spend. You have lots of time, then it's all good

Arriving from TO Metropark station in NJ is super convenient and (last I saw, it's been a while) cheap safe place to leave a car while going into NY

Anyone know roughly how much a shuttle would cost from laguardia airport to manhattan (midtown)?

Supershuttle is usually around $16, Taxi $30, NYC Airporter is $13.. Personally I like to take the MTA if I'm being cheap, or just spend the extra for a taxi. Supershuttle isn't great and unless your hotel/hostel/apartment is right by an NYC Airporter stop it's not worth the hassle.
http://www.panynj.gov/airp.../lga-public-transportation.html

Has anybody taken the Q70? I've only ever taken the Express on the 456 to catch the M60 and it's never been an issue, but it's nice to know if the Q70 Limited is faster.

is that any taxi for $30? someone mentioned that they try to charge more

It's just metered fare from LGA to Midtown... It's pretty much always 25 to 35 bucks or so every time I've gone into midtown from LGA, depending on how deep into Manhattan you have to weave... Sometimes a few bucks more if they route north through Triboro because of bad traffic elsewhere, which I never really mind because that view is just gorgeous, but I usually push for Queensboro

http://www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=NY

Thanks David!

I booked a hotel using hotwire for a four night stay last week - $140 night, three blocks south of Grand Central Station, free internet (91% approval rating on trip advisor). Price was amazing!

http://www.panynj.gov/airports/lga-taxi-car-van-service.html These are the ranges minus tolls and tips.

We took a taxi from lga to our hotel at midtown manhattan for like $40.