Whenever we undertake the organization of a trip on our own, hundreds of doubts assail us.
Issues such as date of travel, how much flying or stay in the city, the necessary documentation, how to get around on public transport, the price of tickets, food ... We can be a headache if we have to find all that information from scratch.
To try to make that task easier and less burdensome, here are some very useful data with which to make travel arrangements and avoid unpleasant surprises once in the city or even before reaching it.
What are the dates going?:
This is a city that offers attractions regardless of the date of the year in which the visit.
quite hot in summer due to moisture which gives its location on the Hudson Bay, is also frequent lightning storms. The average temperature ranges from 19 º and 30 º maximum.
Winter is very cold and it snows often, you have to add the wind can deepen the feeling of cold. The average temperature is between -3 ° and 3 ° maximum.
The best dates to travel are spring and autumn when the weather is more moderate, but more than likely to rain at least one day of travel.
Therefore, clothing should bring "a little bit of everything" to meet the changes of time gives us the city overnight.
If what you care about is that there are many tourists, things are more complicated, because the city is one of the most travel the world at any time of year, but certainly are summer and Christmas when people are more saturation in the streets of New York.
Documentation:
order to travel to the U.S., we need an electronic passport has to be in force during our stay in the U.S..
If your trip is not going to exceed 90 days, is not necessary to apply for a visa.
addition, since last March 20, 2010 you MUST complete the form ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), the electronic system for travel authorization, the same form rellenabamos before the flight, now costs $ 14 and we must complete and submit at least 72 hours before our arrival in New York.
From this link you can access the web where to apply and fill in this Authorisation: https: / / esta.cbp.dhs.gov /
Flight:
bring you a fright before the ticket prices to New York, combiene remember that we almost 5800 km apart and about 8 hours of flight, so the price has to go according to distance.
There are 3 airports that fly to New York JFK, La Guardia and Newark airports. Virtually all companies
fly from Spain to New York, either directly from Madrid or Barcelona, \u200b\u200bor by calling at other European cities like Paris or London.
The price range is very large and can range from 350 € to 2000 €, but those are extreme cases of oversupply and cheap to more expensive companies.
A good price range for a roundtrip flight nonstop would be between 500 € and 800 €.
To give you an idea, my flight from i / v from Heathrow to Newark with Continental Airlines on a plane quite comfortable, individual screen in the seat where you can choose the music, movies or games you want and two meals, cost me € 540.
Without doubt, the best way to get a good price is getting tickets well in advance, or if our work / study permit us, our vacation to adjust the dates to find the best deals to fly.
Once we arrived, we expected the lottery office, where we will have to pass the relevant security checks on the likelihood that you retain a thorough check book for over an hour is almost 50% .
If we were lucky, and only we have to take some means of transportation to our hotel.
To go from the airport to Manhattan, we have several options, regardless which airport you arrive:
Metro / train: one of the cheapest and probably faster because we avoid the traffic jam access Manhattan.
Bus: surely is the cheapest, but we have a traffic problem, but if we stayed in a suburb like Brooklyn or New Jersey, this may be a good option.
Taxi: as in any other city, is the most expensive option. There are more ways
to go into Manhattan such as Limousine, private taxis and vans, but the more "normal" are the three I mentioned above.
As for prices, I leave a link from which you get an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat each means of transport costs depending on which airport you arrive: http://www.nycgo.com/?event=view.article & id = 43634
From the official website of the Port Authority of New York (in English), you can see all the options for transport from any airport http://www.panynj.gov/airports/
Accommodation:
If something is missing in Manhattan are places where to stay. Depending on what you'll want to spend you can choose a few star hotels or spendest to $ 12,000 per night in one of the most exclusive hotels.
A good option coming out pretty good price to rent an apartment, although you would have to inform you whether it is possible to rent if you will be less than a month since I read not long ago that the mayor of New York wanted to prohibit apartment rentals for periods of less than 30 days.
As always, the cheapest option is the B & B or Hostels.
elijáis elijáis what I would recommend that if possible, your property was in the Midtown area, where more than 50% of places you will visit, and so take to walk to places like Times Square or the Empire State.
, 2008 During my trip, I chose an apartment for 6 people in the Chelsea Star Hotel, located directly opposite Madison Square Garden and Penn Station, where you can take a lot of subway lines, train and bus, and is about 15 to 20 minutes walk from the most important places in Manhattan.
cost us $ 514 each for a stay of 9 nights in a large room with 2 bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom.
I leave the link in case you want to take a look: http://www.starhotelny.com/espanol/index.php
Transportation:
Although I recommend you to walk 100% as possible through the streets of the city to soak in his life and his relentless pace, there are places where it is impossible to reach if not public transport.
My advice is that you carry forth the Metrocard that best suits the day throughout the trip, because with it you can ride all Metro and Bus Sometimes you want in the period of validity of itself.
can buy in the metro stations, tourist office on Seventh Avenue or Grand Central Terminal.
A summary of the prices of the cards used most:
- 1 Day: $ 8
- 7 days: $ 27
- 14 days : $ 51
- 30 days: $ 89
current prices and fees on the official website of Transport Yorkers (in English): http://www.mta.info/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm
The fastest way to get around New York is the Metro, which operates 24 hours a day, has 26 lines and about 475 stations covering most of the city.
Almost all the lines go from north to south, towards Uptown (to the north area of \u200b\u200bManhattan) or downtown (to the lower part of the island), and there are two types meters, the locals who stop at all stations and the expresses, which is only done in the main.
At first a bit difficult to identify them, so it is best choose the locals, but at 2 or 3 days and we will be able to differentiate and to choose whether we should be a local or express.
Food:
The range of culinary possibilities in New York is really awesome, being able to find restaurants that are typical dishes from the five continents, all thanks to the enormous ethnic and cultural diversity that coexists in city.
Without doubt, the best known are the fast food stalls, delis or American food premises, places frequented if we want to be going well the budget out of hand.
One issue to consider is the tips. The waiters in New York have a very low base salary and get most of it through the tips, so you'll have to add between 15% and 20% extra to the amount in the account, although there places that you already be reflected in the same account, so be careful.
Actually this is not mandatory, so it's up to each one the choice to leave or not to tip.
Then I'm going to leave some places to eat and that I liked, if anyone catches you near or pass any of:
- Friday's in Times Square: $ 25
- Andrews Coffee Shop: $ 11 (35 st. - 7th Av) typical American breakfast to start the day with energy.
- Primesburguer: $ 15 (next to St Patrick Cathedral) Burgers small but very rich.
- Waberly Restaurant: $ 18 lunch, $ 5 snack (385 Ave of the Americas). Apple pie and burgers very good.
addition to these sites, you can not miss classics such as Wendy's, Gray's Papaya, eat at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, buying a takeaway coffee and some donuts in the Donkin Donuts, or take a hot dog in a street stall.
Some prices:
- card New York Pass 7 days: $ 165
- Entry NBA game at Madison Square Garden: $ 60
- Entrance to Broadway: $ 60
- American Breakfast: $ 11
- Puppy in street vendor: $ 3
- Water Bottle: $ 2
- Pint of beer: $ 5
- Polo Ralph Lauren: $ 45
- Boots Timberland: $ 75
- Converse: $ 38
- Jeans Levi's 501: $ 40
- T-Shirt Abercrombie: $ 36
For example, in the latter can get a 11% discount card by presenting your passport at the "Customer Center" on the ground one and a half of the store (looks but there really kidding).
Other tips:
Money U.S. currency is the dollar, currently at an exchange rate of 1 € = $ 1.28, representing approximately 28% discount when making change currency.
If we do not want to change to dollars, we can withdraw money at any of the thousands of ATMs around the city, or pay directly by credit card, and who accept virtually 100% of the establishments.
Insurance: like many you have read or heard, get bad in the U.S. is very expensive, and without a social security system, everything works through private insurance companies, so it is advisable to hire some kind of health insurance that just ruin us if we avoid the misfortune of breaking an arm. The average price around 30 € - 50 €.
Electricity and voltage: throughout the United States electrical power operates at 110-120 volts, 60 Hz In addition, the plug connector is flat, so you need to buy a transformer with American plug that allows us to charge our devices electronic.
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