<p>Hi Everyone, so as not to hijack the other NYC thread I started this one. We’re going (2 adults, 2 teens 1 child) east for college tours and will be stopping in NYC for 5 days. Of course, the pros and cons of staying in TS have been discussed and I’ve read all the posts. So, my question is, if we stayed downtown at the Embassy Suites, how easy is transportation to other parts of Manhattan? And how much would an average cab fare be to midtown or Central Park? I’m torn because there will be times when we’ll be splitting up to do different activities and shows and I not sure about long commutes at those times.</p>
<p>If I’m not mistaken, Embassy Suites is all the way downtown in the financial district. I think that you will find that while the financial district is busy and populated during the week, it will be fairly deserted during the weekends.</p>
<p>The good news is that you will be close to a number of subway lines, which will take you uptown to wherever you want to go in Manhattan. The subways do run less frequently on the weekends than during the week, and if you have to take local trains (versus express) it will take longer as there will be far more stops between where you are downtown and midtown. During the evening hours, it will be a bit more difficult to get taxis, as not as many taxis are headed downtown to drop off passengers, but it won’t be impossible. </p>
<p>The even better news is that you will be near (and walking distance, if you are willing to put on comfy shoes) Battery Park, South Street Seaport, the entrance to the Staten Island Ferry (a round trip that I highly recommend for some of the best free views of the Statue of Liberty you could ever want to see), the NY Stock Exchange, and a whole host of other places located downtown. I would also recommend a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn Heights to see the Manhattan skyline from the really beautiful promenade there.</p>
<p>Taking the subway from downtown into midtown (Times Square, Rock Center, etc.) shouldn’t take longer than about a half hour. Taking a taxi during busy times won’t be much faster, but will likely be much more expensive. I would expect a taxi from downtown to midtown to cost $12-$18 depending upon traffic (you are charged for standing time in NYC taxis). Anytime your entire family is travelling together, of course, the cost of the taxi is mitigated by the fact that you would otherwise have to pay per person to use the subway. </p>
<p>I hope that you have a wonderful trip!</p>
<p>Also, I think you are close to the South Street Seaport TKTS booth if you are “down there”.</p>
<p>Oops, sorry - Embassy Suites is on Hudson River side and TKTS booth is on East River side. Still, not too far apart…</p>
<p>Millenium Hilton down there would also have good weekend deals. (But I love Embassy Suites!)</p>
<p>Take the subway if you stay downtown. During the week, that cab far could easily be $25 to $30 and you can’t expect to all fit in one cab safely/comfortably.</p>
<p>I prefer to travel via subway even when my firm is paying for taxi or car service because it’s the fastest way of getting around NYC. It’s safe at night too. If you could get a good deal downtown, I wouldn’t worry about getting around NYC. There are a lot of people living down there.</p>
<p>I love CC. Thanks for the replies. We will book the Embassy Suites. I’m sure I’ll have other questions about places to see (especially the museums!) and how to keep teens and a 7yr old entertained!!!</p>
<p>If you want to plan out your trips and figure out the taxi fares, I recommend [HopStop.com</a> - Subway Directions and Bus Directions for New York City (NYC)](<a href=“http://www.hopstop.com%5DHopStop.com”>http://www.hopstop.com). Put in the address of the Embassy Suites, the day of the week and time you will be traveling and it will give you very detailed directions and time estimates. It also estimates taxi fares.</p>
<p>Thanks jonri, I’ll check it out!</p>
<p>Can I say it? The Embassy suites at 102 North end ave? It’s not near anything interesting. There are dozens (hundreds?) of better choices. </p>
<p>Here’s the thread that taught me so much. We’ve been back since then and rode the subway everywhere.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/397375-visiting-nyc-just-fun.html?highlight=subway[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/397375-visiting-nyc-just-fun.html?highlight=subway</a></p>
<p>MaryTN, thanks for the link - I’ve skimmed over it and see a lot of great ideas already! I can tell that I’ll have to schedule a 2nd trip to NYC to see everything that I want to see!</p>
<p>I have to agree with MaryTN, that the Embassy Suites are pretty far from anything you would go to. It’s no where near any of the museums and is kind of far from the subway. It’s separated from the city by the highway and seems sort of like an add-on from another city.</p>
<p>For teens and a 7 year old, you might do better to stay on the upper west side – you have easy access to the Museum of Natural History, the Children’s museum, Central Park, even the museums on the east side (they’re all just on the other side of the park), and it’s very easy to get to Times Sq. Also, it’s easy to access almost any other part of the city by subway.</p>
<p>I posted this in the other thread but will paste it here as well.
We took the subway to Brooklyn and walked back across to Manhattan on the Brooklyn bridge because the view is better. I like the Top of the Rock more than the Empire State Building.</p>
<p>Here are some good links:<br>
*[Visitors</a> Guide – New York Magazine](<a href=“http://nymag.com/visitorsguide/]Visitors”>New York Visitors Guide NYC Travel Planner)
*[TKTS</a> Discount Booths<a href=“we%20used%20the%20South%20Seaport%20one,%20much%20shorter%20line”>/url</a>
*[url=<a href=“http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm]MTA”>http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm]MTA</a> NYC Transit - Subway Service Information](<a href=“http://tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56]TKTS”>http://tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56)
*[New</a> York City Travel Guide - New York Times Travel](<a href=“Travel - The New York Times”>Travel - The New York Times)
*[First-Time</a> Tourists in New York - New York Magazine](<a href=“http://nymag.com/travel/visitorsguide/37540/]First-Time”>Activities for First-Time Tourists in New York — Visitor’s Guide — New York Magazine - Nymag)
*[HopStop.com</a> - Subway Directions and Bus Directions for (NYC)](<a href=“http://www.hopstop.com/]HopStop.com”>http://www.hopstop.com/)
*[The</a> Metropolitan Museum of Art](<a href=“http://www.metmuseum.org/visit/]The”>The Met Fifth Avenue - The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
*[Hotel</a> Belleclaire - Upper West Side - New York Magazine Hotel Guide<a href=“We%20stayed%20here%20because%20it%20allowed%206%20in%20the%202%20room%20suite…%20at%20a%20good%20price.%20%20The%20neighborhood%20around%20it%20has%20lots%20of%20restaurants%20and%20an%20amazing%20grocery%20store%20with%20an%20unbelievable%20assortment%20of%20individually%20packaged%20foods%20is%20literally%20next%20door.”>/url</a>
*[url=<a href=“http://www.frick.org/index.htm]The”>http://www.frick.org/index.htm]The</a> Frick Collection](<a href=“http://nymag.com/listings/hotel/hotel-belleclaire/]Hotel”>Hotel Belleclaire - Upper West Side - New York Magazine Hotel Guide)</p>