Jacob’s Travel Tips-New York City

Personal photo is property of Jacob Elyachar

Start spreading the news! You are leaving for a trip to New York City!

One of my favorite cities in the world is New York City. Besides being home to over eight million people, it is home to the finest museums, impeccable architecture, fantastic Broadway and off-Broadway shows and dozens of terrific restaurants and shops.

However, if you are visiting New York City for the first time it can be very stressful and overwhelming.  Luckily, this author has some tips that can save you some headaches, arguments and a couple of laughs.

Plan Ahead

This is one of the most important rules that you need to follow! Planning ahead can come in handy in any activity of your trip to New York City.  It can also lead to a huge difference from eating at an incredible restaurant like Rue 57 or Serafina and dining in at the nearest McDonald’s.

Planning ahead can also work for watching Broadway shows or talk shows like LIVE, Rachael Ray and the Colbert Report.  In order to make sure that you are in your respective show’s audience, go to their respective websites and look for ticket availability.   If you are seeing a Broadway show, have several back-up plans.  During my previous trip the Big Apple, my family and I could have paid $500-1,000 per ticket for the Book of Mormon.   There are plenty of other shows on Broadway that you can see including The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, Rock of Ages and even Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. 

Choose Your Activities Wisely

Everything in New York is expensive!  That means you may have choose your activities wisely.  When my brother, father and I visited the Empire State Building, it cost us $112 to visit the illustrious 86^th and 102^nd floors!  Was it worth it? Absolutely!  But if you do not want to shell out that amount of cash, head to either the Statue of Liberty which costs $13 a head for ferry access or to Radio City Music Hall for their famous tour which costs $19.25 per person.

If you are a serious museum lover, make sure that you grab the New York Museum Pass.  This pass offers you complete access to four famous New York Museums including the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History and Museum of Modern Art.   This pass costs $79 and this author suggests that you highly take advantage of it.

Where are the Free Attractions?

There are several attractions in New York City that are free and open to the public including visiting the luminous St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Building that Trump Built: Trump Tower.   Each of these places has incredible architecture and amazing history behind each of these buildings.  In addition, you might want to consider heading to Times Square for some photo opportunities and opportunities to practice your photography skills.    Finally, do you want to be on TV?  The Today Show is the place to be!  All you need to do is show up very early in the morning (around 5 or 5:30 a.m.), arrive at Rockefeller Center and you are set! Say hi to Ann, Matt and Al for me!