Hustling and Bustling Through NYC

Fascinated by adventure, but don’t wanna take the plunge to jump on a plane or travel halfway across the country? New York City may be the place to have a little thrill.

Located in the Northeastern side of the United States between Pennsylvania and the Canadian border, it is but a mere three to five-hour travel depending on the time and day. Here is a nifty travel guide to give you the ins and outs of the “Big Apple.”

Getting There

There are endless amounts of ways to enter into the city: buses, cars, planes, trains, even Uber, but that may put a dent in your pocket.

Buses are your best bet for getting into the city for the first time as a New York tourist. It ensures you arrive and depart without any worry of being left behind or stranded in the midst of skyscrapers. These tend to cost between $90-200, depending on which bus company and the excursions involved. Obviously, the more money you have to spare, the longer the days and hours being able to be spent in the city.

Cars can also be a mode of transportation to get into the “Big Apple,” but it is  not recommend to drive into the city unless you know of someone inside the city since it can get complicated fast due to several reasons:

1. Limited parking. It is a big city filled with millions of people. I wish you luck finding a parking space.
2. Traffic, Traffic, Traffic. Your car will be buried amongst buses, taxis, Ubers, Lyfts, and locals to the area.
3. Go ahead and buy a replacement horn. Trust me on this, you will need a new horn after driving through this crazy city. You may hear birds chirping from where you’re from, but in New York, those “birds chirping” are horns being honked.

Simply do not drive.

Lastly, the Amtrak Train is by far the best transportation I have taken. You can find all the train station locations here.

Depending on the location of entering the Amtrak will determine the amount of time to get the city and the price.

Food

A four-letter word that is dearest to everyone’s heart, especially in a place with so many options to choose from.

As everyone will tell you, pizza is always the way to go. This will, in fact, be your cheapest option in the city with several nook-and-cranny pizza places having 99 cent slices of pizza that will be bigger than your head, literally. You can find many of pizza places scattered throughout the city, but your best bet for authentic may perhaps be Little Italy.

If you are not so big into the greasy on the go type, or you are just not in the mood for pizza, there are approximately 44,910 eating and drinking locations in New York City according to https://www.restaurant.org/Downloads/PDFs/State-Statistics/NewYork.pdf

Good luck trying to figure out which place to eat!

As a dessert connoisseur, you should rightfully choose Dō Cookie Dough Confections. when coming for a sugary treat. The go-to choice would be the sugar cookie dough served in a cone, but if preferred can be put into a dish. If you are vegan or gluten-free, they have options for you, too! If wishing to go, type this address into your GPS and off you go: 550 LaGuardia PI, New York, NY 10012.

Parks & Outdoor Spaces

Central Park, a hidden forest inside a bustling cityscape that when lost inside, you cannot see the penetrating buildings touching the sky. 840 acres total, the park has many features. One of them coming up is the famous Wollman Rink which can found in many famous ice skating scenes in movies making it a popular spot during the cold season. After getting ice skating checked off your list, head over to the historic carousel to bring out your inner child and take a spin. If none of these sound pleasing, just take a stroll through the beautiful paths lined with park benches and embrace the sights and sounds within.

Known as Manhattan’s Town Square is Bryant Park, a place to sit and watch people pass, get a bite to eat, or take in the skyscrapers encasing the park. There is always something to take on in this part of the city. The park is bustling with activity from ping pong matches that you can sign up to play a random opponent or perhaps a friend. If you are up for a challenge, you may also enter yourself into a ping-pong tournament if you are lucky to catch one while walking through. Hungry for something to eat, you can find a restaurant called the SouthWest Porch located 41 W 40th St, New York, NY 10018 where you can sit down, relax, and enjoy a meal while still see the features of the park around you.

An iconic bridge can be spotted in New York known as the Brooklyn Bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn together over the East River.  Many people like to recreate the famous pictures that are taken on the bridge, but if you are not a fan you can just snap some cool pictures.

Dropping the cash

The spot every tourist visits and locals avoid is Time Square, known for the New Year’s Ball Drop, and for the most popular shopping stores in America. The stores located in this prime location are Hershey’s Chocolate World, Sephora, M&M’s World, Old Navy, Gap, H&M, Forever 21, American Eagle Outfitters, and many more. A prime location for business, many of these stores hold special features that you could never experience anywhere else such as walking the runway in H&M to be broadcasted on the Time Square monitors, or snap some photos in American Eagle to be flashed up on the screens for millions of people to see.

If you are not about dropping that cash, but wanna pick up some new style or some items walk your way through Chinatown. Throughout, you will find shops and markets selling things cheaper than other places in the city.

The higher budget stores can found on Fifth Avenue where you will find Tiffany & Co, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Cartier, and many other high price stores like Gucci. Traveling on this Avenue before, but never had the opportunity to every to walk into one of the stores, if you can’t afford the stores, take a look and admire the decor and window displays. They are some of the most exotic and glamorous displays to be seen.

What are you waiting for? Take the plunge and immerse yourself into the “Big Apple” and discover something unknown about the city while taking in the view of the New York skyline.