Is New York too much for a "weekend break"
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Caporegime
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At the end, you are going to have to write off a day out of the weekend for travelling.
NYC is great, and if you have never been, even this short would be awesome, but in terms of the idea of a break, as opposed to having to have to see NYC, spending 24 hours out if the weekend travelling is tiring. Monday morning at work will be a killer.
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[TW]Fox;28227169 said:
Agreed, my favourite city break city...
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Did NY for 4 days in 2001, thoroughly enjoyed it but for the money to get there I would be tempted to visit somewhere else such as Toronto.
We found internal flights were pretty reasonable.
I do enjoy short city breaks but not sure I could handle 5 days, it's a pretty tiring place and major sensory overload. Depends what you do but we wanted to do as much as possible but didn't find it a 'break'!
We found internal flights were pretty reasonable.
I do enjoy short city breaks but not sure I could handle 5 days, it's a pretty tiring place and major sensory overload. Depends what you do but we wanted to do as much as possible but didn't find it a 'break'!
really don't see the issue - people pointing out that a couple of weeks wouldn't cost much more and/or that you might have to rush around to see all the sights are missing the point
it is a romantic weekend with the gf... worrying about value for money vs a longer holiday or trying to cram in certain things you think you must do when in NYC is silly in this context - OP doesn't have to see all the sights and he knows it is a more expensive weekend away... no reason why he can't fly over there see a couple of things, go for a decent meal, do some shopping etc..
8 hours isn't tiring, he'll have most of Friday daytime + evening, all day/evening Saturday + Sunday daytime... maybe he'll be a bit tired on Monday morning at work but so what, I reckon he could easily have an awesome weekend.
it is a romantic weekend with the gf... worrying about value for money vs a longer holiday or trying to cram in certain things you think you must do when in NYC is silly in this context - OP doesn't have to see all the sights and he knows it is a more expensive weekend away... no reason why he can't fly over there see a couple of things, go for a decent meal, do some shopping etc..
8 hours isn't tiring, he'll have most of Friday daytime + evening, all day/evening Saturday + Sunday daytime... maybe he'll be a bit tired on Monday morning at work but so what, I reckon he could easily have an awesome weekend.
I'm not sure if it was just me but whilst I agree it was an excellent place I don't feel I'd want to go back again, certainly not anytime soon. Unlike somewhere like Rome where I'd happily go every year.
I went to NYC for the first time in Feb. We were there 7 nights, we probably could have done a lot of what we wanted to do in 4 or 5 but it would have felt like much more of a rush.
For what it's worth consider both days of travelling as 1/3rd of a day in NYC. You would basically be spending all this money for 1 and 2/3rd of a day in NYC which seems like a complete waste.
For what it's worth consider both days of travelling as 1/3rd of a day in NYC. You would basically be spending all this money for 1 and 2/3rd of a day in NYC which seems like a complete waste.
Man of Honour
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It's not just the flight time though. Assuming you want to make the most of your time there, you're looking at a really early flight, like 9am or so. That requires getting up stupidly early. You'll get to the US around 1pm US time, then spend time getting through customs, getting your baggage and getting to Manhatten. You likely won't be at your hotel until 3pm at the earliest. That's 8pm UK time, and you've already been awake more than 12 hours. You'll be shattered and ready for bed by 8pm US time. The travel day is effectively a write off. You get the full day Saturday, then you come home Sunday. Most flights from New York leave around 6-7pm US, meaning you need to leave Manhatten to head to the airport around 2-3pm. Are you really expecting to get much done that day?
Will you have a great time? Yes, New York is an awesome city. Would it be infinitely more enjoyable to extend it by even a single day, or even better, two days? Yes, without a shadow of a doubt.
Edit: Oh, and good luck in work on Monday, considering you'll arrive back in the country around 7-8am Monday morning, after a night flight. You'll be asleep at your desk by lunchtime in all probability.
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Everybody has different tastes. Me and Mrs B love Berlin. Perhaps it is our like of fine lager?
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No, just no.
I say go for it. I've thought about it myself but that was when I mixed up the time difference with flight time. If it was a 4hr flight then absolutely. 8hrs a bit too much for me but if you can handle that then why not.
Just make sure you're not setting a precedence with her expectations... unless you are and don't mind :>
Just make sure you're not setting a precedence with her expectations... unless you are and don't mind :>
+1
The last two times we've been to the east coast of the US (NYC & Boston), we've gone out for tea around 7pm (having left the UK around 9am UK time) and practically fell asleep in our food.
I'd add another vote for Budapest. Went in April and thought it was a great place. Cheap (eg very good meal for 4 people with wine for ~£50) and easy to get around on foot or using the (cheap) subway/trams/buses. Hit the thermal baths for some downtime - the Szechenyi baths are huge and, IMO, impressive.
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Man of Honour
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Hah, I remember that feeling well, we went to New York back in Easter and did virtually the same thing. I was asleep by 9pm and had a weird broken sleep that night while my body tried to adjust to the time difference. The following days were fine but from 8pm onwards I was struggling, for a couple of nights. God help me when we go to Vegas in August, that'll be even harder to deal with!
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9am flight isn't early to be fair, and by the time you get to NY you still have 1/2 a day.
And working through a little jet lag isn't a big deal really. Don't be such a wimp
Man of Honour
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9am isn't early, but getting up at 4am to be ready to be picked up at 5am to be at the airport for 6am is9am flight isn't early to be fair, and by the time you get to NY you still have 1/2 a day.
And working through a little jet lag isn't a big deal really. Don't be such a wimp
I've done NY for two days a couple of times and it's fine. I've done 2 nights in Vegas before too. The wife found that a bit tough the first night - she hallucinated during dinner that we had been sat right next to the loo when in fact our table was right in the middle of a large dining room.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
There are only two flights a day to NYC from London City Airport and both are Club World only (Business Class) so hardly cheap. Both flights take longer than any flight from LHR as the Airbus A318's used for this service cannot reach New York in one leg with the amount of fuel they hold in order to take off at LCY so they stop at Shannon in Ireland to refuel.
If you are on the first of the day you get US border pre-clearance in Shannon whilst the plane is refuelled which is convenient but if you are on the second it lands after pre clearance closes so not only do you faff about waiting for the plane to be refuelled you also have to clear immigration too, which more or less totally writes off any of the time saving benefits of LCY.
I don't think people are saying you cannot do New York for a weekend. Obviously you can. Heck if you are mad enough there is nothing stopping you doing Sydney for a weekend. But 'can' and 'should' are two different things.
My underlying assumption here is that like most of us the OP has neither a bottomless pit of money nor unlimited annual leave so probably can't go to New York 5 times a year. Therefore my point is that you'd get so much more out of a trip where you stay a bit longer to offset both the travel time and the travel cost - spending a thousand quid on two return flights to then stay for only two nights in a hotel just seems like the sort of stuff you only do if money is simply not a concern to you.
The Europe comments demonstrate just how many fabulous cities there are within an hour or two of the UK which offer fantastic short weekend breaks, allowing you to save the USA for when your travel schedule can do it justice.
No, the people giving the solid advice are not missing the point. Paying £1,400 (assuming £500 tickets + £200/night hotel) and putting yourself through 24 hours of traveling plus juggling different time zones all to experience 1.5 days in Manhattan is ridiculously stupid. £1,400 to go see the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty, and go for a meal is obscene unless you enjoy burning money....and no, it's not justified because 'it's romantic' because it won't be romantic because they will feel knackered... The only thing going on in that hotel bed will be sleeping or if lucky a very unenthusiastic banging
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9am isn't early, but getting up at 4am to be ready to be picked up at 5am to be at the airport for 6am is
Who gets to the airport 3 hours before a flight?! I'd aim for 2 at most depending on the airport
And 4am really isnt a big deal, there's a new 6:30am flight from Exeter to London City which is really convenient, that involves getting up about 4:30 - it's a bit tiring but I do it pretty much every week and I'm still alive