Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are going in early December. We’re staying at the Andaz 5th Avenue with a combination of Hyatt free night certificates, points, and a suite upgrade certificate for 5 nights. Flying first class round-trip IAD-LGA for $169 per ticket plus United PlusPoints.

Seeing both the Nutcracker and the Rockettes (orchestra front) and definitely planning to hit the Bryant Park Christmas Market.

Dinner plans for Le Bernadin, Per Se, Caviar Russe, Eleven Madison Park, and Gabriel Kreuther.

Total budget is $6K, almost all of which is for our Michelin Restaurant Extravaganza. It’s easy to play the points and miles game to land everything else at minimal expense.

I was going to say- your 6k is going to be blown solely on that food.

And yes it’s easy to do nice things in a budget when you have hotel and airline points. Many people have neither.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are going in early December. We’re staying at the Andaz 5th Avenue with a combination of Hyatt free night certificates, points, and a suite upgrade certificate for 5 nights. Flying first class round-trip IAD-LGA for $169 per ticket plus United PlusPoints.

Seeing both the Nutcracker and the Rockettes (orchestra front) and definitely planning to hit the Bryant Park Christmas Market.

Dinner plans for Le Bernadin, Per Se, Caviar Russe, Eleven Madison Park, and Gabriel Kreuther.

Total budget is $6K, almost all of which is for our Michelin Restaurant Extravaganza. It’s easy to play the points and miles game to land everything else at minimal expense.

I’m sure it isn’t many points, but I wouldn’t waste them on a 45 minute flight. Personally, for NYC, I prefer the train.

[Anonymous]

I love NYC especially over Christmas. One small thing, I usually take the bus, which is inexpensive and goes right from Bethesda or Arlington. I'd rather spend money on theater and food, so thats an easy place to cut. And the bus lets you off at Penn Station, so it's really more convenient and less expensive than getting from LGA or JFK.

I've stayed at a lot of different hotels and usually just stay at whatever place is reasonable and a marriott since we have points or try to incur points.

[Anonymous]

I will say - we did this last year and hated it. DH and I are not midtown types but we wanted our daughter to experience the holiday magic but honestly the magic was a little thin on the ground. It was so crowded everywhere (even the park), waited an hour and a half to get into FAO Schwartz, etc etc. Highlight wound up being a calm ramen lunch we had in an amazing tiny basement spot. Obviously if you know you love it, go and enjoy! But if you’re building it up to be some ideal, it may not deliver (and cost $$$$ into the bargain). We’re basically planning a do-over (random weekend, no midtown) so my kid doesn’t think she hates Manhattan.

FWIW we took the Acela and that part of it was also lovely. Agreed that flying is nuts.

[Anonymous]

Definitely don’t fly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will say - we did this last year and hated it. DH and I are not midtown types but we wanted our daughter to experience the holiday magic but honestly the magic was a little thin on the ground. It was so crowded everywhere (even the park), waited an hour and a half to get into FAO Schwartz, etc etc. Highlight wound up being a calm ramen lunch we had in an amazing tiny basement spot. Obviously if you know you love it, go and enjoy! But if you’re building it up to be some ideal, it may not deliver (and cost $$$$ into the bargain). We’re basically planning a do-over (random weekend, no midtown) so my kid doesn’t think she hates Manhattan.

FWIW we took the Acela and that part of it was also lovely. Agreed that flying is nuts.

We’ve found the only tolerable time to do NYC for decorations is the weekend after New Years.

[Anonymous]

NE regional is great. I don’t see the value in Acela saving an extra 45 minutes for the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NE regional is great. I don’t see the value in Acela saving an extra 45 minutes for the cost.

For me it’s having assigned seats at a table so we can play games on the way there and back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will say - we did this last year and hated it. DH and I are not midtown types but we wanted our daughter to experience the holiday magic but honestly the magic was a little thin on the ground. It was so crowded everywhere (even the park), waited an hour and a half to get into FAO Schwartz, etc etc. Highlight wound up being a calm ramen lunch we had in an amazing tiny basement spot. Obviously if you know you love it, go and enjoy! But if you’re building it up to be some ideal, it may not deliver (and cost $$$$ into the bargain). We’re basically planning a do-over (random weekend, no midtown) so my kid doesn’t think she hates Manhattan.

FWIW we took the Acela and that part of it was also lovely. Agreed that flying is nuts.

I love NYC even during the Christmas season with all of the crowds. But PP is right that the crowds can be overwhelming for people who are not crowd people. It's much easier to visit other times of the year. One good thing about staying in midtown is that if you need a break, you can go back to your hotel. Sometimes I stay in Jersey City or North Bergan and that isn't an option when we do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love NYC especially over Christmas. One small thing, I usually take the bus, which is inexpensive and goes right from Bethesda or Arlington. I'd rather spend money on theater and food, so thats an easy place to cut. And the bus lets you off at Penn Station, so it's really more convenient and less expensive than getting from LGA or JFK.

I've stayed at a lot of different hotels and usually just stay at whatever place is reasonable and a marriott since we have points or try to incur points.

Amtrak is also cheap if you buy early. My tickets for this year were $40 per person but I've gotten them a bit lower than that in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say - we did this last year and hated it. DH and I are not midtown types but we wanted our daughter to experience the holiday magic but honestly the magic was a little thin on the ground. It was so crowded everywhere (even the park), waited an hour and a half to get into FAO Schwartz, etc etc. Highlight wound up being a calm ramen lunch we had in an amazing tiny basement spot. Obviously if you know you love it, go and enjoy! But if you’re building it up to be some ideal, it may not deliver (and cost $$$$ into the bargain). We’re basically planning a do-over (random weekend, no midtown) so my kid doesn’t think she hates Manhattan.

FWIW we took the Acela and that part of it was also lovely. Agreed that flying is nuts.

I love NYC even during the Christmas season with all of the crowds. But PP is right that the crowds can be overwhelming for people who are not crowd people. It's much easier to visit other times of the year. One good thing about staying in midtown is that if you need a break, you can go back to your hotel. Sometimes I stay in Jersey City or North Bergan and that isn't an option when we do that.

While we like to get out of Midtown, we prefer to stay in Midtown- usually around 34th street, which is lower Midtown and away from the madness of Times Square. Staying around 34th street means once we are off the train, it’s only a block or two walk to our hotel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am doing similar trip, but on a budget. Family of 4, sharing 1 room, I plan to spend $7k for 7 days. Hotel $3500, flights $2000, dining out/tickets $1500.

Are you outside the DMV? I can’t imagine traveling to NYC on a budget while burning $2k on flights when I could take the NE Regional or drive and stash my car in a Jersey Lot for the week. Either option would cost less than $500, and would get you on Manhattan in the same amount of time as flying, if not quicker.

Yes, coming from Chicago! And i will bump up the dining-out budget since I was duly eviscerated. Not seeing any shows this time.

[Anonymous]

Amtrak has a huge sale right now, the more tickets you buy the more you save. It’s like if two people go you get 20% off three people 30% off for 40% off, etc. up to six people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely don’t fly.

Agree. And don’t waste points on first class tickets for a 45 minute flight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely don’t fly.

Agree. And don’t waste points on first class tickets for a 45 minute flight.

...and since it's IAD to LGA, it's most likely a small commuter plane. Unless you're swimming in points, I don't see the reason to upgrade. That said, I can't imagine it being that many points.