Trip Tips

[Qacer]

Hi all,

We're flying to the North tomorrow to attend a friend's wedding and also go on a little vacation. Do you have any travel tips to Philadelphia, NJ, and New York City? I am from FL and haven't been up north in a while.

Also, I am curious about trekking New York City. We are planning on catching a bus from Englewood, NJ to New York. I'm wondering how we can browse NY for a day without taking any taxis. Is there a trip planner specifically for NY and its public transportation?

I really want to cover most of the major sights in NY and end up at a Broadway show at the end of the day.

Thanks!

 

[Spineshank]

Either taking Taxis or the subway.

 

[Qacer]

I'd like to avoid NY taxis, but just in case, how much are the fares? Also, do we have to give the driver a tip? If so, what is the percentage?

 

[Spineshank]

I dont know off hand, i havent been up in NYC since May. I just remember both times i was in the taxi it cost around $5.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

In philly, most of the touristy stuff is in south philly, center city, old city, and penns landing. so thats like the lower right quadrant of teh city. no need to go to north or west philly unless you want to see the ghetto

 

[rh71]

That's a good question about having a "tourist guide" for NYC... you'd think someone would've done it. As for getting around, use the subway... get the 1-day "fun pass".

 

[y2kc]

don't waste your time with Philly, go straight to NYC.

 

[azoomee]

For Philadelphia:

gophilla.com has some good stuff on what to do in philly -- definitely get a cheesteak!

Also, in the suburbs there's valley forge nationial park -- George Washington and his soldiers had a bunch of camps there and battlegrounds. Its a big park, and a pretty cool place to visit. Good visitor center.

 

[Qacer]

Nice. I actually got a laptop/GPS receiver and DeLorme Street Atlas. I'm going to try to program some routes ahead of time. However, for NY, I'm going to see if I can print some. I'm not going to even try driving in the city. I'd rather take a bus. ;-)

 

[ArJuN]

Stay out of NJ. It's boring here. Unless you are into traffic or something. But if you are here, give me a ring and we can get wasted or something...I'm assuming you're a hot chick of course.

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: azoomee
For Philadelphia:

gophilla.com has some good stuff on what to do in philly -- definitely get a cheesteak!

Also, in the suburbs there's valley forge nationial park -- George Washington and his soldiers had a bunch of camps there and battlegrounds. Its a big park, and a pretty cool place to visit. Good visitor center.

Valley Forge is a ways from Center City and depending on traffic (the Schuylkill Expressway is hell at times), it could be a good hour or more to get back to Center City. But if you're going to visit Philadelphia, I'd avoid the typical touristy attractions (Liberty Bell and all that crap) and just walk around Old City/Society Hill. Definitely get a cheesesteak, but you don't need to venture into South Philadelphia to get a good one (Genos/Pat's are way overrated).

 

[azoomee]

Originally posted by: mwtgg

Originally posted by: azoomee
For Philadelphia:

gophilla.com has some good stuff on what to do in philly -- definitely get a cheesteak!

Also, in the suburbs there's valley forge nationial park -- George Washington and his soldiers had a bunch of camps there and battlegrounds. Its a big park, and a pretty cool place to visit. Good visitor center.

Valley Forge is a ways from Center City and depending on traffic (the Schuylkill Expressway is hell at times), it could be a good hour or more to get back to Center City. But if you're going to visit Philadelphia, I'd avoid the typical touristy attractions (Liberty Bell and all that crap) and just walk around Old City/Society Hill. Definitely get a cheesesteak, but you don't need to venture into South Philadelphia to get a good one (Genos/Pat's are way overrated).

True --

 

[Fiat1]

Do not forget to go here HERE sweeeeeet....

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: Fiat1
Do not forget to go here HERE sweeeeeet....

You must not be from Philadelphia...

 

[Qacer]

We are in Philly right now. It's our last night here. We are staying with a friend near the University of Pennsylvania. The city is definitely lively. But parking sucks! Hehehe. I can't parallel park, so you can laugh about the fact that it took me 5 minutes to try to parallel park at a spot closer to our place and ended up going to the same parking spot two blocks away. Also, it was bad timing for us to come here. It was freakin' hot in NYC and we walked around that day. It was also hot in Philly two days later and we walked from the City Hall to the Art Museum.

Also, a GPS navigation unit is definitely the way to go. But as of now, I would suggest avoiding the software versions. Go get a stand-alone device like the Garmin Street Pilot.

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: Qacer
We are in Philly right now. It's our last night here. We are staying with a friend near the University of Pennsylvania. The city is definitely lively. But parking sucks! Hehehe. I can't parallel park, so you can laugh about the fact that it took me 5 minutes to try to parallel park at a spot closer to our place and ended up going to the same parking spot two blocks away. Also, it was bad timing for us to come here. It was freakin' hot in NYC and we walked around that day. It was also hot in Philly two days later and we walked from the City Hall to the Art Museum.

Also, a GPS navigation unit is definitely the way to go. But as of now, I would suggest avoiding the software versions. Go get a stand-alone device like the Garmin Street Pilot.

When you're in the big city, you should probably know how to parallel park. But, I'm glad to see you enjoy it here, too bad UPenn is in a poor area.