{"id":419,"date":"2017-05-11T05:27:36","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T05:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myvacationpants.com\/?p=419"},"modified":"2017-05-11T05:27:36","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T05:27:36","slug":"put-on-your-nyc-in-two-days-vacation-pants-new-england-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/myvacationpants.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/11\/put-on-your-nyc-in-two-days-vacation-pants-new-england-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Put on Your NYC (In Two Days!) Vacation Pants – New England Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Family selfie at Lady Liberty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Well, I just got back from my amazing trip around New England, so get ready for a series of posts about my fantabulous (that’s totally a word) trip! \u00a0My husband and I are all about finding cheap airfare and then planning a vacation around that location. \u00a0We usually fly to the cheapest place we can find, and then do a little road trip loop around the area. \u00a0That’s exactly what we did for our most recent Spring Break Trip. \u00a0We flew into New York City (JFK) because the husband found airfare on Jet Blue from Palm Springs, California to JFK, for a ridiculously low $132 a ticket. \u00a0Of course we had to snatch up that deal. \u00a0We plotted a route\u00a0that would start in NYC and take us to Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, (with a short drive through New Jersey), and back to New York City. \u00a0We spent two nights in NYC at the very beginning of our trip and did a whirlwind tour. \u00a0Get ready to get all the hot tips you ever wanted on traveling to NYC with two kids while staying on a budget. \u00a0Read on to find out how we did it.<\/p>\n

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Where We Stayed<\/h2>\n

I scoured through hundreds of pins on Pinterest and read tons of blogs about cheap\u00a0(but nice) places to stay in the city. \u00a0Then the husband comes across this little gem. \u00a0The Nesva Hotel in Queens was the perfect place to stay for this little family. \u00a0First off, they let us check in at like 8:00 in the morning. \u00a0I know that isn’t always going to be an option, and they happened to have a room open at this time of the morning, but this basically saved our behinds. \u00a0We came in on the first flight after a\u00a0blizzard. \u00a0We took a red eye, and we were so tired. \u00a0We were just gonna drop our luggage off and take a subway to Manhattan, but I am so glad we were able to sleep before we took off on our adventures.<\/p>\n

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Secondly, this place was only $100 bucks a night and it included a free continental breakfast. \u00a0I didn’t even know they had breakfast until we checked in. \u00a0It was nothing too fancy, but it had coffee, juice, muffins, pastries, cereal, yogurt, etc. \u00a0I haven’t heard of too many hotels that close to the action giving complimentary breakfast. \u00a0This place was also a solid 3 star hotel and it was just a short subway ride away from the action.<\/p>\n

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The subway is just a half a block from the hotel entrance and we had no problem finding it and getting to the city. \u00a0Everyone that we met that worked at the hotel was friendly and gave amazing customer service. \u00a0The room was small, but I imagine all rooms in the city are small. \u00a0We didn’t spend too much time in the room anyway. \u00a0The internet was also a little finicky in the evening. \u00a0Other than that, this place was fantastic. \u00a0I will stay here every time I come to New York City in the future.<\/p>\n

My Vacation Pants (MVP) Tip: \u00a0Get some good old fashioned take out food delivered right to your hotel room. \u00a0We grabbed some take out menus from the front desk, ordered over the phone, and in 30 minutes we had dinner at our door. \u00a0This was a great option for a family with some tired kiddos. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Subway<\/h2>\n

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I was a little nervous about using the subway. \u00a0I read a bunch of guides before we went, but it is actually quite easy to use. \u00a0That was the main transportation we used in the city, and now that we know how to use it, I would probably use it even more next time. \u00a0Here is a step by step guide.<\/p>\n

Step 1: \u00a0Make sure your hotel is near a subway stop. \u00a0Ours was a 4 minute walk from the front of the hotel which was super convenient.<\/p>\n

Step 2: Buy a Metrocard. \u00a0You just need to purchase one for your entire party. \u00a0It costs $1 to buy a pay-per-ride Metrocard. \u00a0Add how much you want to add at the machine or pay at the tollbooth. \u00a0Children 5 and under are free and the attendant will tell you to just have the kiddos duck under the turnstile. \u00a0If you are 6 and up, it costs $2.75 a ride no matter how long\u00a0or short you ride. \u00a0That’s quite a deal.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Board the right train. \u00a0I thought that some of the trains were really direct and easy to use while others you had to be a local to know the information. \u00a0For example, if you are going to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal on the Subway, only the first five cars in the train are able to exit to the terminal. \u00a0This is due to damage that has not been repaired from \u00a0Hurricane Sandy. \u00a0We didn’t know this, and they didn’t make the announcement about this particular stop until the stop right before Staten Island. \u00a0Luckily, a nice local woman overheard our kids excitement about going to the Statue of Liberty and told us that we needed to jump a train car at every stop before we got the station. \u00a0Whew, crisis averted.<\/p>\n

Step 4: \u00a0As long as you don’t exit the subway terminal you only have to pay the $2.75 per ride. \u00a0You can Google Map your route before you get on the train and see how many transfers you need to make. \u00a0You only have to pay if you have to leave the subway station\u00a0and go to another one.<\/p>\n

MVP Tip: Never board an empty subway car. \u00a0There is usually\u00a0a reason that car is empty. \u00a0Stay with the crowd. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

What We Did<\/h2>\n

I know there are a gajillion things to do in NYC, but we only had two days there and it was our first time visiting, so I think we did pretty dang good in our sightseeing tour. \u00a0We did it for really cheap as well. \u00a0The first day we took a subway to Times Square and planned to walk around. \u00a0When my husband and I walked up the subway and laid our eyes on Times Square, I have to admit that we both got a little misty eyed. \u00a0We have seen so many movies with New York as the back drop, and believe me, NYC lived up to the hype. \u00a0I couldn’t believe we were actually there. \u00a0I think the coolest part about being in the city the day after one of the hugest snow storms of the year was how empty the city was. \u00a0It was like we got the whole place to ourselves. \u00a0I guess my tip is, if you can time your trip to go at a cold and non peak time, you are going to avoid the crowds, which we did. \u00a0Okay, check out the list below to see what we did in order of appearance.<\/p>\n

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