Help needed!

Hi I need some general advice and help so hope someone can help us out.

Firstly I am hoping to visit New York this summer end of July with my 2 teenage girls and my niece who will be 21 this is a surprise for my niece. Anyway can anyone recommend good places to say for families and for how long we wnat to do all the touristy bits and shop!

Secondly where would be the best place to stay for a 2nd week preferably not to far away from New York but quite relaxing/coastal. We do not drive so would be relient on flights/trains/buses etc.

Lastly best people to book the holiday with in UK or on the Net.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Cheekylot x

Help needed!

Good places to stay for families:

depending on budget, some of the options include

affinia.com (7 all suite hotels) mod-expensive

Murray Hill East Suites inexp-mod.

Radio City Apartments budget

Embassy Suites moderate

www.apartments2book.com is a London agency that has good prices on some apt/hotels and apts. It sounds like there will be 4 of you? Think about whether you will all share a bed (a regular hotel room with 2 queen beds is not hard to find) OR whether you want more beds/space and maybe a kitchen. The places I list above are all suites with some sort of kitchen in the room.

Some folks have found nice apts. on websites like cyberrentals.com, vrbo.com (vacation rental by owner) Just depends on how much time you want to spend to research this and how comfortable you%26#39;d be with the idea of not having a front desk/concierge for questions and help.

For how long? How long is a piece of string?

For the second week, you%26#39;d really need to give us a budget. Many of the places near NYC for a beach vacation are pricey. You can get to many of them with public transport but once you%26#39;re there, not all are convenient w/o a car. Montauk, on the eastern end of Long Island is popular. The Panoramic View is a hotel/motel right on the beach with a pool and I think most rooms have kitchenettes. Gets good reviews here

tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g48194-d93317-R鈥?/a>

Lenhardt Cottages is a place my cousins use. It%26#39;s across the street from the ocean, so you%26#39;d need your own chairs or lounges etc. Cheap and cheerful.

tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g48194-d525188-鈥?/a>

People tend to book from year to year for the same weekends etc. so if you want either of these Montauk places, I%26#39;d book those early- almost more important than the NYC hotel.

You can get to Montauk by train (Long Island railroad) or a big coach called the Hampton Jitney (hamptonjitney.com) Train is cheaper but coach is more frequent.

Both of these places aside from being on or across from the beach are not a far walk into the main part of town where there are shops and restaurants. There are some other hotels/motels but they%26#39;re not all so centrally located.

Spring Lake, NJ is another nice seaside spot. Most of the places to stay there are inns and b %26amp; bs.

tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g46841-Spring_Lake_Ne鈥?/a>

For your last question, not sure what you mean. If you%26#39;re asking UK travel agent vs. booking yourself online, what we do here is help people do it themselves online. But if you don%26#39;t have the time, patience or confidence, you could use a GOOD agent but you may get more average places.

Help needed!

It%26#39;s tough to say where you should stay without knowing a budget. If money is not as important as location, there are a number of great hotels in Soho - Soho Grand, Mercer Hotel, 60 Thompson; Midtown - Alex Hotel, Hudson Hotel, Dream Hotel; Meatpacking District - Maritime Hotel, Hotel Gansevoort...

But for more economical options, these are a few of the better ones in my opinion:

- Hotel Wolcott - The only negative for me is it is located near Herald Square. Visitors probably enjoy the location more than I thanks to it being so close to Macy%26#39;s and Penn Station but I can nto stand the crowds in this area. Worse than Times Square if you ask me.

- Herald Square Hotel - See above.

-Abingdon Guest House - My favorite in the city, located int he heart of the West Village

- Park Savoy Hotel - Located in Midtown East, just a couple blocks from Central Park and the 5th Avenue shopping

- Gershwin Hotel - Very reasonably priced and stylish for the money. Located a few blocks down from the Empire State Building

- Washington Square Hotel - Located (as the name implys) at the corner with Washington Square Park, in the heart of the West Village. This is my neighborhood and I am partial to it but the hotel is nice and usually pretty reasonable.

As for a place to stay for the 2nd week - The East Coast is full of options. Within an hour of Manhattan via the Long Island Railroad and then a ferry is Fire Island: www.fireisland.com. I have friends who have done summer-shares here. It%26#39;s a very laid back island, no cars allowed, plenty of beaches - some meant for partying, some more for families with no alcohol allowed. Obviously everything on the island is within walking distance.

The other two options that are pretty easy to access from Manhattan without a car are the Hamptons. I%26#39;ve never been a fan, but the Hamptons are famous for a reason... and the Jersey Shore - which can be accessed via train or ferry from the station near Wall Street.

Outside of New York/NJ you have Cape Cod near Boston, Newport Beach near Providence, Delaware Beaches near Willmington - all you can reach close by areas via Amtrak but you may need a car after that.

for your second week I would also recommend montauk, the only difference I would make is I would stay ';in town';.. while the hotels previously suggested are nice, they are a little out of the center of town (might be a few miles walking along the beach or walking along road with mostly no sidewaks).

I would recommend the Royal Atlantic, which is right in town (some buildings, (there are a few), are right on beach, they have pool, etc. This way you are right in town, can walk most anywhere (shops/restaurants/movies) , and take taxi to go ';a little out of town';, like down to the docks (catch a fishing trip, more shops/restaurants), or out to lighthouse. Montauk is a laid back beach town, so if you like the beach, a week here is perfect.

Wow thanks very very much for all your advice all is great and I will be looking into it all I am going to book in next few weeks as it is peak summer holidays. I am really excited now!

Re travel agents via internet what I meant could anyone advice where to go however you have all answered everything in one swoop. I went into Thomson agents the other day and they were totally useless!! Any way thanks very much I am now going to have a good look and check out flights etc.

Thanks again

In addition to Montauk/Hamptons and the Jersey shore, my wife loves Block Island, Rhode Island. You can take Amtrak and then a short ferry ride. It%26#39;s really beautiful and not as jam packed as the Hamptons or the Jersey shore.

Hi Block Island sounds great as we are looking for something not to manic after a week in New York.

If you want to go to Block Island you should also book early. There are a lot of small B %26amp; B%26#39;s on the island. Also, the Amtrak train goes from Penn station to New London where you can catch the ferry right across from the train station. Try www.blockislandinfo.com to get directions and accomadations. The Atlantic Hotel (Old Harbor) and Naragansett Hotel (New Harbor) are both great but a bit expensive or the Surf hotel is less expensive but convenient (near the ferry landing). We have stayed in both and also a charming inn by the New Harbor. The whole island is maybe 7 miles long by 3 miles wide. Me and my wife can easily do the whole island by bike cause it%26#39;s pretty flat. There are a lot of stone walls on the island, two lighthouses and also a large parkland preservation area.

Lotuspath many thnaks for the information I am hoping to book up this weekend so I need to look at all th options got to think of the 3 girls especially as I am not telling them!! However as song as there is or a pool they will be fine even considering renting a property for the week.