Potential US trip advice

I love New York! After London it's probably one of my favourite cities in the world


I find getting the subway at night in New York (or even just walking around) much the same as getting the underground post-theatre in London. There will always be people around - New York is called the city that never sleeps for a reason. Plus most of the theatres are close to Times Square, where there are both tourists and police officers basically 24/7.

I've walked 20 blocks from a Broadway theatre to my hotel alone at midnight without any trouble whatsoever. And a few years ago I wandered around the fringes of Manhattan on my own as a 22 year old woman trying to find a particular club where friends were without any issues either.

I think it's like any other major city - if you're sensible and keep alert, you will be fine, and if you need to then you can just hail a cab.

I doubt I'll be much help as far as accommodation is concerned - the Sheraton on 51st street is in a great location but was only affordable for me because 4 of us shared a room on conference rates. Last time I went I stayed in a hostel in Midtown which was fine, but not everyone can deal with shared dormitories, and next time I go I'll probably get a private room.

Don't restrict yourself to hotels close to Times Square though, it's really easy and quick to get the subway down towards Brooklyn Bridge or uptown towards Central Park, where hotels can be a little bit cheaper. All depends on budget I guess.

In terms of safety I have never had concerns in New York. And I have walked around Chelsea and Midtown on my own in the middle of the night a lot. Yes, you might get the odd guy making a random comment as you pass but that's easy to ignore.
Generally I find New Yorkers to be a friendly bunch. You walk into a Deli late at night to grab some food on the go and will often end up having a random but super nice little chat with fellow customers.
It's one of the reasons I love New York - from my experience the people are just very open and nice and I have always felt save being out on my own.

I agree, I feel New York is super safe. Times Square is crowded with tourists even in the late evenings (after the shows end) and I find the subway very easy and safe, too. I usually stay with a friend outside the city and when we take a Metro North train from Grand Central after the shows, I find the trains are always crammed to the last seat with late commuters, theatre-goers, diners, etc.

My favorite story from New York: Once I was supposed to meet another friend up in Washington Heights (yup, in the Heights). She lived across the river in New Jersey, but wanted to meet me at the subway station and we'd take a bus from there. Except I was very late after the endless immigration stuff at JFK and she wasn't at the meeting point. So I stood there, a very obvious tourist with a big suitcase and had no idea how to get to New Jersey. Regular cabs don't go there. But the Latinos in the deli by the subway station were super friendly and helpful and someone rustled a private cab up whose driver had a satnav and was willing to take me to New Jersey to my friend's place. I still think fondly of that time when I was in a slightly iffy area, a very easy target for a mugging and instead found lovely helpful people.

I can't help with hotels really, on the rare occasions I travelled with company we used the Milford Plaza, but that was before the renovations, so I assume their prices have gone from "ugh, okay" to "no effing way" by now.

Washington is quite a nice place, but don't underestimate the humidity there, it was built into a swamp after all. Haven't been to Boston yet.

What I love? American breakfasts with eggs, toast, hash browns, waffles, pancakes and so on. They're a delight and they fill you up for the entire day to come. Just avoid the scales for a while when you come back.

Oh dear, that doesn't sound great about Washington. I hate hot weather, hence looking at the first half of May in the hope it wouldn't be too hot at that time.

Thank you for all the replies so far. It sounds like, as I thought, walking around post-theatre will be okay. My mother's only previous visit to New York was in 1981. I have told her that I understand New York is much safer now than it was then. Thanks for the hotel suggestions. I will look those hotels up.

I feel far safer in Manhatten than London so I wouldn't worry.

Boston is a brilliant city, love it. quite compact and easy to get around. feels quite European. Lots of day trip options to explore new England too

Washington is a funny one. quite spread out and lacks a heart. The centre is very focused on tourist sights and business/government and dies in the early evening. Somewhere like Georgetown has more going on in terms of restaurants etc in evening. Depends what your priority is in terms of what you want on your doorstep

I hadn't thought about that re: DC/NYC, but yes, I totally recommend Amtrak. I usually take MegaBus or Bolt Bus, but Amtrak is worth the price if it's not something you do regularly. Very smooth and comfortable.

The Georgetown part of DC is much more interesting than the part near the Capitol/Union Station (where Amtrak and the buses drop you off)/etc, but I highly recommend the Newseum if you're going.
www.newseum.org/visit/tickets/

Don't look like a Muslim!

I also found New York to be one of the safest cities I've ever been too.
I went with a friend, but as we both had different interests, we spent about 50% of the time apart. We would do all the touristy stuff, Statue of liberty etc during the day, then I would go to the theatre at night while she went around taking photos for her uni project.

We stayed at the Empire Hotel across the street from Lincoln Centre...we booked it way in advance so good a really good deal on booking.com. And its only a 10 minute walk from Times Square/Broadway.

Also thought everyone was very friendly. I was only there for a week, but I strangly ended up on first name terms with a couple of members of staff in the Duane Reade next to the hotel (they loved my accent apparently, and I was there over St Patricks Day so it excited them lol).

I did take me a few of days to get used to the subway, for the first 2 days I constantly found myself asking the same questions to nearly every person that worked on the Subway. But managed to figure it out.

I echo everyone else in saying NYC is probably the safest it's been in years.
I started visiting in the 80's , and that was a different much scarier place. Now, the subway is for the most part clean and efficient, and rarely will you find yourself alone in a car. Times Square was cleaned up and pedestrianized and now it's like midday all night, the amount of lights going on and the crowds that never seem to go home.

Don't limit yourself to hotels in mid-town ( unless mobility is a factor for you). You can often find a better deal across the river in Brooklyn or Queens and still be only a few stops on the subway from Times Square and the theatre district.

This. And Vancouver. And San Francisco. And San Diego

Agree. It's pretty straigtforward to get to JFK, but if you're in Lower Manhattan/Brooklyn, taking the A train to Howard Beach might be the better (and faster) alternative than taking the E train to Jamaica.

I'd always fly - even if it were more expensive and took longer. Also, flying into DCA might give you great views on The Mall during the final approach.

I'd recommend the same. Prebook the shows you definitely want to see (if they don't do general rush, if they did, I'd schedule my shows around those to be able to get one rush ticket per day) on their official site (usually, that's either Ticketmaster or Telecharge) and get the rest from TKTS. However, the one at Times Square is usually terribly busy and only sells same day Matinee tickets from noon and same day Evening tickets from the afternoon, so I always go down to their South Side/Seaport branch, who sell same day Evening and next day Matinee tickets right when they open. However, tickets can still be pretty expensive even if they're offered at a huge discount. Ten days ago, my 50% discounted ticket to In Transit was still a whopping $80.

How about booking an open jaw flight, i.e. flying into one of these cities and returning from another?

I never felt unsafe in NY.

Hotel prices do vary pretty much. Been to New York mid December and struggled to find a hotel below $200 (eventually, I found one near the Wall Street), and when I returned two weeks ago I stayed at one at 42nd&Broadway for $110. If central hotels are too expensive and if you don't mind travelling every day, looking across the Hudson in New Jersey might be an alternative, maybe even around Newark Penn from where you can take the PATH with your MTA card.

I can highly recommend visiting the 9/11 museum, but you should prebook your tickets online. Same for the Statue of Liberty. However, if you don't want to visit Lady Liberty and just want to see her, taking the Staten Island Ferry might be a good alternative as it offers you great views of the statue - and Manhattan. You should also put Walking Along the Highline Park on your list.

I'm not sure if New York actually is safer than London but it certainly feels that way when you're there. Although there's a lot more colourful people, but that's part of the charm!

Best city in the world, enjoy.