Travel to New York City.

Country/Town visited: New York City
Date of stay: June 2012
Where you stayed: Rogers Hotel (4*) 
Tour or pre planned: Pre planned

New York City, the big apple. 

This city is enormous and if you are a small town boy, like me, it is easy to get lost in the hussle and bussle. There are so many things to do here, from taking an elevator 86 floors up the famous Empire state building, to a harbour cruise around the Statue of Liberty, or just taking a quiet stroll around central park while trying to escape the fast paced city.

I was short on time, but as said above, had so much to do. The best way around this is to get yourself a ‘New York City Pass’, which can be purchased as a one, two, three, or seven day pass. These passes, combined with the hop on/hop off bus are a great way to see the city and fast track yourself to the main attractions on offer.

The best way to purchase the passes seems to be via the secure online website (www.newyorkpass.com), the pass offers over 70 attractions for free or discounted prices. With the pass comes a very handy booklet which outlines all the different attractions available, with maps etc to get you on your way. For those more tech savy, there is an app you can download onto your phone with much the same information so it’s right at your fingertips.

I got a 2-day pass (retail for this is $130 USD individually, or $145 with the hop on/hop off bus package), first stop the Empire State Building, this attraction is free with the pass (saving $25) along with the New York Skyride attraction which is also at the empire state building (saving $42). Instant savings, why wouldn't you buy the pass. Not to mention a great way to get your bearings and fine tune your compass to the city.

Next I got on the hop on/hop off bus, another great way to see the city as there is a personalised tour guide on each bus to ask questions and give you local hints and tips (ie a pub on corner 44th Street/9th Ave called Rudies bar which sells $7 pitchers of beer and free hotdogs!). This bus was easy to get around and takes you to the tourist areas, there are two routes, a downtown and an uptown route, both leaving from midtown. Beware though, there are plenty of people who work for the bus company standing on corners which you could not buy tickets from, but are happy to point you in the direction to the office in Times Square.

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