Basically, this thread is about what the title says. In three weeks I'll be going on holiday to New York (my first time ever in the US), and I wanted to hear any suggestions that you beautiful guys and girls could think about. I have most of the things planned, but I want to make sure the trip is as good as it can be.
"Why go alone?", you may ask. Well, the answer is simple: I have no one to go with. I'm single, and none of my friends had both time and money available to come with me. My family went to a different place for their holidays, so I'll be spending three weeks on my own in an unknown country. But hey, I'm not seeing it as a sad thing, but as an opportunity. An opportunity to spend some time alone, to not depend on anyone but myself (I'm 23 and still live with my parents, so it's gonna be weird at first -though to be fair, that's pretty common in this South American country), to visit some great places and hopefully meet new people. As someone who's really shy, the latter seems incredibly hard to do, but there's nothing to lose by trying, right? Besides, I wanted to visit that country for all my life, and now that I've been working for a few years and saving some money I finally have a chance.
Anyway, I'm going a bit off-topic here. What I wanted to know was the kind of things to do there. I've already been making a list with most of the stuff I definitely need to see, such as the Empire State building (or Top of the Rock), Liberty Island, a couple of museums (Met, Madame Tussauds, the 9/11 memorial), the Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden (going to see an NBA match there, SA Spurs vs. NY Knicks -I'm cheering for the former!) and a bunch of parks (Central Park, High Line). The things I'd like to hear about are lesser-known places, like comedy clubs or bars. It'd be great to catch a stand-up comedy show, but I've found several clubs on the internet and have no idea which one's the best. Same deal with bars, it'd be nice if you could point me to some good ones for going alone. Oh, and if you can, please recommend me some places to eat too!
For reference, I'm staying in a hostel not far from Times Square. Of course, I plan on walking a lot, and there's also the subway, so distance shouldn't be a problem. I'll be there for about 10 days, after which I'll spend some time (less than that though) on Washington DC and then Boston (I'm seeing the band Blackberry Smoke there). Naturally, any tips or suggestions about those two cities would also be great.
I've also been grabbing a lot of good info from the tipping threads here, seriously. And there was one tourist traps thread that was also helpful, although I've forgotten most of what was posted there, so any reminders would be much appreciated. Basically anything that could be seen as a "beginner's guide" or "traveling for dummies".
So, to sum up, can you think of any other stuff for a single guy to visit there in New York? Are there any must-see places I'm missing, or any personal favorites of yours? Is there a way not to feel totally lost there? Also, is the 7-day New York Pass, which I was thinking of buying, worth it for the discounts on the attractions? And do you have any suggestions regarding DC or Boston?
"Why go alone?", you may ask. Well, the answer is simple: I have no one to go with. I'm single, and none of my friends had both time and money available to come with me. My family went to a different place for their holidays, so I'll be spending three weeks on my own in an unknown country. But hey, I'm not seeing it as a sad thing, but as an opportunity. An opportunity to spend some time alone, to not depend on anyone but myself (I'm 23 and still live with my parents, so it's gonna be weird at first -though to be fair, that's pretty common in this South American country), to visit some great places and hopefully meet new people. As someone who's really shy, the latter seems incredibly hard to do, but there's nothing to lose by trying, right? Besides, I wanted to visit that country for all my life, and now that I've been working for a few years and saving some money I finally have a chance.
Anyway, I'm going a bit off-topic here. What I wanted to know was the kind of things to do there. I've already been making a list with most of the stuff I definitely need to see, such as the Empire State building (or Top of the Rock), Liberty Island, a couple of museums (Met, Madame Tussauds, the 9/11 memorial), the Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden (going to see an NBA match there, SA Spurs vs. NY Knicks -I'm cheering for the former!) and a bunch of parks (Central Park, High Line). The things I'd like to hear about are lesser-known places, like comedy clubs or bars. It'd be great to catch a stand-up comedy show, but I've found several clubs on the internet and have no idea which one's the best. Same deal with bars, it'd be nice if you could point me to some good ones for going alone. Oh, and if you can, please recommend me some places to eat too!
For reference, I'm staying in a hostel not far from Times Square. Of course, I plan on walking a lot, and there's also the subway, so distance shouldn't be a problem. I'll be there for about 10 days, after which I'll spend some time (less than that though) on Washington DC and then Boston (I'm seeing the band Blackberry Smoke there). Naturally, any tips or suggestions about those two cities would also be great.
I've also been grabbing a lot of good info from the tipping threads here, seriously. And there was one tourist traps thread that was also helpful, although I've forgotten most of what was posted there, so any reminders would be much appreciated. Basically anything that could be seen as a "beginner's guide" or "traveling for dummies".
So, to sum up, can you think of any other stuff for a single guy to visit there in New York? Are there any must-see places I'm missing, or any personal favorites of yours? Is there a way not to feel totally lost there? Also, is the 7-day New York Pass, which I was thinking of buying, worth it for the discounts on the attractions? And do you have any suggestions regarding DC or Boston?
