It’s A Pretty Big Apple
Many different purposes define a tourist’s travel. Some are traveling a new city with a certain goal, whether it’s to find a new house or a new job as an entertainer; some are just trying to find iconic locations where a wedding ceremony could be hosted; or some have just to decided to go on a backpacking adventure. What all these have in common is the way in which they approach traveling.
Certain individuals like to rove through a given town. They like to sort of “holistically” see where their feet take them. Others like to know exactly where they’re going and what they’re doing—they don’t like getting trapped by parking meters, bad parts of the town, and general ignorance. Also, they like to maximize their investment.
There are many places which define America, and deserve a little sightseeing. Hawaii is one of them, and so is New York. When it comes to travel destinations, New York definitely represents an expensive proposition. Riding the subways and buses of the city is relatively cost-effective, but taxis are very expensive.
Uber exists in New York, but as you know this is really just a cut-rate taxi system, and something which seems to be in increasing decline as time goes by. If you’re navigating such transit systems without any real experience for the first time, you’re going to get lost, you’re going to spend money, and you’re probably not going to enjoy your time in the Big Apple.
Advance Planning
A better way to go about it is to plan your tour in advance. Believe it or not, you can see a pretty big portion of the city in one day, and even do a little shopping here and there, from the comfort of an air-conditioned tour bus. You can do this cost-effectively, get pictures, acquire experiences, and truly inform yourself about the big move—whatever it is.
New York has many sights to see. From Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge and the Bronx Zoo, you’ve got many options. Certainly you’ll have to check out Times Square and take in a Broadway musical—provided you’ve got the time and inclination, of course. Then there’s Lady Liberty and Ellis Island—and there are even some free tours available.
Now, granted, you’re not going to get all the “bells and whistles” from a “free” ferry tour that you would from a tour on a bus. Additionally, you probably won’t have the same sorts of personable tour guides guiding your journey. Still, there are ways to see a lot of things quickly and cost-effectively.
For tours & sightseeing, you want to maximize your trip as best as you can. Bus tours are a great way to do this. If you’re in the city for just one day, you can purchase a 24-hour All City Pass. This includes a Hop On, Hop Off Downtown Tour, a Hop On, Hop Off Uptown tour, a non-stop Brooklyn tour, and a non-stop all-night tour.
See It all
If you want to see the Empire State Building, if you want to see Ground Zero, if you want to see Wall Street, or any of countless iconic locales defining NYC, you will be able to find a tour bus that will take you there and many times even hook you up with a separate tour local.
Unless you want to waste hundreds of dollars and have little to show for your efforts, you want to plan your tour in advance. That said, you may find that this was the desirable thing to do anyway. Nonetheless, you’ll certainly learn things about the city you wouldn’t have found out otherwise.