Hopefully, they won't be like the bellhop in the Australia hotel we were in. When we were looking for a place to eat, he recommended Outback Steakhouse.
Ahh Jackie Brown... should've known. 2nd the recommendation on the NYC transit. Spent 10 days there and never once missed having a car. The cabs have flat fees to the airports as well, so you won't get totally milked if you don't want to drag your luggage onto the subway. I know I sound like hayseed saying this, but I was completely awed by the NYC subway system. You just go underground and a few short moments later you come up and you're staring at the Met, or Wall Street, or Times Square. I feel like I could sell my car without hesitation if I lived there.
I think I may scrap the car idea. Renting car and getting adequate insurance along with that seems prohibitively expensive. What are some of the staple landmarks in NYC and DC? And some of the hidden away gems? By that I mean places like the Hunter Valley and the Blue Mountains in Australia where you can just scoot away for a relaxing few days.
Brush up on your birdie and "**** off". The bums in NYC will come at you with claws. There are plenty of places to eat, watch a show or two on Broadway, go see the Statue of Liberty, and ice-skate at the Rockefeller Center. Have good walking shoes. You will walk a lot and stand in a lot of lines.
A few insights would help plan your trip better: What do you enjoy doing? Urban sites, bars, culture or landmarks? Outdoors much? A mix of the two - urban a couple of days and get away? If you're going the middle of next year, that puts you squarely into summer. Some suggestions: New York Do the bus tour if you haven't seen the tourist stuff, but spend more than a few days here. Top of the Rock, the Cloisters the view of the bridges from Brooklyn are worthwhile things. Take time to soak in the city -- the museums and exhibits for sure .. but also the summer is a great time for free events in the park, the food culture is booming (street carts, cheap eats, festivals, etc.) and just walk around the neighborhoods. Walk from the Upper West Side down to the Lower East Side one day (or hop on and off buses). Take the subway over to Astoria & Flushing, Queens, or parts of Brooklyn like Park Slope or Williamsburg. Nightlife is great -- check TimeOut NY for listings or just park in one of the busier neighborhoods (downtown below 14th st) and go to the bars. Nearby places from NY to go It's a short 1-2 hour train ride to Philadelphia. It's a great historic city that's walkable.. and summers are really good to check out Old City, South Street and Rittenhouse Square. For hiking, rent a car and head up to Bear Mountain -- closest thing to NY or drive a bit more and try the Catskills. Bear Mountain can easily be a day trip. Farther away Summers are also great for New England. A great drive can be done over the weekend or 3-4 days from New York to Maine. Stop by Boston, Martha's Vineyard, the coastline with all the lighthouses.. and it's lobster season. Hang out in old New England fishing towns and take advantage of the weather. You mentioned Washington, D.C. -- apart from 1-2 days of the monuments and Old Town, Alexandria.. there's not much here IMHO. It's also humid and hot as heck here in the summer. Logistics Not sure how you are planning your trip but as others have said, depending on your budgets, hotels can be expensive on the East Coast. I usually try priceline for last minute stuff, if you fancy boutique/design places Tablet also has good options. A better alternative is to check out airbnb.com -- you basically sublet/rent people's homes to stay in. The quality is good, the value is great, and you usually get to live like how real people live in their neighborhoods (not the hotel district). Good luck and enjoy your trip!
