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Travel thread 3.0

Connor said:
Going to Bilbao at the end of April - only real plan is a day in San Sebastian and doing the tour of the stadium

Any recs welcomed 🫡
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Old town is amazing. Have a walk around on a Saturday afternoon and you might see locals dancing and singing traditional basque songs.

Drink lots of Mariano. Throw the dumb little sandwiches they have everywhere in the bin. Buy speed of homeless people if you get sleepy.
 
Billy Dean said:
Going to be spending 4 nights in NYC in April. Any thoughts on the best (and worst) parts of town to stay in? I guess price will be the defining factor anyway. I guess anywhere in Manhattan is fine though
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Really depends on what you're looking to do. It's all going to be about the same cost-wise. Below is very, very high level ways of thinking about it.

  • Closer to Central Park will be more residential and that's where the museums are. Less congested. Talking Upper East and West sides.
  • Midtown/Times Square area will be more touristy. More commercial. Still lots to do and see just less neighborhoody.
  • Toward Lower Manhattan is the hipper areas, generally. Greenwich, Little Italy, Soho/Noho, etc. Vibrant but not as gritty as, say the Lower East Side.
  • Last I was in NYC I stayed in the Bowery/Lower East Side as I found a hotel cost that was ever so slightly cheaper than other areas. Even walked all the way to Greenwich Village one night. Close to Chinatown/Little Italy. Would do again.
  • Unless you're working, generally wouldn't stay below, say, Canal Street. Generally.
And yeah, I mean you're going to be in the ballpark of a subway station anywhere in Manhattan you'd want to stay, so cost is usually what drives my decisions in the ballpark of where I want to stay
 

Pittsburgh Footy said:
Really depends on what you're looking to do. It's all going to be about the same cost-wise. Below is very, very high level ways of thinking about it.

  • Closer to Central Park will be more residential and that's where the museums are. Less congested. Talking Upper East and West sides.
  • Midtown/Times Square area will be more touristy. More commercial. Still lots to do and see just less neighborhoody.
  • Toward Lower Manhattan is the hipper areas, generally. Greenwich, Little Italy, Soho/Noho, etc. Vibrant but not as gritty as, say the Lower East Side.
  • Last I was in NYC I stayed in the Bowery/Lower East Side as I found a hotel cost that was ever so slightly cheaper than other areas. Even walked all the way to Greenwich Village one night. Close to Chinatown/Little Italy. Would do again.
  • Unless you're working, generally wouldn't stay below, say, Canal Street. Generally.
And yeah, I mean you're going to be in the ballpark of a subway station anywhere in Manhattan you'd want to stay, so cost is usually what drives my decisions in the ballpark of where I want to stay
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Cheers mate. I think I’ll probably stick to Manhattan for this one as I’m flying into Newark and Manhattan seems like less of a ballache to get to from there. Thanks for the info about it. Lower Manhattan definitely seems more appealing but in the end I’ll be guided by price I think.

When you say the LES is gritty does that mean certain parts of it should be avoided?
 
Billy Dean said:
Cheers mate. I think I’ll probably stick to Manhattan for this one as I’m flying into Newark and Manhattan seems like less of a ballache to get to from there. Thanks for the info about it. Lower Manhattan definitely seems more appealing but in the end I’ll be guided by price I think.

When you say the LES is gritty does that mean certain parts of it should be avoided?
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I wouldn't necessarily say that. Pretty much all of Manhattan from Central Park down is "safe" by any metro city standards. It's just a little rougher around the edges in parts. Someone from the middle of nowhere in western Kansas from a town with a population of 750 people might not feel safe there. Anywhere that should be avoided, you wouldn't realistically be in a position to be there in the first place, if that makes any sense.

I think you meant to say Midtown in your post. Yeah, Midtown is easiest to get to/from other boroughs, and from Newark for sure, as it's a central hub of subways and trains. And there is a plethora of hotel options. And Midtown would be a great base of operations to get to other points in Manhattan.

Enjoy your trip
 
Billy Dean said:
Cheers mate. I think I’ll probably stick to Manhattan for this one as I’m flying into Newark and Manhattan seems like less of a ballache to get to from there. Thanks for the info about it. Lower Manhattan definitely seems more appealing but in the end I’ll be guided by price I think.

When you say the LES is gritty does that mean certain parts of it should be avoided?
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You’re doing it right. You won’t want to spend all that time in Newark and taking the train into Manhattan. If you had to stay in Jersey, I’d find a spot in Hoboken.
Great Bloody Marys at the Newark airport bar though.
 
Pittsburgh Footy said:
I wouldn't necessarily say that. Pretty much all of Manhattan from Central Park down is "safe" by any metro city standards. It's just a little rougher around the edges in parts. Someone from the middle of nowhere in western Kansas from a town with a population of 750 people might not feel safe there. Anywhere that should be avoided, you wouldn't realistically be in a position to be there in the first place, if that makes any sense.

I think you meant to say Midtown in your post. Yeah, Midtown is easiest to get to/from other boroughs, and from Newark for sure, as it's a central hub of subways and trains. And there is a plethora of hotel options. And Midtown would be a great base of operations to get to other points in Manhattan.

Enjoy your trip
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I initially meant Manhattan but yeah you're right there is not much difference between Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens in terms of getting there from Newark, at least by car. Haven't checked trains yet. Midtown looks much easier and because I'm lazy I'll bet on myself ending up there.
wm02 said:
You’re doing it right. You won’t want to spend all that time in Newark and taking the train into Manhattan. If you had to stay in Jersey, I’d find a spot in Hoboken.
Great Bloody Marys at the Newark airport bar though.
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Yeah I definitely don't want to stay in Newark. Hoboken could be an option though. Although I had a quick look at prices yesterday and they seemed similar to Manhattan
 
Billy Dean said:
I initially meant Manhattan but yeah you're right there is not much difference between Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens in terms of getting there from Newark, at least by car. Haven't checked trains yet. Midtown looks much easier and because I'm lazy I'll bet on myself ending up there.

Yeah I definitely don't want to stay in Newark. Hoboken could be an option though. Although I had a quick look at prices yesterday and they seemed similar to Manhattan
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Good man. Newark is a complete hole. Two redeeming features- the cathedral and bloody marys at the airport bar
 

Mrs C and myself are just back from a couple of days in Donegal, when we were driving back she said that we should call into a Citroen Dealership in Belfast. She has a Citroen so I thought she needed something for her car, she had researched a Citroen C4 for me, we just bought a new car. I am not a person who thinks too much about cars, as long as they go and have a radio, I’m happy. This is the best car I have ever had, it has all the bells and whistles, only thing is I am going to have to look after it.
 
IrishBlue2022 said:
Have looked at Krakow for mid March for 3 nights with a few mates. Anyone any recommendations on where to stay if i do book. Booking.com seemed to be Have alot more apartments than hotels
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I stayed in an Ibis there. Quite liked the location. Right between old town and Kazimierz. Near the castle. From what I can remember the price was not too bad. For something more upmarket there’s a Novotel right next to it
 

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