There are dangerous places anywhere in Manhattan?

There's no reason for anyone to go west of 10th, but 8th, 9th and 10th are some of the busiest avenues. There isn't a time of the day or night when there aren't people on 8th avenue.

BigAppleBuckeye wrote: If you are treating yourself to a nice vacation, stay in Manhattan, you deserve it.

I honestly think staying in Manhattan would make the trip worse.

Too much hassle trying to get through the tunnels, park, unload all your stuff, stay in a small cramped room (unless you are paying $400 a night), and then have to get out of the city. Some of the hotels for around $200 a night didn't even have their own bathroom.

It's so much easier staying in Jersey, riding the bus to my hotel, and then hopping on and off anytime I want.

Manhattan Buckeye wrote: There are dangerous places anywhere in Manhattan?

There's no reason for anyone to go west of 10th, but 8th, 9th and 10th are some of the busiest avenues. There isn't a time of the day or night when there aren't people on 8th avenue.

I agree. I don't think I've ever felt in danger in Manhattan. I think you could even go up to Harlem without any worries these days.

Chinatown is a little iffy just because of all the peddlers following you around trying to sell you crap, but it's not bad either.

eersandbeers wrote:

BigAppleBuckeye wrote: If you are treating yourself to a nice vacation, stay in Manhattan, you deserve it.

I honestly think staying in Manhattan would make the trip worse.

Too much hassle trying to get through the tunnels, park, unload all your stuff, stay in a small cramped room (unless you are paying $400 a night), and then have to get out of the city. Some of the hotels for around $200 a night didn't even have their own bathroom.

It's so much easier staying in Jersey, riding the bus to my hotel, and then hopping on and off anytime I want.

Manhattan Buckeye wrote: There are dangerous places anywhere in Manhattan?

There's no reason for anyone to go west of 10th, but 8th, 9th and 10th are some of the busiest avenues. There isn't a time of the day or night when there aren't people on 8th avenue.

I agree. I don't think I've ever felt in danger in Manhattan. I think you could even go up to Harlem without any worries these days.

Chinatown is a little iffy just because of all the peddlers following you around trying to sell you crap, but it's not bad either.

I agree, I went this weekend and my fiance and I were both bragging about how good of an idea this was.

Part of the New York experience is enjoying the nightlife till the wee hours of the morning -- why would you want to shlep back to Jersey on a bus? Avoid it if you can, but take my advice with a grain of salt. If you really want to save a few bucks and stay in Jersey, go for it, but that is NOT how I would do it if I were a visitor.

You can find a decent hotel in Manhattan for a reasonable rate, I strongly recommend doing that.

Most of the neighborhoods in Jersey that border NYC, with the exception of Hoboken, well, kindof suck. Not exactly vacation destinations.

I can't disagree about the neighborhoods in Jersey, especially Weehawken, but you don't really need to go exploring in those areas.

And the last bus to Secaucus is at 2:00 am I believe so you have plenty of time to be out enjoying the city until the morning. And it starts running again at like 6:30 so you aren't really stuck if you don't want to be.

eersandbeers wrote: I can't disagree about the neighborhoods in Jersey, especially Weehawken, but you don't really need to go exploring in those areas.

And the last bus to Secaucus is at 2:00 am I believe so you have plenty of time to be out enjoying the city until the morning. And it starts running again at like 6:30 so you aren't really stuck if you don't want to be.

I respect your opinion eersandbeers, and Weehawken is decent I guess. But you hit the nail on the head: the last bus to Secaucus (which is a shithole) is at 2am, so you would have to leave the bar at 1:30. NYC bars close at 4am, and the swanky clubs don't close till 6am, if not later. If you are not a night owl, then no worries, but if you really want to experience NYC then stay in the city.

Thanks for the great input. I don't think I'll be swanking it up with A. Rod and Jeter til 6am. Probably the latest would be whatever time it takes to eat after a broadway show. We've planned far enough ahead that we most likely will stay midtown, as it's kind of nice to be able to just go back to the room to freshen up, as we have found that if there is one thing kind of lacking in NYC, it's an abundance of public restrooms.

I will be googling all of the suggestions, although I doubt we will do the NJ ones. Big Apple, thanks for the restraunt tips, she likes John's for pizza, and a place in Little Italy (Benitos or Venitos-I'm not sure-she is). Also, we are considering Empire State Building deck. It seems kind of expensive and there always seems to be a line, but she saw it in a movie and......
I saw the people running to the top in like 11 minutes. I've always been pretty good at running up steps. I'm thinking in 11 minutes I could make at least 22 floors. Can you walk up? Or is that only on the race day. BTW, Mrs. D will be waiting when I get there, there is no way in H### she would consider that, she would be on the elevator. They do have oxygen up there when you get there, don't they?

The Edison right on Time's Square is nice classic hotel, not too pricey either.

I never worried about being safe in NYC... we were in Harlem really late after dark( was in the Bronx at a Yankee game and was taking the subway to catch the bus) and wasn't scared one bit

http://www.thetravelinnhotel.com/
(212) 695-7171
515 W 42nd St
New York, NY

Stayed here in August. The Travel Inn Hotel. If you are driving into the city, they have free parking which is rare.
Grimaldis was fantastic, although the wait was amazingly long for some pizza pie. We also ate at Il Cantinori in the Village, I thought it was very good.

there's all sorts of good Pizza joints in Manhattan. Angelo's just south of Columbus Circle near Trump Tower is my favorite