The 2008 New  York Times Travel Show primer. When: Feb 29th - March 2nd 2008
Where: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street, New York 10001
About: Now in it’s 5th year, the NYT Travel Show is the biggest travel event in the United States, with over 30,000 attendees, 8000 travel industry professionals and over 500 tourism boards and official travel organization repesentation last year.

 Features booths providing information about services and destinations, with participation from travel services providers, destination cities, states and countries across the world. Also features state and federal travel agencies and private non-profits who try to raise awareness about specific travel related issues such as eco-tourism and travel safety. Tour operators promote and update visitors with latest deals and new attractions at destinations.

Highlights: Special travel deals and offers which are not available outside the show; Win free trips and prizes; Seminars explaining various travel related issues and tips for travelers; Comprehensive and detailed information about individual destinations, from Caribbean cruises to Asian hotsposts, European capitals and spa vacations; Meet best selling travel writers and published authors of travel books; A taste of cuisine from around the world at the ‘Taste of the World Pavilion’; Shows with music and dances showcasing the culture of various parts of the world; massages available at the Spa Pavilion during show hours.

Tickets: $15 per adult. Children below 18 are admitted free, subject to adult supervision. Online purchase of tickets -   http://www.expologic.com/registration/clients/nytts

Web Links:-
Official site: www.nyttravelshow.com ; 2007 NYT Travel Show video ; Javits Center 
Nearby Attractions: Madison Square Garden, Intrepid Sea Air Museum, Lincoln Tunnel
Hotel near Javits Center: The Westin New York Times Square ; More New York hotels.

In Part I of this series, we outlined ways to reduce air ticket costs, find hotel deals and discounts in New York and cheap airport to hotel transport. In Part II, we explored cheap eats at decent restaurants in New York City’s five boroughs.

In this post, the final part, we outline how to experience New York, visit the landmarks and tourist attractions, save on transportation costs, and lastly a mini shopping guide for NYC, with the best shopping deals and shopping streets in New York.

Want to go sightseeing in New York? Got 3 days? Buy the New York City Pass, which grants admission to over 40 top New York City attractions, with Grayline New York Sightseeing double-decker top deck view bus transport (optional), which takes you from one attraction to the next. Free multi-language guidebook with detailed maps, tips and directions for every tourist attraction which the pass provides access to. $145 for an adult pass and $139 for children below age 12.

If you don’t want to go on a guided and timed tour group on the bus, you have the option of buying just the pass, and arranging your own transport. 1 day adult pass costs $69, a 2 day pass for $99, a 3 day pass for $104 and a 7 day pass for $135.

The full list of New York tourist destinations which this pass takes you to are listed here, and the top 10 most popular attractions out of these are the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Madame Tussaud’s, New York Skyride, Circle Line River Cruise, Guggenheim Museum,  Natural History Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Rockefeller Center Tour and the New York Aquarium.

There are few more exhilarating experiences in the world for a budding shopping addict than a whirlwind shopping tour around New York’s famous boutique lined streets. And the shops on Fifth Avenue provide the ultimate high on this particular adventure. The list of the must visit shops along Fifth Anevue includes Bergdorf Goodman, Brooks Brothers, Bulgari, Cartier, Disney Store, Fendi, Ferragamo Women’s, Fortunoff, Gucci, H. Stern, Harry Winston, Henri Bendel, Kenneth Cole, Louis Vuitton, NBA Store, Prada, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Takashimaya, Tiffany & Co., Trump Tower, Van Cleef & Arpels and Versace.

Let’s bring down the budget a couple of notches with some discount shopping. The above listed stores are just perfect - For window shopping, and the occasional once in a lifetime splurge. But for the ordinary American tourist, these shops are a luxury. Besides, you can get the same designer duds at discount stores around New York. The trick is find these stores, and be able to pick out items in mint condition.

Century 21: www.c21stores.com, 22 Cortlandt Street, between Church St. and Broadway, (212) 227-9092, labelled as ‘New York’s Best Kept Secret’ (naturally everyone knows about it), offers steep discounts between 40% to 70% off retail prices, with 15 departments full of great bargains on a fine collection of designer clothing for men, women and children, shoes, accessories, lingerie, cosmetics, gifts, electronics, linen and houseware. In short, a shopper’s paradise. Which is why you’ll be literally fighting throngs of NYC residents and visitors to get hold of the best of the lot. Truly a memorable shopping experience….

Gabay’s: www.gabaysoutlet.com, 227 First Avenue, between 13th and 14th Street, (212) 529-4036. Gabay’s sells designer overstock for men and women from fine fifth avenue stores such as Bergdorf Goodman and Henri Bendel, at 50% to 80% off retail prices. Here, you’ll find the best brands and latest fashions, including handbags, shoes, eveningwear, suits, casual clothing, lingerie, sunglasses, swimwear and outerwear. Gabay’s stocks brand name items such as Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Gucci and Jimmy Choo for women, and Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Gucci for men.

Syms: www.syms.com, 400 Park Avenue, (212) 317-8200. Syms is the official off-price representative for over 200 designer and brand name products. Syms is particlarly helpful if you’re looking for bargains in gowns and men’s suits from designers like Oscar De La Renta. The Syms store in Park Avenue is generally stocked up well due to high demand, and you can get further discounts if you register on their website.

Ok. I guess that takes care of all the aspects of a cheap, expansive and memorable New York trip. If this three part guide helps you save money, that makes me happy. If you like New York a little bit more because of all this information, that makes me happy. If you decide you want to take a New York trip after reading all this, that makes me happy. But most of all, what makes me happy, is that New York is a city worth visiting, and writing about. Be safe.

Web links: www.iloveny.com, www.nyctourist.com, New York Times - Travel section

Continued from Part I, where we looked into ways to get hold of cheap air tickets, reduce airport to hotel transportation costs and finding decent hotels at affordable rates. While that takes of the major portion of your expenses for a visit to New York, it still leaves out your dining and sightseeing costs. So we’ll devote this post to finding cheap restaurants with decent food and the next one for sightseeing, shows and New York transportation.

Before we get down to the restaurants, a word of advice. Saving money on food in NYC is not so difficult, if you avoid midtown, buy extra large packs and share (Example: A large coffee at Starbucks shared between two people is cheaper than buying two small ones), and try to maximize takeaways, at least for lunch, which saves you a 15% tip. And if you’re on a really tight shoestring budget, head straight for Flushing, Chinatown, which is just about the cheapest place to eat in NYC, with splendid dim sum and dumpling stalls.

Assuming you’re following along from the first part of this article, you should be looking out of your downtown Manhattan hotel room window and seeing Times Square or Fifth Avenue and the Empire State Building. So let’s start with the best restaurants in Times Square which are not tourist traps, as in chain restuarants or fancy-decor-with-pricey-food-and-small-portions.

Italian food : Becco on 8th Avenue, located at 355 West 46th Street is famous for it’s filling pasta special lunch ($16.95) and dinner ($21.95).

Asian food: Ruby Foos on 49th Street, located at 1626 Broadway is an Asian fusion restaurant, which is all the rage nowadays, and serves up a dazzling and sumptous array of Asian cuisine including dim sum, sushi, and Thai dishes attractively priced from $6 to $30, and suitable for family groups with memebrs of differing ages. They even have hotdogs and grilled cheese for kids.

American food: Virgil’s on 6th Avenue, located on 152 West 44th Street, cooks up the best barbecue and Southern fried food in town, with Memphis ribs and Carolina pulled pork. No frills, massive and mouth watering helpings and you are sure to leave with a full stomach.  Often packed, so it might be best to call in at (212) 921-9494 and reserve a table. Entree costs from $8 to $22.

Other than this, there’s Edison Cafe, located in the Edison hotel, 228 West 47th Street,  which is a good place for a quick meal or a takeaway, with cheap pancakes, sandwiches and matzo ball soup. Most of the clientele are people who work in the neighbourhood, so the price is lower than at other places, and the food is pretty fresh.

Right, let’s widen our sights and take a look at the rest of New York. Please note that we have a dilemma here - Keep expenses low, and sample a variety of diners based on wherever you happen to be. These are links to lists of cheap eats in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island, which covers all five New York City boroughs. Listed below are best choice restaurants in each borough.

Manhattan: Becco - Pre-fix lunch ($16.95) and dinner ($21.95) with Italian antipasta and unlimited tableside pasta, ribeye steak, grilled veal chop and Italian wines. Info: www.becconyc.com , between 8th and 9th Avenue, 355 West 46th Street, (212) 397-7597

Brooklyn: Eamonn’s Irish Pub and Restaurant - Entrees attractively priced around or less than $15, with roasted chicken breast for $12.95, chicken curry with boiled rice for $11.95, Irish sausage with mashed potatoes for $9.95, and fish and chips for $10.95. Food is hot and spicy, cheap and filling. Takeaways, sandwiches, pasta and chicken wraps cost around $8 to $10. Info: www.eamonns.net , 174 Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights, (718) 596-4969.

Queens: Sentosa - Malaysian cuisine. Tastes good, spicy and cheap. Roti Canai for $3 and beef rendang for $9. Advantage with the Spicy & Tasy restaurant just two doors away, so you get even more options, if you are in the same area. Both restaurants are well known, excellent food and great rates. Info: 3907 Prince Street, Flushing, (718) 886-6331

Bronx: Rambling House - Full Irish breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, pudding, fries and toast for $9, fish and chips for $10, lamb stew for $12, sandwiches and wraps for $9. Cheap, fresh and filling. Takeaways advised. Info: www.ramblinghouse.com , 4292 Katonah Avenue, Woodlawn, (718) 798-0443.

Staten Island: Marina Cafe -  Seafood restaurant. Entrees from $15 to $18, including jumbo stuffed shrimps, lobster ravioli and sauteed shrimp with tomatoes and sauce. Sandwiches and wraps around $1o, including Hamburgers, steak mignon sandwiches and grilled chicken wraps. Info: www.marinacafegrand.com , 154 Mansion Avenue
Staten Island, (718) 967-3077.

So there we have it. A full tour of New York, with lunch breaks at decent and cheap restaurants. For foodies with a yearning for sampling the best food that New York has to offer, please visit the website and blog of legendary New York cabbie, Famous Fat Dave and follow his mouth watering adventures. With his guided food tour, you’ll not only see the real New York, you’ll taste it too.

In the next and final installment of this series, we’ll round up with discount passes which allow you entry into various tourist attractions and shopping in New York. Continued in Part III - New York Budget Sightseeing & Bargain Shopping.

New York is the city of the rich, and that has two meanings. First, that a lot of very rich people live here. Second, that living in New York takes a lot of money. Both true. But for the frugal traveler on a budget, there are ways and then some, to bring the costs down to affordable levels by digging up travel deals across the board, from airline tickets to cheap restaurants and affordable upscale hotels. Let’s take an in-depth look at traveling, staying and getting to know New York City without the support of a limitless credit card.

Airline Tickets - With hundreds of airline discounts and best deals being offered by thousands of websites and booking agents, it’s a bit difficult to even really know whether you have the lowest price or not. This is where services like Yahoo’s Farechase and Sidestep come in. Farechase searches through all available travel offers and gives you the best price, based on your boarding location, destination, travel date and preferences. For example, a search on both Farechase and Sidestep for a round trip fare for one person from Washington D.C. to New York costs $139. The same search on Expedia shows $144. Not much of a difference, but every dollar saved adds up. Always remember that locking in airfare prices when they’re low is the best way to get hold of a cheap air ticket.

Also consider the cost of getting to and from the airport. Unless your hotel is offering a shuttle service, this is usually where you get hit by the infamous New York cabbie. With tip and toll, a ride to JFK airport can cost upto $55. Since strangers to the Big Apple are usually too diffident and scared to ask around, they generally miss out on the cheaper options. Options include the Airtrain which transports passengers to and from the airports once evevry 3 minutes from 5 a.m. to midnight and once every 15 minutes after that, the New York Airport Service Express Bus for Manhattan, ETS Air Shuttle for Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens residents, and the Super Shuttle Manhattan which services all of New York City and the surrounding areas. Booking tickets online for these options usually result in significant savings, when compared to a taxi from the airport to your hotel.

Hotel Booking - Every visitor to New York wants a hotel with a view adjacent to Times Square. And that costs big bucks. If you lower your standards and settle for an ordinary hotel in the middle of nowhere, the crappy service and transport hassles will make you regret the entire vacation. A feasible alternative exists in finding a travel deal at one of the upscale hotels located in downtown Manhattan. The best way to do this is with Hotels.com.

A search for a New York hotel on Hotels.com lists prices starting at $170 for hotels in Times Square and $90 for one near Madison Square Garden. Lots of deals and a plethora of choices. Booking a hotel online, well in advance of the travel date, is likely to reduce the price a bit further.

In the next part, we’ll assume that you managed to fly in and are tucked into a comfortable and warm hotel room. That leaves exploring the joys of the Big Apple and hitting the streets of the City that never sleeps. We’ll take a look at restaurants which offer decent and reasonable food, and ways to get around New York without making a cabbie rich and shopping till you drop. Continued…Part II - Cheap restaurants in New York and Part III - Budget Sightseeing and Bargain Shopping in New York.

Aside from Ground Zero, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty are the most famous landmarks here at the Big Apple. And the Empire State Building wins the New York landmark race by a nose because of it’s proximity to the tourist attractions, including Times Square and the boutiques on Fifth Avenue.

Speaking of boutiques, the hottest trend here is the rise of boutique hotels in New York. Comfortable, centrally located, with a personal touch and smoothly discreet service, not to mention considerably lower room rates which the chain hotels just cannot match, these boutique hotels are quickly filling the open space in between luxury chains and lower end motels. And if you’re looking for a place to stay which offers all the above without putting a hole in your budget, Hotel 373 is New York’s newest boutique hotel, just steps away from the Empire State Building, in midtown Manhattan, at 373 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016; (212) 213-3388.

Consider this - You look out of your hotel room, and you have a view of the Empire State Building towering up above the sky line. You look down, and there’s a magnificient shopping paradise on Fifth Avenue, with Lord & Taylor, Saks and Tiffany’s vying for attention. Attractions within walking distance include the Rockefeller Center, Macy’s at Herald Square, Central Park, Madison Square Garden and the Garment District. Sound like a dream? Hold on to your hats until we get to the rooms.

Rooms start at $169, and each room has been designed with an excruciating eye for details and a perfection which you won’t find at the Marriott or a Hilton. Cherry wood furnishings, wall mounted flat screen LCD television, Complimetary wireless internet and local calls, iPod docks and marble bathrooms all combine to create an impression of an extra large room, when in reality it’s the same, but perfectly designed to maximize available space and make it look bigger.

It’s fairly obvious that somebody gave these rooms a great deal of thought and went to a heck of a lot of trouble to get it just right. The mix of modernity with artistic taste that the rooms display, as evidenced by the wall mounted television combining with a work desk and a comfortable chair quipped to handle laptops is well, a touch of genius. 

Go down to the lobby, and you find an in-hotel Starbucks. The Concierge is friendly, but not overtly so, and you’ll likely be able to set up anything you want, from directions to show reservations.

All said and done, Hotel 373 wins it hands down based on price and location, and as a bonus, we have great ambience, comfortable rooms which are surprisingly upscale considering the low rate and topped off with a pleasant surprise in the form of efficient service and smoothly functioning amneties.