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Going to Boston and NYC at the end of June.

M

Martinski43

Member
So here's the deal i have booked a trip to the US, namely Boston - Bridgeport (pit stop) - NYC at the dates of 23rd June to 5th July. And i want some new neat tricks and tips for my upcoming trip. :) I will be traveling by myself and using mass transit, trains, subways, buses.

I have been to both cities in 2015 so i have done some previous things.

What i have planned so far..

I have booked 4 nights at a central hotel in Boston. First i had planned to see U2 at Gilette stadium at the 25th, but those plans are canned at the moment. Only resale tickets at a high price there and seems to be a hassle to get to the venue. Instead i have been thinking about going to a Red Sox game at the classic Fenway Park. They have some home games during the time i am in Boston so might be a good time to catch that.

Been also thinking about going out to Manchester by the Sea and just take in the classic new england atmosphere and having a nice lunch and ice cream.

See the Harvard Campus.

Last time in Boston i took the Freedom Trail, although not all the way up to Bunker Hill me and my family were quite worn out that day after getting to North End. Also went on Whale safari from Gloucester.

During the pit stop in Bridgeport the 27th theres a ballgame at a ballpark not far from my hotel. Might be fun to go to a smaller ballgame thats non MLB. Seems to be a real americana thing to do.

In NYC i have 7 nights booked. And i have only one real thing booked during these days and its my U2 concert at Metlife Stadium the 29th of June. I will be statying at Leon Hotel thats close to China Town / Manhatann Bridge.

In 2015 i went and did these things. Walked Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island, One world observatory, Top of the rock, Times square, biked in central park, Wall Street.. checked off quite alot of the most typical touristy things.

This time maybe time to see more of Brooklyn, go to Coney Island? Take the ferry to staten island? Probably will see the 9/11 Memorial museum, somehow missed that las time.

Also smaller input on how the experience by traveling by Amtrak is, how going on a trip like this by yourself can be in the US and so on.

Cheers :)
 
Amory

Amory

Member
Haha Bridgeport blows. But assuming you're talking about a Bluefish game, they're alright. Tiny ballpark, kinda fun family atmosphere.

Any particular reason you're taking your pit stop there? It's not a great place.
 
M

Martinski43

Member
Amory said:
Haha Bridgeport blows. But assuming you're talking about a Bluefish game, they're alright. Tiny ballpark, kinda fun family atmosphere.

Any particular reason you're taking your pit stop there? It's not a great place.
Click to expand...

Yep Bluefish game, no particular reason really other than the hotel there was the most reasonably priced compared to New Haven or New London. But its just over the day so and going to a smaller town that "blows" can also be an experience ;) haha

Also the show Sneaky Pete take place in Bridgeport ;D
 
M

Martinski43

Member
ModernBoxes said:
Cool. Lots of places in the city that are awesome but you might be avoiding. Where are you from?
Click to expand...

Traveling from Sweden. But been to the US lots before.

Lived in Texas for a year. Went on couple of road trips and seen quite alot of the country (more than ive seen of Sweden lol). Been to odd places like Idaho for example.
 
Amory

Amory

Member
Martinski43 said:
Yep Bluefish game, no particular reason really other than the hotel there was the most reasonably priced compared to New Haven or New London. But its just over the day so and going to a smaller town that "blows" can also be an experience ;) haha

Also the show Sneaky Pete take place in Bridgeport ;D
Click to expand...

Yeah, it'll be fine for a day.

Anyway, Boston...

  • Harvard Square and a Sox game are good choices
  • Italian dinner in the North End (I always recommend Antico Forno but it's hard to go wrong wherever you go)
  • Walk around Boston Common on a nice day
  • never been to Manchester by the Sea personally, not sure if it's much of a tourist destination. Maybe it is, someone else can confirm. I'd recommend Newburyport for a day trip, shopping, and "new england experience". Or even Cape Cod, if you're willing to take an hour's trip outside the city.

And on your way from Bridgeport to Boston, you SHOULD stop off in New Haven and go to Frank Pepe's Pizza. I don't know if it's the best pizza in the US, but it's the best I've ever had, and it shouldn't be far out of your way since you'll pass through New Haven anyway.
 
M

Martinski43

Member
Amory said:
Yeah, it'll be fine for a day.

Anyway, Boston...

  • Harvard Square and a Sox game are good choices
  • Italian dinner in the North End (I always recommend Antico Forno but it's hard to go wrong wherever you go)
  • Walk around Boston Common on a nice day
  • never been to Manchester by the Sea personally, not sure if it's much of a tourist destination. Maybe it is, someone else can confirm. I'd recommend Newburyport for a day trip, shopping, and "new england experience". Or even Cape Cod, if you're willing to take an hour's trip outside the city.

And on your way from Bridgeport to Boston, you SHOULD stop off in New Haven and go to Frank Pepe's Pizza. I don't know if it's the best pizza in the US, but it's the best I've ever had, and it shouldn't be far out of your way since you'll pass through New Haven anyway.
Click to expand...

Some good tips there. Will defo go have a italian dinner in north end. :)
I am going from Boston to NYC but maybe that doesnt matter wich way i go, can you get off an Amtrak train and get on another one like an hour or two later on the same ticket? If i can i will stop in New Haven and try that pizza.

Already booked my train ticket you see a week ago :) Yep wont miss the macy's fireworks over east river :)
 
M

Martinski43

Member
Also how well is Uber these days? Fares and so on. Should i rely just on mass transit or is Uber a good way to get around to some places?
 
Z

Zona

Member
M

Martinski43

Member
Zona said:
For NYC the Met and the MoMa are both well worth it if you have any interest in art. Any museum with a "recommended donation" are sorta free, you can give a penny if you want. Personally I try and give as close to the recommended donation as I can afford, but that's just me. Here's a list of them, along with the ones that have free/reduced price days and hours.

The NYC Parks department keeps an event calendar you can browse though, including lots of free events. It covers all five burrows.
Click to expand...

Went to a couple of Smithsonian museums in DC in 2015 and they had the same model and it was great. Im not hugely into art but can be good anyway :)

Free events in parks around the city sounds great too. :)
 
M

meow

Member
I'm pretty sure your Amtrak ticket is train-specific, so I don't recommend getting off unless you want to buy another ticket.

Don't know about Boston but uber/lyft in manhattan is pretty easy most times. The rates are obviously variable but I've taken the Fidi to Midtown route many times for work. Just for context, I've seen the uberpool option as low as under $5, up to maybe $18 or so when it was really busy, for the distance from basically the bottom tip of the island up to grand central. Shorter uber routes I've seen for $3 uberpool. The regular Uberx option probably isn't worth it to you as an individual rider in most situations. I've found that google maps is pretty reliable for telling you which lines to take for the subway/buses.

If you're into broadway shows, most of them have rush tickets available for around $40 every day when the box office opens. Sleep No More is also pretty cool to check out.
 
M

Martinski43

Member
meow said:
I'm pretty sure your Amtrak ticket is train-specific, so I don't recommend getting off unless you want to buy another ticket.

Don't know about Boston but uber/lyft in manhattan is pretty easy most times. The rates are obviously variable but I've taken the Fidi to Midtown route many times for work. Just for context, I've seen the uberpool option as low as under $5, up to maybe $18 or so when it was really busy, for the distance from basically the bottom tip of the island up to grand central. Shorter uber routes I've seen for $3 uberpool. The regular Uberx option probably isn't worth it to you as an individual rider in most situations. I've found that google maps is pretty reliable for telling you which lines to take for the subway/buses.

If you're into broadway shows, most of them have rush tickets available for around $40 every day when the box office opens. Sleep No More is also pretty cool to check out.
Click to expand...

Rush tickets for a Broadway show sounds like a real good tip, didnt know that was a thing.

Maybe theres something at Comedy Cellar?
 
Z

Zona

Member
meow said:
I'm pretty sure your Amtrak ticket is train-specific, so I don't recommend getting off unless you want to buy another ticket.

Don't know about Boston but uber/lyft in manhattan is pretty easy most times. The rates are obviously variable but I've taken the Fidi to Midtown route many times for work. Just for context, I've seen the uberpool option as low as under $5, up to maybe $18 or so when it was really busy, for the distance from basically the bottom tip of the island up to grand central. Shorter uber routes I've seen for $3 uberpool. The regular Uberx option probably isn't worth it to you as an individual rider in most situations. I've found that google maps is pretty reliable for telling you which lines to take for the subway/buses.

If you're into broadway shows, most of them have rush tickets available for around $40 every day when the box office opens. Sleep No More is also pretty cool to check out.
Click to expand...

1322776739-sleepnomore3_alick_crossley.jpg
Click to expand...

I agree, it's a really cool experience especially if ones never seen any interactive theater before. You can also get really reasonably priced tickets by booking ahead and going on like a Tuesday.
 
M

Martinski43

Member
Zona said:
I agree, it's a really cool experience especially if ones never seen any interactive theater before. You can also get really reasonably priced tickets by booking ahead and going on like a Tuesday.
Click to expand...

Good site to check what shows are on Broadway atm and to look for tickets? :)
 
Z

Zona

Member
Martinski43 said:
Good site to check what shows are on Broadway atm and to look for tickets? :)
Click to expand...

Sleep No More's site is here, it's right by the High Line which is also worth a visit. For Broadway Broadway.com will give you a list of what's currently playing. Someone else will have to tell you were to get tickets cheap I'm afraid, I have no idea.

Also keep in mind cheap is going to be a really relative term here.
 
R

RedNalgene

Member
Martinski43 said:
Good site to check what shows are on Broadway atm and to look for tickets? :)
Click to expand...

This is what you want for discount Broadway: https://www.tdf.org/nyc/7/tkts-ticket-booths

There's a booth in Times Square (and a few other places around the city). Each morning they have discounted same day tickets, so if you're not looking for a specific show this is a goldmine. You're not going to get Hamilton or Book of Mormon, but there are good shows on there.
 
M

meow

Member
Martinski43 said:
Good site to check what shows are on Broadway atm and to look for tickets? :)
Click to expand...

http://www.nytix.com/Links/Broadway/lotteryschedule.html
http://www.playbill.com/article/broadway-rush-lottery-and-standing-room-only-policies-com-116003

Some of them you need to go earlier than others, depending on popularity. Some shows only have like 10 tickets each day held for rush. Box office typically opens at 10am (noon on Sundays, no shows on Mondays), but you should check the specific theatre. You should be able to find more info by googling the specific show you want to see. Some shows I have gotten tickets by rolling up at like 9:45, some shows I get there at 9:30 and there are already like 60 people in line.

Don't see Chicago if you have any other options, btw, not worth it. Only do tkts if no rush available for what you want to see or you miss the rush tickets and have to see something.

Judging from the amount of people who don't seem to know about this, I feel like I shouldn't tell people lol. Only making my life more difficult for getting tickets.
 
T

The Albatross

Member
Whale safari, haha

for your Boston stuff, likewise, I'd skip the U2 concert at Gillette. Foxborough is not anywhere near Boston and it's inconvenient to get to. There's a train that runs but it'll be super over-crowded to and from.

I'd skip Manchester by the Sea, I mean... it's nice... but it's like any New England coastal town. Being from Massachusetts, I had honestly never heard of it until the movie came out last year. Like someone else had said, Newburyport, for Massachusetts coastal towns, is much nicer with more to do. Newburyport Brewery is a great brewery too.

My recommendations for Boston always end up being around breweries. If you're a big beer drinker let me know. There's a dozen great breweries within 5 miles of the center of Boston, and two dozen within 30 miles.

Fenway is awesome, I'd recommend it.

Uber is everywhere in Boston. You'll never wait more than a few minutes anywhere within the 128/95 loop.
 
M

Martinski43

Member
Defo wont skip a ballgame at Fenway then, seems most Bostonians recommend that. :)

Breweries are allways fun to go to so will look into these.

Last time out i went with my whole family and my parents are suckers for things like going on cave tours and stuff like whale watching so yes indeed Whale safari / watching ;D Took ages to get out there where the whales were at though, but we got very good views on em.
 
N

Neodiablo22

Member
Martinski43 said:
Yep Bluefish game, no particular reason really other than the hotel there was the most reasonably priced compared to New Haven or New London. But its just over the day so and going to a smaller town that "blows" can also be an experience ;) haha

Also the show Sneaky Pete take place in Bridgeport ;D
Click to expand...
The Merritt Canteen and Micalizzis are good places to eat. Also the zoo isn't bad.

http://www.micalizzis.com
http://www.merrittcanteen.com


If you are going to get pizza in CT, get Colony. Pepe's and Sally's are only good if you want burnt pizza. NY pizza is still better then all of them. If you go to New Haven, hit up Louis lunch for a burger

http://www.louislunch.com/index_mobile.php?action=mobile_index

http://www.colonygrill.com
 
S

Sonicbug

Member
I'm gonna recommend Plymouth over Manchester. Plymouth is a 45 minute commuter rail ride from Boston, there are GATRA busses to get around town.

Except our replica boat is in drydock, but the rest of downtown is nice and you can fulfill your seafood and ice cream quota.
 
M

Martinski43

Member
How do you rate Plymouth or Newburyport? Seems Newburyport is the 'better' option of the two when reading about it so. 1 hr train ride from north station in Boston.

So there arent really much you do in NJ side in NYC metro area, if you wanna do something in NJ then you go further to Atlantic City it seems. Maybe thats a bit too far when only being there for like a week.. :)

DUMBO in Brooklyn seems quite nice.


Seems i am drunk when spelling some words. Oh my.
 
M

Martinski43

Member
Another thing, where can i buy NFL stuff? Last time out i found it weird that there werent any big NFL shop on manhattan for example. So where should i go if i wanna get a new Cowboys baseball cap for example?
 
S

Sonicbug

Member
Martinski43 said:
How do you rate Plymouth or Newburyport? Seems Newburyport is the 'better' option of the two when reading about it so. 1 hr train ride from north station in Boston.
Click to expand...

I've never been to Newburyport. I'm from Plymouth so I'm biased and can't answer that. (Ha.) Fuck my town I guess?
 
M

Mahonay

Banned
If you want to hit up Brooklyn, Bushwick is pretty awesome right now. When I get home later I can type up some suggestions.

DUMBO is great for more of that downtown BK feel.

Amtrak is fine. Take it pretty often myself. Not great, not awful. Don't be surprised by delays.
 
M

Martinski43

Member
Mahonay said:
If you want to hit up Brooklyn, Bushwick is pretty awesome right now. When I get home later I can type up some suggestions.

DUMBO is great for more of that downtown BK feel.

Amtrak is fine. Take it pretty often myself. Not great, not awful. Don't be surprised by delays.
Click to expand...

I got 'time' for delays that is why i booked the morning trains so i got some leeway in case of a delay.

Gonna look up Bushwick as well, seems Newburyport it is then ;)
 
M

Martinski43

Member
Bumping my thread with an update.

Got myself my Baseball tickets now!
Boston Red Sox vs Los Angeles Angels June 24th 7.15 pm.
Got Roof Box 31 section Row B for Fenway Park, seemed decent enough for the ticket price of $81.

Also tickets for a Bluefish game the 27th June for $12 .. bit of a price difference since those seats were pretty much at the home dugout. :D
Bridgeport Bluefish vs York Revolution.

2 evening games are gonna be chill. Sitting out in the sun in a stadium isnt ideal for me.
 
T

TheLostBigBoss

Banned
The Albatross said:
Newburyport > Plymouth if you're looking for that quintessential small New England coastal town feel.
Click to expand...

Downtown Newburyport is great. Lots of places to drink as well and some decent food too

(May be biased because I live like 20 minutes away from it)

Also OP, be sure to have a backup plan in case of a rain out
 
T

TheLostBigBoss

Banned
Martinski43 said:
Likely will be a trip to Newburyport at 25th or 26th of June then. :)
Click to expand...

Oh, if you're heading to Newburyport, go over the bridge to Salisbury and get some food at "The Deck". Might be around a half an hour wait or if it's a nice day out, but it's probably one of the top spots to eat in the area atm.
 
M

Martinski43

Member
TheLostBigBoss said:
Oh, if you're heading to Newburyport, go over the bridge to Salisbury and get some food at "The Deck". Might be around a half an hour wait or if it's a nice day out, but it's probably one of the top spots to eat in the area atm.
Click to expand...

Got it, it's tips like these i want. Would've never figured going out to Newburyport and going to that place on my own. :D

Is that Sox game likely to be a sold out game?
 
fixedpoint

fixedpoint

Member
Martinski43 said:
Yep Bluefish game, no particular reason really other than the hotel there was the most reasonably priced compared to New Haven or New London. But its just over the day so and going to a smaller town that "blows" can also be an experience ;) haha

Also the show Sneaky Pete take place in Bridgeport ;D
Click to expand...

Bridgeport itself can be a bit rough, but there are some fun bars and restaurants in the Black Rock area right up the road (take a cab) - particularly the Walrus + Carpenter, Pepe's Pizza is nearby in Fairfield, and you're also close to the ferry to Port Jefferson on Long Island, which can be a fun trip if you want to spend the day doing it.
 
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