I arrive at Newark International Airport:
We take the NY transit train to reach the New York Penn Station from where we take the metro E line to get down at 63rd Rego Park
Since we reach our destination in the evening we decided to take rest and explore the city the next day.
Next Day its time to explore the Island City sneak through a few attractions and the first on list is:
Times Square is accessible through MTA Subway 42nd Street; the busy shopping district with illuminated signs.
The square located between 42nd Street to 47th Street has more tourists than residents present at the square.
A 5 minute walk from times square is Empire State Building located at intersection of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street; an 103 storey sky scrapper which was once the world's tallest building.
The biggest attraction is the observatory deck located at 86 the floor providing a 360 degree view of the city.
There are five lines to the observatory deck: side walk line, lobby elevator line, second elevator line, ticket purchase line and the line to get onto the observatory deck.
The fee for the Main Deck located at 86th Floor is USD 29 for Adult, USD 26 for seniors above 62 years and USD 23 for Child between 6 to 12 years.
You can skip the line and reach the main deck if you are ready to shell out USD 50 more.
If you want to visit the main deck and top deck located at 102nd Floor; the fees are:
Adult: USD 46
Senior (62 years +): USD 43
Child (6 to 12 years): USD 40
You can skip the line and reach both the main and top deck if you are ready to shell out USD 67.
Next up is Liberty Island; from 34th Street take the R line and get down at Whitehall Street.
If arriving by bus; you have three options M5, M15 and M20 which stop at South Ferry.
The timings are:
The first ferry departs from Mainland at 9:00 am and last ferry at 3:30 pm; the final ferry from Liberty Island departs at 5:00 pm; the ferries are open for longer time during spring.
You should also factor in time require to clear security screening and waiting time to board the ferry.
The Fees are:
Ferry Fees USD 9 for Children between age of 4 to 12 years
USD 18 for adults aged 13+ and USD 14 for seniors aged 62+.
Crown access charge USD 3 and there is no extra fee for pedestal access
Next up Central Park accessible through metro from 59th Street, Fifth Avenue.
This is the place where you find various flora and fauna and reservoirs.
The most visited recreational ground where you can see all the new yorkers.
Next day we take two day tour to Niagara Falls; there are pick up points from flushing mall which takes you to china town and from there you proceed onwards to the 428 Miles journey.
On the way there are various excursions which makes journey time of approx 10 hours.
Since we visited during the end of winter we had a stopover at Corning Glass Museum where you can learn the art of glass making.
The fees are USD 16 for adults and free if you are aged 19 or below; the rates are almost half if you are local resident; open from 9 am to 5 pm in winter time (hours extended in summer).
You should not miss the hot glass show if you happen to visit the museum.
We reach the city of Niagara falls by 5 pm and have stop at mall where you get cuisines from all over the world; India Food, Chinese Food, Greek Food, Italian Food and American Food.
We reach around sunset time to catch glimpse of the falls (quite cold for end of winter) barely able to take my gloves off to catch some pictures.
. We are kept at Hotel Inn, Buffalo about 30 minute drive way from the City of Niagara Falls.
Next day, the first excursion on the list is to the Old Fort located on mouth of Lake Ontario; if you got good binoculars you can even see the skyline of the City at the other end of Lake.
The hours of operation are 9 am to 5 pm from January to June and September to December.
The hours are extended by two hours from July to August i.e. from 9 am to 7 pm.
Admission Rates are:
Adult USD 12
Children (6 to 12 years) USD 8
Free if you are below 5 years
What to do at the Fort; explore the original building where the soldiers were based and if you want a souvenir the museum shop is where you should be headed to.
There are even two characters who play the role of British and French soldiers who play their 18th century roles gleefully for the audiences.
Second excursion for the day is a visit to Robert Moses Power Plant an hydro electric power station which uses Niagara river for power generation shared by both USA and Canada.
We spent half an hour there before moving back to morning visit to Niagara falls a much warmer time and took a long walk to see the bride falls and horse shoe falls and use the binocular to catch a glimpse of Toronto on the other side of the falls.
Few attractions while at the falls:
Niagara Adventure Falls Adventure Movie tells the history of human interaction with the falls their stories told on 45 foot wide screen has an run time of 45 minutes (Fess USD 12 for adult and USD 8 for child of 3 -12 years) an optional part of tour.
Maid of the Mist: The best opportunity for the tourist to get up close and personal with falls.(Fess USD 11 for adult and USD 9.90 for child under 11 years) an optional part of tour.
Although I was told it is operational only in summers and not in winters.
The best way to experience the falls is through the Maid of the Mist and see the falls from the Canadian side the best view is from there.
We depart back to New York and reach there by 9 pm and depart back home by next day.
The post would be incompletely without thanking Neeta Aunty and her family who made us feel like being at home away from home.
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