First time to NYC? Check a map to see if your plans are too ambitious

I don't live in the NY area now but I did for over 50 years before I moved. The most common mistake people make is not realizing that even though NYC looks compact it is an island and the traffic patterns can be nightmarish. One of my relatives showed up and insisted on doing an itinerary she had put together beforehand and I saw that it was going to be 20 percent sightseeing and 80 percent traveling around in circles. She insisted on doing it her way and it wasn't fun. Another person decided she would save $50 per night on a hotel and stay by LGA and travel into the city each day. Luckily I talked her out of that. She would lose quite a bit of time just sitting in traffic. Another relative thought we could drop her off at LGA on our way to work (we worked about 55 miles east of LGA and it would be a weekday morning.) I am not saying that anyone is to blame here. Not at all. I have been known to show up unprepared and have a few travel disasters of my own. It is just that if you only have a day or two in NYC research, research, research which is probably why you are on this board and you are doing a good thing for yourself.

Good advice. It's always a question of balancing time, money, and stress.

Amen!

I don't discount the value of HOHO busses in Manhattan for orientations or to see the exteriors of a lot of buildings, but the traffic down Broadway with several crosstown jaunts on streets stacked three deep with taxis and delivery trucks just makes me cringe. That's why most of us recommend dividing Manhattan into a Downtown day and Midtown day, with an Uptown bonus if you have more time. And look at a map! I put together a walking tour a few years back that I still post from time to time. It's so easy to see so many sites in Midtown if you don't try to divide it into the neighborhoods in almost all tour books!

My biggest fear is always the poster with limited mobility, as NYC is a city that has to be experienced, on the ground, not seen. And that really means walking...