[AlanQS]

My sons are sending my wife and me to the above locations as an early Christmas present for a special birthday for my wife in the second half of March.

Any particularly good sites to go to or activities in these two cities?

[greggS]

For New York the statue of liberty, central park is a must see, an helicopter ride above the city is also advised and since you,re travelling with the wife, a show on broadway would earn you many brownie points. With regards to San Francisco, I think visiting Alcatraz would be intriguing. Have a good trip

[MTibbs]

New York - Empire State Building observation deck, Times Square, If you like Steak....Peter Luger's in Brooklyn. Keep the wife away from 5th ave and Madison Ave uptown. That's where all the high end fashion shopping is! Each area of Manhattan has it's own flavor. Check out Lower East Side for a "real NY" non- tourist area. Especially at night. Cielo nightclub 18 Little W 12th street if you like house music and dancing. Too many others to mention.

[ejw2011]

San Fran...
Drive down on Lombard Street ( crooked street)
Drive from the top and down on California Street
Drive over Golden Gate Bridge, exit and drive to top of mountain at end of Golden gate to view city.
Visit Presido to view bridge
Drive to Mt. Tam and hike up to mountain for spectacular view of entire city.
Visit Union Square.
Take trolley

Use to live there and taken many visitors for site seeing

Cheers

[onebadmofo]

Originally Posted by MTibbs

New York - Empire State Building observation deck,

Actually no, don't go there. Go to "Top of the Rock" in Rockefeller Center. The view is better than ESB and almost no lines. At ESB you'll be waiting in line for 2 hours, no kidding.
If you'll be in the area get some chicken and rice from food cart on 53rd and 6th, they're considered one of the best in the city. You can recognize them by yellow signs and the guys that cook food are dressed in yellow as well.

[dakhu1]

Originally Posted by onebadmofo

Actually no, don't go there. Go to "Top of the Rock" in Rockefeller Center. The view is better than ESB and almost no lines. At ESB you'll be waiting in line for 2 hours, no kidding.
If you'll be in the area get some chicken and rice from food cart on 53rd and 6th, they're considered one of the best in the city. You can recognize them by yellow signs and the guys that cook food are dressed in yellow as well.

Fully agree that the Top of the Rock Observation Deck is the place to go for the views - just came back fom NYC a couple of months back and this was a great place to take in the sights.

Also, Statue of Liberty and if you want cheap shopping, forget Times Square/NYC and get a shuttle (most hotels have links with these guys) and go to Woodbury Common, which is about 1.5 hours away and has over 200 outlets. Sign up with VIP outlets before and print a voucher booklet - the discounts are better then the coupons you get at the mall. I forgot my online coupons in the hotel and missed out on about $500 of extra discounts

[onebadmofo]

You can buy that booklet in food court for 10 bucks

[m@rk]

Everything the others have said but also pack your walking shoes and make the most of public transport.

In NYC the buses run North to South and East to West. We spent one day just jumping on and off and got to see all the sites that the normal tour buses went to but for less than $10 all in. The subway is also a must do and of course, Central Park.

In SF, again, work out where the cable cars go, buy a day ticket and off you go.

If shopping is what you seek then the outlet is worth a trip but if you are staying in the city and end up in Macys, go up to the customer services desk with your passport first and they will give you a discount card (15% when we were there) that will last your entire stay.

Enjoy

[dakhu1]

Originally Posted by onebadmofo

You can buy that booklet in food court for 10 bucks

You can indeed, but when I compared the savings in the book against the ones I got online, there were substantially better discounts in the online coupons - beats me as to why this was the case!!

[AlanQS]

Thanks for your comments to date gents. We have got Alcatraz covered as we have a trip booked courtesy of another Christmas gift from a relative - it turns out that other family members were in on the trip surprise.

How much are internal flights for example, SF to LA or Las Vegas, and, with only three days in New York, could a trip to Boston be included and if so, train or 'plane?

[Billyray911]

If its of interest to you,the 911 memorial and museum is worth a visit-although its free,you have to book a slot though.
Also,the USS intrepid air, sea and space museum may be worthwhile.
I'm off to NY in a couple of days and plan to pay them both a visit.
Remember your ESTA before you go as well!

[Billyray911]

Repeat!

[Billyray911]

Repeat!

[Billyray911]

Repeat!

[AlanQS]

What is ESTA?

[misterS3]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

What is ESTA?

Good guide here
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/esta-usa-visa

[AlanQS]

Thanks.

I think this is something the U.K. should consider under "reciprocity."

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

Thanks.

I think this is something the U.K. should consider under "reciprocity."

It was all on track to be rolled out this year (at great expense) but was cancelled when the new government came to power last year.

Keeping our borders secure clearly isn't important to the current crowd unless yo count miles and miles of queues at the airport with the hope people will just stop bothering.

[Dannyrado]

Flights in the US are easy. Virgin america for me, completely different to any experience you'll have with our crappy airlines. They fly SFO to LAS aswell. Also look at Jetblue. Use skyscanner.net to find the lowest fares if that's all you want.

Agree, Top of the rock is the way to go.

Make sure your sons (or you) sign you and your wife seperately, up to whatever loyalty scheme your airline has. That way you'll earn miles for your transatlantic trip, which can be valuable, if you travel a lot. Like "Executive club" if it's BA, or "Flying club" if it's virgin, for example.

As for Boston, save that, 3 days in NYC is barely enough. Especially if say you were delayed inbound to NYC. It's happened to us, regularly.

Enjoy it, it'll be amazing.

[AlanQS]

Thanks for all your tips gents. I'm off tomorrow morning and I think I might just hire a car in San Francisco for a couple of days to get around the place. I've always wanted to drive the Pacific highway with the view of the Golden Gate as you head towards SF.

[JLR1969]

Visit Alcatraz

[sheps]

Echo top of the rock is a better view, but visit ESB at night; less queues and brilliant night scape of NY. Make sure you visit the River Cafe at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge for your last night in NY - very special. Tao is also excellent.