4 Worst Mistakes Visitors Make

4 Mistakes NYC Visitors Make That Can Ruin Your Trip


1. Wrong Hotel

Booking the wrong hotel will ruin your trip. There are countless ways you can go wrong here. The most common is that the hotel doesn’t look the same as it did online. The room is shockingly tiny, the paint is peeling, the bedspread is polyester, there’s no closet in the room, etc. Many people choose hotels in remote suburbs, thinking they are saving money. However, when subways stop running or become too inconvenient, you end up paying for taxis, which eats up your savings. Even worse, you can spend two hours per day commuting to your hotel (they always advertise it’s 15 minutes away) and waste more than 15% of your vacation. You are better off finding reasonably priced hotels near the center of the action.

2. Wrong Restaurants

Without a travel agent to tell you where to eat, what are you going to do? You’ll go to Olive Garden, Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, or some other chain you are familiar with so you don’t risk bad food at a high price. This is the WORST thing you can do. Find someone to recommend local unique restaurants. NEVER eat in a high traffic tourist area. That spells bad food at high prices. Those places stay in business because they don’t need repeat business. Find a small place out of the way. They are still in business because locals keep going back for the great food. Ask your hotel concierge. Or call an OnBoard Ambassador at 1-212-852-4821 (NYC) or 1-301-839-5261 (DC). Read reviews on Yelp.com or Zagat.com.

3. Wasting Hours of Your Vacation in Long Lines

Up to 3 hours to visit the Statue of Liberty. Over 1 hour for the Washington Monument. Nearly two hours for the Empire State Building. Waiting for the next trolley or double-decker bus to come by with an empty seat. Think about doing those things in 100 degree heat, or in the rain, or in the cold. Is that why you are going on vacation? Don’t waste that much of your vacation. If there is a long line, there is probably a better way to do it. Go to the top of Rockefeller Center with a prepurchased, time specific ticket. Choose the Old Post Office Tower instead of the Washington Monument. Take a ride on New York Water Taxi or Circle Line Downtown’s Zephyr and get up close and personal with the Statue of Liberty with no wait — and you’ll get to see the Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building and Chrysler Building and Lower Manhattan from the boat! Again, ask your hotel concierge or call an OnBoard Ambassador to figure out how to circumvent the lines.

4. Failing to “Get the Lay of the Land”


New York City Sightseeing Tours