The Statue of Liberty: Open for Business

The Statue of Liberty’s crown was closed after September 11th. Since then, visitors to Liberty Island could walk around her feet, but not go all the way up and peek through her head.

The Statue is reopening on the 4th of July though, and tickets for the first few days have already sold out.

If you’re planning a trip to New York, you can avoid long lines and get tickets up to a year ahead of time by ordering online or calling 877-523-9849. Tickets for adults are $15 (that includes the boat ride).

Be ready for some exercise when you get there, because the only way to the top is 168 steps in a tiny stairwell.

And did the French think to put air conditioning into our Lady? Non! However hot it is outside, expect it to be 15-20 degrees warmer inside, before you start sweating. (Bring your eco-friendly water bottle to stay hydrated.)

As long as you’re touring the statue, consider a stop at Ellis Island. Will Smith liked it enough to visit there in “Hitch”, and the stories of the 20 million people who arrived in America through this island should keep your interest too. 

Learn more at www.ellisisland.org.

Do the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for Cheap!

Is the sugar starting to wear off from Halloween? Are you starting to wonder what you’ll spend all your time doing once the election is over? What to read? What to watch? What to debate about?

Here’s somewhere to channel all that energy: New York City, for the coldest… er… coolest parade around.

Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, and if you’re on the East Coast and not sure what to do for the holiday (home is too far, school dorms are closed, Cancun is too expensive) then consider hunkering down on a sidewalk for a night and have front-row seats to an American institution.

A Greyhound bus can get you to NYC from Boston, Philadelphia or Washington DC for as low as $12 with an online fare, and there are several hostels to choose from in Manhattan with rates as low as $15 a night. Take a look at Travel CUTS’ accommodation finder to see a full list of hostels and budget hotels.

The parade is free – no tickets required – and you can also see the balloons get blown up the night before. For details on where that takes place, plus information on where to sit, when to get to the parade route (as early as possible), and where to get some turkey afterward, visit macys.com.

Spend New Year’s In New York!

It doesn’t matter if you’re still busy with back-to-school shopping and haven’t even thought about your Halloween costume yet. New Year’s is one of those things that sneaks up on you. Procrastinate now and before you know it you’re scrambling for a date, a party, a ticket to a concert, anything you can get your hands on to keep you out of the house and away from Dick Clark’s shabby replacement.

One of the easiest things to do is get a friend or two together now and book a trip to New York where you can greet 2009 in style – screaming at the top of your lungs in Times Square.

Contiki is offering just such a trip with a package that includes twin-share accommodations, a metro pass, tour guide and some meals. They’ll get you settled with a place to stay, basic sightseeing and some other student travelers that you might hit it off with, and then you can personalize the trip by planning your own must-sees around that. The package is reasonably priced at USD $845 for five days and can be booked right now.

Will the Naked Cowboy be around for a New Year’s kiss? That I don’t know. But there will be plenty of other lips around for you to meet and greet. Book this now so that you can cross it off your To Do list and start putting your real planning efforts into Spring Break

Daytripping, Flight of the Conchords Style

If you already know you won’t be able to take a massive vacation this summer, start planning a smaller one. What do you have available to you? A friend’s car? A bus ticket? Maybe just subway fare?

Without going far, you can still see and do a lot; you just have to look at it differently. For example, let’s say you live in or near New York. You can’t afford a trip to New Zealand, but you can afford a trip to the set of a hugely popular tv show featuring a famous band from New Zealand. Hey hey! Suddenly, a trip to the Big Apple becomes a day of wandering fancy Hollywood-ish sets and perhaps even bumping into some real life extras.

Alright, it may not thrill you as much as taking a Harry Potter tour of England or a Lord of the Rings tour of the real New Zealand or even a Doctor Who/Torchwood tour of Cardiff (although a girl can dream), but someone has taken the time to put together this whole tour guide to the streets and scenes of Flight of the Conchords and I think it looks like fun. Geeky, but fun.

Drink coffee outside Dave’s pawn shop! Sit around Bret and Jemaine’s stoop like a crazed member of the fanbase! Take your picture outside the faux New Zealand embassy! Good times are bound to be had.

When you finish with that, you can head to Boston and do the Good Will Hunting tour. Playing chess outside the Harvard Au Bon Pain is a must.

Travel and adventure is where you find it. Start looking around. 

See New York’s Naked Cowboy

He’s not fully naked, but in winter weather he may as well be. *Brrr*

If you’re planning a trip to New York, Times Square and the Naked Cowboy are just a couple of the sites you have to see. There’s also Rockefeller Center, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler Building, the many museums and galleries, Broadway, and you have to eat at a real New York hot dog stand.

With all the shopping and activities available in the city, you don’t want to spend a dollar more than you have to on a place to stay. Luckily, even though the U.S. isn’t as hostel-happy as Europe or Australia, New York does have some really nice options. It will cost you more than sleeping in the subway, but you’ll wake up smelling a lot better, and some hostels have fun themes and offer extras like Internet service, pool tables, and movie rooms.

Have a look at what’s available, then grab a friend and book your big city weekend.