Wednesday, July 3, 2013

N.Y.C-You there!

I should be more concerned with planning Cody’s 30th birthday {but I have already purchased the majority of his decoration and I will be posting about all of that VERY soon}; but we’re super UBER stoked, about our trip to NYC!
 

We were originally going to drive and bring the doggies {you know how I have separation anxiety when away from them… plus, I think everything is more fun & cute when they’re there} but the places to rent with an actual outdoor space {which I was able to find quite a few in the city, believe it or not} were a tad more $Cha-Ching$, so this trip shall be an airplane ride away and my first experience with the X-ray machine, which I’ve decided is my arch nemesis!

*Side Note: I had to use spell check to correct the word “experience” but not “nemesis”… I wonder what that says about me since I think I’ve said, let alone spelt, that word MAYBE 100 times in my life.

This post is similar to what I did for our California trip; it’s all the pre-planning preparations, sharing our tools in the hopes of helping someone {which is the purpose of a blog, right?}.  Recently I started using Google Airfare and it is AMAZING!  If you read our blog you know that I’m in a relationship with Google {he just gets me}, so I was shocked that I’d hadn’t used this nifty tool before.  Basically, if you think, “I’m going to go to {insert destination here} on these dates!” but then wonder if you left a day earlier or later it possibly could’ve been cheaper?  Well, this Google function eliminates that wondering… BEHOLD the best way to see flight fares!!!
First put in the date range you’re looking to travel within, then click the bar graph icon to see when the lowest fare is:
Here you can see if you left the 6th or 7th OR the 12th-24th {instead of the 11th} your fare would go from $288 to $258

Then you’d just click on the price you like, at the time you want it, and you can either book from Google or the airline’s website {the fares are the same price, that’s where Google is pulling it from}.
*Side Note: I know there are a lot of Expedia, Travelocity, etc… people out there BUT they don’t discount the flight cost, you only get a deal on hotel rooms if you book together*

Since we like to stay where the locals do versus the tourist areas {even though we participate in those activities}, we don’t recommend hotels due to them either being SUPER expensive since they are in a sought after location or there aren’t any to be found in our desired area.  {Sometimes I’ve noticed it’s actually cheaper to rent through Home Away or VRBO since you can “haggle” on the price or sometimes they give you a deal.  We originally were only going for 3 nights but the owner gave us the 4th night for only $50 since there was a day gap between reservations!

Our flights were only $210 per person & our accommodations, for 4 nights, in the Meatpacking District {which is where the cool kids are going these days} for $150 a night.  I am aware that we possibly could’ve found a hotel for cheaper BUT it wouldn’t have been located near Greenwich Village {which is my favorite area}.  This is where we’ll be staying: http://www.vacationrentals.com/reviews/listReviews.htm?listingId=71415

And yes… I have a spreadsheet itinerary, price list, etc… but I barrowed a few books from a friend & I have friends going in July so I’m waiting to get feedback before posting that.

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