New York in 24 Hours

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend what I trust or use myself.

Have you ever dreamed of visiting New York but felt like you just didn’t have enough time – or worried you couldn’t possibly see it all in a short trip? I’ve been there! Back when I was living in Florida and wrapping up an internship, my friend and I realized we hadn’t done much traveling during our stay in the U.S. So, on a whim, we booked a spontaneous trip to New York. We had zero plans, no clue what we were doing, but we went for it anyway. Here’s how it all unfolded…

Because we are budget travellers and like to keep things cheap, we decided to fly from Orlando into Newark airport instead of JFK. Our plane arrived at around 3pm, and during our flight we were lucky enough to make a local friend who kindly offered to take us the train station (in hindsight I can’t believe we did this with someone we just met, but thankfully we got where we needed to be safely!). Taking the train was a great idea as first-time tourists, this gave us the chance to see New York City from a distance and get a gauge on where we were, plus when we arrived in the big apple our train stopped not even 5 minutes’ walk from our hotel!

It’s always hard the first time you visit a city knowing where to stay, especially somewhere as big and busy as New York! In the end we chose Hotel Pennsylvania (now closed) as it looked like it was in a good location, and expedia had a special rate for our dates.

SEARCH FOR HOTELS IN CENTRAL NEW YORK

The hotel was stunning, location was central, and the views were incredible! We were put in an apartment on one of the higher levels of the building which had breath-taking views of the city below, the layout was lovely and spacey for the two of us on our short stay.

Since we were pressed for time and there was only one day to do everything, we set off pretty much the second our bags hit the ground. Our first stop was the service desk at the hotel for advice on how to see all the classic sights in a day. The subway was the first step on our adventure, which was honestly a bit nerve racking seeing as we’d never been on one before and had no idea what to do! But once we boarded it was actually much easier to navigate than we thought. All subways had maps on board and announced the upcoming stops over a speaker which was very helpful for us novices.

After about maybe 5-10 minutes of anxiously waiting, a collective decision was made to hop off the subway. With a quick look around at our surroundings we realised we had no idea if we were even in the right place – and that’s when mild panic started to set in…. But we had to keep level-headed, so what would the first thing any visitor to a new city would do? Ask for directions! I stopped the first person I saw and asked, “excuse me, where can we find Central Park?”. After having a little giggle at us, they pointed straight ahead.

New York is a winter-wonderland in January, there was snow on the grass, a chill in the air but beauty all around. From only seeing this city in movies, seeing it in real time and in person through our own eyes was indescribable. We couldn’t miss the opportunity to play, snowballs may have been thrown and snow angels created. After letting our inner child out, our feet crunched through the snow towards the city, with Times Square as the next stop.

I can only describe the feeling as surreal. Buildings towering over in all directions, yellow taxis speeding by, enormous screens and the buzz of excitement surrounding us. Times Square is everything you’ve always imagined. Our tourist moment was fulfilled, and many photos were taken.

After a multitude of pictures were taken, it was time to grab a bite to eat. Can you guess what was on the menu tonight? New York pizza! There was no way we were visiting New York and NOT having a massive slice of pizza! I can summarise my experience by saying it was worth every bite.

TOP NEW YORK ACTIVITIES

The final stop on the itinerary this evening was the Empire State Building. Fortunately for us there was a great combo deal on offer, which included access to both the Empire State and the Statue of Liberty, which was perfect because we were heading to the Statue of Liberty the next day! With tickets in hand, we hopped in the elevator and sped up to the 86^th floor – stopping at the highest open-air observatory in New York City. With incredible 360-degree views and beyond we got a one-of-a-kind experience. The temperature felt below freezing so I highly recommend coming prepared in some warm layers if you’re visiting in Winter!

Would you believe me if I told you that was ½ a day done?

Day number 2! Not as much planned for today since we ticked most of it on day 1, but we got up bright and early to make the most of our time left in the city. After checkout was complete, we dropped our bags in hotel storage and caught the subway to the very last stop of the line. Not long after we arrived our ferry turned up to transport us to Staten Island. Once there we were pleased to find our ticket enabled us access to the inside of the statue to the pedestal! This was such a cool unexpected gem for us to enjoy and was something I didn’t even know existed!

A few epic photos here and there, a couple of hours wandering around and exploring, it was time to head off. Another ferry came by to take us back, with a quick stop off at Ellis Island for a tour of the museum on the way. That concluded our New York plans and subsequently headed to the airport to catch our flight back to Orlando.

So, there you go, we are living proof that New York in less than 24 hours is entirely possible (and enjoyable). To summarise what I started on at the beginning, the trip went perfectly!