Travel Planning for Two-New York City

Here is a little peek into how we plan our trips. There are many different ways this occurs, and it is always changing based on the type of trip we are planning.

The Hook

Sometimes it is a bucket-list item (like Peru and Machu Picchu) or a romantic getaway (like an all-inclusive resort), and other times it is for a specific event that we build a trip around. Such was the case in our most recent trip to NYC. Spencer is a very talented pianist, and his current favorite is an Icelandic artist named Víkingur Ólafsson. We learned that he would be playing at Carnegie Hall in March.

Spencer loves Carnegie Hall.

Next, we cross-reference the master calendar. Working as a hospitalist, he has a reliable 7-on, 7-off schedule. At the beginning of every year, we mark off work dates so we can easily check to see if travel is a possibility. We saw he was off, made sure we had no other obligations, checked to see if anything crazy was going on that week in the Big Apple, then purchased tickets.

He has a hard job, but it's easy to know his schedule far in advance.

The Framework

Next we work on the two anchors: transportation and accommodations. We are beyond stoked to be living in a city that has train routes available, especially with the unreliability of flying right now. We used the Acela train last fall, which was nice. Not European-train nice, but good. This time we compared prices and saw there were decent savings if we took regular Amtrak, business class. This was a good choice, as there was no huge difference in my eyes.

Amtrak, it is your time to shine!

We have several hotel memberships, so we look at proximity to where we are staying, perks and upgrades, amenities, and price. This time we stayed at the M Social. We had stayed there before and loved the location, the views, and the hotel bar. We were upgraded and thanked for our previous stay, something I will remember when booking in the future.

Beautiful lobby!

The Itinerary

Now that everything is in place, it's time for the fun stuff! Spencer and I enjoy researching restaurants and activities almost as much as the trip itself. With two laptops, we sit shoulder to shoulder, turn on a mindless show (like Below Deck!), crack some knuckles, and get to work. I absolutely love looking up restaurants. I am searching for romance, taste, and unique experiences. I believe I deserve an Oscar for every dining experience when I am handed a menu and act like I have never seen it before. Yes, yes, please explain this to me ... nodding like I haven't studied the menu ... more than once. We try to find interesting museums or local places or classes or whatever. We check for deals or cash back or specials on specific days. We love traveling at off-times and shoulder seasons.

Fire up the laptops!

I count my blessings all day every day that I married a man who is up for just about anything, at least once. Depending on the trip, it can take a year of research (like when we planned our entire Japan trip ourselves) or just a day (like when we dipped over to Atlantic City for the first time for a quick weekend). We have only done a tour company once, for Peru. We were overwhelmed with life that year, and it felt good to hand over the reins. I am not opposed to doing that again someday, but I really do enjoy planning our own adventures.

We also leave wiggle room. For this trip we booked a ramen place for Thursday night. We canceled that when we discovered it was Opening Day for the Mets. I also like to schedule down time to just explore.

Voila

I have journals for everything.

I have two travel journals - one for American trips, one for the biggies. I write the dates and add activities and reservations as they are booked. If it is a special trip, Spencer creates a digital itinerary, to be shared with family and friends who are interested, and to be treasured by us when we are old and moldy and remembering our adventures.

So handsome! Cheers to a successful trip.

March 24

Amtrak NE Regional, Baltimore to New York City, 12:47 - 3:20 pm

M Social Hotel

Dinner, 6:00 pm @ Quality Bistro (tableside butter service!)

Vikingur, 8:00 pm @ Carnegie Hall (Bach, Beethoven, Schubert)

Post-game recap @ Gallager's

March 25

Shopping @ Macy's

Get chicken wasted, noon Resy @ COQODAQ

Explore NYC!

Sunset Cruise, 6:30 pm @ Chelsea Pier (be there ~20 minutes early)

Dinner, 8:30 pm @ Wildflower

March 26

Guggenheim (tickets are good for the full day - opens at 10:30 am, go right then)

Pirates vs Mets, 1:15 pm

March 27

Ray's Pizza

NBA Store

Amtrak, 3:05 - 5:51 pm

Share your favorite travel planning tips with me!!