My client wanted to take her soon-to-be 16-year-old daughter to the Big Apple aka NYC to celebrate this momentous event with a little detour to Rochester, New York on the way. Rochester, while a great town, is one of those places that has no direct flights from the West Coast. You either have to leave at the crack of dawn, primarily from San Francisco, or if you leave later you arrive mostly after midnight. A real toss up!
Cost was another issue. I searched for deals on all the usual travel websites for days, but after determining which of the primary carriers were the most reasonably priced, I spent my time on their sites. I suggested Delta and it was a perfect fit of low cost and reasonable arrival time. The rest of their flights were on Jet Blue—the best price and the best selection of flights. She was concerned about long TSA lines at JFK Airport, and luckily I found out that Jet Blue just started offering a limited special service called Even More Speed. For only $10 more, you can go through the TSA pre-checked line. I heard later that getting through security took only 20 minutes because of this versus the quoted 3 hours+!
My client needed a hotel in NYC and was appalled by the cost. I found out what membership groups she was part of and she ended up booking through aarp.org. She had so many Reward for Good points, that she ended up saving over $150.00 on her hotel by using some of these points. I found the perfect mid-town hotel just off Herald Square, and the room overlooked the Empire State building. Can’t get better than that, especially at sunset!
I also found them the best price to tour Top of the Rock to take photo’s, the best bus tour to take off the city (only a few blocks from their hotel), and recommended and booked for them a variety of restaurants to enjoy.
I also introduced them to Uber group rides, the most low cost ride option you can take. They loved meeting so many other riders and drivers from all over the world, and they got to see a lot more of the city this way.
What’s the Client’s Verdict?
The trip planning was great, thank you Lucy! As a photographer, going to NY is an amazing experience. I got to visit the George Eastman Museum, then go to the city. I took the big red buses for tourists to get the feeling of NYC and what district/area I would want to visit. SoHo was my favorite place with all the modern food shops and art. Overall I am very thankful to have been in NY for a week and a half and to have such a smooth, well-planned trip.”
16-year-old traveler (California)
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