Planning a Trip

Before you leave home, your best information source (besides this guide, of course) is NYC & Company, the organization that fronts the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau (NYCVB), 810 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019. You can call tel. 800/NYC-VISIT to request the Official NYC Guide detailing hotels, restaurants, theaters, attractions, events, and more. The guide is free and will arrive in 7 to 10 days. (Note: I've received complaints that they sometimes take longer.)

You can find a wealth of free information on the bureau's website, www.nycvisit.com. To speak with a live travel counselor, call tel. 212/484-1222, which is staffed weekdays from 8:30am to 6pm EST, weekends from 8:30am to 5pm EST.

For U.K. Visitors -- The NYCVB Visitor Information Center is at 36 Southwark Bridge Rd., London, SE1 9EU (tel. 020/7202 6367). You can order the Official NYC Visitor Kit by sending an A5-size self-addressed envelope and 72p postage to the above address. For New York-bound travelers in London, the center also offers free one-on-one travel-planning assistance.

Online Traveler's Toolbox

Veteran travelers usually carry some essential items to make their trips easier. Following is a selection of handy online tools to bookmark and use.

Airplane Food (www.airlinemeals.net)

Airplane Seating (www.seatguru.com; and www.airlinequality.com)

Foreign Languages for Travelers (www.travlang.com)

Maps (www.mapquest.com)

Subway Navigator (www.subwaynavigator.com)

HopStop.com (www.hopstop.com) Helps you navigate public transit in NYC, Washington, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Time and Date (www.timeanddate.com)

Travel Warnings (http://travel.state.gov, www.fco.gov.uk/travel, www.voyage.gc.ca, www.dfat.gov.au/consular/advice)

Universal Currency Converter (www.xe.com/ucc)

Visa ATM Locator (www.visa.com), MasterCard ATM Locator (www.mastercard.com)

Weather (www.intellicast.com and www.weather.com)