A low-cost way to get to the Big Apple? First go to Reykjavik

Short trips between the east coast of the United States and Ireland were once so common, people used to say they were crossing the pond (aka the Atlantic Ocean) for the weekend. But with the dollar almost on par with the euro, those outlet shopping trips have been replaced with more considered post-pandemic explorations of cities like New York, Washington and Boston.

Now, the Icelandic airline, PLAY is offering low-cost routes to cities including New York, Washington DC, Boston and Toronto from Dublin via Reykjavik with the option to stop over in Europe’s most northerly capital city en route. The Dublin-Reykjavik flight is about 2 hours 30 minutes and it takes about six hours from Reykjavik’s Keflavik airport to Stewart International Airport in upstate New York.

What’s not to like about 24 or 48 hours in a small city with trips to see glaciers, volcanoes and ice caves all within easy reach by coach? Or, if you want to unwind before heading stateside, you could go on a whale-watching trip or relax in one of the spas near Reykjavik. And if you travel between September and April, you might be lucky enough to see the northern lights, which have dazzled lucky viewers closer to home in recent weeks.

On our trip in February, we visited the Sky Lagoon, a short taxi ride from Reykjavik city centre, to relax in the geo-thermally heated sea water (geothermal energy and hydropower account for the vast majority of energy use in Iceland).

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If Iceland is on your bucket list, this outdoor spa is a must. Popular with all ages, it is an alternative to the better-known and much larger Blue Lagoon and has the advantage of being right next to the coast. Both the sauna (with its gigantic sea view window) and the outdoor lagoon offers an up-close experience of the crashing waves of the North Atlantic Ocean. Indulge yourself further with the seven-step ritual which includes an ice-cold plunge pool, the aforementioned sauna, body scrub, steam room and shower before retreating back to the outdoor lagoon. Back in Reykjavik, there is a good choice of eateries including Hedinn, which offers deliciously fresh and seasonal meals in a former steelworks factory. Take a wander around this low-rise relaxed city before packing your bags for your flight to New York Stewart.

On arrival to the city that never sleeps, you quickly realise that New York is still waking up after its long, slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic

At the time of our visit, PLAY was the only international airline flying into this small regional airport (one passenger on our return flight told me that the PLAY flights to Dublin via Reykjavik allows her to avoid the stress of JFK International Airport). A free shuttle bus takes you to Port Authority bus station in midtown Manhattan in about 90 minutes.

On arrival to the city that never sleeps, you quickly realise that New York is in fact still waking up after its long, slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Probably the worst hit of all US cities – there were still Covid testing booths on the streets in February and Covid alerts available on smartphones – many office workers continue to do hybrid schedules so the streets aren’t as busy for tourists.

[ Eight million people just disappeared: The Bray man who filmed the shutdown in New York ]

[ Hybrid working expected to push US office vacancies to record by 2030 ]

In my experience, New Yorkers are only delighted to welcome visitors back on to their streets as chic boutiques re-open and new ones take up units in the cool low-rise streets of Greenwich Village and Soho. The cafe from Kerber’s Farm on Long Island on 264 Bleecker Street is perfect stop off for home-made sweet and savoury pastries while you can make your own personal fragrance at Olfactory on 355 Bleecker Street. Carry a map (as I did to avoid the costly roaming charges on my phone) and plenty of people will stop to offer help with directions.

We stayed in the recently redesigned industrial chic Gansevoort Hotel in the cool Meatpacking District on the west side between the Hudson river, Chelsea and West Village. Once home to open-air markets and meatpacking plants, many of which were demolished in the 1950s, the area became an edgy, alternative quarter with gay bars and nightclubs through the 1980s and 1990s (novelist James Baldwin and artist Roy Lichtenstein lived here) and has since been rebranded and revitalised as a hub of technology, fashion, art and food.

A walk along the Highline linear park from Gansevoort Street to nearby Hudson Yard (the brave can take the lift to the 100-storey-high Edge observation deck with 360-degree views) is a must-do. A stroll through the Chelsea Market, with its offbeat shops and food stalls, is another worthwhile outing. And you’ll also enjoy a walk around Little Island, a new park on Pier 54 on the Hudson river built on concrete columns with outdoor amphitheatres offering spoken word, music and dance performances throughout the year. A new beach at the next pier is due to open in the summer of 2023.

I’d also recommend a visit to the Whitney Museum of American Art – designed by Italian-born architect Renzo Piano when it relocated to the Meatpacking District in 2015 even if you’re not staying in the area. As well as having the best collection of works by 20th-century American artists, it has the world’s largest collection of paintings by Edward Hopper, who lived on Washington Square Park (walk there to see New York University campus and the iconic redstone Bobst Library).

The dynamic Irish general manager of the Gansevoort Hotel, Anton Moore, (who won the Boutique Hotel general manager of the year in 2022), has an infectious enthusiasm for the Meatpacking District and his hotel. With its large plaza facing a range of high-end designer fashion boutiques in a traffic-calmed area, it’s the perfect place to return to the evening after busy days touring the city. Even if you don’t stay in the Gansevoort Hotel, do visit the rooftop bar (which looks down on the Soho House rooftop swimming pool across the street) or the omakase sushi bar, Saishin, with its spectacular views across the inimitable New York skyline.

But of course, when you visit New York, you also must visit the famous sites too. The subways that take contactless cards ($2.75 for a trip) will take you uptown to Central Park with the many museums on its periphery (the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the American Museum of Natural History with the new Richard Gilder Center for science, education and innovation or the Museum of Modern Art).

Visit midtown to see Times Square and look up at the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and the Flatiron Building, and downtown to see Wall Street, the 9/11 Memorial (reflecting pools each nearly an acre with the largest man-made waterfalls in North America), and the American Courts of Justice. The Ground Zero Museum, or a tour with a New Yorker who had personal experience of the 9/11 terrorist attacks are other options.

However, it’s also memorable to amble around the low-rise parts of Manhattan where the mix of 19th-century Brownstone townhouses are a balm to the senses after the high rises of lower and midtown districts. Witness the student atmosphere around New York University buildings near Washington Park Square and check out the captivating street art in Greenwich Village, Chelsea and Soho which will transport you to different cultural spaces and bring you closer to that New York state of mind.

Sylvia Thompson was a guest of Play airlines and the Gansevoort Hotel in the Meatpacking District of New York

Explore New York

1) Go on an architectural walking tour of Manhattan. There’s plenty to choose from so find out one that suits your interests best, whether that’s street art, the high-rise iconic buildings or low-rise neighbourhoods of Chelsea, Greenwich Village and the East and West Village. Check out the Time Out magazine guide to the best walking tours in New York City in January 2023. You could also consider a night bike tour to get full immersion of the dazzling midtown lights.

2)Take a bike tour of Central Park. The iconic park which spans 4km from 59th Street to 110 Street is a bit of a trek on foot so a guided tour by bike is the easiest way to see sites including the Bethesda Fountain, the Strawberry Fields, Cleopatra’s Needle and the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.

3)Take a food tour. Choose between Greenwich Village, Chinatown and Little Italy, the Lower East Side or the Chelsea Market and High Line. Most tours cost between $75-$120 (€70-€113) but there are a few where you just pay for the food you wish to taste during the tour. The Flatiron food, architecture and history tour (which begins at the Italian food and wine emporium, Eataly) is the one I’ll be going on next time I’m in New York.

4)Walk or run across Brooklyn Bridge. Once on the other side, you can explore the neighbourhood known as Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) in what is New York’s most lived-in borough. You can also take a Brooklyn Bridge guided bike tour.

5)Take the Staten Island ferry from the South Ferry Terminal in downtown Manhattan. This free commuter ferry runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week and takes about 25 minutes and gives you great views back across the Manhattan skyline. Best to travel outside of rush hour.