advice please

hi,ive just booked flights for our fourth visit in as many years.could someone please tell me when hotels offer the best deals for may?

we visited little italy last may and really enjoyed the street festival,what dates does this occur in 09?

just one more question.having done all the attractions could you advise me of somewhere to visit within a couple of hours away by train.we will be travelling with our six year old so something fun for him to see.maybe a beech or small town in the country?

we are travelling on the 21st may staying ten nights so hopefully the weather will be as nice as last year.thanks Andy

advice please

well, definitely avoid memorial day weekend, since that%26#39;s the first big vacation weekend of the summer.

google the san genaro festival... i think that%26#39;s the event in little italy you%26#39;re thinking of.

going by train... you could head out to Montauk at the tip of Long Island, which is lovely, but a rather long ride. Or you could ride down to the Jersey Shore to Asbury Park... Or take Metro-North up the hudson... there%26#39;s a few spots along there with art galleries and such.

advice please

must be another festival as the san gennaro takes place in september.i know alot of people say to avoid little italy but we as a family had a great time their last year.the weather was great.we ate outside people watching and had lots of laughs with all the sailors as it was fleet week.

I don%26#39;t think Asbury Park would be the best town on the Jersey Shore for a couple with 6-year-old in tow. Although it has been on an upswing and is far less grim than it was some years back, the beachfront isn%26#39;t very appealing and, in general, it%26#39;s better suited to singles and couples.

I highly recommend Spring Lake as a terrific alternative. It too would be easy to reach via a New Jersey Transit train and is a truly lovely small town with parks, leafy streets, a cute little ';downtown'; district with family-friendly restaurants (and nicer establishments too) 2 candy shops and an old-fashioned ';variety store'; that should appeal to your child -- and most importantly, a 2-mile-long, non-commercial boardwalk that fronts an expansive and well-maintained beach. It feels like a country village with the added bonus of being right on the ocean.

http://www.springlake.org

I think the Chateau Inn %26amp; Suites (rated #1 in Spring Lake by TA readers) would be your best bet for overnight accommodations -- although you could make the visit to Spring Lake a day trip (the train ride from NYC%26#39;s Penn Station is about 2 hours with departures/arrivals throughout the day/evening). The Chateau Inn is conveniently located just a block away from the train stop, is across the street from a large park, and within walking distance to downtown and the beach beyond. It%26#39;s a gracious establishment but not grand or too stuffy for kids. Rates for a mid-week stay in late May in a room with 2 double beds start at $139/night.

http://www.chateauinn.com

tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g46841-d79538-R鈥?/a>

Call me crazy, but you might not have done ';all the attractions.'; I%26#39;m from here and even I haven%26#39;t done them!

Have you seen The Panorama at the Queens Museum? Not only is it awesome, but it%26#39;s near the Hall of Science, which is very cool for little kids.

http://www.nyhallsci.org/

http://www.queensmuseum.org/panorama/

(P.S. bring binoculars.)

You could also visit the Brooklyn Children%26#39;s Museum, which just completed a huge expansion.

http://www.brooklynkids.org/

Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens are both beautiful in May. Bring extra anti-histamine!

www.bbg.org

http://www.prospectpark.org/

Cockle... thanks for puttin that suggestion out there! Now *I%26#39;LL* have to go check it out :-)