Best weekend getaway from NYC to Ithaca

We booked Hotel Ithaca, right at the heart of the Downtown, for our stay. This hotel was a good deal, great amenities for the price paid. The rooms were comfortably spacious, clean and the staff was helpful. We were a group of 6, so we did check out Airbnb options in the area, but they were super expensive (almost double the price), likely due to the holiday week.

The best part of this hotel was the accessibility to the downtown, which meant, there were multiple restaurant, souvenir and gift shops within 2mile radius. Another advantage was that the parking was ample at the location.

We left from New Jersey at around 10 AM and reached Ithaca at 2pm. Right after, we headed straight to the downtown to have lunch. We went to Lev's kitchen that serves finger-licking middle eastern food and had the most amazing 'Malawach' (a crispy, flaky flatbread, originated in Spain). You an explore the area for other options to serve different taste palettes.

Post lunch, we made a halt at the Museum of Earth. If you are someone who is a museum lover or are interested in paleontology, this is your place. The place boasts of a 44-foot whale skeleton, right at the entrance and also one of the complete mastodon skeletons ever found.

Next stop for the day was the Taughannock Falls State Park, located along the Cayuga Lake. The entry ticket was $9 per vehicle. The park was an amazing place for all things fun and relaxing, whether you want to picnic or enjoy some casual water sports with friends and family. If you want to bring in a bit of activity to your day, move over to the other side of the road to hike through the ‘Gorge Trail’ (1.5 mile round trip ) up to the cataract of the Taughannock Falls. The falls is a 215-feet plunge waterfall that is the highest single-drop waterfall, east of Rocky Mountains.

Wrap your day with the mouth-watering options of mac & cheese, sandwich, fried chicken from the silo food truck and gulp it down with the amazing beer options at this great local brewery.

Start your day with a bit of sugar rush. Visit the world famous Paris Baguette and fill your stomach with all kinds of impeccable sweet and savor delicacies. Well, we had way too much, as you can see from the pictures below :)

Today, we planned to enjoy the stunning gorge with 19 waterfalls and 200-foot cliffs at the famous Finger Lakes State Park. With the rim trail overlooking the gorge and the gorge path winding over and under the waterfalls, the sights at this state park, left us spell bound. The entry fee was $10 per vehicle. They do provide a map at the entry but the place, in general can do with better markings. We (even other travellers) had a hard time to figure the correct trail path. If you need to have a close up view of all waterfalls, Gorge trail is what you should be on!

After a strenuous day at the Watkins Glen, you would surely look for a bit of relaxation. The area around the state park has a variety of restaurants for lunch. We went to a Mexican restaurant named El Rancho, but were a bit disappointed with the quality of service and food. So, I wouldn’t recommend to go here.

With your stomach full, you can now spend the rest of the day doing some water sports or opting for cruises at Seneca Lake (Checkout Captain Bill’s Cruises). We didn’t do either and instead went to Glenora Wine Cellars, one of the oldest in town, serving delectable wine since 1977. Walk-ins are accepted, all you need is your ID.

The process starts with you getting to choose 6 wine/champagne/cider options from a list of almost 30 different options. Once done, you would taste the ones you selected and make your final choice. You can then buy the bottle of your preferred wine and enjoy it with the view on the deck.

The more I say about this place, is less. I had read about this place in a couple of blogs while planning for the trip and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the hype holds true! Within the six of us, we tried five different ice cream flavours and each one was unique and absolutely delicious.

If you aren’t a fan of ice creams, I suggest you give this place a try. Who knows, you change for better!

Ithaca is also known for the prestigious Cornell University. So, while you are in town, do pay a visit to the university campus. You can spend almost 3-4 hours within the campus, exploring the Botanical Park, Suspension Bridge, Beebe Lake, Libe Slope and the trails around the area leading to some picturesque waterfalls.

Visit Collegetown Bagels and have some fancy bagels and drink for brunch

The last stop for the day/trip and one of my favorites was the Myers Point Lighthouse. Being a fan of lighthouses, this was a must do for me on the trip. Built by volunteers in 1998, this lighthouse is hardly a 20mins drive from Ithaca, in the town of Lansing. The place has a nice vibe to it. The park in itself has a basket ball court, a kids area, options for kayak.

The highlight for us though was that we watched the most beautiful sunset, while we were there.

This Thai restaurant in Ithaca will do the best to satisfy your craving and be a good way to end your day!

There are many souvenir and gift shops in the downtown area. My husband and I always like to collect something from the places we visit. Generally, these are fridge magnets (and we have a bunch of them), but if we spot anything unique or extremely attractive, we make a different choice. We bought a postcard and a homemade candle set for a friend, made by a local artisan, from the Handwork shop.

And it was a wrap of the our beautiful weekend retreat to Ithaca and Seneca.

Comment if you have been to any of these places before?

What was your favorite activity, adventure, memory of the trip?