USA // New York 5 - Woodbury Common Premium Outlets

Five days in New York and we were still shopping. Statue of Liberty? Central Park? Brooklyn Bridge? Shopping.

So the weather forecast told us it would be snowing on Friday the entire day so we thought, why not go shopping since sightseeing would be tough? So we decided to head to Woodbury, which is about 45 minutes out of Manhattan. It came highly recommended by my friend Anne and Javin's friends.

I definitely recommend going to Woodbury if shopping is your thing.



SOME USEFUL THINGS

We booked our bus tickets with ShortLine/Coach USA. I am the type who researches and compares a lot so here is why I chose ShortLine:

1. I referred to a list on Woodsbury's official site to make sure I didn't buy from a scam website.
2. I chose ShortLine because the timing was flexible; I could choose what time I wanted to board and what time to leave, so if I was not done shopping by 5pm (the typical pick up time for other bus service providers), I could still shop all the way until 9pm.
3. It was also convenient that the place to collect our ticket was the same place we needed to board our bus. For some bus services, the two venues are different.
4. The pick-up point was 1 or 2 subway stations away from our place.
5. ShortLine provides the VIP discount booklet free of charge!

My experience at Woodbury:

1. Take the first and last bus back. I reached there at 2 pm, ended at 9 pm. I didn't even stop to eat and seven hours were definitely not enough. But that's if you're as into shopping as me. Or Javin. Would you believe that I ended my shopping earlier than him?
2. Be early for your bus to and fro because people will line up early to make sure they have a seat. Javin and I were separated on our trip from Manhattan to Woodsbury because we went there on the dot. there was a long line of people already waiting for the bus back to Manhattan.
3. Bring a pen so you can mark the shops you wanna go to and plan a good route, or you'll find yourself returning to the same place because you missed out on a shop. At least you see the big picture!
4. Don't forget to use the VIP discount booklets! I almost forgot to use mine.
5. Higher-end brands like YSL, Celine etc don't have that great discounts
6. For more affordable brands, Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Coach, discounts are good but the designs are really backdated. I couldn't find the design I wanted because it was too new. Give Longchamp a miss. Nothing much.
7. For shoes, Aldo and Nine West are pretty good.
8. My best buys were at Watch Station! You have your MBMJ and MK watches at 50% discount or even more, depending on what the current store promotion is. So many designs. Another good thing is that they have Watch Station branches all over the world (in Singapore too) so if there's anything wrong you're likely to be able to go back to a store located in your country.