We and the girls (11 and 15) will be visiting NYC for the first time, and we are making a longish trip out of it, 8 days. As our travel philosophy is to do as much as we can with the expectation that we may never return (so many destinations, so little time) we would like to maximize our trip. Relaxation is on the agenda only when exhausted, and the girls are terrific about keeping up; we have done Boston, DC and Paris this way, and even SF, to a lesser extent, when they were much younger.
For some reason, I am very nervous about New York... well I know the reason; it is the biggest (and possibly most expensive) city for us so far. We try to travel cheap and are staying at the Holiday Inn Express Midtown on 45th. Another reason is that we have both been so busy with work and unexpected projects at home this year that trip planning has had to be done in the nooks and crannies of our time. I have been coming here and trying to pick up stuff but NYC is so enormous, as is this forum, that it sometimes makes my head spin.
Given a full 7 days on a budget, what would you say are the things we MUST do (priority), then the things that we should do (second tier but still great) and then the nice-to-dos? One thing we are wondering about is a show; we had originally dismissed it partly owing to costs and time, but were told by so many (and read here) that it belongs in the first list that it is now back on the consideration list, but now are running out of time...
We have bought the requisite travel guides, and even rented the Ric Burns documentary to gain an appreciation for the history of the place, watched most of it in place of regular tv. Talked to friends, and of course hung out here as much as possible.
Please help, if only to calm my nerves!
First time visit- nervous
Relax, most people comment on how they find it so easy to get around here even though they thought it%26#39;d be difficult.
You don%26#39;t say when you%26#39;re coming, but if it%26#39;s in the coming months, do plan to spend time in Central Park. Their web site -- www.centralparknyc.org -- lists tons of things to do with kids. It%26#39;s worthwhile taking advantage of this great resource.
And do try to read lots of the trip reports that visitors kindly post here. There%26#39;s a ';sticky'; post at the top of the forum that collects them. You%26#39;ll get valuable tips from folks who have visited with kids.
First time visit- nervous
Hi
New York is only as expensive as one makes it.
I would encourage you to look at The Mansfield. They are having a big special and it is a much nicer hotel than the Holiday Inn and probably less expensive.
In terms of B%26#39;way plays, I am sure you know that the tix are 1/2 off at TKTS.
See Central Park-It%26#39;s free and beautiful! See the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Holocaust Museum. Don%26#39;t forget Grand Central Station.
Avoid ';Ground Zero'; I find it mawkish.
But New York Magazine and TIme Out New York for ideas
Have fun
To add to Bettina%26#39;s always great advice, I would advise on trying to get a Big Apple Greeter...www.bigapplegreeter.org
This is a great, FREE service, that pairs visitors with locals to acquaint them with NYC. This would really help you to feel less ';nervous'; and, thus, have a better experience in the city.
I think a Broadway show is a must, you can try the following sites for some discounts tickets:
www.broadwaybox.com
www.theatermania.com
www.playbill.com
All are free to join. If you do not want to incur handling costs, print out the offers you are interested in. Or, you will be here for enough time to make use of the TKTS booths, if you so desire. There is a branch at the South Street Seaport which is always less crowded. Check out the particulars on www.tdf.org, under ';I Love the Theatre but Can%26#39;t Afford to Go'; and click on TKTS booths.
My other musts (in no particular order)
Central Park
Walking the Brooklyn Bridge
Grand Central Terminal
A museum
Exploring a ';real'; NYC neighborhood
At least one trek out of Manhattan
Top of the Rock/ESB
By the way, when are you coming?
Sorry about not mentioning the date! Um, embarrassed, but I did say time is short... April 1 (no fooling!)
Edith, you may certainly feel free to advise people not to visit the site of the former World Trade Center. However, I will tell you that for those of us who lost good friends that day, and then who spent long months trying to dig what fragments of their bodies we could find out of that smoking, stinking pile, your sneering dismissal of the site as ';mawkish'; is more offensive than I can ever find words to tell you.
KCK-although I haven%26#39;t stayed in the HI Express in Manhattan(it%26#39;s brand new) , If it%26#39;s anything like the one where we stayed in San Francisco, it will be fine. I%26#39;ve actually booked to go back to the same hotel as it was such good value and very clean and tidy.
Have a great trip, and don%26#39;t forget to tell us all about it.
Further to visiting the World Trade Center site: I think it%26#39;s important for your kids to see the site, especially since you%26#39;ve expressed an interest in learning about the history of New York. I%26#39;m pleased that visitors want to pay their respects. I also urge you to spend a few minutes in St. Paul%26#39;s Chapel as well. This historic church, just a block away, was used as a refuge by recovery workers. You%26#39;ll appreciate their exhibit.
www.saintpaulschapel.org
as others have said, take a breath and realx! You will all have a reat time!
Sounds like your kids are great sports.
To give you some ideas of what to see, read through this collection of trip reports by families with tweens, teens and young adults.
You%26#39;ll find lots of great ideas and honest opinions about shows, hotels, etc.:
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k473200-鈥?/a>
If they love to walk, this is the city for them!! Walking is the best way to see NYC, and it is our street life that is the pulse of the city. There are so many walking tours here, they can easily fill all their days and see so much of NYC.
Try out The Big Onion tours
www.bigonion.com
Many foks here on the forum recommend City Walks cards - self-guided walking tours that save you money. However, this may be a bit unweildy with two kids in tow.
Here are some good links and previous posts about saving money in the Big Apple:
shopping bargains:
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k439480-鈥?/a>
This is one of my fave websites for money-saving tips. I live here and I use it, too.
www.cheapotravel.com/ny
Here%26#39;s a good post about cheap dining:
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k420556-鈥?/a>
Here are some good posts about travelling ';with an eye for a bargain.';
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k287298-鈥?/a>
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k333374-鈥?/a>
Here%26#39;s a great pair of posts: a ';before'; plan and an ';after'; report by a person on a very-thin-shoestring budget! Impressive!
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k246077-鈥?/a>
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k324070-鈥?/a>
Hope that helps!
Also forgot to mention - we are all into music (as in concerts, classical, jazz and others) so this may be a suitable substitute for a Broadway play. Suggestions?
You might want to adjust your usual travel philosophy of trying to do as much as possible, especially if you are getting really stressed out. I think a good portion of the fun of a trip is the anticipation before you actually go.
As a very hyper/not at all laid back kind of person, I highly recommend scaling back your plans just a little. We just went to NYC for a weekend with our kids, and the stress of trying to plan and pack as perfectly as possible caught up with me. I finally flipped out on my husband and kids - OK, they were all kind of asking for it, but still - I was too stressed.
What do you and your family really want to see? What do you really want to do? It sounds like you have done plenty of homework, so you probably have a pretty good sense of what you want to do. And, you have 8 whole days - it%26#39;s not like you%26#39;re trying to cram it all in during a weekend.
Have a wonderful trip!!!
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