Considering NYC for 4 or 5 days in April with young kids. Mad?

[HermioneWeasley]

Anyone done this? I think there will be lots for the kids to do, but it is a ridiculous journey? Will the jet lag ruin it?

Any thoughts/ideas?

Not at all mad. How old will they be?
You can use jet lag to your advantage when on a short tip - use the early wake ups to get out and about before the rush, then retire to bed earlier than usual.

DD was 7 the first time we went - our friend's girls who were with us were 4y and 7y. DD has been another twice at diffrent ages, last time int he summer aged 11y.

There is loads to see and do, especially for children.

No. Did it in the summer when youngest was 5 but have done other cities with as young as 2!
It works. As said, early starts work work with jet lag!
My advice is lots of pit stops.
We stop mid morning for drinks and small snack, lunch and again mid afternoon.

And always carry water.
Lots to do for all ages.
Have fun!

Sorry. The "no" was no not mad.
We had a great time!

Sounds good. Have a 7 and a 4 yr old.

Any recommendations on places to stay or things to do?

We only had a day and a half there last year with our 2 boys aged 5 and 11, we were on the way to California. But we packed a lot in! Staten Island ferry is free and gives you a good view of the Statue of Liberty and the skyline. Booked to go up Top of the Rock - great views of the City! We also took them to the giant Toys R us in Times Square, it has a big ferris wheel inside the store:)

Thanks for the tips fuckwittery

We did Empire State Building to get bearings. Also did circle line cruise (half) 2nd afternoon - they were exhausted so seat just what was required and snacks - energy levels up and starting to spot things they had seen.
Oddly we found lots of walking worked. More opportunity for lots of well timed deli/cafe stops. (I had a selection pre scouted out!).
Playpark near the library for down time too. Small and safe. With tables and chairs and much needed coffee! (Left Central Park for when more energy.).
Did diff boat to Statue of Liberty. More down time!
And yes - early starts early tea - they eat earlier over there anyway!
(And if going to Asia the opposite. Long lies - bliss - and later dinners!!)

We were there for a week the first time - 4y, and two 7y. Also been with DD at 9y and 11y.

What we have done:

• 2 day bus pass for the hop on/off Gray Line bus - did the uptown and downtown tours: www.newyorksightseeing.com/
• Duck tour (also Gray Line iirr)
• Ellis Island and Staten Island - didn't go up Statue of Liberty as it was closed
• Battery Park
• Children's museum of Manhattan: www.cmom.org/
• Central Park - plenty of playgrounds, rocks to climb, picnic places, etc. Also went to see the John Lennon memorial
• Top of the Rock
• FAO Schwartz
• Toys R Us in Times Square
• Natural History Museum
• 9/11 Twin Towers site - was still in progress then in 2009; went last year and buildings now there, museum opened recently, memorial gardens open
• M&M shop
• Guggenheim
• Build a Bear
• Empire State Building - view from Top of the Rock, imo, is better though - can see central park and ESB from up there
• Met Art
• shopping - Macys, Bloomingdales, 5th Avenue, etc

Plus plenty of wandering around and looking - so much to see! Lots of places to eat from cheap to high end.

We went with hulababy with our DHs and three DDs. We stayed on Jamaica bay which was about 45minsin the a train to the Wall Street and just under an hour to Central Park. The girls liked riding the subway and the locals were so chatty, think the girls got given seats by them most nights!

We did loads in the week, hulas listed it above. We were lucky because it was the first weekend when Broadway and Times Square had been pedestrianised. There were people sat in deck chairs just because they could! The hop on tours were slightly in disarray because it was the first couple of days of new routes.

We quiet liked just wandering around, so much of New York has appeared in films.

The bus your was great and the people giving the commentary were great each recommended things to do and see and places to eat. They all seemed like genuine New Yorkers.

We had an amazing time and whilst dd2 struggles to remember some bits she still remembers most if it, she was 4 when we went and is now 8.5.

Brilliant tips, thanks so much

Central Park Zoo is great. Compact so not tiring, and no need to think about food etc as you can do it in a morning, but a great variety of animals. Don't miss the polar bears.

Hello, hello :) I, my husband and the young one visited NYC a few weeks ago. It wasn't easy, I'm not sure that he'll even remember it, but we did it mostly for ourselves. We chose the lightest and not so popular routes, tried waking up really early. We also tried to find a children-friendly hotel ( new-york.hotelscheap.org/ has some good offers). I wish you a nice stay and don't forget to keep the children close to you!

The USS Intrepid on the West Side is brilliant, you easily spend half a day there. Also the Herkschler (sp!) playground in Central Park is amazing, go to wholefoods - Columbus Circus to get a picnic and spend hours and hours there. Visit MoMo. Personally I would give Empire State a miss and just do Top of the Rock. Security for The Statue of Liberty is awful. We went with three boys, 2,5,8 and had a fantastic time!