Does anyone think my New York itinerary is missing anything?

[ineedamoreadultieradult]

New York Trip with DH and DS's 10 and 7 I'm just over a month and I've had the time over Christmas to come up with an itinerary. Can anyone spot any problems with it such as 'must do' things missed or any things in there that are a waste of money.

Day 1: arrive at approx 9am having left UK at 6am so find hotel (near Time Square) to drop bags off then explore Time Square, 5th Avenue area including M&M world, Macy's etc check in at 3pm dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner then have a relaxing evening in the hotel and an early ish night
Day 2: Central Park, Central Park Zoo and Ice skating at the Woolman rink
Day 3: Natural History Museum and Rousevelt Tram
Day 4: One world observatory, 9/11 memorial (not the museum), Staten Island Ferry, Sea Glass carousel then walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to watch Basketball at the Barclays Centre.
Day 5: The Highline, Trump Tower and anything else we ran out of time to do on the other days or things we want to go back to etc
Day 6: check out and fly home

Hi folks. If the OP doesn't object, we agree, we'd like to move this to travel as there's so much useful info here it would be a shame to lose when Chat spits it in the bin after 90 days.

If it's ok, we'll leave it here for a few days as the thread is still active and then move it over.

Yes, please move it - I’ve put it on my watch list as we are hoping to go to NY with similar aged children and there are loads of good tips!

Time Out NY is a great information source for visitors and natives alike. Here's their guide to family and kid friendly things to do in the Big Apple:

www.timeout.com/new-york-kids/things-to-do

Stonecold
I have an eagle passport so US customs are not an issue
so yes, it is probably not a good idea for others at the moment

An interesting thing that has improved in New York over the last few years are the riverside walks ....
East River you can walk along the river from the UN down to about 6th street on traffic free paths.
Its a great way to soak up the city.

Momath is great if the weather is bad

Yes feel free to move it if that will help people. This thread has certainly helped me. I'm bumping the Highline from our must do's and adding in a trip to South Street Seaport to try for cheap Broadway tickets as well as a little mooch around over there. I'm going to try and get over by Britishness and use the pay what you wish option at the Natural History Museum to try and save enough dollars to be able to do the Empire State building. We are going to head over to Brooklyn in advance of the basketball game starting so we can take in a bit more of Brooklyn and get some photos from the Brooklyn side of the bridge.

Oh and I'm going to go for a poo in Trump Tower because I am that immature!

ineedamoreadultieradult, good choices on the highline and adding south street seaport. It will be a bit of fun for the kids, it's a nice neighborhood and the water views are lovely. I'd recommend going early if you can.

Here's the AMNH ticketing option page. You can do pay what you wish for the museum but I think that if you want to add the planetarium you have to pay the regular price for that. The Planetarium was added long after the original charter of the museum which allowed pay as you wish. I think the planetarium is $22 for adults, less for the kids. It's really worth it.

www.amnh.org/plan-your-visit

Here's a bit more about NYC museum admission pricing:

www.nyc-arts.org/collections/35/free-museum-days-or-pay-what-you-wish

Take the subway or an Uber to Brooklyn. Do you have the tickets for the basketball game you want to see?

After you make your stop at Trump Tower, have a walk around Tiffany's, it's just up 5th Avenue.

MissConduct thanks for the information that's really helpful, the kids just want to see the dinosaurs and the whale in the museum so I think we will be ok without any of the special exhibitions. Yes we have tickets for Brooklyn Nets (I can't remember who they are playing). Does anyone have tips about the Barclays Centre? Will we be ok taking a rucksack in? How long does a basketball match last? Etc.

Hope you’ll come back on here OP & let us know how you got on!

Ineed the barclays center website gives you info on what you can and can't take in. Rucksacks aren't allowed and its usually a no-no in most places (happens in MOMA etc too where you will be made to check it at the cloakroom)

There's a shake shack nearby if you want to tick that off the list; if you want to drink, take your passports. UK driving licenses aren't valid proof of ID there as they're not machine scannable

The game length varies - with intermissions and breaks you could easily be looking 2-3 hours +

Another thing as well, try and make sure you have some smaller amounts of money on you, we only had $10 notes plus on us, and way overtipped the taxi driver and the man who brought the luggage to our room lol. Also, we were charged tax on the room every day we stayed there too. We left a note and a tip for the housekeeping staff too as our room was kept lovely and clean and tidy. Oh i'm so jealous lol

Off to NYC in March, very glad to stumble on this thread. I have been before, but with a larger group. This time it will be just me and DH, who hasn't been before. How much should we tip staff members for taking luggage to room? I know to add tip to taxi fares, restaurant bills etc, but unfamiliar with tipping where there is no cost/charge to base the % on.

Bleeker Street pizza is delicious. Italian family run cafe and takeaway popular with celebs and very cheap. It's in west village. Enjoy New York it's amazing.

I'd skip high line and def do Top of The Rock.

I love Ellen's as it's fun but food is awful and the coming round with a bucket when you're already tipping 20% gets on my nerves.

Bryant Park is fab.

I wouldn't miss the 9/11 museum and the Natural History Museum is great.

We love going to the West Village for good restaurants and a slightly less touristy vibe.

...also, I'd avoid Times Square as it's really sleazy. But at least in winter you won't get those revolting desnudas.

Hoosier we googled it after we got there lol, just as a general idea on how much to give.
Am i the only one who liked times square lol, i just loved the atmosphere!
We did a bus tour which was good too, although it was in august and my poor husbands head got burnt! Lol

hoosier get lots of smaller denomination bills if you can for tipping. We usually tip luggage valets / bell hops (or whatever they're called) a couple of dollars.

Taxis are usually about 10-15%, also worth nothing if you plan on going to the same cafe / bar / restaurant etc more than once to tip well the first time as you will get much better service subsequently

Works brilliantly in a bar as you will then get served faster and usually with free pour drinks (spirits are not really measured here in most places, like in the UK) Bar / pub tipping is about a $1-2 a round (depending on how many drinks you get) for standard drinks like beer or wine, but they expect more in the range of $3+ for complicated cocktails

Not Central Park Zoo - even my dcs agreed sad and depressing.
Fantastic tips above.
We loved the Highline, Guggenheim, Met, Natural History Museum, walking the Brooklyn Bridge.
My top trip is comfy shoes and serious thermals. We went in Feb and was -14 and ds got hypothermia when I insisted on walking up to our old neighbourhood.

misssmilla1 thanks - that is really helpful!

As a seasoned NYC visitor, I am no fan of Times Square

But for a first visit / visit with children, a quick stop there is essential. No need to spend more than 15 minutes there though.

OP, when we went to the metropolitan museum I paid the suggested price (because I wasn't even thinking properly and hadn't realised it was only suggested!), and the woman on the desk asked if I was sure as I didn't have to. I went all British and just paid it but next time I definitely would be comfortable paying less, they seem to expect it.

Am very jealous of your trip! Me and DH went child free last year, but have already earmarked a family trip for our 40th birthdays (not for another 7 years!) when then children are old enough to appreciate it.

Agree that the riverside walks / cycles are lovely but they are absolutely the coldest places in Manhattan, especially the East River, so think carefully before you embark!

The UN tour is very good as a warm indoor option if you or your children have an interest in history, politics, geography or current affairs. Lots of iconic photo opportunities. It's not too cheap though - make sure to bring passports for everyone if you do go.

For low cost meal options and a spot of colour, a walk through Chinatown and Little Italy is a nice "global city" experience and you can take a chance on any of the small restaurants for not a lot of money.

The Atrium at the Lincoln Center does free cultural performances including some aimed at children, they are listed on the website.

If time isn't hugely pressing, hopping on a bus is a lot more rewarding than taking the subway as you will see much more. You can use the same metro card that you use for the subways to ride the bus. If you are up early with jet lag, a spin on any of the buses uptown all the way to Harlem can be nice to get a sense of all the different neighbourhoods that make up NYC, maybe then stroll round Columbia University campus afterwards. The grid system makes it really easy to know which bus stop is next and where to get off, and there is an announcement of each stop on the bus itself so you can't go too far wrong.

Be aware that for the city that doesn't sleep, some opening hours seem very strange. Most museums only do 10am to 5pm most days, which is pretty short compared to other cities. And if you are doing clothes shopping, most stores doesn't open until 10am but stay open til 8pm or 9pm. With jet lag, you can sometimes find yourself with a few hours to kill in the morning waiting for the day to kick off.

sycamore
As the person who suggested the East River Walk
but has spoken to family in the City who say with wind chill its -18 in the middle of the day
I'll utterly agree with going to the UN instead

I went in the summer but I have to say if it had been -14 I wouldn't have done ANYTHING outdoors.

Thanks for all the new comments, very helpful. I've definitely changed my mind about walking over Brooklyn Bridge and may have to give the riverside walks a miss if the weather reports bare anything to go by. We have thermals and the kids are currently wearing in some boots we got them for Christmas. Im making a list of indoor places (preferably free) where we can go to get warm whilst we are exploring. Inspired by American cartoons the boys would love to visit an arcade or two which sounds like a good opportunity to keep warm. Is Buster and Dave's or Dave and Buster's any good? Does anyone have any good arcades they can recommend?