New York New York, I have saved for years please help me make this a great trip

[womanintrousers]

I have saved for 3 years to take lovely DS to NYC when he finishes his GCSEs . I am so excited.

He will be 16, he is very academically minded and loves reading, science, good food etc. I need my own bed (lots of the hotels seem to have 1 small double and DS is very tall and I have arthritis and throw myself around a lot at night). Any ideas very much appreciated.

He has wanted to go since he was 5 and has NO IDEA I have saved up.

I am so excited. Can anyone help? I have travelled extensively but never been to NY, it's all new to me.

Any advice

Pack a kettle!!

This is my all time fav every MN thread thank you all for being with me sharing my excitement. I have a severely depressed DH to care for day in day out and this is such sweetness and light

4 or 5 nights is plenty for a first trip. Just make sure you have a plan of what you're doing each day, to make sure you get everything done you really want to see. What a great surprise for him!

If you want want to go into the crown of the Statue of Liberty (highly recommended!), you need to book the tickets several months in advance from Statue Cruises:

www.statuecruises.com/statue-liberty-and-ellis-island-tickets#/

It is not expensive.

Many of the big expensive museums have a designated time when you can go for free. If you look in the Lonely Planet, there is a page on this. For example, we went to Moma for free - I think it is Friday evenings.

The Tenement Museum is fantastic. You also need to book that a few weeks in advance. It is expensive though.

He will not be at all disappointed! You can get loads done in 3-4 nights/days. Just accept that's what you've got and plan how to make the most of it.

Enchanted is worth watching too!

I'm a big advocate of guidebooks, which are both broad and specific, and handier than collecting general information from strangers on the internet. Luckily there are quite a few guidebooks on NYC, including ones specifically for food. In fact, from what you say in your post, your son might like to get involved in the choices, so I'd share the books with him.

There are wonderful art museums, but depending on the kind of history that interests your son, you might also consider the New York Historical Society or the Museum of the City of New York.

we went a few years ago, stayed down in wall street area which was nice and cheap over the weekend.

Statue of Libery crown visit was good fun, you only need to do around 13 sets of the very final stairs, not the full 26.
We did a boat tour all round Manhattan, nice change of pace, got to sit down as well :D
We had a drink at a restaurant/bar that revolves just off Time Square - circle 42 or something like that. Opened at 6pm so queued up and made 1 very expensive $20 drink each last an hour :D

oh we also did a free walking tour recommended via trip advisor around wall street, just tip the person doing it $20 or so (not compulsory but really its the done thing)

This is such a lovely post 😊

We loved staying in Brooklyn; easy hop into the main areas but a gorgeous place to wander and eat.

Best thing we've done there is definitely the full Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island tour. Allow a whole day to do it.

When we did NYC about 11 years ago, all the travel sites said 'just take the Staten Island Ferry for free to see it' but honestly, it's a fantastic tour & definitely worth the money.

We also love Central Park! The whole place constantly reminded me of films.

A film tour sounds perfect for you both.

This is so sweet and lovely xxx

Oh and P.S. most hotels on the USA have double queen beds which is like 2x doubles. X

www.timeout.com/newyork/museums/free-museum-days-in-nyc

See the above link for Days and times when NYC museums are free (see my comment above)

Not for everyone but one of my favourite things was a bike tour as we saw parts of the city that we wouldn't have seen otherwise. We did 4 nights and did absolutely loads so as long as you plan well it's plenty of time.

4 nights is fine! I think you could comfortably do it for £2000. Eating out can be pretty inexpensive with lots of delis, bakeries, food carts, food courts, diners etc. If you fly in and out of JFK and are packing light, you can take the air train then subway into Manhattan (don’t do this with heavy luggage or during rush hour, though) if you want to save on transfers.

Worth keeping an eye on Icelandair as they often have deals where you can combine New York with a few days in Iceland:
www.secretflying.com/posts/2-1-trip-london-uk-reykjavik-iceland-new-york-usa-232-roundtrip/

Eg, December to March you can go for £224 return. Not sure what prices would be for summer though.

Have a look at mommy shorts on instagram or her other account pinkinnyc. She goes to some wonderfully obscure events and museums/pop ups in nyc and is a native. You might see something she mentions which your both enjoy.

... myself I’ve only been once and would like to take the kids. We almost went a few years ago, all booked, but we had to cancel due to health issues. Still gutted over that and lost a lot of $$z

Anyway the time I went I remember meeting an old friend for lunch, then jumping in a cab to go get DH something from Paul smith, and just had this wonderful feeling of “I’m in bloody NYC”. Whatever you do, I’m sure you will just love it.

Hi Op, have a fab time. We've been twice and love NY it's such a great, vibrant place. We caught a subway to Coney Island and that's worth a trip in summer. It's a really kitsch seaside town with old rollercoasters and big wheels and Nathan's hotdogs. Also visit Bleeker Street pizza in East Village. Best pizza in NY. Have a fab time.

You sound like a lovely mum!
I second the recommendation for Smorgasburg. Also check out the Infatuation for restaurant recommendations. I would avoid eating around the Times Square area. A friend of mine who went to NYC found the food to be rubbish and overpriced, because he stuck to restaurants in the touristy areas. Casual eating can be fantastic and good value for what you get e.g. lobster rolls, burgers.
The coolest areas of Manhatten are downtown- East Village, Lower East Side.
Definitely go to the library, it’s a beautiful building and free to look around.

Since you like films, you should go to a free movie screening in Bryant Park.

So much of the fun of NYC is just walking around. Wander around Chinatown (so much inexpensive food!) and have ice cream at the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. We had dim sum at Jing Fong which was great fun - massive banquet hall. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and have pizza in DUMBO. Walk the length of Central Park (or halfway then take the subway) and do the vertical tour at St John the Divine (need to precook) and then have pastries at the Hungarian pastry shop opposite.

Prebook not precook!

Long time since I went but my dd went in Feb on a school trip and you mentioned food, their favourite place to eat and shop was Greenwich Village market.

Chelsea Market is also good to visit. Lots of lovely cool shops and nice places to eat. We stopped there after going on the High Line. Have fun

You sound lovely, OP, and I'm sure you and your ds will have a blast! I went 20+ years ago, but it was absolutely fantastic.
Someone advised me to get a limo from the airport rather than a taxi, it wasn't really much more expensive and it was a fabulous start to the holiday! Felt like a film star!!

@womanintrousers look at flights including car hire on BA - there is often some weird magic (subsidies) going on and you can get amazing deals! You don't need to even collect the car or use it, just have it on the booking.

Iceland air are emailing me about special us routes lately, maybe worth a look, along with Norwegian etc.

Avoid travelling around just after Brexit time - if we end up with no deal then there will be no flights unfortunately and it could take a while to sort out.