New York Again - Sorry

[jellyjelly]

I will be gong to New York next June for my 30th Birthday i am planning it now as i want to be able to pay it off over time.

It will be just my son and I, He will be 5.5 yrs then.

Will i get hasselled by travelling alone as i am a single parent or will i be ok? I am very happy to be on my own but wondered if We will be welcomed or if i will have a problem finding a place that will take him (In england in some hotels i cant share a bed with him, even a double or king)

I want to be able to take him to arty places as he likes this but really dont know the areas.

Can anyone basically discribe them to me?

Will i also have to take thin jumpers?

Is it really that much cheaper to do it ourselves rather than an agent?

He also likes animals so we must visit a aquarium/zoo.

You will be fine as a single parent, NY is full of attitude and arrogant but thats to everyone!!!Brooklyn Zoo is great, but if you are uneasy about travelling to Brooklyn which is a bit further out of the Manhatten safety zone, there is also a Zoo in Central Park that isn't brilliant but not terrible either. If you are up at Central Park then you should go see the Guggenheim, it looks like a snail shell and is cool. Central park is great for just spending the whole day wondering about and chilling out, so you should spend a few hours there if you get a chance. When you say arty places do you mean areas or sights?
June will be hot, but take a jumper just in case it can get a little cooler on an evening (you are unlikely to need it during the day - it should be late 20s at least by then).
You may get a really good deal with an agent TBH, but I'd shop around. You want a room with twin beds - which will be 2 doubles but I don't think you'd have any problems sharing a bed, I'm just thinking of you both getting some sleep!!!! (I can't believe any hotel would have a problem with a mother and son sharing a bed...how ridiculous!!!!)
I'm still a bit sleepy this morning so my brain hasn't kicked in yet - think of specific types of things you want to see and I'll help you out!!! I love NY. it's the best city in the world, I think we are going to go back next easter and see some friends and go to the Hamptons for a week too. Although DD wants to go to San Fransisco. Dh will sulk if he can't get to NY once a year, he has withdrawl symptoms!!!

have a look at these sites, they are quite good for general info for kids here and here too. The ten essential things to do are here and you should really do the whole tourist thing - open top bus, staten island ferry etc etc.

The zoo is a must as is the Natural History Museum. A good travel agent will almost always be able to get you a better price. Try not to go to a chain.

You'll have a fantastic time - we went with kids last October. The playgrounds in Central Park are brilliant - one with an Egyptian theme etc. Go to the top pf the Rockefeller (sp?) Centre - queues aren't nearly as bad as the Empire State and the view is spectacular. All the New Yorkers we met were very child friendly - no problem in restaurants etc. Taxis are dirt cheap compared to the UK and the subway was cheap, easy and comparatively clean. The more I type the more jealous I'm getting . My brother lives there so I think some repeat visits may be necessary.

Oh - and we loved the Central Park Zoo - make sure you've watched the film Madagascar before you go because my kids spent an astonishing amount of time watching the penguins to see any sign of an escape mission

I've just been looking at some pics from when we took DD and I am getting very . Natural history museum is fab fab fab, much better than ours (and I love that one too). MoMo is great for arty kids - a lot of modern stuff that always seems to go down well with the little ones, DD loved it there and spent a fortune in the book shop.

I have seen a hotel but i dont know the location. DS Will walk but i can imagine that i will have to cary at the end of the day. I think we willuse the subways/taxis at nights - Do they have seatbelts in the back by law out there)?

I have thought about doing the following.

Statue of liberty - is this also staten island?
Central park picnic
Federal Reserve bank - but dont know if this will eb boring for ds?
Guggenheim - he likes looking at art rather than doing it
Empire state
A big toy shop.

A Trainer shop for me and a cheap outlet for me.

Are clinique products cheaper over there or more expensive?

found this place called stay the night.

This is the address but dont know if this is really far out or where we could walk to?

18 East 93rd Street
New York, NY 10128

any help will be apprecaited.

www.tripadvisor.com has reviews of this particular establishment. I would suggest careful reading of these before booking.

I personally would stay somewhere midtown (i.e between 30th and 57th Street) rather than this far north. This place is a bit out of the way.

Statue of Liberty is in a different location to that of Staten Island.

Have done a Federeal Reserve bank tour in Washington DC - watched all the money being printed (no free samples!). Interesting for adults yes but not for children.

There is I seem to recall a very large Toys R Us near Macys in midtown. That place has a ferris wheel that children can go on inside.

Woodberry Common is a great outlet mall in NY State (think Gray Line do tours there).

With the exchange rate being what it is all products will be less expensive to the British wallet.

www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/ny_tours.html

You may want to read this as well.

I would recommend this toy shop

Also I would recommend taking him on a Circle Line boat trip right round Manhattan. Really nice. You see everything from a different perspective then and fun too.

yOU HAVE ALL BEEN so helpful keep the info coming. When is it likely that i can book this as the dates are not on the site yet?

Any idea on insurance - not been to america before but i know that it is bloody expensive if you need help. Any things that i have to have on insurance ie nedical limits?

Aww thanks Jellybelly! One does one's best.

I went with my 8 yo dd and we shared a double bed in a hotel room. no hassle at all. ny a very very kid friendly place, and a very single parent friendly place.

my dd wouldn't get out of the museums - loved the Metropolitan Museum of Art (bit like the british museum - great mummies, great arms and armour, great absolutely everything else), loved Moma (Museum of Modern Art - new beautiful building and lots of wonderful familiar picassos and matisses and everything else - fantastic) and spent a whole day in the museum of natural history.

never been to the bronx zoo, which is meant to be great, but there is a small zoo also in central park which is nice for small children

you'll have a blast. make sure you stay in midtown manhattan and then you can walk most places. enjoy!

just read your extra questions - no to federal reserve bank for a 5 year old. take the staten island ferry (free!) there and back (have an icecream when you get there) and you get a great view of the statue of liberty from the boat. I wouldn't go TO the statue of liberty - you don't gain anything over and above seeing it from the water and it can take ages and a 5 yo will get bored.

look at expedia and travelocity for good deals (although not this far in advance - do you want to book it up now?). Treat Tripadvisor as a bible - it really is very very good on NY hotels. If it says don't go to one - then don't go!

For toy shops - toys r us in Times square is as exciting as it gets. It has an indoor ferris wheel you can go on, and get a picture of you on it afterwards. Also very central.

I'd stay somewhere between say 59th and 40th personally. Then you'll do lots of walking but everything in pretty easy reach. Taxis are cheap and plentiful - belts in the back.

I did want to book it now as its for my 30th and my last 2 birthdays have been really bad so want to know that ds and i are going.

The staten island ferry is where you see lady liberty right?