New York

[Tartancat]

I’m looking to take my dd to New York in February next year as it’s a big birthday for her and she has had a very tough couple of years due to her siblings medical issues.

Has anyone got any tips? It looks super expensive.

BA are doing flights and hotel (room only) for £1500. She’s a coeliac so we’d have to be a bit cautious eating out.

We're going to NYC in February 2025 half term. Finding itinery planning quite overwhelming. There are a couple of great FB sites with tips. So far we have flights, hotel and Summit One booked. Thinking we might do the bay cruise, staten island ferry, high line, MOMA, skating Bryant park and RiseNY. My 3 teenagers have never been before. Have you got a plan yet? We're staying for 4 nights. It's going to be cold ❄ I'm hoping to start pinning must see attractions to a google map so that we can group places together each day.

@saladfingers have you planned anymore? We are there Feb half term, Sat to Thurs. worried about food expenditure!

@hellololabells2019 those are our dates too. Fly from Heathrow late morning on the Saturday then overnight flight back Wednesday to land Thursday morning. How old are your children? Been looking at buying the city pass. Where are you staying and what have you booked? We have a family room for 5, our kids are 17, 16 and 15 at the Broadway Plaza, hoping for a view of the Empire State building. Think we will be eating bagels and pizza 🤣

Would you consider an Airbnb as then you might find catering is easier and cheaper?

Don't bother doing a cruise unless you want a dining experience. Staten Island Ferry does the same route and much cheaper. And goes at night too. It will be very cold , headgear is the most important.

Central Park
The Met
The Main Library
https://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman
You can eat cheaper in Chinatown & Little Indian/Curry Hill

Itinerary wise, my tip is to put on a map everything you want to do and then divide your days into areas of the city. Otherwise you will waste so much time travelling from one part to another.

February will be really really cold. Lots of layers, thermal socks and a hat are essential.
How old is your dd? If she likes shopping you could do a day trip to Woodbury Common shopping outlet. You can prebook coach tickets in the UK.
Itinerary ideas: Empire State Building, Liberty Island & Ellis Island, The Guggenheim, The Met, MoMa, 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Central Park, Grand Central Station, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Manhattan ferry, Brooklyn bridge
You can get around on foot and subway- get an OMNY card and add money to it at the machines in the station. You can swipe the card twice so both of you can get past the barriers.
If you stay in the area near Penn Station you’ll be close to the Empire State Building snd Macy’s and the station will enable you to get around pretty much anywhere

We went for twixtmas with our two teenage daughters. Our itinerary

day 1
central park
met
plaza
fifth avenue - blooming dales/louis Vuitton building/ Tiffany’s
grand central station
library
Times Square - raisin canes
Basketball at Brooklyn nets

day 2
statue of liberty
soho shopping edikted/urban outfitters/sephora/brandy Melville
China town

day 3
high line
the edge
one World Trade Center the vessel and shopping
ice skating at rockefeller
top of the rock
dinner docks on fifth
hamilton

day 4
franklin street (major swiftie in family)
tram trip
Serendipity lunch

We just used our phones to pay for subway if you use more than twelve times in 7 days they will limit the cost to twelve rides. We used the subway loads and had no issues.

For bagels go to Liberty Bagels on West 35th Street and for pizza go to NY Pizza Suprema on 8th Avenue. Both are near Madison Square Garden. Can also recommend Tick Tock Diner in the same area as is Mustang Harry’s
Food is expensive tho in NY think approx $17-20 for a burger a fries (obvs depends where you eat)

We stayed at the Roger smith hotel on Lexington Avenue which included breakfast yoghurts and giant apples (and cereal but less helpful for dd).

Air bnb is technically not legal in NY, but I know people who booked it and were fine.

Central Park,
Staten Island ferry
Brooklyn bridge
little Italy
Bloomingdale’s
Broadway show
China town was a bit scary

Be aware that roaming charges can be expensive depending on your provider. EE wanted £5 per day per device. So we just used my phone (great for maps etc) and everyone else had to wait to use the free wifi in the hotel in the evening.

@madaboutpurple short term airb&b are illegal in Manhattan.

I lived in Manhattan on and off for 2023, my advice would be use the subway and walk, don’t do more than 2 tall buildings (the Summit would be my No 1) if you plan on doing a pedi cab trip in Cenral park book it beforehand (Central park Attractions are good) but you can just walk.

Take the free Staten Island ferry but just turn around and get it straight back again.

Use the riverboats, take the cable car over to Roosevelt Island then the riverboat down towards Brooklyn bridge.

Walk over Brooklyn bridge, I prefer to walk from Dumbo side towards Manhattan for the views, but both ways are good.

Walk the Highline and start or finish at Little Island (better in summer).

You might get some good offers in February they sometimes have Broadway week/ restaurant week sales/discounts.

Check out BA sale, they do good flight and room offers, personally I wouldn’t stay near Times Sq and you won’t spend much time in your hotel.

Gallaghers restaurant do a great lunchtime fixed price special every day (used to be $30 per head) it’s a traditional steak restaurant, but you have to book.

Most places do happy hour, use that time to try cocktails, food and drink is very expensive, you have to tip, check out the menu before you go in anywhere add 20% to all prices, if you can’t afford it don’t go in, don’t think you can scrimp on the tip.

There are some very good FB groups with tips and discounts so it may be worth joining one whilst planning.

Dont try to do too much, you will be exhausted, have a fantastic trip, NYC is brilliant.

For clarification Airb&b self contained units are only legal for stays of 30 days or more. You can stay where the owner lives in the property ie you just rent a room, but for a short term stay I’d just stay in a hotel and stay in Manhattan.

We went in January last year, we were really lucky with the weather, it was cold but not too cold wrapped up well and it was bright at least half of the time. We stayed near Madison Square Garden, which was walkable to lots of places and didn't eat out much in the evening to make it cheaper, we went to Whole Foods market, I got a salad from the salad bar and DD got a meal to heat up in the microwave. We spent a lot of time just wandering around different neighbourhoods and eating/drinking coffee. Vintage shops over in Williamsburg were a big hit and we also liked Chelsea market, and Little Island at sunset. Your DD might have ideas of where she would like to visit from Instagram, e.g. The Friends apartment oh we visited somewhere in Dumbo that was popular on social media! We'd love to go back again.

Sorry to jump on. We are also considering NYC with our teenagers but we're thinking of the summer hols probably august but I'm worried it would be too hot. Has anyone been at this time of year and can tell me how hot it would be? We just want to walk about and sight see. Thanks

@saladfingers we are flying into JFK on the 15th at teatime and leaving Thursday evening. Booked through BA, staying at the EVEN midtown. Children are 4, 6, 11 and 16.

Looked at the city pass but worked out it's cheaper for us to pay individually. So far we have planned: the Intrepid; Statue of Liberty Crown; 9/11; UN tour; Central Park; Summit Vanderbilt and Brooklyn Bridge.

I've been watching a lot of Here De Barr videos on YouTube!

We went in November, we used the Facebook groups and did the high line, pedicab in Central Park, walked across the Brooklyn bridge, 911 memorial, Dumbo, harbour cruise, the summit at sunset, empire state, grand central, Ellis island, MJ the musical on broadway and Ellen's starlight breakfast.

Happy to answer any questions, we went for 5 nights and stayed near Time Square.

I would personally have a hotel away from Time square, it's just too noisy, maybe on 5th or 6th as it's a little quieter.

We went at the end of July the other year and it was far too hot. We had a good time but just walking outside was an effort, we were so sweaty. I often think that I need to go back another time to see the city properly.
Having said that on the day we left New York the temperature cooled markedly, so the temperature can be variable. If we'd started our trip on that day we'd have had a totally different experience.

@dietstartstmoz we did NY in August 2016 when DCs were 12 and 16, and then went back for five days last month. Glad to have done both because they were such different experiences.

Walking long distances was tough in August. We walked over Brooklyn Bridge and it wasn’t pleasant. But the subway is very reliable and quick, places were less crowded, and every building is air conditioned, so if August is the best time for you, you’ll have a great time.

Pre-book the Statue of Liberty Crown whatever time of year you go. Think it opens 3 or 6 months out.

The Summit was a huge hit this time. And the highline is fabulous - I would recommend dusk, when the lights are starting to come on (and you can fantasise about living in one of the apartments alongside 🤣). If you’ve got a clear day, watching the sunset from Pier 57 is gorgeous.

For a slightly off Broadway show, Little Shop of Horrors is wonderful.

Eating out has got a lot more expensive, but portions are huge, so two meals a day is plenty. Drinks add a lot to the bill, but there is always free water. Budget for tips - 20% expected at least for table service.

So a few additional things of you haven’t been to the Staes before and New York.

It’s frickin freezing normally. And the wind from the River/Atlantic - wow. Expect minus degree weather, possible snow (pack comfy boots) and wind.

Also not sure you daughters age on her big day but strict 21 drinking age. Even if she is with you, even on a restaurant and they will ask for ID and not serve you without it.

New Yorker here. You've gotten some good suggestions. One I'll add is the backstage tour at Radio City Music Hall. It's great fun:

https://www.msg.com/guided-tours/new-york-city-tours/radio-city-music-hall-tour

You can visit Rockafeller Center while you're there, great shopping.

As PP said, please follow the local custom for tipping restaurant wait staff. They have to "tip out" a percentage of their sales to staff who don't receive tips directly, so if you under-tip them, they can lose money on your table.

Feel free to ask me anything.

It's super cold then. Make sure you have really warm clothes

We went in April 24, and what we enjoyed most was just wandering around just taking it all in. We did Riseny and Top of the Rock and lots of paid experiences but for me the highlights were Grand Central Station, The library, visiting Times Square and Central Park, all of these things were free and just encapsulated what New York means to me, as someone who grew up seeing it in movies. We loved getting food from the street vans, got a philly steak in Times Square, a hot dog in central park, we went to a great bagel place, had a burger at a proper new york diner, had a steak at Gallaghers Steak house which was fabulous, (go at lunch time its half the price) had a cocktail on a roof top bar, all quite simple stuff but it was amazing. Oh and you could look into going to the taping of a show if you have time, we were in the audience of The Drew Barrymore show (seems to be the easiest one to get in) that was a proper American experience and again it was free. You can't really do New York on a small budget imo as it is horrifically expensive, especially eating out, but you can enjoy a lot of wonderful experiences there without spending a penny.