New York for a week - i am crazy to even consider it?

[stardazzle]

we have 2 dd's 6 and 3.5 and our friends have one dd also 6. we are looking for a holiday for june half term. just for fun i looked at flights to New york as this is somewhere i have always wanted to go expecting them to be so expensive but they are coming out as the same price as going to Portugal.

So i new york a valid destination for a week with 3 young children, is it easy to find somewhere to stay? will hotels/apartments be expensive?

thanks

thanks, i really like the queens house linked to above, which say we can get into NY centre in 25 mins on the train and that a week train pass is just $25.

Just need to make a decision and book i think. The flights are still less than £300 each and both BA and virgin do a reduction for the children so that brings the cost down too.

Not liking the sound of jetlagged children though!

pmsl @ 'Is that from natural causes Pavlov? I thought there had been a major crime crackdown in NY? '. The joke about more dead than live people in Queens is a real oldie - it just refers to the fact that there are lots of cemeteries there.

Took my 4 yr old and 7 yr old to NY for a week this spring, and it was fantastic - wouldn't hesitate to do it again. The carousel in Central Park is our top tip.

I'd ratrher go somewhere clean and sunny and not busy busy busy - just come back from a long weekend in NY to visit SIL and wihes we had gone to a lovely Cotswold Hotel and not had to rush a round a city for 4 days - although I am now a country girl so find cities to be too noisy and dirty!

3 young kids - I would go somewhere that caters more for them that NYC.

We went last year when dd was 3.5 and she was fine. Coped better with the jet lag than we did. And we had a fab time. I have the Fodor's NY with Kids book which has great tips on accommodation and activities. Try the fodors.com website.

zazette - where did you stay?

the children will be nearly 4, 6.5 and 7 when we go. We took them to Prague this summer and they loved the hustle bustle of it although we were only in the centre for 3 days.

Thanks for the book tip Joseph BTW aren't you supposed to be going on a long journey yourself at the mo or have you got a balckberry?

star - its really not too bad with jetlag, as you will be on a similar time. It just does not help that DH is much more used to it than me, and also tends to just get drunk with his DB, so he collapses and then leaves me to deal with it . I went to bed for half hour at 8pm last night, and DH did not wake me, so I slept through until DD woke me!!!

I think you should do it. Where BIL lives, it is quite built up, but where you are looking, it is not 'city' but rather a rural suburb of NY. From what I can tell it is in between Brooklyn and Queens, on Long Island.

The Metro Card is good, I use BILs and its easy same as Travel card in London.

(Zazette - that explains why BIL keeps saying it then...sometimes, when he drives past a cemetry he will call us in England just to tell us that fact! I guessed it was as you said, but did not want to say so and then find I was very wrong and it was a far fetched family thing!!! )

It does sound like a family joke doesn't it? but I think it is an old music-hall joke, the profusion of cemeteries in Queens goes back to the C19th. I heard the joke from a friend who grew up in Queens but now lives near a massive cemetery in Brooklyn...

And I'm afraid I'm no help re accommodation stardazzle, as we stay with our friend whenever we go to NY. Brooklyn is full of urban families, has some great parks, and is a wonderful place to stay. I haven't been to Queens, and have no tips about it (and no point asking my mate I don't think, as he hasn't lived in that bit of the city for 30-odd years).

Generally, I found NY an immensely family-friendly city, it actually caters for kids really well IME. Unlike London, say, lots of families live downtown, so there are playgrounds all over the place, it's easy to find inexpensive but decent places to eat out with kids, and there are loads of fantastic child-oriented activities - we went to a wonderful (free) kids' workshop at the Metropolitan Museum, for instance.

We didn't really have a jetlag problem - we arrived 7ish local time, the 4 yr old fell asleep in the taxi and stayed asleep till next morning, and they adjusted pretty quickly. it was worse after we got back, but only bad for a few days.

Have fun! I'm , would love to go again with the kids (am going without them for work soon though, and that will be good too...)

thanks for all your help.

Hula and i are getting together on the 27th so hopefully after a few glasses of fizz we'll just book!

Busy busy doesn't bother us TBH. If anythng I prefer it.

The thought of going somewhere and just being stuck on a beach all day would drive me mad. My DD hates the sand anyway, so not into beach holidays. DD is like me - likes being out and about doing stuff. For example she loves London.

I wouldn't want to spend more than 1-2 days in NYC with young children.

I would suggest that you base yourself in a beach resort somewhere within 50 miles of the city, and travel in for short periods.

June is a nice time though. Hot but not too humid.

I'd take DD to NY she is 10 though, but my sister has flown accross the pond several times with younger children

. We went to Washington DC at the end of July / August last year - it was very hot then! (flew with United - I've always flown with them to the states although I've heard Virgin are good if you're flying with children).

On the way back DD slept the whole time. She didn't seem that affected by jet lag.

Will actually be end of May - half term.

As said before beach not great for DD. She doesn't like sand.

hopefully booking flights tomorrow!

so will come back to you for advice on accomdation!!!

Very very excited!!!!

So, New York for Children...

anyone got any other comments on what to do there with a 7y, 6y and 4y?

Hoping to book today or very soon, so all advice and tips welcome.

we're going to New York, We're going to New York!!!!

Hello. We took our DDs ages 9 & 6 to NY in the May half term for a week.

You will have a ball!! NY is a fab place to take children.

These are some of the things we did in one week!

The Empire State Building
The Statue of Liberty
Rockerfellar Centre
The Natural History Musuem
Shopping on 5th Avenue
Central Park (Horse & carriage ride and ride on the famous carousel)
Ellis Island
Times Square
Saw The Lion King on Broadway
The Guggenheim
Grand Central Station

Absolute musts are Dylans Candy Store. An amazing store with 3 floors, 1 is an ice cream palour. Our girls were in heaven! Think Willy Wonka!
Also FAO Swartz the enormous toy store with the piano from the film big!

I asked the DDs what they enjoyed most and they said The empire state building and the Statue of Liberty. (They recognised it immediately and were transfixed by it!!)

If yours have seen the film 'night at the museum' they will love the Natural History Museum! Well, they will love it anyway!

So many fab places to eat with children. Can recommend some if you want.

We loved NY the children still talk about it all the time.

Have a fab time!

thanks newpup - i'm very excited!