Resources for Planning a New York City Family Vacation
The first thing to do when planning your trip to New York City, after the drive or flight, is to decide on the part of town you wish to stay. You might do this by researching which attractions are at the top of your list. You could stay in the city for weeks and not accomplish them all, so just start with your top five and see how much time is left to throw in more!
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Attractions
For planning your attractions, check out Travelocity.com, which offers a CityPass, including tickets to the Guggenheim, Empire State Building, American Museum of Natural History, Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Statue of Liberty, all for under $80!
Lodging
Your lodging is going to be your most expensive, and most important thing to book. Wherever you stay in Manhattan is going to be accessible to everything, but staying in Midtown is a great choice for tourists, since it’s in the middle of the city and all the action. Most of your attractions will be within walking distance. For those that aren’t, or when you simply choose not to walk, check into bus passes and a MetroCard, which could be added into your package:
www.mta.info/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm
Of course, if traveling with kids, you want your hotel to accommodate them, too. According to Frommer’s, some family-friendly hotels in Manhattan are:
- Doubletree Guest Suites in Times Square
- Le Parker Meridien in Midtown East (a fun one for kids!)
- The Lowell in the Upper East Side
- The Ritz-Carlton in Central Park, in Midtown West
- The Skyline Hotel and Travel Inn in Midtown West (inexpensive)
Dining
Don’t worry about all-inclusive packages that have you eating every meal at the hotel, unless you want to miss out on dining out in some of the best restaurants in the world. You may want a continental breakfast included, but save most lunches and dinners for the outside! You can always pick up pizza hot dogs from vendors for lunch, eat on a park bench, and save your dollars for a fantastic NYC restaurant for dinner. There are plenty of family-friendly as well as fabulous choices:
- Alice’s Tea Shop
- La Bonne Soupe
- Prime Burger, Serendipity 3
- Famous Joe’s Pizza, located near Washington Square Park.
Broadway
On a family trip to New York City, one of the attractions you can’t miss is the Theater District. Broadway caters to kids, with many kid-friendly shows currently running.
- Beauty and the Beast
- Blue Man Group: Tubes
- Hairspray
- Little Mermaid
- Lion King
- Mary Poppins
- Shrek the Musical
For more help booking your trip to the Big Apple:
