Family Holidays: New York family holidays and breaks
Take the Family holiday rating 
Why
The sheer size and scale of its magnificent buildings, the diversity of its neighbourhoods, the magic of Central Park, the wonderful restaurants, shops, theatres and the brilliant museums will amaze young and their parents alike. And New York, by the standards of most international cities, is among the safest and easiest to negotiate.
You can enjoy New York thoroughly with children of any age. But if you were to visit with, say, three young children you'll also find New York can be demanding. Pace yourself and, if time and budget allows, consider combining several days in New York with a few at the beach to wind down.
- Top left: Father and son in Central Park
- Top middle: Chrysler Building at night
- Top right: The Statue of Liberty
When
Families can enjoy New York all year round. But be prepared for very high summer and very low winter temperatures – monthly averages can be misleading, although New York in December, draped in Christmas lights and sometimes snow is an unmissable sight. Spring and autumn weather can be perfect. Flights tend to be cheaper in the first half of the year.
How
take the plane
Numerous airlines fly between the UK and the United States. They include BA and Virgin Atlantic, which score highly for family friendliness, in our opinion. Return flights generally cost between £200 and £400 per person depending on time of year. Click here for great deals on flights through our partners at lastminute.com, and check some great flight deals from Expedia.. Flights generally take about seven and a half hours to New York and six hours back from New York (yes, that does seem strange, it's because wind over the Atlantic generally comes from the West).
Take the Family Tip: The worst effects of jetlag can be avoided on the flight home by opting for a daytime flight. These leave New York at around nine in the morning and arrive in London at around nine in the evening. Carriers offering daytime flights include BA, Virgin
Atlantic and American Airlines.
from the airport
New York has two international airports – Newark in New Jersey and JFK on Long Island. Trains now serve Newark efficiently, but the famous yellow taxi remains the easiest way for your family to arrive from JFK. Alternatively, there are regular and easy to use bus services. If you are travelling with a tour operator it is likely that transfers will have been included.
Once in New York, if you plan to spend all or most of your time on Manhattan
Island do not rent a car. The 24 hour subway (tube) system ($2 per ride, cheaper
family tickets) is clean, safe and efficient and a cab is generally less expensive
than in the U.K. for the same distance. For advice on getting around
New York by Metro or bus see the MTA
(Metropolitan Transportation Authority) website.
Stay
Although typical American hotel rooms, like most things American, tend to
be larger and more likely to offer inter-connecting rooms, New York does have
exceptions. Most major hotel chains have several hotels in Manhattan and offer
the benefit of a generally consistent level of product and service with generously
sized rooms. New York also offers a broad range of family friendly independent
hotel options. Manhattan is a great base for families, and we recommend Doubletree
Guest Suites Times Square Hotel, Doubletree
Metropolitan, Le
Parker Meridien, New
York Palace, Grand Hyatt and Comfort
Inn Manhattan. A great alternative to a hotel is a serviced apartment
for your family's stay. Check deals with partners The
Apartment Service, who offer New York apartments from as little as
£93 per day, with 2 bedroom apartments from around £200 per night.
Do
Take the Family to Central
Park, on a boat trip to the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building
and at least one of the Metropolitan, Natural History and Modern Art Museums.
Be sure, also, to explore some of New York’s diverse neighbourhoods
including Soho, Chinatown and Little Italy.
Central Park
Beautifully landscaped in the nineteenth century, Central Park is worth at least one day, maybe more. Many activities suit all ages or you can just soak up the atmosphere, people watching in the beloved heart of New York. The park is pretty safe, even in the less visited northern reaches, but keep to daylight hours and as an extra precaution stick to major paths.
Take the kids ice skating in the winter with the most memorable background imaginable. Ride on the wonderful restored carousel – great for one year olds upwards. Rent bikes or roller blades and speed around the six mile perimeter path. Row on the boating lake and visit the café overlooking the lake. Great playgrounds for all ages dot the park, most with water hydrants on in the sticky summer months if you need cooling down. If you are pressed for time stick to the busier Southern area and consider an expensive memorable horse drawn carriage ride.
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
The Statue of Liberty was donated in the nineteenth century by the French and offered the first glimpse of the New World for the millions of immigrants who were accepted or turned away in Ellis Island.
Empire State Building
Built in 410 days (less than the time required to repair an escalator on the London Underground) during the depths of the depression. At night the top 30 floors are floodlit in seasonal and holiday colours. The views from the observatory on the 102nd floor are breathtaking.
Natural History Museum
Probably the best museum for kids, plenty of new exhibitions with interactive child oriented exhibitions combined with nineteenth century galleries full of stuffed creatures and beasties. Lots of amazing dinosaur stuff, a fascinating new biodiversity exhibition (better than it sounds) and the new high tech earth and space galleries. Great for older kids. Check out the museum shops – a tribute to American consumerism.
Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum
Walk the decks of the historic aircraft carrier, tour a submarine and a destroyer, experience an F-18 mission and show your kids Concorde. Ideally suited for budding Action Men.
Soho
Soho stands for South of Houston (pronounced ‘howston') Street. Within only a quarter of a square mile, Soho has an estimated 250 art galleries, four museums, nearly 200 restaurants, and 100 stores. Since Soho’s attractions serve as a magnet for shopping rather than keeping children entertained a bribe in the form of new clothing or a favorite meal may help elicit a successful visit.
Chinatown and Little Italy
Vibrant, small ethnic enclaves in lower Manhattan. Certainly worth a stroll with the family and be sure to sample local authentic cuisine.
Shopping FAO Schwartz, if you can stand the crowds and prices is a great treat for very young upwards. Great stuff to take home, but maybe probably cheaper at home too. Try Chinatown for dirt cheap trashy copies of designer gear. Especially 10 dollar Rolex watches.
Other Ideas
- Grand Central station, just for the ceilings and atmosphere.
- The Cloisters in the northernmost end of Manhattan – a lovely museum of medieval art, great café and parkland.
- Walk across Brooklyn Bridge – day or night, both are spectacular for great views of Manhattan and visit the cafes in Brooklyn heights.
- Get tickets to watch the Yankees play
baseball at Yankee Stadium a great spectacle and very atmospheric.
- Visit the parks on the West and East sides (Riverside and Carl Shultz Park) – good playgrounds, people watching, river views and check out the goings on in the dog exercise areas.
- Visit St John the Divine (W112th Street) in the Columbia University area, just off Central Park – a massive Episcopal cathedral – still unfinished after a century of building but a great spectacle, full of surprises and surrounded by delicious eateries courtesy of the wealthy Columbia students.
- For older kids try a night at the Apollo
Theatre in Harlem. Wednesday night is amateur night, where stars
are born. The crowds are wild, but in a fun way – definitely worth
a night.
- Take a Circle
Line cruise (½ way round is more than adequate) for great views and commentary on New York buildings and history.
- Do a Big Onion walking tour – fascinating, though could be a little lengthy for the reluctant walker.
- If you've got dollars left over and slightly older children helicopter
rides above the city are spectacular
- And of course – go to see a movie in one of the many multiplex cinemas, just because its New York…
If you are a teenager or have teens then check out some 'Teen
Scene' ideas on the official NYC
Visit site.
Click here for an up to date family friendly events guide to New York….
Eat
We heartily recommend at least one visit to any of the hundreds of respectable diners. A huge breakfast with waffles and blueberrry pancakes is a must. Like almost all New York eateries they are very child friendly. Katz’ Deli on Houston St. is famous for hosting numerous celebrities over the years, and, as an aside, it’s also the venue of the famous When Harry Met Sally scene.
In Manhattan, you're spoilt for choice – within a hundred metre radius of your accommodation you will find a massive variety of child friendly, inexpensive eateries.
Some of our favourites include the Boathouse restaurant in Central Park, less for the food even though it’s fine and more for the setting. If budget allows you can even cross the lake by Venetian Gondola to get there. Serendipity 3 is a famous ice cream parlour that also serves food at 225 E. 60th St. Carmine’s on 200 W. 44th St. is famous for its ginormous family-sized portions. You'll need to get there early to avoid a long wait for a table. And, of course, no visit to NY is complete without pizza. There are a number of options in Little Italy and you should also pay a visit to John’s Pizzeria of Bleeker St. in Greenwich village.
Cost
Flights to New York can start from as little as £200 per person, though you should expect to pay substantially more during the summer and autumn. Hotel and apartment prices also vary by season. You may find it less expensive to book a holiday rather than buying flights, rooms and transfers separately. Once there you and the family can dine on every conceivable budget. Remember to take out insurance.
Travel reading
by H Hughes
Buy from Amazon.co.uk - Save 9%
Now in its 7th edition and packed with suggestions, including itineraries. Suitable for different child ages.
