New York City - 8 days

Old May 5th, 2010, 07:01 PM
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New York City - 8 days

My family of four, mom, dad, girl 13 y.o. and girl 9 y.o. will be in NYC for 8 days in June. To maximize our time there, we'd like itinerary suggestions. I don't like to "back track". Day 1 arrive at 10 a.m. Day 8 leave at noon. We are staying in Midtown at the Hilton New York. Can anyone suggest: Day 1 (Tue) - _____: Day 2 (Wed) - _____: Day 3 (Thu) - _____, etc. Does fodor's have any itineraries posted?
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Old May 5th, 2010, 07:42 PM
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Eight days is a good amount of time to enjoy the city. You will, of cours, back track because you will staying in midtown.

You should look at Fodor's and other guides and see what interests you. And if I may be so bold, ask your girls what they would like to see as well.

Your posting sounds frantic.
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Old May 5th, 2010, 08:53 PM
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I got a lot of advice in this forum for our next trip and listed our itinerary also with children. May be you like something we shall be hopefully doing.
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Old May 5th, 2010, 09:11 PM
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Do a search here for NYC trip reports. They will be very helpful in planning. Here is a link to my trip report from last fall:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...g-apple.cfm?22

Of course, we are adults, but you could tweek it for your girls. See a musical: Wicked, Lion King. Visit the American Girl store, shopping. Natural history museum. Statue of Liberty. Top of the Rock.

I also got a guide book and used a map to plan which areas of town to concentrate on each day.

Good luck and have a fun trip.

MY
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Old May 5th, 2010, 09:46 PM
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I am going w/ my mom & 14-y-o daughter in early June & I wish we were going for 8 days!

I agree w/ MichelleY - TRs are extremely helpful. You can pick up great tips and get a real feel for how much can be experienced in a day - which will help you set realistic goals.

I basically just chose some must-dos (in our case: Met Museum, Ellis Island, LES Tenement Museum, a B'way show, a performance at the Met Opera House) and went from there. By studying maps you will get ideas for other attractions/shops/restaurants you might enjoy checking out.

Good luck with your planning!
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Old May 6th, 2010, 02:39 AM
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We recently returned from a week in NYC. Kids of all ages seemed to enjoy the American Museum of Natural History. From there you could cross into and explore Central Park.

http://www.amnh.org/?src=googlemaps

You can click on my name to find my trip report.
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Old May 6th, 2010, 04:45 AM
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The way to avoid backtracking is to list the things you want to see/do. Put them on a map and them group them together based on proximity. Take a stab and then post an itinerary and ask for comments. Showing you've done some homework will get more replies than expecting people to do an itin. for you.

Decide whether you want to do an overview tour at the beginning of the trip. Many people find it helpful while others would rather just explore on their own.

Asking your kids to help do some research/planning will be fun for them and give them a sense of participation in deciding where to go. Incorporating any particular personal interests (sports? dance? music? books?) is always a good idea.
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Old May 6th, 2010, 05:15 AM
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Spend a day in Central Park... see the Art and vendors at the edge of the Park, visit the Plaza(Home Alone), take a carriage ride, visit Strawberry Fields,The Zoo, have lunch at the Boat House,rent a canoe, visit the fountains and meadow...theres much more just in the Park alone...Have fun!
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Old May 6th, 2010, 07:18 AM
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I've stayed three times at the Hilton in Midtown. Nice central location. Hope I'm not suggesting a real no-no but the hop on-hop off bus tour was great for my first time. We also e-mailed Good Morning America to get a position inside (you have to have a reservation) but we got lots of air-time (friends back home kept saying they thought they saw us....but nah..couldn't be, lol). The kids might really enjoy this. I also had posted in a different thread about a food tasting walking tour in Greenwich Village...so interesting, and good tastings too. The kids will love Central Park....we took a carriage ride, but thought it was quite short for the money spent. And the ferry to the Statue of LIberty...a must...but get there early, the lines get very long. Have fun....so much to do!!!
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Old May 6th, 2010, 07:24 AM
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Fodors published a book a while back on What to do with Kids in NYC. You should be able to find a copy. Give it to your girls and let them decide what they want to do. Also, read the many other posts and trip reports here on NYC. they will give you a good idea of what to do.
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Old May 6th, 2010, 02:33 PM
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Check out www.nyc-visitor-discounts for ideas on where to go and how to do it for less.

Here are my suggestions

-Statue of Liberty
-Broadway Show
-One Museum such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art
-One Fantastic Restaurant (see ideas from that website for good deals)or Maybe a theme one for the girls like Mars 2112 or others
-One botanical Garden or Zoo
-Maybe one fun tea at Alice's Teacup (for the girls)
-One Walking Tour (free and cool ones, again that I found at www.nyc-visitor-discounts)
-The Circle Line Boatride around Manhattan, or The Beast which is about an hour--the kids will love it.

Pace yourself. NYC is huge and very tiring. Pick one big thing a day. Have fun
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Old May 6th, 2010, 05:39 PM
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Statue of LIberty is a great idea but sells our months in advance - so to get a veiw take the free Staten Island ferry (also great views of the harobr and downtown skyline).

With kids those ages musts are:

Museum of Natural History
Central Park (bike? boat? small zoo?)
The Met (try the Costume Institute and the Egyptian Department)
Top of the Rock
Either Bronx zoo or one of the botanical gardens
At least one B'way show
For dinner explore a couple of the residential areas (Upper west side, lower east side, village) and have dinner at an outdoor cafe
Have a meal at Ellen's Stardust Diner (basic diner fare but waitstaff are great performers)

What are the girl's interests? They should each pick at least 2 places from some basic guidebooks
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Old May 6th, 2010, 06:49 PM
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Forbidden Planet-store with all sorts things like
Evolution on Spring Street
Chinese Ice Cream Factory
Pomme Frites-they only sell Belgian Fries
Economy Candy-Not as glitzy as Dylan's but half the price and twice as interesting.
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Old May 7th, 2010, 06:35 AM
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We have been to New York many times, and love it more each time, but the very first time we visited, we took advantage of the services offered by Big Apple Greeter: http://www.bigapplegreeter.org/. This is an amazing (FREE) tour tailored specifically to your interests. We basically asked for a general tour, and that guy took us EVERYWHERE. Showed us his favorite little neighborhoods, stores, etc. We were all over the city all day long, and it was truly great. I cannot eecommend this organization more highly. But you will need to contact them now to set something up for June.
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