Hello:

My daughter is graduating from a high school in Toronto and she wanted to go on a graduation trip afterwards. Her graduation date is the 18th of June, 2007 (I know this is far in advance but we wanted to plan early!).

She had suggested that we take the train to New York and spend the days there. She planned it out and all expenses (except food, trans in NY and shopping) came to about $6000US per family.

She does like the idea of New York but she just felt that it was a little over rated (wrong!). She wanted to get some other ideas of fun vacations!

So along with other destinations, if anyone has any ideas of things to do in New York that are interesting and unique with a mix of the traditional stuff that would be great!

She wanted to do a simple, relaxed trip with some form of excitment and included some things that were unique and special.

Here are our details:
Travel Dates: 19th - 30th (there abouts)
Travellers: 2 Families
Family 1 ages:17, 14, 42, 42
Family 2 ages:7, 4, 38, 38
Budget: $9000 per family
Dont mind staying in country.

Thank you!

I believe that flying is cheaper than the train. You could also check out flying from Buffalo on JetBlue or other discount airlines.

Food and lodgings are expensive. I paid $60 US for sushi in midtown. Basically if the meal is $30 in Toronto it will cost at least US$30 in Manhatten.

Midtown Manhatten is the best place to stay. I managed to get rooms at the Waldorf Astoria for US$230 a night.

We took our teens to NYC and they loved it. I think it's a great idea for a graduation gift.

From our home near London, we drove to NYC in about 9 hours but once there, didn't need the car. Driving did allow us some flexibility with travel and saved quite alot....which can be used to see shows etc. The drive into the City was very straightforward and we stayed in Manhattan.

My husband and I have flown out of Buffalo to NYC on another visit and that was fine as well, but there was the added time of driving to the Buffalo airport, checking in, and taxis to the hotel in NYC after coming from the airport. I would drive again rather than fly because two days will be travel days regardless. There are some very inexpensive flights from Buffalo though, so have a look at that option.

For a family friendly hotel, I'd recommend the Belvedere. Location was perfect and the rooms were quite large with a small "kitchenette" to keep snacks, drinks etc. Our kids were old enough to share a room across the hall but I'm sure you'd have no problem with logistics for everyone. There are all kinds of hotels for all budgets, but staying near Times Square does make seeing the sights much easier for a first time visit.

For any age, New York is a wonderful place.Because the City itself is a part of our culture much more than we realize, it's one of those places that imho should be visited at least once if you live reasonably close.

We used the 48hr double decker buses which not only give you tours of the entire city (our guides were great), but with a hopoff/hopon feature, saves you taking taxis except at night. Our kids were 16 and 19 and loved visiting all those places they'd only read about or seen on tv and in the movies.

The Circle Line tours around Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty were tremendous and give you a great perspective of both sights. Highly recommended as well.

I'd purchased theatre tickets beforehand, which saved making decisions or standing in line for hours. Who doesn't want to see a play or musical on Broadway? I'm sure you can find something suitable for all the ages in your two families. But that can wait till closer to your dates of travel.

We had only 3 days and packed in all the major sights, but still could have found much more to do. We all enjoyed the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building and visiting the former site of the World Trade Center.

Shopping was fun since there are lots of things to appeal to teens, especially at South Street Seaport (Abercrombie, J.Crew etc) And of course FAO Schwarz and lots of others in Manhattan for the younger crowd.

Okay, I should stop! As you can see I love New York and think it would be a great place to celebrate a graduation. You don't need to spend a week and in fact, with kids, that would probably be too much. But a few days would be very memorable.... for anyone.

I don't see why you should spend like 10+ days in New York City only. For that time and money, you can make a nice road trip to Washington - New York - Boston.

Or fly to Southwestern US and travel around there.