Day Trip: West Orange, NJ to NYC
 

My 9 year-old son and I will be in West Orange, NJ, to attend a graduation, so during our one available day (Tuesday, June 21) I thought I would like to take my son into NYC. In one day, I don't expect to see a lot. I'd just like him to get exposure to the city. I was hoping all the wonderful Fodorites may be able to help me plan this outing.

First, what is the best way for us to get into the city? I will have a rental car but thought it might be better to drive somewhere, park, and take public transportation into the city.

Second, what are some recommendations for sightseeing? The only thing on my son's list is to see the Statue of Liberty, but viewing it from a boat would serve our purposes. I don't want to wait in line for the Empire State Building so that's not on our list. Visiting Ground Zero might also interest us.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

There is direct bus service to NYC that leaves hourly to PA on 8th Ave.That puts you at 42nd St. Driving in you have tolls and expensive parking if you can not find on street parking.Take the Bus for seeing the City or the Subway for speed and to experience another side of NYC.Free ride on the Staten Island ferry gets a good view of The Lady.

The hop on/off tour from nywatertaxi.com might serve your purposes.

While in West Orange make sure you go to Eagle Rock Reservation. Great View of the whole NYC Skyline.

It is definately better to take public transportation than to drive. I don't believe West Orange has it's own train station, but I believe it's just a few miles to either the Orange or South Orange train station. If you go to the NJ transit website, you can get a timetable for either station.

Just be aware, those stations are served by trains on the Morris & Essex line with some trains running to Hoboken and others directly in NYC's Penn Station. If you're unsure which train you're getting on, just check with a conductor as you get on board regarding the destination.


The reason I suggest the train is that taking the train to Hoboken might work best with your plans. If your intention is to see the Statue of Liberty, taking the train to Hoboken will allow you to connect to the PATH train which will take you to the World Trade Center station.

From there, it is a relatively easy walk to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. The view from the Ferry of the Statue will be great and more importantly, free. Round trip on the boat will take about an hour.

Once you get back to Manhattan, really a function of what you want to see. One option is stay downtown and visit the South Street Seaport and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

The other option is to simply jump on one of the subway lines that run from the Ferry to uptown. Plenty to see in Times Square and your son might enjoy the Wax Musuem. The Intrepid is pretty interesting and might be fun for a 9 year old.

Depends on what your son likes:

Zoo in Cenral Park

Museum of Natural History - dino exhibits are great and they have wonderful IMAX movies

The Met has a great Arms and armor section if he;s into that

If you don;t do the Staten Island Ferry do take one of fthe shorter circle line cruises.

Reco the subway vs the bus in Manhattan since your time is so limited.

Thank you all so much for the great information and guidance. I'm glad there are good options for getting into the city without having to drive in and park. I'm going to have my son help me go through the information so he can help determine our itinerary. I think being part of the planning process will really add to his enthusiasm about the trip.