NYC Trip Report - traveling w/ 6, 10 and 11 yr olds
Dec 24th, 2007, 01:08 PM
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NYC Trip Report - traveling w/ 6, 10 and 11 yr olds
Just wanted to try to post a quick trip report on our recent 4 days in NYC. I went with my sister-in-law and her 10 yr old girl and 11 yr old boy, plus my 6 yr old boy.
We booked Affinia Manhattan, which was a wonderful choice for a real tourist trip. It was around the corner from Penn Station and Madison Sq Garden and we had a 1-bedroom suite. The bedroom was very good sized and had 2 beds and a bath attached, plus a few closets. The living room was ample, and had a pull-out sofa, large tv and desk, plus a bathroom. The kitchen was fine but did not have enough pots and pans. That said, I called to ask for more and had 3 delivered immediately. The service here was wonderful. We paid $354 a night (which came to over $400 w/tax).
We flew into LGA and took a taxi to our hotel. The cost was $35 on the way in but $60 on the way back out!
We flew Air Tran from Virginia and because bad weather was expected on the 16th, Air Tran gave us the opportunity to fly early. We took them up on it and missed all of the delays and cancellations of last Sunday.
We took the subway almost everywhere. My sister-in-law and I each bought a $20 metro card and just kept re-filling them as needed. It worked perfecty.
We ate all breakfasts in our room and one dinner in. There is a market right next door and a gorgeous Whole Foods about a 10 min walk down towards Chelsea.
The kids were obsessed with the revolving doors in the hotel and escalators wherever we happened to be!
Some neat things we did:
1) ice skating in Bryant Park at night. It was gorgeous and not terribly crowded. Rentals are $10 but we happened to be there for a special night and it was gratis.
2) amateur ice hockey game at the Chelsea Piers - it was wonderful! Many of the guys had played pro and it could not have been more exciting - or cheap!
3) Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular - my sister in law and I definitely enjoyed it more than the kids did!
3) Personal guided tour of Chinatown, Little Italy, Lower East Side and Chelsea. It was great for the kids and kept us from getting lost!
4) Staten Island Ferry - got great photos of the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan skyline.
5) Economy Candy - HOLY COW this place was amazing.
6) Family friendly improv comedy show at the Laugh Factory (beware of the 2-drink minimum - it was outrageously expensive)
7) Non-family child-friendly but wonderfully delicious Sette in Chelsea!
8) Lunch at Katz deli - what an experience for us Southerners. We passed on the pastrami but the pickled tomatoes, bagels w/lox, chicken soup and grilled cheese were yummy.
9) All forms of transportation were a ball! Bus, subway, taxi and ferry.
10) The homeless people really made an impression on my niece and nephew, who were shocked and really wanted to help. We could have prepared them better prior to traveling.
If anyone traveling with kids wants to chat about anything on our trip, I'll be happy to.
This forum was amazing for its advice.
We booked Affinia Manhattan, which was a wonderful choice for a real tourist trip. It was around the corner from Penn Station and Madison Sq Garden and we had a 1-bedroom suite. The bedroom was very good sized and had 2 beds and a bath attached, plus a few closets. The living room was ample, and had a pull-out sofa, large tv and desk, plus a bathroom. The kitchen was fine but did not have enough pots and pans. That said, I called to ask for more and had 3 delivered immediately. The service here was wonderful. We paid $354 a night (which came to over $400 w/tax).
We flew into LGA and took a taxi to our hotel. The cost was $35 on the way in but $60 on the way back out!
We flew Air Tran from Virginia and because bad weather was expected on the 16th, Air Tran gave us the opportunity to fly early. We took them up on it and missed all of the delays and cancellations of last Sunday.
We took the subway almost everywhere. My sister-in-law and I each bought a $20 metro card and just kept re-filling them as needed. It worked perfecty.
We ate all breakfasts in our room and one dinner in. There is a market right next door and a gorgeous Whole Foods about a 10 min walk down towards Chelsea.
The kids were obsessed with the revolving doors in the hotel and escalators wherever we happened to be!
Some neat things we did:
1) ice skating in Bryant Park at night. It was gorgeous and not terribly crowded. Rentals are $10 but we happened to be there for a special night and it was gratis.
2) amateur ice hockey game at the Chelsea Piers - it was wonderful! Many of the guys had played pro and it could not have been more exciting - or cheap!
3) Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular - my sister in law and I definitely enjoyed it more than the kids did!
3) Personal guided tour of Chinatown, Little Italy, Lower East Side and Chelsea. It was great for the kids and kept us from getting lost!
4) Staten Island Ferry - got great photos of the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan skyline.
5) Economy Candy - HOLY COW this place was amazing.
6) Family friendly improv comedy show at the Laugh Factory (beware of the 2-drink minimum - it was outrageously expensive)
7) Non-family child-friendly but wonderfully delicious Sette in Chelsea!
8) Lunch at Katz deli - what an experience for us Southerners. We passed on the pastrami but the pickled tomatoes, bagels w/lox, chicken soup and grilled cheese were yummy.
9) All forms of transportation were a ball! Bus, subway, taxi and ferry.
10) The homeless people really made an impression on my niece and nephew, who were shocked and really wanted to help. We could have prepared them better prior to traveling.
If anyone traveling with kids wants to chat about anything on our trip, I'll be happy to.
This forum was amazing for its advice.
Dec 24th, 2007, 03:11 PM
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Sounds like a fabulous trip. Would be curious to hear about #3, your private tour of downtown neighborhoods. Who did you use, how much did you pay, how good was it etc.? Was it on foot or by car/limo???
Dec 26th, 2007, 04:40 PM
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Hi McLaurie
We used a neat guy named Mike Timony - he does work for my company and leads tours around the city. I think we paid about $30/hr. Our tour was on subway and foot. Since we were focusing on the kids, the content was lighter than I would want for an adult tour. He was great - fun and full of tips!
We used a neat guy named Mike Timony - he does work for my company and leads tours around the city. I think we paid about $30/hr. Our tour was on subway and foot. Since we were focusing on the kids, the content was lighter than I would want for an adult tour. He was great - fun and full of tips!
Dec 29th, 2007, 11:14 AM
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When you say he works for your co., do you mean he does something else and did this tour as a favor or, he's a tour guide that your co. uses for visitors? I'm trying to understand if this is someone other people could use b/c $30/hr. is very reasonable and people often request info on private guides.
Jan 2nd, 2008, 04:11 PM
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I'll check with him to see what he normally charges. He's an independent contractor that we hire for school groups. There's another guy we use as well who is supposed to be excellent - will get info on both.
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