We knew that once when we had kids they would be following us on our travel adventures no matter where they would take us.
This summer we took two trips. One of these trips was to New York City.
Many of my friends thought I was crazy taking a 6 and 2.5 year old to the big city. My husband and I thought it would be fun to introduce them to a great city and were up to the challenge.
While in NYC we stayed with our cousin in Uptown. My husband and I had been to NYC twice before so we knew the city pretty well and didn’t expect to do half as much with kids then when it was just the two of us.
What we did:
Day One: We headed to Central Park in the morning to explore and play. Then we headed to The American Museum of Natural History. The kids loved the museum. I was so excited to show my son the dinosaur exhibit. He ended up liking the animal displays way more. We ate lunch in the main cafeteria in the museum and took it easy. This is a great museum for kids. I highly recommend it.
Day Two: On day two we headed to Chelsea with my cousins. We went to my most favourite spot in NYC – The High Line. I cannot express how much I like this park above the city. The High Line was designed with old train tracks. It is a beautiful walkway surrounded by trees, plants and flowers. We were there on a Saturday and stumbled upon a family event. My kids mingled with New Yorkers and did arts and crafts on The High Line. We continued on to find a mini water feature where kids and parents were invited to dip their feet in and cool off. After that we stopped at People’s Pops and enjoyed the most delicious popsicles ever.
After The High Line we headed to Chinatown for some Vietnamese food. Chinatown is a busy place! We managed to make our way through the streets with our stroller and had a great time buying some fresh fruits and veggies after lunch.
That evening my daughter and I went to see Annie on Broadway. This was the highlight of my trip to NYC. I was so excited to share my love of musicals with my daughter. The show was better than I expected. The little actresses were fabulous, the songs where perfect and the set was out of this world. If you’re in NYC with your kids, do make time to check out this musical. I purchased my discount tickets in advance through Broadway Box.
Day Three: We had family drive down from Virginia to see us for the day. We were now four kids and seven adults. We started the day by heading to FAO Swartz to check out the cool toys and dance on The Big Piano. After that we walked up 5th Ave (oh how I love 5th Ave) and stopped in at the American Girl store. My daughter bought her first American Girl doll to add to her doll collection. Her little cousin bought a pair of shoes for her doll. We headed to Chinatown for lunch and then back to the apartment for some relax time.
Day Four: My husband and I got the kids up and ready bright and early. We picked up some Starbucks and ate on the Subway on our way to the 911 Memorial. We spent a bit of time in the Financial District then headed to Times Square. We took the kids to the Toys R Us to ride the ferris wheel. I didn’t really want to do this (would have preferred to spend time in Bryant Park) but once I was on the ride I really enjoyed it. After that we headed to the Shake Shack for an awesome meal. I absolutely love Shake Shack burgers. If you’re in NYC you need to eat here!
Sadly, after our awesome lunch we had to go back to the apartment to pack up for our flight home.
What you need to do NYC with kids:
- A good umbrella stroller. Its a busy city but a good stroller is a MUST. Keep in mind that the Subways stations are not very stroller friendly but with a little team work you can maneuver through all the stations. I brought along my Bumbleride Flite. It performed great through the city. I honestly wish I had one Flite for each child on this trip. You do a lot of walking in NYC. My kids took turns in the stroller but it would have been great to have one for each child.
- A good carrier. We brought our Boba Air with us. It fit perfectly in my husband’s backpack and is so easy to use. I strongly feel that bringing a carrier is a great idea. When one child was tired of walking I’d pop him or her in the carrier. I also used the carried a lot in the Subway stations when my husband had to fold up the stroller to go up and down the stairs.
- A MetroCard. We were in NYC for 4 days and bought a one week pass ($30). The kids were free. You can purchase your MetroCard at any Subway station.
- Google Maps! We would not have gotten around as easily without this App on our iPhones. Google Maps told us what train to take, where to transfer, how long we’d walk. It was amazing and so helpful.
- A good backpack stocked with snacks and water. It’s hot in NYC in the summer. You don’t want to be dehydrated or have hungry kids. Always leave with a well stocked bag!
I’m so proud of my husband and I for having survived NYC with kids. We had an amazing trip and were so impressed with how our kids behaved on the trip. They really enjoyed the city and are already talking about next time. NYC has lots to do for kids. We only touched on a few things. I’d highly recommend taking your kids to NYC. It’s fast paced, big and very very fun.
We will have great memories of our amazing trip to NYC forever. Now it’s time to plan our next adventure…
looks like you all had a great time. I couldn’t imagine traveling with my 13 month old. But my hubby and I also have a 15 yr old, so we’d have an extra set of hands to help out. I’d still be hesitant…
nice, it is more kid friendly, the pictures looked like so much fun!
Looks like you had a good time,WOW, love your pics especilly at the Piano and ToysRUS.
Ladena….sounds like you all had a great time. Very inspiring! Maybe my dream trip to NYC will end up including our kids.
Hi Alesha! Yep, it was great. I was a little nervous with kids at first since all our previous holidays were beach holidays but they did great and we had such a good time!