New York City with Kids

 A trip to the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps, during COVID-19 and enjoying NYC with kids?!  Read our top 5 tips below for how to have an amazing time in New York City.  Yes, Manhattan is huge and has people everywhere, but with a little planning for logistics this is an awesome destination for the whole family.  At the time of posting, COVID-19 had little impact on our trip.  Everything we wanted to do was open, with masks either recommended or required.

1.  Plan for and use public transportation.

Yes, it is easy to grab a Lyft/UBER directly from one destination to the other, but we managed 3 days in NYC with kids for the cost of one Lyft XL.  We arrived by train to Penn Station and purchased a subway card loaded with $44 ($2.25 per person, so $11 per family trip, plus the $1 cost of the physical card).  The self-serve kiosks are easy, and because we planned our routes only loaded one card with zero-waste.  There is no need for more than 1 subway card per family!  Study the NYC subway map to make managing the trip and kids much easier.  Masks are required on all public transportation.

Take the Staten Island Ferry, which is free and takes you right by Ellis and Liberty island, the best free view for the Statue of Liberty.  Upon landing you have to exit the boat, but can immediately circle back through the concourse and ride the same boat back to Manhattan.  Pro tip: on the way to Staten Island, grab a spot on the right side of the boat for viewing the Statue of Liberty.

2.  Plan to walk. A lot. 

Even when using the subway, plan to have 5-10 minute walks when leaving and arriving at your destination, but just enjoy it!  There are great sights to be taken in all around you, and it’s part of the NYC experience.  If your kids are not used to walking and being active, start ahead of your trip by taking fun family hikes or walks.  We broke up longer walks by finding parks to play/rest/sit at on each of our 3 days. 

If your kids are OK with looking and not buying (or if you are good to buy a few things), you can also break up walks by stopping into a few fun stores.  Our kids were absolutely amazed by the American Girl store, the Disney Store, and the magic trick demonstrations at FAO Schwartz. 

3.  Plan for food cost.

If you are staying in Manhattan the entire trip, even grocery stores expensive.  We are a pizza-loving family, and especially in NYC, you’ve got to get it.  You can get a large cheese pie with 4 drinks for $12-$15 total at either 99 Cent Fresh Pizza or 2 Brothers Pizzeria; we did both and it’s hard to beat a meal for 4 for $12!  Look at restaurant menus online or on the sidewalk before choosing where to eat.  Similar food can be reasonable or very expensive.  Keep grocery store snacks and refillable water bottles in a backpack for the kids.

4.  Plan to bike through Central Park.

This was the highlight of the 3 days!  We did a 3-hour rental through Fancy Apple Bike Rental and completed the full 6-mile loop with 2 longer rest stops, but would recommend a longer or all-day rental.  There is so much to see and do both in and along the periphery of the park.  Next time we would lock up our bikes (you can get a lock included) to visit the American Museum of Natural History rather than walk back the next day.  We especially loved the wide streets, lack of motorized vehicles, one-way bike traffic.  Our kids don’t always ride in the straightest line, we would definitely not ride through NYC with kids, but it was no problem in Central Park.  Top tips: schedule according to the weather forecast, reserve a longer rental time, stop at the playgrounds, and go during the week for much smaller crowds.

5.  Plan to visit the American Museum of Natural History.

Our kids love the movie Night at the Museum, and it was great to visit the actual location.  Masks are required.  The museum is huge, so don’t expect kids to be able to do and learn all of it, but here’s what we did to make it informative and fun.

• Game #1: we each picked one African Mammals exhibit and memorized 3 important facts then regrouped to share with the other family members. This helped our kids memorize and internalize great information.
• Game #2: take 5-10 minutes to walk throughout an exhibit room, and come up with “2 Truths and a Lie”: upon regrouping we all would present 2 true facts and 1 made-up fact and have the others guess which was the “lie”. Our kids did great and had fun learning this way!

New York City can be an intimidating place to visit with kids, with all the people and hustle and bustle.  However, with a little bit of planning ahead, both kids and parents can have a blast!  New York City was one of our first stops during a year-long trip around the world!  To see all our travel adventures, head over to our Instagram page.

Recommendations for education: 

Books: We loved learning about how and when the Empire State Building was built.  Sky Boys is a great picture book option for younger kids and Where is the Empire State Building? is an informative short chapter book.  We listened to the audiobook From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler about a brother and sister that have an overnight adventure in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  We also read What was Ellis Island?, Where were the Twin Towers?, and I Survived the Attacks on September 11th, 2001 to learn more about these topics.

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If you have questions or tips for traveling to NYC with kids, let us know!