New York City is (in Katy’s opinion) the greatest city in the world! It is the largest city in the USA and is a global hub for finance, culture and media. It is often referred to as ‘The City That Never Sleeps’ and there really is so much to see and do here - it’s easy to see how this city attracts over 60 million visitors annually. There are so many iconic attractions and we adore how much fun this city is to visit as a family. We have another trip booked for December 2025 which will be Katy’s 9th visit!

Getting There and Transportation

New York is such as easy place to visit, with flight options into 3 different large, international airports (JFK, LaGuardia and Newark).

The city has a really extensive subway system but, being really honest, is not our favourite! When travelling as a family we prefer to use other forms of transport (the best being just to walk as much as you can as there is so much to see but it’s a huge city so this isn’t always feasible!)

We find ubers/taxis are really easy to use in the city and for first timers we would always recommend a hop-on, hop-off bus tour as a way to not only see a lot of the sights, but to use this to get you around the city as well. We’ve used Grey Line in the past but there are lots of different options here (including the Big Bus tour which is included in the New York pass which we go into more detail on on the things to do with kids page).

We cover the flights, transfers and itinerary from our last trip in the vlog below.

Accommodation

Staying in a central location will make it easier to see a lot of the sights on foot, we always think of Times Square as the heart of the city and try to ensure our hotel is close to here. We love the IHG Hotel Group and will always stay in one of those if convenient! For this trip we picked the amazing Intercontinental Times Square. We had a brilliant room with 2 double beds, a lovely bathroom with a walk in shower and a nice view over the city. Room sizes in NYC can be more on the snug side but we thought this was a decent sized room for a family of 4. The location was absolutely perfect too, set just one block back from the main centre of Times Square itself.

There are so many hotel options in NYC and a lot of choice to suit every budget. We’ve stayed at the Lotte New York Palace hotel before and absolutely loved it - a real treat if you’re looking for luxury - we will be staying here again in December when we’re there for New Years Eve and as this hotel is a bit further away from Times Square (just off 5th Avenue and has some magnificent views over St Patricks Cathedral) it was good value for this time of year! We’ve also stayed at the Westin New York at Times Square, Hotel NH Collection New York Madison Avenue and have heard good times about the Riu Plaza Times Square (we had this booked but it was cancelled due to the pandemic!) We had afternoon tea in the iconic Plaza hotel and this one is definitely on our bucket list to stay on a future trip.

Generally speaking, you can get more bang for your buck if you go either further uptown towards Central Park or downtown towards the financial district. It also makes sense to try and get a hotel close to the main attractions you want to visit so try and consider your itinerary before booking your accommodation.

Family Friendly Dining

Apparently it would take over 22 years to eat at every restaurant in NYC so you’re absolutely spoilt for choice in this wonderful cities with options to suit any craving! It is home to lots of chain restaurants too so if in doubt and want to make sure you’re eating somewhere you know the kids will have a decent meal then you will find lots of familiar US fast food/quick service and table service restaurants. Here are some of the spots we enjoyed on our last trip:

Ellens Stardust Diner

We adore this 50s style diner where the waiters sing in between serving up the delicious food and drinks! They sing everything from musical theatre classics to pop songs and interact with the diners as they’re doing so (expect a lot of confetti!) It’s not the cheapest meal but it’s so much fun we would definitely recommend a stop here. You can’t book so we tend to go for it opening at breakfast to avoid a big queue!
Fraunces Tavern

As huge Hamilton fans, we were so excited to dine at this historic landmark - it is the oldest bar in the city and is famous for being the watering hole for George Washington and many of the other founding fathers. We had great food (with a decent kids menu) in this beautiful setting. It’s very close to Battery Park so works well if you’re down this end of town to see the Statue of Liberty. We made a reservation but the day we visited they were also accepting walk-ins.
Andrews NYC Diner

You have to go to a diner when in NYC - our absolute favourite closed a few years ago (RIP Evergreens) but there are so many options here which are open all-day and serve American comfort food in a basic diner-style setting. We stumbled across this one when we were walking back from Macy’s department store and had a great value meal.

The Palm Court

The Plaza Hotel’s iconic venue which serves breakfast and their famous afternoon tea. We really splurged on this on our last trip - it wasn’t cheap but it was such a nice treat. Greg and I had afternoon tea here on our Honeymoon so really wanted to bring the kids back to show them and it was such a special memory!
Grand Central Station Dining Concourse

There are so many options here from the iconic oyster bar to quick and cheap at Shake Shack. There is also even a Magnolia Bakery outlet here if you’re after their famous cupcakes. Grand Central Market has an old favourite Zaro’s Family Bakery which serves up their famous black and white cookies too.
Hard Rock Cafe

We love a Hard Rock Cafe! You know what you’re getting, can usually get a seat and can see some music memorabilia themed to that city. The NYC restaurant is right in the middle of Times Square so is an easy choice if you’re in this area. Other chains on Times Square include Olive Garden, Bubba Gump, Red Lobster, Applebees, Juniors, Raising Cane’s, Planet Hollywood, Margaritaville and more!