Planning a trip to New York City with a tween in tow? Look no further! From iconic landmarks to hidden gems, the city that never sleeps has something to offer every family member, including those in that oh-so-unique stage of not quite a kid but not quite a teen. My tween son and I recently spent 48 hours in New York City, and here’s our jam-packed itinerary for the trip.
Day 1: Statue of Liberty, Intrepid Museum, Museum of Ice Cream
Ferry to the Statue of Liberty
- Make this your first stop of the day to avoid crowds.
- Definitely book ahead of time!
- Purchase tickets from Statue City Cruises here.
- Before boarding, you’ll pass through an airport-like security station at Battery Park.
- The ferry departs every 25 minutes and takes about 20 minutes to reach Liberty Island.
- After Liberty Island, the ferry heads to Ellis Island.
- Choose to explore Ellis Island (highly recommend!) or stay on the ferry back to Battery Park.
Check out the Intrepid Museum
- The Intrepid Museum is conveniently located near Battery Park, making it an ideal next stop after the Statue of Liberty.
- Tickets can be purchased in advance here, but because it’s difficult to gauge how long the Statue of Liberty will take, you can also opt to purchase directly at the Intrepid.
- Plan on spending about an hour and a half exploring.
Wander through the Museum of Ice Cream
- Also located in Lower Manhattan, The Museum of Ice Cream was my son’s favorite stop of the entire trip.
- Come hungry as there are many opportunities to stop within the museum for a free ice cream cone.
- Wander through the maze of bright pink, interactive and whimsical rooms.
- Reserve a time and purchase tickets here.
Day 2: Central Park, Broadway, Times Square
Explore Central Park
- Central Park is HUGE!
- Use this online guide to help plan your time.
- Some tween-approved highlights:
- Renting rowboats on the lake.
- Alice in Wonderland statue.
- Cleopatra’s Needle Obelisk
- Scaling any rock formations that looked cool.
Watch a Broadway Play
- Broadway offers so many kid-friendly shows! Check out a list of them here.
- We chose “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”; it was fantastic!
- While there are sometimes options for purchasing last-minute Broadway tickets at a discounted price, this isn’t a sure bet. I preferred not to leave this part of our itinerary up to chance. So, I purchased ahead of time here.
Take in Times Square
- The Theater District and Times Square are adjacent to each other.
- After the play, take a quick walk through Times Square to enjoy the lights and do some people-watching.
- If you have the energy, make a pit stop at the M&M Store in Times Square.
- Let your kiddo design their own M&Ms at the designated setup upstairs.
Last but not least…
- EAT.ALL.THE.FOOD.
- There are so many great restaurants in NYC – you can’t go wrong!
