New York City at the holidays
Let’s talk about New York City, specifically over the winter holidays. We’ve been to New York City several times and our favorite time of the year to go is during the winter. Even if you don’t love cold weather, it’s so worth it to go in November or December. We got to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade one year and have also gotten to ice skate in Rockefeller Center under the lights of the giant Christmas tree. It’s also kind of fun to bundle up and really get into the spirit of the holidays. New York City is so beautifully decorated during this time of year.
So the first thing we need to talk about is flights. You have several options whenever you are going to New York City. You can fly into JFK, LaGuardia or Newark. As always, search around, search as early as you can, and always look for award availability with points. Don’t forget to check Google flights and set a notification with your dates that you would like to travel, so that they will send the deals to you.
https://www.google.com/travel/flights
We always fly Southwest, because I always have points and I still have companion pass for my daughter. Therefore, we don’t pay for airfare. If I didn’t have points, I would just fly whatever airline has the cheapest flights, because for us, it’s only about a three-and-a-half-hour flight.
Once we arrive in New York City, I have always either taken a pre-arranged shuttle or used Uber/Lyft to get into Manhattan, which is where I like to stay. I know there are other ways but for me that’s just the most convenient and sometimes I’m going to pay for the convenience of things.
As far as where to stay, the options are endless. We stayed a few different places. The first couple of times we were in New York City we stayed right in Times Square. That was nice the first two times but very hectic and congested. The last two times we’ve been, we stayed a little further away from times square and found that we like that a lot better. My advice is to get a map and look at the location of all the attractions that you’re interested in doing and pick a hotel that is central to those activities. For example, the year that we went to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade I wanted a hotel that was very close to the parade route therefore I booked a hotel that was right on the route. Another time we went our focus was on Broadway shows and we stayed a little bit closer to the shows we had tickets for that way we wouldn’t have to walk so far late at night when our shows were over.
There are a ton of hotels, just pick one that fits into your budget. There is so much to see and do you will not be in your room very often. Read reviews and pick one that meets the criteria that are important for you. We don’t stay at high-end hotels; I am usually more interested in location and the reviews. I don’t mind walking a little further for a hotel that will suit my needs a little better especially if it’s cheaper.
So how do you get around New York City? New York City is so well-connected via subway. A lot of people are intimidated by the subway, but we’ve used it many times, just my daughter and I and we have never had any issues. Just be very aware of your surroundings, keep your belongings close to you and you should be fine. Also, the New York City subway has an app. It’s super convenient to use, you just download it and you can enter where you are trying to go, and it will tell you which trains to take.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/new-york-subway-mta-map/id369691844
If you’re not willing to take the subway the best way to get around New York City is by walking. Highly recommend very comfortable walking shoes.
Of course, there is always a cab, but it is definitely the most expensive and if you’ve never been to New York City, the traffic is terrible. I find it to be a very inefficient way to get around. We always choose to either walk or take the subway, if it’s a very far destination.
Now to the fun stuff, what to do while you’re in New York City:
Of course, number one is sightseeing, and bonus because it’s free! Just being there and walking around is unlike any other place. It’s always very busy, no matter what time of year, no matter what time of day. Just expect lots of people.
New York City many has wonderful museums that you can visit. I recommend doing these, especially if you are going in the wintertime, because it gets you out of the cold for a while.
Next up would be visiting the Statue of Liberty. Make sure you make reservations early. They only allow so many people there per day and you have to have reservations to be able to take the ferry over. I skipped doing this the first two times that I went to thinking that seeing it from a far was good enough and boy was I wrong. There’s something about seeing it up close and how massive it truly is that it’s just very inspiring. Tickets cost just under $32 each, in my opinion very well worth the money. Just be sure to bring lots of layers along with a hat, scarf and gloves if you are going in the winter, the wind gets very cold on the ferry ride over.
One of our favorite things to do is see Broadway shows when we’re in New York City. We try to go to a show every single night. And I know what you’re thinking, this is a budget, travel blog, how can she afford to go to Broadway shows every night? I definitely use the TKTS booth. If you don’t know about the TKTS booth(it’s the giant red stairs that are in the middle of Times Square) it’s a great way to save money on Broadway shows. The coffee out with that if you don’t know what shows are going to offer until that day when the booth opens. For us, we’ve gotten to see some really great shows that we normally wouldn’t have gone to see and thoroughly enjoyed them for much less than what we would have paid at box office prices. Check out all the information here: https://www.tdf.org/discount-ticket-programs/tkts-by-tdf/tkts-live/
If you are there during the holidays, you have got to check out the Rockettes Christmas spectacular. We went once and it was just amazing. For me, it was one of those things that you always heard about, and never dreamed that you’d actually be able to see in person. It really set the tone for the whole holiday season for us.
https://www.rockettes.com/christmas/
Every time we go to New York City, we walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. In fact, most cities I go to I walk across a bridge if there is one there. It’s just a thing I’d like to do. I think for most of us, the Brooklyn Bridge is iconic, it’s very recognizable, we have seen it all of our lives on TV and there’s just something really cool about being able to walk over it and bonus because it’s another free activity.
Of course, Times Square is amazing, there’s a ton to see and do in Time Square alone. Just wandering around and looking at everything, going in and out of the stores can take up a big portion of your trip. Also, a free activity.
Another of my favorite free activities is visiting Central Park. This is another activity that I kind of skipped over the first few times I was in New York City and I wish I wouldn’t have done that. It is massive, you can spend the entire day just wandering around the park. It’s absolutely beautiful, even when it’s cold out.
When we are visiting during the holidays, one of our very favorite things to do is ice-skating. We have skated in Rockefeller Center a few times as well as Bryant Park. They both are very busy, and you need to make reservations, but definitely worth the experience. Just don’t think that you’re going to have a whole rink to yourself because both get very crowded.
https://www.rockefellercenter.com/attractions/the-rink-at-rockefeller-center/
https://bryantpark.org/activities/bank-of-america-winter-village-at-bryant-park
And bonus, at Bryant Park, it’s not just ice-skating. They have an entire winter village. They have lots of vendors selling food and gifts so you can get your holiday shopping done while you are enjoying your vacation. We love the Bryant park village and go every time we are there.
I also highly recommend visiting the 9/11 memorial while you’re there. Don’t just see the outside memorial, go inside the museum! It’s very well done, and I’ll just warn you, it’s very emotional.
Another really cool activity is the Harry Potter store. If you have any Harry Potter fans in your family, it’s definitely a must do and bonus, it’s another free activity. Even if you are not a big Harry Potter fan it’s so cool just to experience the store. They have a wand shop. They also have a Cafe that sells butterbeer. It’s a really fun activity.
https://www.harrypotterstore.com/events/new-health-safety-requirments/
Of course there’s all the other usual sightseeing things to do in New York City, Empire State building, top of the rock, shopping on fifth Avenue, visiting the plaza hotel but if I listed all of those, this blog would never end. One of the things I love about New York City is it is so customizable to each person in their interests on a trip.
Let’s talk about the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade. Back in 2019 our entire trip was specifically for the parade. And I’m so glad we did it, it was definitely a bucket list thing that we got to experience (and totally free.) Like I said earlier, I booked a hotel that was on the parade route. I didn’t want to have to be worrying about how to get to the parade very early in the morning.
If you want to have a good seat for the parade, front row, you have to get there very early. We got there at 6:45 and we were three or four people deep in line already. I would highly recommend bringing seats because we did not do that and the ground is very cold to sit on. If we ever go back again, we will definitely bring foldable chairs. I would just have them delivered to your hotel from Amazon. That way you don’t have to worry about wasting the room in your luggage. This is another activity that you are going to have to dress very warmly for, it gets very cold, and you are out there for hours but the parade is magical and definitely worth being out in the cold for a while.
https://www.macys.com/social/parade/
Route Map- Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade - Google My Maps
Another fun activity in New York City over the holidays is looking at all of the stores that are decorated on 5th Avenue. It’s truly amazing how elaborate the displays are. Also make sure you go inside the Macy’s store because it’s beautiful as well.
There is also a light and music show put on by Saks Fifth Avenue in the evenings, if you are in Rockefeller Center, you will be able to see and hear it.
One thing that I do want to mention about visiting at the holidays, if you go over Thanksgiving, the tree will not be up in Rockefeller Center yet. If that is important to you, wait until it is up to go. It goes up the Wednesday after thanksgiving. That made me sad the year that we went over Thanksgiving, but it just gave me an excuse to go back another year to see it.
As far as eating in New York City, we are very partial to street food. Its easy on the budget and we love to get our food on the go and just find somewhere to sit and enjoy it while taking in the sites. Every morning we get coffee and maybe a bagel on the way to our first stop.
One of our must visit places every time we go is Halal Guys. Even though we have a Halal Guys locally, it’s just not the same. It is a must eat every single time we are there.
My daughter loves Nathan's hotdog carts. It’s one of her favorites. We always stop by the Hard Rock Cafe as well, because it’s one of the things that my daughter and I do together. Every city that we go to, if there is a Hard Rock Cafe, we will visit it. It’s just a tradition at this point. I even had Thanksgiving dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe one year.
We also love the Stardust diner. It’s a splurge because it is pricier, but it is so fun. All of the workers are performers and they sing and dance the entire time you eat. It tends to be very busy and often has a long line. We have found that eating at off times helps have a shorter wait. Maybe we’ll go between 2 and 4 PM for either a late lunch or early dinner and the lines aren’t as bad as prime mealtimes.
New York City has no shortage of great restaurants and great places to eat so before you go, I would just do a quick Google search of the best restaurants near wherever you’re going to be.
New York City is amazing and there is never a shortage of things to do. These are just some of our favorites and I tried to keep it holiday focused since that is what’s coming up soon. Since there is so much to do, don’t feel like you have to see and do all the things while you are there. Make sure you leave some time to just relax and take in the beautiful sites.
Until next time, happy budget traveling
-Tina