NYC first and only visit

[BrinkofSunshine]

I see several people saying not to do the carriage ride. I've never done one anywhere before, but have seen them several places. Are the ones in New York particularly bad or is it just horse drawn carriage rides in general? We usually do horseback riding on vacations, this summer we did a ride in Rocky Mtn Natl Park, last summer the Smokey Mountains and the summer before Bryce Canyon in Utah. Never done a carriage ride but thought it would be a fun way to incorporate horses in NYC and see Central Park. I had no idea there was controversy surrounding them...are there any good companies or are they all bad??

Different companies in different cities will be different when it comes to how they treat their horses. NY is just known for being particularly bad for them; when they're not being rented the carriages are lined up along a busy street where they have to breathe in exhaust fumes all day.

I haven't personally tried them, but I've seen good reviews for Central Park Horseback Rides online, where you can actually ride through the park which looks awesome. Their FB page also shows them turned out in a field and says they spend a lot of their time off, which is great.

 

[Gracie09]

System island ferry. It's free and has the best view of the Statue of Liberty.
Museums. I could spend a week at the met.

 

[Prose]

Remember to get timed tickets ahead of time for the ESB, Statue of Liberty and 9/11 Museum.

We took a high school group to NYC last year, and it was the little things that made the most impact on them - ride the subway, walk around Chinatown, see yourself on the giant screen in Times Square. Explore, duck into little shops, grab a slice of pizza and people watch.

 

[mjkacmom]

System island ferry. It's free and has the best view of the Statue of Liberty.
Museums. I could spend a week at the met.

The OP is planning on getting off at the SIL and EI, so the Staten Island ferry would be redundant.

 

[luvsvacation]

Thank you all for the helpful information! I don't want to miss anything, but I also don't want to cram in so much that we're just rushing and not enjoying it. NYC is part of a 3 week trip so I know we should take it slow and not jam pack it all in. I came across double decker bus tours...this looks like a good way to see a lot and be relaxing at the same time. Anyone have any experience with them? We wouldn't do the hop on hop off, just the straight tour.

I liked the boat tour ideas, but we're already doing 2 of those during the Niagara Falls portion of the trip.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Thank you all for the helpful information! I don't want to miss anything, but I also don't want to cram in so much that we're just rushing and not enjoying it. NYC is part of a 3 week trip so I know we should take it slow and not jam pack it all in. I came across double decker bus tours...this looks like a good way to see a lot and be relaxing at the same time. Anyone have any experience with them? We wouldn't do the hop on hop off, just the straight tour.

I liked the boat tour ideas, but we're already doing 2 of those during the Niagara Falls portion of the trip.

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/bus-tours-in-nyc

Time Out just posted this list last week.

 

[Nancyg56]

Thank you all for the helpful information! I don't want to miss anything, but I also don't want to cram in so much that we're just rushing and not enjoying it. NYC is part of a 3 week trip so I know we should take it slow and not jam pack it all in. I came across double decker bus tours...this looks like a good way to see a lot and be relaxing at the same time. Anyone have any experience with them? We wouldn't do the hop on hop off, just the straight tour.

I liked the boat tour ideas, but we're already doing 2 of those during the Niagara Falls portion of the trip.

WE took a double decker tours a few years ago and liked it. WE also did nto jump on and off. WE also took the NBC/movie set tour. It was a highlight of our stay.

I think that for a bus tour, it you want to have fun, consider The Ride. It was hysterical, and while it dod nto go to major landmarks, we got a lot of info on the buildings. MNy DG Dlaughed the entire time, and you know how hard it is to budge a teen! LOL!

I do not know if your family would be interested, but I woudl also consider the Intrepid Museum.