Day Trip in NYC with Toddlers

May 18

Written By Melody

We were nervous about bringing our toddlers into New York City, and needed to keep the day short while interesting and safe! It seemed like a tall order, but we were able to ask the advice of a local family, and put together a quick itinerary that was perfect for us and our short bucket list.

As a traveling RV family, our method of transportation is a large 3500 RAM truck with an 8 foot bed. So we either had to park somewhere that an oversized vehicle wasn’t an issue, or take public transportation into town. And we were leery of utilizing the subway with the littles. So this itinerary allowed us to park our massive truck all day for a set fee, and was within walking distance to everywhere we planned. So bonus for you RVing families!

Essentially, we stayed in the area that’s circled. I show this because glancing at a map of NYC was so overwhelming for me. It’s huge! And it was hard to figure our what was in relation to what. When you have little kids in tow, you have to accept you aren’t going to see everything or do everything, and that your options are limited. But we were thrilled with what we DID do, and our five-year-old son loves recalling this day.

ITINERARY

Liberty State Park
Ellis Island
Statue of Liberty and Museum
Liberty Landing Ferry to World Financial Center
9/11 Memorial Pools and Museum
New York Pizza stop for dinner

This is our one day trip itinerary to New York City with kids.

1. First stop: Liberty State Park

This is how you access the Statue of Liberty without going into the city first.

You pay to enter the state park, but it’s cheaper than any parking fee. For us going slightly off season, we had PLENTY of open air parking choices. It was about 45 minutes from where we stayed in New Jersey (at Butterly Camping Resort in Freehold, NJ).

Download their park map to get a birds-eye-view of where to enter, park, and even the route of the ferry – which I’ll get to next.

2. State City Cruises: Ellis Island

City State Cruises Ferry to Liberty Island

This is THE authorized ferry to take you to both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. You can grab your tickets online: but be sure you select the New Jersey departure.

Also, arrive early. They suggest half an hour before because you have to go through an airport-like security before making your way to the ferry. We went in October, so there was no line. But we saw what it COULD be!

Once you board the ferry, your first stop is Ellis Island. You can opt out of this if you don’t want to tour it. Just pay attention to those departure and arrival schedules.

3. Statue of Liberty (and museum)

The ferry then takes you to the island where the most famous statue lives. The view up to the island is beautiful, and it’s rather humbling and surreal as you approach the island. You also have a great view of Manhattan on the other side, so that was a bonus!

The kids will love the ferry ride, and it’s only about 10 minutes in between stops. So it’s doable even for the crankiest of kiddos.

Make sure to buy your Statue of Liberty tickets ahead of time!

I was confused about what the tickets meant, so I just got us General Admission tickets (which is the ferry). But you’ll notice below the header, there’s a “Crown Reserve Ticket” and “Pedestal Reserve Ticket.” While the crown probably isn’t doable with real little ones, we were BUMMED we didn’t get pedestal tickets! The pedestal is the base of Lady Liberty and let’s you walk right up to it. Otherwise you’re limited to the walkway around the ground surrounding the statue.

Book in advance and get the Pedestal Reserve Tickets. In October, I could have snagged these had I planned two days in advance. My guess is you’ll need to grab these tickets weeks, possibly months in advance going during peak season. So check it out now!

We immediately walked around the statue because my son couldn’t wait to see it up close! Afterwards we went through the free museum that showed the construction of the statue and included a lot of great history (including the original torch). Make sure to grab your Junior Ranger stamps because this IS a National Park!

4. Liberty Landing Ferry to World Financial Center

After the Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty visit, you exit the State City Cruises ferry area then walk down to the marina to catch another ferry into the city. Again, just watch the arrival and departure times and give yourself a solid 15 minute walk to the marina (it took us 10, but not going to lie - we ran a little and barely caught the one we were after!).

There’s only one quick stop between Liberty Landing and the World Financial Center, and the total ferry ride is around 15-20 minutes. This was a beautiful little boat ride that, of course, the kids loved. Go to the top of the ferry for the best view!

5. 9/11 Memorial Pools and Museum

A short, safe walk from the ferry landing are the 9/11 Memorial Pools and museum. We did not do the museum, but I think it’d be worth it to go through. We just arrived a little late.

You can walk around the pools, teach the kiddos some important history, and take a solemn moment of rememberance. They were truly beautiful, and we definitely had a few emotional moments.

6. New York Pizza

Our #1 goal for finding some New York style pizza is NYC was minimal walking distance from the 9/11 pools (pushing a stroller on the streets of New York isn’t fun) with the most stars.

We found an iconic little place called Joe’s Pizza. Apparently celebrities frequent this ultra small, counter-slice style pizzeria, and it was DARN GOOD. But… seating was LIMITED. Two tiny tables, and then just a bar around the tables. We pushed our way to the bar (in true New York City rude fashion) and parked our massive stroller at it. Not recommended. But hey, it was convenient and delicious. Would I do it again? Probably.

Then… we headed home.

We knew when the ferry departed, so we timed it for a short wait, and we were heading back to Liberty State Park by sunset. We traveled back to Freehold after the traffic rush, and the kids were in bed (almost) by their bedtimes. It was a fulfilling day with some of the most important sites in NYC (to us).

The next day, our good friends watched our kids for us so we could head into NYC on a date day! Then we went to all those sketchy places that–while grateful I got to see once–I never plan to visit again. :)