NYC for Families on a Budget
I have written past blogs about our favorite budget options in NYC, but the more I go there the more things I discover. Here are some new favorites.
Museums:
If you have a specific museum you want to visit, check out their website. Almost all of them have either a “free day” or a donation optional day.
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The Children’s Museum www.cmom.org/: Free on the first Friday of each month from 5-8pm. They also are a Reciprocal Museum, if you belong to one of the international or U.S. Association of Children’s Museums. They limit this to two free admissions with ACM. If you belong to a local Children’s museum you may check to see if it is a reciprocal museum through www.childrensmuseums.org. The Brooklyn Children’s Museum www.bchildmus.org is also an affiliate of ACM.
Children’s Museum of Art: pay as you wish Thursday, www.cmany.org. Museum: Free all day Saturday.
American Folk Art Museum wwww.folkartmuseum.org: there are two locations, one is always free and one is only free on Fridays between 5:30 and 7:30pm.
Castle Clinton in Battery Park www.nps.gov/cacl/forkids or www.bpcparks.org/bpcp/home always free.
Kid/Teen Fun Stores:
Stores are, of course, for free for the sales-resistant visitor. You know what your family can take.
Super Stores: FAO Schwartz-toys, toys toys, Toys R’ Us-more toys, American Girl Place—loved this, very feminine, Nintendo www.nintendoworldstore.com, Kid Robot www.kidrobot.com check out their blog to see what is happening in their store.
Parks:
There is so much to choose from here. These parks are truly a gift for everyone. [www.cityparksfoundation.org and www.nycparks.org.]
Central Park:
- Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre: budget outing, check out schedule at https://cityparksfoundation.org/swedish_cottage.html. City parks puppet mobile (free) call 347-865-5289 for their schedule.
- Hans Christian Andersen Statue: Free story telling, www.hcastorycenter.org.
- Belvedere Castle: Free/borrowed park birding kit. www.centralparknyc.org.
- North Meadow Recreation Center: Free/borrowed recreation kit www.centralparknyc.org. Use the search engine for “meadow kit.”
Battery Park City: Free/borrowed sporting goods www.bpcparks.org.
Governer’s Island: Free ferry rides from Manhattan to the island with beautiful views of the Statue of Liberty. www.govisland.com.
The High Line elevated park in Chelsea www.thehighline.org. Check out their web site for children and teen related activities.
River Park: Various free family activities check out website www.hudsonriverpark.org.
Additional Budget Conscious Links:
For groceries head to one of the Trader Joe’s for best prices or one of the Farmer’s Markets. https://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket/search
https://www.citypass.com/new-york: to make it worthwhile you need to visit a lot of places within the specified duration.
https://www.newyorkpass.com: same as above.
www.nycgo.com/free: Free activities
www.nyc.gov/nyculture: Free performances
Final Note: the Staten Island Ferry is Free if your family is interested in a boat ride. It is a passenger-only ferry and provides views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island www.siferry.com.
I am leaving again soon for New York City where I will be focusing on family budget food options.
Happy Travels,
Holly Jacobsen
Sleeps5.com