Travel Tips

New York City offers a virtual treasure chest of fun things to do for teenagers. This age group is generally the most difficult to please and appease while vacationing. They are too old for the kid stuff and too young to appreciate some of the more ‘grown up’ entertainment and of course, they don’t want to look like they’re having too much fun. From amusement parks to cyber cafes, from bookstores to malls and video arcades, to sporting events and sporting complexes New York City is a city that was almost made for teens to enjoy.

The trick to enjoying your New York City vacation while ensuring that your teen enjoys his or her time in the city is compromise. Agree to go watch the skateboarding in the park if he or she will suffer through a museum with you. You just might find that you each find something to enjoy about the other’s activities. There are so many wonderful things to do and see in New York. You don’t have to pay a lot of money in order to have a good time as many of these wonderful events are offered free or for very little cost. You can also purchase passes that allow free entrance to certain city attractions for one low fee. You will find that of the freebie offerings there is usually something that will appeal to various members of your family including your teens.

Compromise is a good idea on any vacation with friends or family and it teaches your teens an important lesson-their opinion matters to you. They also learn to compromise, to share time and experiences, and to think critically. They are forced to weight all the things they would like to do and select the things that matter most to them to do. This is a very good thing for people to learn as early as possible and will be an invaluable lesson, as they grow older and eventually begin making their own decisions in life as well. I even try to offer the younger children a voice in what’s going on. I offer age appropriate choices and allow them to select the one that matters most to them.

Teens are often very hard to please or predict and their wants can change between the time it takes to open a pack of pop tarts and the time it takes to actually drop them in the toaster. Be aware of this when making plans with teens and go with the flow. You do not have to let your teen rule your vacation but by allowing him or her a voice in the decision making process you might all learn some important and interesting things about each other.

Girl teens are often easily distracted by shopping-while New York City has some of the trendiest boutiques you may want to see if you can talk her into some of them any consignment or secondhand stores that abound. You can call it ‘vintage clothing’ if you must in order to get her in the doors but you can score some awesome deals on clothes that look barely worn if that and she’ll have some nice additions to her wardrobe for a fraction of their costs if new. There are also some wonderful outlet malls in NYC as well. The trick with shopping any of these stores is to know the prices of things. Some things are excellent bargains while others are not so much.

Teen boys will have a grand time at places such as Game Time Nation where they can play video games for endless hours. You can even try playing games together if you’re brave enough. Fair warning offered here, teens are brutal in their victories and you will never live down your failures in the video game arena with them so study up before hand.

The most important thing to remember about vacationing with your teen is that you’d like them to have some fond memories of your time together, even during their teen years. Take care that you are including them in your plans rather than making their plans for them. It is time they are let into the decision making process to some degree even if it’s allowing either or options or asking them to list a few things they’d like to do and you selecting from those. If you’re having fun it is quite likely that they will eventually join in.

If you’re planning to visit New York City it really pays to make the investment in The New York Pass. This pass will allow you free entrance into some of the biggest attractions that New York has to offer in addition to discounts to many more attraction and a 140 page guide book that gives you information about many of the places you won’t want to miss while you’re visiting this great city.

Some of the places that you are allowed free admission by way of your New York Pass include the following: The Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Isle with a free round-trip ferry ticket and gives you skip ahead privileges for the ticket line, free admission to the Guggenheim Museum (though you may need to pay additional fees for special exhibitions), the New York Skyride, and the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. These are just a few of the many places you can go for no additional fees. If you’re planning to fit many activities into your time in New York, this is by far the best way to go.

There are often offers for discounts if you are purchasing multiple days of The New York Pass, the fact remains however that if you are choosing more than two events on any given day you’ll probably be saving money on admission alone by purchasing the pass. If you’re only planning on one paid activity per day then you’re better off not making the purchase of a pass. With all vacations there are simple matters of economics involved. There are two forms of economics that come into play on a vacation-money and time. Time is often the most carefully guarded of the two while vacationing and people forget to pay attention to cast budgets as a result feeling it is better to waste money than to waste time.

I personally like to waste neither. I enjoy the skip ahead privileges that having city passes often allow as well as the knowledge that I’ve already paid for the days activities and can keep a better eye on where the remainder of my funds are being spent.

In addition to the many freebies that are involved as a result of the New York Pass there are also invaluable discounts that you can get on dining, souvenirs, even tours such as the New York Helicopter Sightseeing Tours. And then there are some tours that having a New York Pass will allow you to experience for free as well. Among those are: the United Nations Tour, The NBC Studio Tour, the Radio City Music Hall Stage Door Tour, the Rockefeller Center Tour, and the Tour at Lincoln Center.

The pass will introduce you to museums and zoos with free admission that you may not have otherwise considered and open the doors to extra entertainment for the entire family. If you’re going to be in New York for an extended period of time, 3 days or more, and plan to take a lot of tours and do a lot of sight seeing on your trip, I seriously recommend that you buy the New York Pass and use it every chance you get for free entrance fees and merchandise or food discounts and freebies. This is by far one of the best tips anyone can give you about your visit to New York and your budget. I also recommend tailoring your experience to the free things offered as much as possible and save your money for gifts, mementos, and the wonderful food and shows that abound in this fabulous city. Be sure to pay close attention when ordering tickets and checking to see if you are entitled to a discount because of your New York Pass. Do your best to enjoy your time and try not to fit too many things into one day. There are only so many hours in a day and while New York may be the City that Never Sleeps, we all need to sleep sometime.