Travelling with kids to New York and Orlando - Need Help

Hello everyone,

My hubby and I, together with our 2 kids (6yo and 3yo) will be going to NY this end May and desparately need help with the itinerary. Would appreciate and advice / comments...

Below is the breif itinerary :-

SIN - NY

New York (Mahattan)

Will be staying 4 to 5 nights here and do the touristy stuff.

Will be travelling around by train, bus, walk mostly.

Is there any apartment / rooms / website for accomodations that are suitable for a family of 4 like us? Our kids prefer to sleep with us, so 1 big bedroom is really enough for us.

New York to Baffalo for Niagara Falls (1 or 2 nights)

Is it really necessary to go over to Canada side to see the Niagara Falls?

How long will it take us if we only want to go and see the USA side of the fall?

What is the best way to travel from NY city to see the fall on the USA side?

NY - Orlando

Fly to Orlando by air.

Will be staying here for 4 to nights and renting a car.

What are the airlines that fly to Orlando?

Any good recommendation for accommodation?

Would really appreciate all the help that I can get.

Thanks.

Travelling with kids to New York and Orlando - Need Help

Hi Jessielim !! Welcome to NYC.

You want to see the best of Niagra falls, which consists of Horeshoe Falls and the American side, close by.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_Falls

niagarafallstourism.com/traveltips-border.ht鈥?/a>

There are numerous airlines that fly to Orlando from the numerous airports at NYC.

Use kayak for searching, Enter NYC to MCO, and like magic out will pop many choices and prices.

http://www.kayak.com/

Try using an on line web site like Frommers to learn about where you are going.

http://www.frommers.com/

Travelling with kids to New York and Orlando - Need Help

';Is there any apartment / rooms / website for accomodations that are suitable for a family of 4 like us?...';

Many hotels have rooms with 2 double beds suitable for 4 people. Some hotels will have 2 queen sized beds which are slightly bigger. Websites I like to look to use for hotels include

quikbook.com

kayak.com

You should know all US hotel websites quote prices without tax. Tax will add ~ 15%.

Perhaps the very best option for you would be a suite hotel which is like serviced apartments. They come in studio size (all one big room) and 1 bedroom size (separate bedroom with 1 or 2 beds and a living room with a sofabed that opens to sleep 2).

affinia.com

is a group of all suite hotels and well regarded.

The area known as the upper west side is very family friendly and near Central Park. There are 2 suite hotels there:

beaconhotel.com

milburnhotel.com

Both of this have both regular rooms and suites.

The Embassy Suites is another all suite hotel that%26#39;s very family friendly and includes a cooked breakfast with the room rate.

One thing to avoid is renting a private apartment in NYC. There are lots of online scams and most short term apt. rentals are illegal. Stick with hotels or b %26amp; b%26#39;s. There are some b %26amp; b%26#39;s that rent something like an apartment.

chelsealodgesuites.com

is one where you get a bed and a sofabed and small kitchen. I think for your purposes a regular hotel or suite hotel is probably better.

The best way to get to Niagara Falls is to FLY. It%26#39;s very far (about 7-8 hrs. if you drive or take a bus). As you%26#39;ve already been told, go to

kayak.com

and look for flights from all New York airport to either Buffalo, NY or Toronto, Ontario Canada. To fly it%26#39;s only an hour. The trip can be made in one day but it will make for a very long day. You would be best to go overnight and stay near the falls for 1 night. There are bus tours that you can get at the Buffalo, NY airport. Yes, the best views are from the Canadian side and there may be some visa issues you%26#39;d have to deal with to leave the US for Canada and then return.

jetblue.com

is an airline that flies both the NYC to Buffalo route and also to Orlando so that%26#39;s one thing to consider. There are companies that organize a 1 day trip to the falls from NYC and include the airfare and a tour, but you will pay more than if you arrange it yourself. Go to the Niagara Falls, NY forum here for more information. Go to the Orlando, Fla. forum for advice on accomodation there.

Here%26#39;s a link to the FAQ (frequently asked questions) from the NYC forum which will have links on what to see/do and also some trip reports at the bottome. You should read a few from families with small children. One thing you will want to have in NYC and probably also for Disneyworld is a lightweight stroller for the 3 yr old.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k1948627鈥?/a>

Something to consider here and something that might be much more efficient than flying roundtrip between New York and Buffalo is to fly one-way from New York to Buffalo and then fly one-way from Buffalo to Orlando.

Buffalo is the nearest airport to Niagara Falls.

I think the Canadian side of Niagara Falls is very nice but if you have issues getting across (passport, etc.), you can see it from the U.S. side. Note that it is actually a very small area, once you%26#39;re there you may want to see it from both sides (unless there are other reasons for not crossing into Canadian territory).

You can take a taxi or hire a car (rental) for the short trip between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. There isn%26#39;t a great deal in Niagara Falls besides seeing the Falls. The town of Niagara Falls NY is actually having a bit of a rough time, they%26#39;ve lost of a great deal of industry and employment, aside from tourism they%26#39;re not doing so well.

I believe that both Southwest Airlines and jetBlue fly nonstop from Buffalo to Orlando. Note that Southwest Airlines flights and fares do not appear on the previously mentioned websites, you%26#39;ll need to visit www.southwest.com for their fares and schedules. jetBlue is an excellent airline too.

With regards to accommodations in Manhattan, avoid looking for an apartment, most apartment rentals are illegal and many are outright scams. You%26#39;ll be asked to send money via paypal for a big beautiful spacious well-located apartment. The person who receives your money may really be elsewhere in the world or if they%26#39;re here they may not really have an apartment, this happens more often than you care to know, it has destroyed people%26#39;s vacation of a lifetime and we%26#39;ve heard some heart wrenching stories. Affinia Hotels may have some large rooms. NY Whiz knows NYC hotels very well, I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll get some good advice there.

Please let us know if you have additional questions. Happy planning...

I totally agree that if you haven%26#39;t already bought your airline tickets, consider flying NYC to Buffalo to see Niagara Falls and then to Orlando and you don%26#39;t have to use the same airline for each segment. Do NOT fly Southwest from NYC as they don%26#39;t use an airport in NYC area that%26#39;s close. But you can certainly use them to fly from Buffalo to Orlando if they have a good schedule. Make sure to choose nonstop flights.

When I went to the falls I stayed on the USA side. It was very nice.

as far as orlando goes, I an assuming you are going to disneyworld or universal studios. I have been with kids 10 plus times. With the ages of your kids do yourself a favor and stay inside the parks. I believe they are offering free dining in disney at that time. Not sure what your price range is, but moderate hotel would be fine. Would do Port Orleans french quarter or Cornado springs. Buses take you back to hotel. If you stay outside park, it takes at least 30 minutes to get to car and then you have to drive to hotel. Dont want to waste your time driving since you are only there 4 nites.

I know this is the NYC forum so if you want any help on orlando sent me pm.

Hey everyone,

thanks thanks so much for all the useful tips and advice. So much information here for me to digest :)

understand this is not a orlando forum but just want to ask if 4 nights is sufficient for orlando? Or do you reckon that we should stay for 1 or 2 night more? we will be flying 24 hour from where we are to there and we do not want to shortchange ourselves but at the same time do not wish to be theme-park overdose? any other things that we can do outside the theme-parky area for me and husband to take a breather in between the theme parks?

cheerios.

Your question about Orlando is very much personal preference. Four days of theme parks would be too much for me. Six days of theme parks would be way too much for me. Some people love theme parks. If you want to go to Universal Studios and hit all of the Disney Parks you could spend a full week in Orlando, some families do.

mascara