4-Day NYC Tour

Empire State Building from The Top of the Rock

So we decided to go with a tour on our first family trip to NYC. We were a little apprehensive that we did not know the ins and outs of New York and so thought that a tour would help us to get familiarised. We were under no illusion that this trip would be our one and only to New York. There will be many more, if I had anything to do with it. And a good overview of what New York had to offer was good way to start off.

I booked our trip about 4 months in advance, with our scheduled visit happening at the end of June. The tour offered was a 4-day New York escapade with some sightseeing of certain attractions included as well.

Unfortunately, I might have pre-empted the trip too much. On the first week of June, I got a call from the tour company that our trip had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales. I was crestfallen as everything had been so well planned up to that point. Luckily, another tour company was willing to take us on with just a minor tweak with the tour date. Instead of the end of June, we were set to go on the first of July. And so it was. Our NYC trip happened on the Canada Day/July the 4th week.

I suppose it was as good a time as any. What does it matter if it's the end or the start of the month? New York was New York after all.

Our tour provided accommodations and we had a half-day sightseeing tour with the tour guide on our first morning in Manhattan. Our second morning was a trip to the Statue of Liberty. I deliberately did not plan to do too many things as I knew time was limited. On top of it, it was going to be a tiring trip with a lot of walking and seeing that I don't think the family would be able to keep up if I still planned for other things to do.

My NYC list consisted of the Statue of Liberty, the Rockefeller Centre, Times Square and Jollibee, a popular Philippine fast food chain. I also made plans to meet up with a school friend. And that was basically how our first trip to New York was going to pan out.

So onto New York!