Travel2gether
Our trip, on paper ✂
New York City, USA
New York at Christmas
Dec 3–Dec 7, 2026 · 4 nights · 4 travelers
New York in its holiday lights: the Rockefeller tree, skating in Bryant Park, the Statue of Liberty by ferry, Central Park, a Broadway night and the over-the-top Christmas houses of Dyker Heights. Tap any slot to make it your group's.
🛂 Visa required for a PH passport — B1/B2 visitor visa required, including an interview.
Day 1 — Land at JFK, straight to bed
Thu · Dec 3, 2026
7° — Near freezing at night — have the coat in your hand luggage, not the checked bag.
22:00Land at JFK
Immigration can take an hour at night. Keep your hotel address and return ticket handy for the officer.
23:00Into Manhattan
Pick: Yellow cab — flat fare to Manhattan · USD 25–30
00:00Check in — Midtown
Midtown puts Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Bryant Park and most subway lines within walking distance. A deli sandwich on the way up.
You land the same evening you left, after ~16 hours. Get to the hotel, eat something, sleep — tomorrow starts the real trip.
Day 2 — Midtown in its Christmas lights
Fri · Dec 4, 2026
7° — Cold and bright most December days. Duck into shops and lobbies to warm up — every block has one.
08:30Breakfast — bagels
A New York bagel with cream cheese and coffee. Get it to go and walk.
09:30Rockefeller tree + St Patrick's Cathedral
The tree and the skating rink below it without the evening crush, then the cathedral across Fifth Avenue.
10:30Fifth Avenue holiday windows
The department-store windows are a show of their own — walk from Saks up toward Central Park South.
12:30Lunch
Pick: Halal cart + hot dogs · USD 10–15
14:00Bryant Park Winter Village
The free skating rink and the holiday shops in little glass booths, under the New York Public Library. Pop into the library's Rose Reading Room to warm up.
16:00Sunset from above
Pick: Top of the Rock · USD 47–60
19:00The tree, lit up
Back to Rockefeller Center for the tree after dark — and the light show on the facade of Saks across the street, if it's running this year.
Fifth Avenue windows, the tree at Rockefeller Center, skating in Bryant Park and the city from the top of a skyscraper at sunset.
Day 3 — Lady Liberty, downtown, Brooklyn Bridge
Sat · Dec 5, 2026
6°/-1°C — The harbour is windier than Midtown — the warmest layer goes on today.
08:30See the Statue of Liberty
Pick: Ferry to Liberty + Ellis Island · USD 26
13:00Lunch near Wall Street
Stone Street's cobbled lane of pubs, or the food stalls at the Oculus.
14:009/11 Memorial + the Oculus
The two reflecting pools in the footprints of the towers, with every name cut into the bronze. The white-ribbed Oculus station next door.
15:30Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
~30 minutes across on the raised walkway — the skyline gets better behind you, so stop and look back.
16:15DUMBO at dusk
The Manhattan Bridge framed between old warehouses on Washington Street, then the waterfront park as the skyline lights up.
18:00Dinner — New York pizza
Brooklyn has the famous coal-oven pizzerias by the bridge (expect a queue), or a $4 slice anywhere. Subway back to Midtown.
Ferry to the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial pools, then walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to DUMBO for the skyline at dusk.
Day 4 — Central Park, the Met, a Broadway night
Sun · Dec 6, 2026
7° — A mostly indoor afternoon — the museum is the warm-up.
09:00Central Park in winter
In at Columbus Circle: the Mall's tree-lined avenue, Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, Bow Bridge, and the Wollman ice rink with the skyline behind it.
11:30A museum to warm up in
Pick: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · USD 30
14:30Late lunch
Upper East Side diner, or back toward Midtown for ramen in the cold.
17:00Your night
Pick: A Broadway show · USD 90–200
A winter walk through Central Park, a museum to warm up in, then the night is yours: Broadway, or the Christmas houses of Dyker Heights.
Day 5 — High Line, last shopping, fly home
Mon · Dec 7, 2026
7° — An easy day. Keep the coat on top of the suitcase.
09:00Checkout — bags held at the hotel
10:00The High Line
A park on a 1930s elevated freight railway, 2.3 km from Hudson Yards (the Vessel) down to the Meatpacking District.
11:30Chelsea Market
An old biscuit factory turned food hall — tacos, lobster rolls, doughnuts. Lunch here.
13:30Pasalubong run
Pick: Macy's Herald Square + Midtown · USD 50–200
19:30Collect bags → JFK
Same choices as Day 1, in reverse.
23:55Fly home to Manila
Lands early on Wednesday morning, Manila time. Trip complete.
Check out, walk the old elevated railway to Chelsea Market, do the pasalubong run and head to JFK in the evening.