What to Book in Advance in New York
Planning a trip and wondering what to book in advance in New York?
As a native New Yorker, I’m here to help you out and make sure your NYC trip goes as smoothly as possible! And part of that means knowing exactly what you need to book in advance for your trip.
This list includes popular museums, attractions, shows, and other things that you should book in advance to avoid disappointment. While there’s plenty of room for spontaneity on a trip to NYC, there are certain things that you really must book in advance. If you don’t, you might not get to experience them.
I don’t want you to spend your hard-earned money and come all the way to New York, only to potentially miss out on some of the things you really wanted to do because you didn’t book them in advance.
So without further ado, here are the things you need to book in advance for your NYC trip:
1. Observation decks
NYC is home to a handful of observation decks, and if you plan to visit any of them, you should definitely purchase your tickets in advance, as these are some of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.
These are the top five observation decks in New York:
- Empire State Building Observatory
- Top of the Rock
- One World Observatory
- Edge NYC
- SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
My personal favorites are Top of the Rock and SUMMIT One Vanderbilt (which I have a full review for.)
Sunset is the most popular time slot to book for any of these observation decks, so definitely try to book a couple of weeks in advance if you want to visit at this time. The same goes for visiting on a weekend.
Note: I recommend buying your tickets on GetYourGuide rather than purchasing them directly. Not only are prices the same, but you get added flexibility of rescheduling or canceling for free with GetYourGuide.
2. Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
If you want to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in NYC, it’s very important to buy tickets ahead of time. This is something that is very popular. In particular, if you want to climb to the pedestal or the crown, you should book it several weeks or even several months in advance (tickets are limited.)
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are both National Park Service sites, and the only way to get to them is by taking a ferry with Statue City Cruises. No other ferries or boats can get you there.
When you purchase a ferry ticket, it includes access to the Statue of Liberty Museum and Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. To be clear, you’ll be visiting two islands in New York Harbor: Liberty Island and Ellis Island. For this reason, you’ll want to have plenty of time (half a day) for your visit.
General Admission tickets do not include access to the pedestal or the crown of the Statue of Liberty. For those experiences, you’ll have to book a Pedestal Reserve or Crown Reserve ticket on this website.
One very important thing to be aware of: Some tours will advertise a visit to the Statue of Liberty, but it’s actually just a New York Harbor cruise that passes by the Statue of Liberty without actually visiting the island. This is a common scam in NYC’s Battery Park with fake ticket sellers, as well as with online tickets.
3. Broadway shows
Seeing a Broadway show is a must while in NYC! Now, you don’t have to book Broadway tickets in advance. If you’re willing to gamble, you can visit the TKTS booth in Times Square to score last-minute deals. But this is only a good idea if you don’t care about what show you see or what seats you get.
If you have a specific show in mind (especially a popular one) and you want to choose good seats, it’s very important to buy your tickets online in advance. For in-demand shows, at least four to six weeks in advance is a good booking window. Keep in mind that weekend shows often sell out faster too.
For less popular shows, you can typically find good availability closer to the performance date, but I’d still recommend securing tickets at least two to three weeks in advance to be safe.
4. Other entertainment
Aside from Broadway, New York has plenty of other entertainment options. If you’ll be visiting around the holidays, there are two major seasonal entertainment offerings you’ll want to book well in advance:
- The Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular: An absolutely iconic holiday tradition in NYC. Tickets go on sale as early as the spring, and popular dates and times sell out quickly. There are multiple performances per day, but I still recommend booking your tickets as early as you can.
- The Nutcracker at the New York City Ballet: Another must-do around the holidays is this beautiful ballet at Lincoln Center. Tickets go on sale in the fall and should be purchased as early as possible.
Shows at the iconic Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village should also be booked early, ideally two to four weeks in advance. The same advice goes for concerts, sporting events, and other NYC entertainment.
5. Popular restaurants
New York is one of the top culinary cities in the world, which means that reservations for sought-after restaurants are snapped up as soon as they’re available (literally within seconds sometimes!)
I personally don’t go out to eat much in NYC, because of how expensive it is and because I’m not a huge foodie. But if you have your heart set on dining at popular restaurants in New York, you’ll need to be prepared. The best way to snag an elusive restaurant is to check on Resy or OpenTable exactly one month in advance. Do some further research on the exact time that you need to be online.
For example, the famous Italian restaurant Carbone drops reservations at 10 AM exactly 30 days in advance. Without fail, every reservation slot is filled within seconds of being released at this restaurant.
Not every restaurant is so competitive. But you always need advance reservations in NYC, and many restaurants don’t even offer walk-ups. For weekend dining plans (especially brunch, lunch, and dinner), you’ll want to make your reservations at least a week in advance for basically any restaurant.
6. Museum tickets
You don’t strictly need to book most museum tickets in advance in NYC. Large museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the American Museum of Natural History usually have plenty of tickets available, but you might need to wait in a long line to purchase them.
To avoid wasting time in line, I always recommend pre-booking your museum tickets in advance so you can walk right in and begin your visit. There are also a few museums where it’s more necessary.
Some museums have timed tickets, like the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and the Frick Collection. It’s always a good idea to book a few days to a week in advance. Other small, niche museums like the Tenement Museum have very limited ticket numbers, so you’ll want to book it in advance as well.
An important thing that you should know: Many NYC museums offer free admission days on a weekly or monthly basis. I have a whole list of the best free museum days in NYC. However, some of these museums still require that you claim a free online ticket in advance, so be sure to research this before you go!
7. Special tours and activities
Finally, it’s a good idea to book some special tours and activities in advance. This is particularly important if you’re visiting around the holidays, on a weekend, in the summer, or at another busy time.
Here are some of the things that I would recommend booking two or more weeks in advance:
- Helicopter rides: This is a thrilling way to get a unique perspective of New York from far above. Helicopter sightseeing tours should be booked early because availability is limited.
- Food tours: Another really cool activity with limited availability is food tours. I have a whole list of the best food tours in NYC in case you need help choosing the perfect one to do.
- Boat cruises: General sightseeing boat cruises typically don’t sell out, but speciality cruises like sunset yacht cruises, architectural cruises, and dinner cruises with live music sometimes do.
While it’s often possible to book tours and activities at the last minute, I wouldn’t risk it if you’ll be visiting at a busy time or there’s something that you really want to do — be safe and reserve it early!
Things to Book in Advance for NYC
This guide showed you what to book in advance in New York.
Popular attractions like observation decks and the Statue of Liberty, entertainment like Broadway shows and seasonal performances, and popular restaurants top the list of things to reserve early.
You don’t have to over-plan every hour of your NYC trip (I definitely recommend leaving some room for spontaneous activities and aimless wandering!), but it’s a good idea to book some things in advance. This is especially important if you have limited time and really want to do certain things.
Enjoy your trip to NYC!
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