great takes on family travel in the U.S.

Times Square and 5th Ave and the Empire State Building are all good for someone who’s a first-time visitor to New York City, but the real summer fun can be found in the islands around New York. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on a Hawaii vacation. For less than 50 bucks, you can have a fun day out island hopping in New York City. Picture if you will, a quiet beach or river front, kids fooling around, families with picnic baskets, brilliant weather (well…maybe), and the Manhattan skyline a few minutes away. Photo by Tom Mascardo via Flickr.

You probably have heard about Staten (Staten Island ferry) and Ellis Island. Bucketloads of ink has already been spilled writing about the attractions these islands have. So I’ll tell you about their lesser known brethren, and the fun things you’ll find on these still pristine islands.

Governors Island: Free ferry ride from Battery Park to Governors Island, located 800 yards from lower Manhattan and closer still to Brooklyn. Nothing better than a lazy Saturday afternoon picnic at Governor’s Island with art festivals, music shows and concerts in the 92 acres set aside for the Historic District. There’s plenty of room for bike rides, and tours of the historic forts built way back in 1812. Here’s a full schedule of events.

Roosevelt Island: The trip to and from Roosevelt is probably more fun than the island itself. A red tram from the station at 60th and 2nd Ave takes you across the East River to the island. Photo credit - RIOC.

From the tram, you can gaze straight into Manhattan’s high rise apartments. If you have binoculars, the view of Manhattan from the tram as you come back from Roosevelt Island is spectacular. As for the island, it does have a few landmarks you can visit, and some which you can’t - Like the Renwick Ruin, which was a smallpox hospital and the Octagon, a landmark mental health facility which has a sad history of mistreating patients, arson and fire. Yeah, well…Maybe you should stick to the tram ride.

City Island, The Bronx: Located on the edge of New York City in the Bronx, City Island is much more commercialized, but still maintains a small town feel which comes across as a refreshing change for a day trip out of the bedlam and the pressure and grime of the City.

City Island offers excellent seafood restaurants and corner cafes, summer festivities with boating and sailing, shopping at quaint shops and art galleries, with plenty to see and do for nature explorers and bird lovers, since it sits adjacent to the wetlands of Pelham Bay Park. Don’t forget to take a ride on the Seaside Trolley, which takes you on a tour of City Island, stopping at landmarks, shops and restaurants along the way. More info here.