Travel Tips - Best months to visit NYC?

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 3:04pm

Due to the nature of my job, the easiest times for me to travel are January and August. However, often the new Broadway shows I want to see have already closed. I've just been refunded for my Tammy Faye ticket. And it made me wonder what months producers particularly want folks to see their shows? I'd guess December but a lot of these shows are closing before the holidays. So when? October/November? I've also been told to see shows before the Tony Awards as several close right after if they don't win. So May?

What do folks here think? Is there a science to it, or is it just the luck of the draw?

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 3:07pm

If your goal is to see as many shows as possible and have good weather.

End of April and beginning of May.

 

[gibsons2]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 3:34pm

Another vote for end of April - beginning of May. Even flops still play because of the cut-offs. 

August is usually uneventful on Broadway, but can be worth a visit because of  some interesting limited runs that sometimes get produced between bigger projects. 

January is a dead month, you can score deeply discounted tickets and take advantage of the Broadway week, but that's when struggling shows close.

I'd go in spring, when in a week you can easily see 9-11 shows, especially with the new Thursday matinees that shows started to offer.

Updated On: 12/9/24 at 03:34 PM

[inception]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 3:45pm

I went mid-November this year.  I got to see the shows I wanted to see.  That week worked to optimize using the Canadian statutory holiday on Nov 11.  Last year I went just before X-mas.  It worked ok.  But seeing how struggling shows are closing earlier has me worried.  On Black Friday I booked a good hotel rate for 8 nights next December over X-mas.  But who knows what will be playing?  Too far ahead to guess.  I do know getting discounts for November went much better than it will be for dates close to X-mas.  Mainly I will wait to see what the Met Opera schedule is for 25/26; Strauss' Arabella is rumored and I may reschedule depending if/when it is playing.  I've actually got a lot of hotel reservations made for 2025, but only Paris & Amsterdam over Easter is most certain right now.  I was going to do London/Paris/Amsterdam but decided to simplify.

I found the weather in November in New York wonderful. 

Updated On: 12/9/24 at 03:45 PM

[Dan6]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 4:11pm

Given the increasing prevalence of limited runs (and of shorter runs for most things that open even without an announced limit), it's inevitable that with one trip a year you're going to miss a lot of things you might want to see. I typically do two big trips a year, one in early November and one in late April/early May, and I've found those times generally work well (though even then there are many things that fall in between that I'm sorry to miss - like Eureka Day). If I was only going in April/May, I would never have seen some of the highlights of my trip last month, including Ragtime, Yellow Face, Swept Away, Hills of California, and (possibly) Maybe Happy Ending.

But if you can only swing one trip a year, I'd go with late April/early May. The weather is better, the hotels are generally cheaper than in November, and many of the prime Tony candidates will have just opened.  Another perk is that because you're in the middle of nominations and voting, there's usually less of a chance that any particular performer who you really want to see will be out. 

[sm33]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 5:06pm

I like going in April and October whenever I can. The weather's usually pretty good (often rains at least part of the trip, but that's usually it), it's not as expensive as other times of year, and plenty of shows are open. 

If you wait til mid-to-late May, you get the max amount of shows, but tickets and lodging are much more expensive because of graduations and things like that. 

If you go at Christmas, there are also many shows open, but it's insanely expensive because of Christmas. 

Going early April next year, myself.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 5:53pm

Mid- to late-April and early November are my go to choices.  I'll often add late January because hotels are ridiculously inexpensive and discounts to shows are more plentiful.  My hotel for my next trip in January is $120 a night and include breakfast.

[Wick3]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 6:34pm

MrsSallyAdams said: "Due to the nature of my job, the easiest times for me to travel are January and August. However, often the new Broadway shows I want to see have already closed. I've just been refunded for my Tammy Faye ticket. And it made me wonder what months producers particularly want folks to see their shows? I'd guess December but a lot of these shows are closing before the holidays. So when? October/November? I've also been told to see shows before the Tony Awards as several close right after if they don't win. So May?

What do folks here think? Is there a science to it, or is it just the luck of the draw?"

I have friends who always visit NYC during Bway flea market weekend in late September or early October. Weather is great and normally shows have discounts plus the flea is a great time to snag some Bway merch or memorabilia from recently closed shows.

i also have friends who will visit NYC for one day or a weekend just to see a show that has a limited run.

i think it’s just luck of the draw.

[willep]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 7:07pm

If you want to catch the fall ones that close before Christmas, the. November/Thanksgiving is when producers want you to come. I would say there are an inordinate number of shows closing unplanned before Christmas this year, the Swept Aways, Notebooks and Tammy Fayes of the season.

[sppunk]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 11:00pm

We come up for 5-6 three day weekends a year. But the of those are set in stone every year (the rest we schedule around limited runs or off broadway stuff): 

- Second week of January
- Last weekend of April 
- Last weekend of November OR first weekend of December (deepening on where Thanksgiving falls)
 

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 12/10/24 at 8:46am

Two of the times I went to NY (first week of July and the week between Christmas and New Years) to be the best. I say that because those weeks shows had alternative schedules, so there were options for shows when there usually wasn't any (a Friday matinee of Curtains with the full cast, or a Thursday matinee preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Scarlett Johansson when there was still a "Ghost Skipper"). The only downside to those is that the December date can get expensive for tickets and accomidation, and the week in July shows that didn't get the Tony boost closed the week or two before. 

I did a trip mid May, and the options are bountiful, however, the big shows are sometimes harder to get tickets to, because the Tony nominations are out and everyone wants to see what might win, but its a nice time. 

[yyys]

Posted: 12/10/24 at 9:03am

It seems like hotel prices have increased at least 30%.  If cost is not an issue then definitely the summer.

[inception]

Posted: 12/20/24 at 9:17am

This week what looks like the Met Opera's 25/26 schedule got leaked.  The official announcement won't be until late February.  The leak shows Arabella with Lise Davidsen in November.  An adaptation of novel "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" by Michael Chabon opens the season in September - that's been known for a while.

So looks like I'll try for November again next year.  Made hotel reservations for 2 different weeks since not sure which will be best yet, and canceled hotel reservations for X-mas 25.

The biggest thing I learned this year was to be more patient with Audience Rewards, and also waiting for other discount codes.   When I didn't see my dates listed for some shows - like Outsiders - I went ahead & bought full priced tickets, only for the same dates to later get added to Audience Rewards. I also bought Once Upon a Mattress too early.  I did manage to change that ticket to a different date and move to a better seat for $10, but it took some work & the ATG box office was really only helpful because they could see I was coming in from the West Coast.  If I had been local without a long sob story about airlines, they wouldn't have done anything.

[Bwaygurl2]

Posted: 12/20/24 at 12:39pm

In terms of prices (flights, stays, tickets) and weather, March and October are the best times. Unfortunately, not everything has opened yet; you will miss the November/December/April openings; otherwise those are my favorite times to visit. 

[jen_in_toronto]

Posted: 12/22/24 at 10:38pm

JasonC3 said: "Mid- to late-April and early November are my go to choices. I'll often add late January because hotels are ridiculously inexpensive and discounts to shows are more plentiful. My hotel for my next trip in January is $120 a night and include breakfast."

May I ask which hotel?