Surviving Family Travel: Day Trip to Philadelphia

We love Philadelphia. I think the feeling is mutual. Philadelphia is so easy to access - drive right in, park, and you're surrounded by American historical sites. I find Philadelphia incredibly family-friendly. Even for toddlers. If you make a few well-timed choices, you're golden. If you are an hour off, it can be a nightmare with tourists and crowds.

(Photo from the official Philadelphia tourist site: www.visitphilly.com)

I'll do a quick run-through of what we found successful, and where we failed. This is a combination of two day-trips that equaled about one full day of activities.

1) Location, location, location:

We chose to stay one night at the Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District. If you click that link, it'll take you to a map of Philly with the hotel pin-pointed. Note all of the amazing historical locations within about 5 blocks. Amazing. Betsy Ross' House?! The Mint?! Ben Franklin's Tomb?! All within two blocks... right off the freeway, parking on-site.

2) Timing:

If you want to do any activities that require tickets, buy them in advance online or get there an hour+ before the place opens. I think this is par for the course for most big tourist locations.

3) Before you leave your house (or hotel room):

The recipe for an easier day with the kids is being prepared with snacks, surprise them with special treats, keep a few extra bucks for them to buy a souvenir.

4) Pick your destinations:

We plotted out our main places to visit sort of like this. This is a combination of two half-days on our trip out and back from the East Coast:

-Ben Franklin's Tomb (Christ Church Burial Ground) - we looked through the gate and threw a penny. *5 minutes, open 24/7.

-Independence Visitor's Center : get Junior Ranger Program packet. Have the kids fill them out and return later in the day to get their Junior Ranger badge! My son has been doing this for over 5 years and has a huge collection. *15 minutes, Free.

(We got there before the Visitor's Center opened, so we played tag on the mall.)

-Run across street to Liberty Bell Center and beat the tour buses! We literally ran and managed to beat a horde of Boy Scouts. There was a Revolutionary War marching band in full period wear practicing on the mall. Super cool! #winning. *60 minutes, Free.

- After the Liberty Bell, we wandered slowly across Independence Mall to Independence Hall where we had pre-reserved a tour time for about 10:30. Dec-March no reserved times are required. Otherwise, do this online a few weeks beforehand. *60-90 minutes.

(Independence Hall)

(Inside Independence Hall - original chair that General George Washington sat on at that head table in the background!)

- Lunch: Our goal was to hit China Town for lunch. We ended up walking there and then finding a highly-rated restaurant from TripAdvisor. *1 1/2hrs plus walking/wandering.

Here are the kids in front of the China Town Friendship Bridge.

- Reading Terminal Market: This place is super fun, but also totally a zoo. Small children are easily lost and strollers really don't fit down the crowded aisles. I assume if you head in early you'll beat some crowds. We stopped in about 30 minutes before closing and it was pretty empty except for a 15 min line (still!) at the best donut shop ever: Beiler's Donuts. *60 minutes.

- Then we headed to the United States Mint, which is right across the street from our hotel. *1-2hours.

That was the end of our planned activities. On our stroll back, we stopped at a bunch of little places like Benjamin Franklin's House, the Betsy Ross House, let the kids buy a few souvenirs, worked on the Junior Ranger Independence Park packet and turned it in for badges.

While we were walking around, we saw The National Constitution Center - which looked neat from the outside but we were exhausted. Next time?

Favorite place in Philadelphia:

One place that deserves a whole day is the Museum of the American Revolution. This place is AMAZING. There are tons of kid activities that are historically relevant and also fun. This is one of the coolest museums I have seen ever, and totally family friendly. Eat beforehand or buy an overpriced lunch in the cafe. *$19/adult, $12/6-17, Free 5 and under.

(Real canons out front, so cool!)

(I mean, look at this! These life-sized displays are AMAZING!)

The biggest pieces of advice:

1) Know your limits.

2) Walk, because you'll stumble upon all kinds of neat landmarks!