Help me plan a trip to Philly!

Imateacher

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 11:15 am

I have two kids ages 3 and 5. I’m looking to plan a 2-3 day trip to Philly this month. Which hotel is family friendly and near attractions, minyanim, and kosher food? Which attractions are a must see for my kids?

Sunny Days

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 11:48 am

amother Ballota wrote:

Please touch museum!

I second this!
If you have snap or Medicaid, admission goes down to I think $1.

Also, Philadelphia zoo is great! We love the monkeys and gorillas exhibit, and can spend hours just watching them!

Imateacher

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 12:22 pm

Sunny Days wrote:

I second this!
If you have snap or Medicaid, admission goes down to I think $1.

Also, Philadelphia zoo is great! We love the monkeys and gorillas exhibit, and can spend hours just watching them!

What are some things I can do in between activities like for down time? Would you do the zoo in the wintet

amother

Pumpkin

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 1:10 pm

Definitely Please Touch museum. Your kids are the perfect age for it and you can spend the whole day there.

Smith playground is fabulous!! Its's a very large playground with different sections and lots of interesting structures and equipment. If it gets too cold outdoors they also have an indoor play area!! It's three floors with tons of fun indoor activities. It's free but closed on mondays

If you want to drive about 20 minutes out of philly go to Camden Aquarium. Most of it is indoors and you can just bundle up for the outdoor parts

amother

Tiffanyblue

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 1:35 pm

Imateacher wrote:

What are some things I can do in between activities like for down time? Would you do the zoo in the wintet

I think the zoo is closed for afew weeks during the winter.

amother

Oleander

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 1:43 pm

Imateacher wrote:

What are some things I can do in between activities like for down time? Would you do the zoo in the wintet

We did the zoo last February. It happened to have been an exceptionally warm day and we walked around without our coats!

We checked in before (not knowing we would be there on a summer day in February!) and they said some outdoor exhibits are closed based on the weather.

Eta, I checked my emails for my conversation-
See below:

Everything is open, and we give access to the outside to all of the animals. The only exhibit that is closed is the Small Mammal House. There are a few animals that are weather dependent.

When I asked which animals are weather dependent- the below was the answer

I do not have a complete list of those animals, but I do know that if it is below a certain temperature, the animals on African Plains will not be out. Yes, we are open tomorrow.

Last edited by amother on Thu, Jan 04 2024, 10:34 pm; edited 1 time in total

doctorima

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 3:28 pm

Personally when we go to Philly we always stay in Cherry Hill. It's just a short drive away, but it has a lot more affordable chain hotels (which we book with points), a few minyan options not far from the hotels, and some family-friendly restaurant options. And parking is a breeze and always free.

amother

Chambray

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 6:39 pm

Be aware. There is only ONE acceptable hechsher on Philadelphia. Keystone k (the vaad). There is nowhere to eat in the city where museums are. You have to go out of the city.

amother

Oleander

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 6:58 pm

Imateacher wrote:

Are there any kid friendly restaurants or hotel you recommend?

We’ve stayed at the Inn at Penn and Homewood suites, but we needed to be in University city.
Homewood suites we had a little kitchenette which was really nice because it had an official table/chairs and microwave.
Most kid friendly was the RMH Smile

but you won’t be staying there for a vacation lol!

Can’t comment about restaurants- because we always bring along food and supplement with some from the kosher pantry in CHOP Smile

I do highly recommend though for anyone traveling to own a hotlogic, so if you want to bring food from home and don’t have access to a microwave- you can reheat your food easily (takes a while to heat up, but it’s awesome).

Last edited by amother on Thu, Jan 04 2024, 10:33 pm; edited 1 time in total

Imateacher

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 9:06 pm

amother Chambray wrote:

Be aware. There is only ONE acceptable hechsher on Philadelphia. Keystone k (the vaad). There is nowhere to eat in the city where museums are. You have to go out of the city.

So basically I should stay in a hotel near the restaurants and prepare lunches to bring to the museums then plan to drive back to a restaurant for dinner ?

amother

NeonOrange

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 9:44 pm

We went to Philly on vacation and stayed a little further out in an IHG hotel called staybridge. It was 5 min from am indoor play place for kids with jungle gym, bowling ball pits etc called oasis family center or something. That hotel has suites where each room has two bathrooms and a kitchenette with a stove top. I brought a pot along and dep fried schnitzel one night, brought a crock pot and put up pastrami roast with potatoes for the second night. Was yum to come back to heaven smelling food after a long day. Also in this hotel kids were able to sleep in the other room so we had our own space

Imateacher

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 9:53 pm

amother NeonOrange wrote:

Was it near any shuls ?

amother

NeonOrange

Thu, Jan 04 2024, 9:54 pm

I'm honestly not sure. There were other Jewish ppl staying there so probably. Was beautiful area in midst of farmland and hills lots of vacation homes near there

amother

Chocolate

Fri, Jan 05 2024, 12:21 am

Hotels near Bala/Lower Merion:
Courtyard by Marriott or Hilton/Homewood Suites (City Ave)

These are NOT within the eiruv but a quick drive to many shuls and Kosher food in the area:
Slices and Rolls (takeout only)
Zagefen
Star of David
Citron and Rose
Shalom Pizza (limited seating)

There are also kosher option in Northeast Philly and Cherry Hill, NJ.