One of the very best ways to enjoy New York City in the summer is participating in the City of Water Day events. Here’s what you can expect if you’re going into Manhattan to join one of the many free boat rides.
However, don’t fret if you’re not in town for this event! There are many free ways to enjoy the water around Manhattan.
Our very first New York adventure was for the City of Water festival. M scored us free tickets to ride on a huge sailboat, leaving from Governors Island, so we left New Jersey super duper early on a weekend morning to get on board!
It took a fair amount of googling to realize that public transportation on the weekend is not that easy. We ended up driving into the city for the first time (rookies need to get an EZ Pass ASAP) and walked to the Battery Maritime Building.
From there we took the (free) ferry to Governor’s Island. It was early so not many people were there, mostly just vendors setting up.
Finally it was time to board our sailboat! Little N was so excited! It was a bit of a disappointment that the sailboat didn’t spread its sails! Oh well! We still had a great time! 
The sailboat took us from Governors Island back to Manhattan. We landed at Battery Park and had a little playground time before walking back to get the car from the garage (at least we got a coupon…who knew they have coupons for parking)?!
