Unforgettable experience gifts in NYC for adventurous people

Help them see NYC from a new perspective—from the backseat of a fully restored 1920s-era car. Nowaday is a touring company that offers a stylish, nostalgic experience inside vintage cars, including a city lights tour, a midtown tour, gangsters and ghosts tour, and a vintage car photoshoot, among others. It’s a trip they’ll never forget!

NYC’s woman-owned and operated brewery and taproom Talea Beer Co. is offering a mix of really cool beer tastings for the holidays. Treat your hopshead to a beer and cheese tasting, yoga and beermosa or a tour and beer tasting among other options starting from $30.

Take them to see the iconic Rockettes. It’s a tried-and-true, holiday-in-New York experience, but in recent years, new music, more eye-catching costumes and advanced technology have been introduced to bring audience members closer to the performance. In the signature kick line that finds its way into most of the big dance numbers, the Rockettes’ 36 pairs of legs rise and fall like the batting of an eyelash, their perfect unison a testament to the disciplined human form. It’s an unforgettable occasion. 

Tiffany & Co.’s Blue Box Café is the perfect spot to treat someone for their birthday or as a nice gift before or after the holidays. In keeping with the store’s brand, nearly the entire café is decked in Robin’s egg-blue decor. Even the china plates are dipped in blue. It’s a chic and stylish way to dine, for sure.

Manhattan’s newest art experience feels more like a meditation retreat than a typical gallery—and that’s by design. The experiential, multi-sensory museum in Soho invites visitors into a heightened state of contemplative awareness through a sound bath, light installations and aspects of meditation all combined with interactive digital art. If they love art or feeling like they’ve been transported, this is the one!

Sometimes a spa day is the perfect gift, especially for the hard-working New Yorker. Inside QC New York, they’ll be able to enjoy themed saunas, Vichy showers, infrared beds, foot baths, hydro jets, steam baths, and other relaxing experiences that make them feel like a VIP. QC New York is open every day of the year, with entrance options that include full-day, five-hour, three-hour and evening passes starting from $98. Food, drink and massage services are extra, with massages starting from $100.

If they love musical theater, take them to see the Tony Award- winning musical The Outsiders, based on S.E. Hinton’s popular young-adult novel and its 1982 film adaptation. Like Hinton’s novel, which she wrote when she was a teenager herself, The Outsiders is narrated by the 14-year-old Ponyboy (Brody Grant), an orphan with two older brothers: the responsible Darrel (Brent Comer), who works a blue-collar job to support the family, and the dreamy Sodapop (Jason Schmidt), a gas-station attendant with a sculpted body but a sweetly dim mind. The show is about their fight for survival as a family of “outsiders.” 

The immersive experience at Escape Games NYC is private, so you can cherry-pick your smartest friends to give you an edge. You only have an hour to solve the puzzles, whether you choose the art heist, a high-pressure prison break, an undersea adventure and more. The production quality at Escape Games is top-tier and adds to the overall enjoyment. If escape rooms aren’t their forte, it’s OK—when all else fails, they can appeal to the all-knowing Game Master for a hint or a few extra minutes on the clock.

The first (legal) whiskey distillery in Manhattan in over a century has a tour and a cocktail-making class that is fun and super useful! You can find its offerings online and book one today for a tasty gift. Better yet, you can enjoy its full restaurant and speakeasy before or after your class and tour!

Riding around the city in a motorcycle sidecar sounds like something you’d only see in an old gangster movie or the Batman television series from the ‘60s, but you can now give your loved one the trip of a lifetime in one of these babies. Dapper Tours is a local tour service that provides guided tours of Gotham from an old-timey sidecar. The vehicle in question is, in fact, a vintage Ural motorcycle, a model that has a fascinating history involving reverse-engineering by Russians in the 1940s. You can't get much cooler than that!

Is someone you know struggling to cook delicious meals while staying at home this year? Help them take their culinary skills to the next level with a class from The Institute of Culinary Education Classes. An introductory Knife Skills class would give them all the technique they need to mince, julienne and chop with precision, or they could indulge their dumpling desires virtual dumpling-making course.

Starting at $25 per person

Murray’s Cheese has been New York City’s most famed and beloved, vast and varied dairy purveyor since it first opened in Greenwich Village decades ago. If they appreciate cheese or wine, get them entry to Murray’s downtown flagship via burrata and mozzarella-making classes, or lessons on wine and cheese pairings, where they’ll learn a bit of the trade.

Even lifelong New Yorkers have never seen the city quite like this. Board a helicopter after dark to spend half an hour soaring high above the glittering skyline. The Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, the Chrysler Building and countless other NYC landmarks will be on full display in all their glittering glory. The helicopter flight ends with a loop around the Statue of Liberty for one final moment of New York City pride.

From $274 per person

It might not sound like a nice thing to do to someone, but in this case, Squid Game: The Experience is actually fun! Set within Manhattan Mall (100 West 33rd Street by Sixth Avenue), you get into teams of up to 24 people each to complete challenges across 60 minutes, including those that appeared on the TV show (yes, you’ll get to try your hand at the iconic Red Light Green Light) plus a number of brand-new ones built specifically for the experience. Once done playing, you can enjoy a night market offering a variety of Korean and international sweet and savory foods, plus drinks.

If heights aren’t an issue, take them to the highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere. Edge juts out 65 feet into the sky and is up 1,100 feet in the air, making it the highest public balcony in NYC. The deck not only features panoramic views of our city’s skyline but a killer vantage point below. If you want to push their limits even farther, Edge offers a chance to climb the side of the building and lean over the side (with harnesses holding you up). Once done, relax and celebrate your bravery in the bar and restaurant called Peak on the 101th floor.

Classic Harbor Line has fun holiday cruises for those who’d like to enjoy sailing around the city in style. The motor yachts are decked out with holiday flair and lights and each guest gets one complimentary beverage. Choose from new cruises like Cocoa and Carols holiday cruise and the Holiday Brunch Cruise or one of the classics: NYC Lights and Cocoa Cruise; Sunset & Holiday Cocoa Cruise; and the Holiday Live Jazz Cruise.

It also does dazzling New Year's Eve cruises in case you'd like to surprise them with a swanky night out!

If you know someone who’s picked up a DSLR this year, give them a set of photography lessons to help make the most of his new toy. Start with the three-hour introductory session at the Art of Intuitive Photography, where the expert instructor will cover all the basics—including exposure, white balance and depth of field—and help the class decode all the complicated buttons and modes.

$175 per person

Beautiful, buoyant, beguiling bubbles are back at the New York Hall of Science. For kids, the Big Bubble Experiment would be a great gift as it encourages kids of all ages to experiment and discover through the joy of playing with bubbles. That includes blowing, stretching, popping and looking closely to see what happens at each move. The exhibit features 10 stations, each one with different tools and methods for exploring bubble solution.

You can fly! Or at least get the sensation of soaring through the air during a flying trapeze lesson. For an hour and a half, your instructor will teach a 10-person class how to latch onto the bar with your legs, release your arms and fly across the field to a catcher. If you’ve ever dreamed of running away to the circus, now’s your chance! 

From $50

We’ve all got that friend who seems to run on caffeine and nervous energy. And that friend who swear by the power of crystals, salt lamps, and burning sage. Gift either (or both!) the chance to relax with a 45-minute session inside Montauk Salt Cave in the East Village. The Himalayan pink salt lining the room is purported to have anti-inflammatory benefits ranging from healing respiratory illnesses to reducing anxiety. Whether or not the treatment is scientifically valid, it’s a good excuse to unplug and close your eyes for the better part of an hour.

Starting at $20-40

Any suds lover would jump at the chance to taste beer from three New York City breweries. Treat the beer snob in your life to an afternoon tasting tour that traverses three boroughs on a quest to find the best craft beer in the city. Your day will include stops at McSorley’s Old Ale House, The Brooklyn Brewery, Transmitter Brewing and That Witch Ales You Brewery. Tickets include all booze, bites, and transportation during the 5-hour tour.

$125 per person

Know a budding make-up artist? Give her a private, expert-led session to help take her skills to the next level. With more than 10 years of experience in industry, instructor Shara Strand knows all the tricks of the trade—from basic contouring and shadow skills to mastering a strobing palette. Plus, your bestie can purchase any of the brushes, kits, and skincare featured in the one-hour class.

From $190

Snag some of the best (and most romantic) seats in the city for you and your boo on New Year’s Eve. During this five-hour cruise you’ll enjoy an open bar, and nosh on complimentary hors d’oeuvres and delicious buffet-style dinner, while dancing the rest of the year away. On deck in New York Harbor as the clock strikes midnight, your unrivaled view of the fireworks bursting above the twinkling skyline will be one to remember for years to come.

From $300