Anyone been to New York recently

[dal]

Hi all, I'm thinking about having a 4 night stay in New York in March, I'm trying to work out how much spending money we'll need for the usual tourist stuff - bit of sightseeing during the day, meal / drinks in the evening.

Cheers.

 

[DampCat]

As much or as little as you want. I went by myself for 3 days and spent $100, and I've been back and spent plenty more.

Its like $50 or something to go up the empire state, and probably a little less to go up the Rockefeller center. Broadway Show was like $200 a seat for the nice seats, but the lady in front at the box office spent $30 per seat on the morning of the show (crappier seats). Food is typical food prices in a city, expensive in one place and cheap if you look hard enough.

 

[wedrum]

well if your paying out to go new york then goto enjoy yourself and spend lots.
we took $2000 for 4 nights.

 

[Ayahuasca]

Depends entirely on the sights you want to see and how expensive the food and drinks you want to consume are.

 

[Marky]

I visited New York a couple of years ago on my own for three nights and I used HotelTonight to stay in a different hotel every night I was there. It was a really cool experience, and if you get lucky you get a great hotel deal. I set a 100$ budget a night and on my second night I managed to get a night in a Hilton right in the middle of Manhattan which was more like an apartment suite than a room! (I asked them if I could stay for another night, and they quoted me over 400$ )

For other things like food and other experiences, the prices aren't as high as I expected. I went up the Empire State which I remember being about 30$ (I could be wrong after reading DampCat's post!). Food and drink wasn't too bad - I managed to get a seat in a really swanky restaurant and I remember thinking that I wasn't blown away by the costs.

I recommend going for a walk around Central Park (which is free ofc), and then stopping by the Tavern On The Green for a drink or two (That actually was quite expensive, but it was a nice experience all the same). Also recommend going to see Wall Street and the Twin Towers Memorial (I never actually went in the tour/museum there, but I've since heard it's meant to be incredible, and I regret not going in now).

If you end up using HotelTonight, email in trust and I can send you my referral code which gets you £15 off your first booking (and £15 for my next booking )

 

[Scort]

Spent a week there in 2015 - loved it, but wished we had purchased the 'all in one' ticket for the common tourist things - I think you can either get it online in advance, or from one of the sellers in Time Square - it'll save you money as you're not paying per place.

One thing to avoid (imo) - the Empire State have a higher floor to visit, for an extra $20 per person - it's not worth it imo; you're in a plastic fish bowl and don't really see much more.

We ate out a lot in Harlem, it's quite an up and coming area, and had plenty of really nice cafes and restaurants - decently priced too. The closer you get to Manhattan, the higher the prices - but again, it depends were you go.

 

[Blinkz]

I'm in NYC pretty much every other month, pretty much everyone above is spot on. You can spend as much or as little as you like. I recommend top of the rock, its a better view then up the empire state (altho I also like going up the empire state!) also recommend walking the high line.

 

[dal]

Cheers guys, was hoping £500 would be enough for 2 people for 4 nights, not planning on going to the top restaurants (but not Mcdonald's either)

 

[wedrum]

£500 i would not even bother going.
depending on how you get to manhattan from the airport its $55 each way so thats for starters.

i have been twice the first time for a week then second time 4 nights.
yes you can spend as little as you want to survive and just walk about and a few freebies along the way but seriously if your going then do it properly.

 

[TJM]

He could spend a few bucks on the Long Island Railroad instead of getting a taxi. $100 saved.

There are plenty of good things to do in New York for free (Staten Island ferry, Central Park) or can be done cheaply (the Met, Natural History Museum, guided walking tours). And there are loads of reasonably priced and decent local restaurants as New Yorkers eat out more often than most.

A person visiting London could spend a fortune on black cabs, cocktails in high-end bars and tourist traps, but they could also have a great time without any of that. It’s the same in New York.

 

[Raumarik]

We're going for 2 weeks in February, wife use to live there which is handy. We're likely to spend about 2K whilst over there all in.

As many have said it depends what you want to do, there are rip offs like TJM said but they aren't compulsory and there is almost always a cheaper option.

 

[DampCat]

You can do it for 500 if you're happy to walk/subway places. I mention it in every thread but crifdogs does a superb hotdog and it's cheap as chips. I once found a bar that gave you a free pizza with every pint, alas I have no idea where it was, what it was called, or what I did for the rest of that night.

New York is one of my favourite places for exactly this reason. You can go wild, or you can really experience some superb parts of the city trying to save a few bucks.

"Not bothering for 500" is a ridiculous mentality. You'll have a blast.

 

[davetherave2]

I was in new York in mid November. It is one of my favourite places to just get lost in. If you are flying into JFK then get the metro from the airport to wherever you are staying avoid the guys who run the black SUV's like the plague otherwise you will have an unexpected price for what should be a cheap taxi fare (I fell foul of this on my first time flying to NYC)

I would suggest planning a couple of places that you have to go to and if they are the main tourist places then you can get a city pass to a number of the main attractions which can be pre-purchased so leaving you a bit more spending money.

New York is a place you can't just visit in one trip I've been a few times now and still have loads of things to go visit and that's what I like about it there is always something to go and do and visit. Katz's deli (the famous scene from When Harry Met Sally) is a must place to go (for me) and see and try their food. It's not too expensive and the portions are more than enough to even share between two people. There are loads of free things to do and it depends on what you want to do while there. £500 would be more than enough unless you are planning to eat in the finest eating establishments or take in a lot of Broadway shows or visit all the attractions and pay for it there.

Just have an idea of what it is you want to do and budget accordingly. Manhattan is a great place to just walk about and see the sights and find interesting places that may not be on the usual tourist destinations.
Just be aware the price you see isn't always the price you pay as they have a tendency to add on sales tax and don't forget about tipping when going out. I would usually budget for about 20% of my money going on tips when I visit the US.

 

[Jean-F]

As much or as little as you want. I went by myself for 3 days and spent $100, and I've been back and spent plenty more.

Its like $50 or something to go up the empire state, and probably a little less to go up the Rockefeller center. Broadway Show was like $200 a seat for the nice seats, but the lady in front at the box office spent $30 per seat on the morning of the show (crappier seats). Food is typical food prices in a city, expensive in one place and cheap if you look hard enough.

Christ knows how you got away with $100 for 3 days, did you panhandle for nickels and dimes in Times Square?
It’s not unusual to have a few bourbons in a bar in the Village or Tribeca, then dinner in Mid-Town Manhattan alone, and spend $80 or $90.
My wife was there 5 or 6 months ago, and said that the Empire State was about $35 - $38, she gave it a miss, as she’d been up a few times before, her nieces went up, she went to Top of the Rock, said it was great, and about the same price as ESB.
I haven't been to the theatre in NYC since the early 80s, that was off Broadway for about $10-$15.

 

[DampCat]

I stayed in a hostel with a lockable door, single room. I ate from bagel shops and pizza joints, I went to the museum of natural history, the central library, grand central Terminal, the Staten island ferry, all free or very cheap. I had a camera so spent a lot of time doing that.

My last trip was a suite overlooking central park. That was a lot more than $100. You can make it work at any budget.

 

[Reginald]

As with any city, you can live on not very much spending money if that's the way you want to play it.

You don't have to "eat out" for every meal - places like Whole Foods at Columbus Circle have an amazing deli with loads of hot and cold food you can take away. I like to picnic in central park in the warmer months but march might be chilly. Obviously the pizza and hot dog places are good too!

For the sights ~
-empire state $34 each
-lady liberty $18
-top of the rock $38 (+15 if you want to do 'sun and stars' visiting twice in a day during daylight, then again after dark)
-broadway show - variable but I usually buy my tickets from TKTS in Times Square the same day. It's quite a bit cheaper and so far I've always been lucky with seats. You can check whats available on their website: https://www.tdf.org/nyc/81/TKTS-Live
-you'll probably spend a fair bit of time doing stuff that's free as well like seeing central station, brooklyn bridge, times square (find the naked cowboy!), and checking out different areas of Manhattan.
-take a dump in the foyer of Trump Tower $priceless

For travel, you can get a 7 day unlimited metro card for subways/buses for ~$32. If you're going to use public transport more than about 10 times during your 4 day stay, it's the cheapest way to do it vs. buying daily/individual/top-up tickets.

Don't forget about tips as well - food will cost you 20% more than the listed price.

Have you decided where you're staying yet? If Manhattan is proving quite $$$ try Jersey (Newport area). The PATH train runs pretty much 24/7 and takes 15 mins to get to Times Square so you'd get more lux for your money out that way.

Have fun!

 

[wolfie138]

£500 i would not even bother going.
depending on how you get to manhattan from the airport its $55 each way so thats for starters.

well it only cost me $8.

my advice would be plan what you want to do before hand and buy tickets prior to going, thereby avoiding queues etc. how much you need for food depends how you plan to eat.

 

[doodah]

I found food quite cheap providing you go off the beaten track a little, however drinking racks up pretty quickly.

 

[Robi]

depending on how you get to manhattan from the airport its $55 each way so thats for starters.

For a taxi, yes. It is much cheaper and quicker to get the JFK AirTrain to the metro, then the metro to whatever station is closest to your hotel. It costs a grand total of $7.50 for the entire journey. Also worth noting that you can purchase a 7 day unlimited metro pass for $30 and it can be used between two people. The metro costs $2.50 per ride otherwise.

https://www.panynj.gov/airports/jfk-airtrain.html

Hi all, I'm thinking about having a 4 night stay in New York in March, I'm trying to work out how much spending money we'll need for the usual tourist stuff - bit of sightseeing during the day, meal / drinks in the evening.

You'll save a fortune on touristy stuff if you go for one of the passes. We built our own New York City Explorer Pass and saved a good 25%.

https://www.smartdestinations.com/new-york-attractions-and-tours/_d_Nyc-p1.html?pass=Nyc_Prod_Exp