Spending money for a week in New York?

[Feofjwonxoaks]

Well 6 days. My partner and I, no children. We'd like to book onto some tours etc. As well. Would need some sort of subway pass.
Want to try new places to eat but i don't think we'll be eating in restaurants for every meal, probably some quick takeaway stuff too.
Wondering if £300 each (obviously converted) would be enough?

The exchange rate is shocking too! It’s the worst it’s ever been!

We went pre Covid and allowed £100 a day each, but everything’s more expensive now.

If you’re doing galleries check as some tickets give entry to others, if you’re on a budget worth checking.

We did the free Staten Island ferry, that was fine for us.

We did some free stuff like visiting the highline, big walk around Central Park, photo at the ghost busters house 😆

There’s a line on the subway that’s a cable car, costs a normal ticket - great views especially at night.

Grabbed subway for lunch or takeaway sandwich from a deli/pizza slice/hotdog rather than sit down lunch.

But still spent all our money!

And remember to tip the cleaners for your room each morning before you leave.

Yep, a free walk around Central Park was lovely - then we went to Pret and spent $80 on brekkie for 4 😂

£50 a day?? No chance!!

The last time it was cheap was in the late 80's....exchange rate was 1.80 dollars....i havent been for years but sister went and said it was expensive...if you eat pizza etc you can save....all the cheap places are long gone unless you hit the suburbs etc....i wouldnt go back....been about 5 times over the years...it all sounds too santised and corporate now for us !

It’s expensive and hugely overrated. Too busy, the people are rude, it’s dirty and plenty of areas are unsafe. Every few years I’ll spend a few days there thinking it’s got to be better than I remember, but it gets worse 😬You’ll definitely need at least $120 a day per person, and that will be tight if you want to do tours as well.

The exchange rate is outrageous! You need to triple that 😂

I would easily triple or quadruple that I'm afraid...🥴 easily 1,200-1,500

Not enough for NYC. We went last Apr and it was pricey then. We booked somewhere with a basic breakfast, would pick up a baguette/ falafel wrap / burrito for lunch, or go to one of the cheap pizza slice places (2 dollars a massive slice). Train station food hall is great for freshly made food. We would also go to wholefoods for a salad bar / hot food bar and sit in the dining area, good value for money.

We spent most of our budget on doing things and the odd tour, so cut back on dining out. We have been before when the exchange rate was higher and enjoyed really nice restaurants, so wasn't too fussed.

You'll need to plan your days so you can budget / end up with food options.

Definitely get a subway pass 33 dollars or something similar for a weeks usage. That wil cover all transport.

I went in April and was prepared for it to be expensive but it really is on another level.

We spent £1500 on 5 days and that didn't include attractions which we had a separate pass for, only ate at two restaurants (talking $78 for two burgers + chips and a coke each) and had street food/takeaway the rest of our trip.

For the subway you can just tap your debit card now like you do for the tube in London.

That’s £50 a day … surely you must realise that this would not even cover your dinner. A 3 day New York day pass is over $200. I think you need to times that amount by 4/5

We are going for 5 nights next yr (2 of us) and currently saving a bit each month to take approx £2k (and maybe a little more if we can, can always convert back if we don't spend it). We're also going to buy the NY passes before we go.

Have been told it's extremely expensive so I would up your budget to be comfortable, would rather have too much than not enough imo.

We walked EVERYWHERE - easy to do and a great way to see it all. But the island of Manhattan is bigger than you think. And it's expensive! Just coffee and really simple sandwich lunches from a deli were easily $30. You could do it on a budget but wear very comfortable shoes, don't expect to be able to do the really touristy things like the Empire State - but that doesn't matter as there is so much to see anyway. You can still have an amazing time as it's all about the atmosphere.
NY Public Library
Upper East Side
Central Park
Brooklyn Bridge
DumBo
Hudson Yards
Greenwich Village
Meatpacking District
Staten Island Ferry
Harlem
Times Square but that's heavy on a drug dealers!!
China Town

I have done New York on a budget in 2017 & 2019 and spent around $120 a day pp.

If you're anything like me....Two Gazillion dollars!

We lived in NYC for 6 months, tried to be as frugal as possible and you will still haemorrhage money at the rate of knots.

One way to save money is to avoid eating out (you will be a fortune in tips) and eat at places like Subway and Burger King. And speaking of tips, most people in service wants one. The porters in hotels, door staff if they hail you a cab, taxi drivers, waitresses....and on and on. Don't let anyone do anything for you, it's not kindness, they want your $$$.

I’ve done New York twice now 2015 and 2018. The first time I saw all the tourist bits, splashed out on nice restaurants and bought a load of clothes and make up etc spent about £2000 . The second time I did it cheaper and did the bits I hadn’t seen plus a Broadway show. We ate at one expensive place which was Ellen’s stardust and frankly I don’t recommend it. Other then that we ate at diners and little cafe places and they were fabulous. I didn’t buy much clothes wise so I think I spent £700. Completely depends on what you have planned to do. If you plan to do the whole city experience you need a lot.

Don’t forget transport from the airport, and return.

3 of us in January are going. We plan on £1k each and an extra £1k just in case.

Not sure what you'd get for £50 a day. A bagel and a bottle of water
Perhaps.

It's fabulous but painfully expensive. We went this summer and had a great holiday but we had picnic lunches every day and cooked for ourselves every evening as we had a hotel room with a kitchenette. We had three breakfasts out and they averaged 25 dollars each. A pre packed sandwich (standard, not huge) was 7-8 dollars from a very ordinary supermarket and coffee and a small cake or cookie at the Met café was 12 dollars each. A coffee at a very ordinary coffee shop was 5 dollars. And it cost at least 25 dollars per person to get into a gallery or museum. We saved up for years to go, and DH and I and our two teenagers loved it, but we won't go back.

It's very very expensive. Things that cost £10 in the U.K. cost $40. That said the subway is cheap, you can use your card, street vendors can be cheap and there's cheap pizza for instance $3 for 2 slices and a can of soda near our hotel. There's "markets" sort of grocery stores but with hot food everywhere, a good option for cheaper food, some have tables, and in residential areas they cater to the many New Yorkers without proper kitchens or the inclination to cook.

The most reasonable tour and a full day is the Statue of Liberty and Ellis island because the actual attractions are free, you are only paying for the boat, book as far ahead as you can. Another tip is there is a free jazz museum in Harlem we found, you can walk around the 9/11 monument for free (museum was very pricey so we didn't bother). If you are in midtown, the Hell's Kitchen area had some cheap bars with $5 drinks, remember to add tip and tax though! Upside is portions are generous so eat brunch late and skip lunch, don't be afraid to ask to share, most places won't bat an eyelid

I've just been and it was insanely expensive. I probably ate one of the most expensive meals of my life - it was very nice of course - but the price was stratospheric. This was was a nice restaurant but we're not talking Michelin star.

Oh and take comfy shoes, we walked and walked, great way to see the city. My dp has a very good job so money isn't and issue but even he commented we were burning through money like no tomorrow ... it was a trip of a lifetime type trip for us but still, very expensive despite trying to be canny eg downloading restaurant saving apps in advance, online deals for the museum and getting standby tickets (tip: the Met Opera was a lot cheaper than Broadway)

We got Go city passes and booked tours through there. We are going next month. Worked out a lot cheaper.

I read you need at least £30 a day just for tips alone.