Spending money in New York

[JasonTindallsTan]

Myself, DH and adult DD are going to NYC in September for 4 nights. We’d planned to buy attraction passes in advance (any recommendations?) so spending money should really just be needed for food, travel and tips 🤯

All I keep reading is how expensive NYC so what is realistic in terms of amount of money we’d need to expect to spend (we’re fully funding adult DD).

@JasonTindallsTan How long is a ball of string? Lots more than you think! Look at London prices and double it. What type of restaurants do you want? Even cafes are not cheap.

Attraction cards only work if you really want those attractions. Some things, like the High Line and Brooklyn Bridge are free. Museums charge but you don’t have enough time to do everything! Using Subway is cheapest transport but it’s old and not like the London Underground. Keeps costs down though.

We won’t be fine dining, it’ll be fast food/diner/street food type
places.

I suppose I need to think about some kind of itinerary and take it from there with regards to the attraction passes and see if it’s worth it.

Museum entry fees are expensive (around $30 for an adult), so plan out what you’d like to see and then have a look at the combination tickets.

You can book Statue City Cruises in advance if you want to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (museum here is very good) - you can book pedestal tickets for the SoL (crown tickets sell out months in advance but you might get lucky) or hard hat tours at Ellis Island. Or take the free Staten Island ferry to sail past.

Eating out is expensive - a pizza in a cafe in Little Italy is $30 - $35, Chipotle (fast food wraps) about $12 - $15. A draught beer is around $9. Irish pubs offer decent priced meals and drinks. Tips are expected at 18% - 25%, you can add when you pay on the card machine.

If you’re coming into JFK then there’s a flat rate of $70 (plus tolls and congestion charges and $5 peak hours fee) to Manhattan. Make sure you take a yellow cab. It’s pretty much the same fee if you get your hotel to call a taxi to the airport when leaving (check price though).

www.jfkairport.com/to-from-airport/taxi-car-and-van-service

Whatever you think you will need triple it - it’s bloody expensive!

We have always planned what we want to see. It’s a long way from Central Park to the Staten Island ferry or Ellis Island. So you need to group together what you most want to see and if this works for the card, so be it.

We liked a high rise visit so one of the skyscrapers. The High Line is so good and there’s Hudson Yards too. We like galleries so the Met Museum showcases American Art but MOMA or others might float your boat. We have been to Ellis Island which is moving. Didn’t really like 911 memorial and didn’t do the museum. Others feel they must. We liked Brooklyn Bridge walk for iconic views. I would buy a guide book with a good map and plot your itinerary. Everywhere is further than you think.

We use Time Out for restaurant and cafe recommendations. You need to factor in 30% on top of any listed prices though. Go and look at a couple of web sites for a basic price, and then scale up for tax and tip.

DD interned in NY and still found Subway confusing! It’s doesn’t universally have a live time info system (as far as we could see) and not all trains go where you think they should. It’s cheap though and mistakes are rectifiable.

I really like Lonely Planet (old style!) guides for pre planning. The Knoph NY City guide has served us well if you can find one! Also LP app might be ok but I’ve never used it. We aren’t keen on Dorling Kindersley as we don’t like their very tourist based suggestions. Time Out is definitely better for eating suggestions. LP for how to fill your time.

Sept is lovely there. Have a good time.

I’d say museums are fairly unlikely. The trip is for DD’s 21st so she’ll be driving the itinerary and she’s not a museum kinda gal. We’re more likely to do the likes of the gossip girl tour I think. I’d like to do the 9/11 memorial but beyond that probably won’t get much say in what we do. I expect empire state/statue of Liberty/Times Square/high line will be on the list. We’re staying in Hudson Yards close by to the edge but DD is not a fan of heights so doubt that will make the list.

We really need to get planning!

I second using Lonely Planet guides, or Google ‘how to spend 3 days in New York’ and you’ll get lots of ideas.

The Natural History Museum is good if you like the movie Night at the Museum.

How you eat will make a world of difference to the cost.

We ate a substantial hotel breakfast and grabbed snacks from the buffet to take back to the room for later. One meal a day 'out' - and often that was something quite inexpensive (but iconic and delicious!) like hotdogs from Grays Papaya or pizza from Bleecker St.

Then we ate snacks from the hotel or local supermarket if we were still hungry later.

Anywhere you eat where you go up to get the food yourself, like a deli, pizza shop etc, will cost you a lot less in service charge and tips compared to being waited on at a table. We enjoyed having a takeaway and taking it to a park bench to people watch!

We were there in October prices were say on par with any major city but nothing outrageous. Like any city you can spend ££££ but equality there is an awful lot to see and do which isn't ridiculously expensive.

That’s reassuring, we’re used to London etc but think I’ve just read so much I’m expecting a whole new level of expense. Plus the expected tipping is an element of unkown!

Even ignoring the free museums in London, I’d say NY is more expensive. Tipping is made easier in cafes and restaurants by the ability to automatically add a fixed percentage when you pay by card. Some low value bills are useful for tipping for drinks or hotel housekeeping.

Yes you need to factor in tipping plus taxes. I think like any city it comes down to what it is you want to do. DH and myself did all the usual tourist sightseeing things. We did do broadway and paid as you would expect. Shopping was expensive but I'm not really a shopper so that was fine. We generally had breakfast at a diner then dinner. Nothing fancy but not ff either but that is where the bulk of our budget went. For us at least it was no more expensive than London.

@JasonTindallsTan You might like Radio City Music Hall. I’d say Ellis Island over 911 - depends how upset you want to be on holiday. 911 is a long way south! Walkable off Brooklyn Bridge though. Wandering in a few high end shops can be fun. As you are Hudson Yards, do go down the High Line and stop off at Chelsea Market. I think you can get a real feel for NY without spending a fortune. I like Greenwich Village and SoHo for old fashioned NY buildings - more atmosphere.

My rather old LP book gives top sights as Brooklyn Bridge, Met museum, Central Park, Empire State, Ellis island and Stat Liberty, High Line, Times Square and Broadway (?) MoMA, 911 museum. Plus food, markets, neighbourhood rambling and shopping. LP has some good suggested walking tours too which we have found useful.

Tip wise you're looking at 20% ( but it's up to you, if you do 10% or less expect to be scowled at and shown the door pronto!)
Remember tax is added on the bill, so $25 for pizza + tax + tip
A cappuccino from Starbucks will be around the $5.00, but then add tax and tip and you're looking at $7 x that by 3! (So roughly £16 ish for 3 coffees).
I don't know NY as I dislike cities / densely populated areas, but I have family in the US and have spent many happy vacations there, went last autumn (having not been for a a few years) and was shocked at food prices even a family size bag of chips (crisps) was around $4.
Admittedly I was in a more expensive state, but my relatives were saying food prices are at an all time high, as farming has been hit by the same global issue of weather (flooding, draught and fires). Seed prices have significantly increased and coffee and coca crops in South America and the Caribbean have also been impacted with disease, all of which has led to a significant price rises.

That said thrift shops are brilliant, electronics are slightly cheaper (especially Apple products) and clothing is loads cheaper.
Tours are more expensive and tipping is expected, so again depending on what you are doing carry some change / dollar bills for tipping.

I should add generic clothing is cheaper, the bands and designer gear not so much!

Yes. Try and get some lower value currency notes to take. Everything in $20 or $50 notes is a pain. Tipping at 20% plus does make it cost more than London where 10-12.5% is still the norm and taxes are included. In NY they are not and that goes for shopping too. Shopping is not great value and you need to check uk prices. No great savings with poor exchange rate. Just looking at jewellery shops is fun though.

You need to do some research OP, because no one on here can tell you how much you're going to spend each day. Look at the price of attractions you want to visit and either book tickets in advance or get a multi-attraction pass if you can see it will save you money. Use the subway or walk if you want to save a bit on transport. And have a look at restaurant menus online and figure out how much you'll need per day for food and drink, because it varies hugely between chain restaurants like Denny's or Olive Garden and the many, fabulous restaurants you'll find in NYC. Maybe book your evening restaurants too, because NYC is a very popular place to eat out for both residents and visitors. So if there are places you definitely want to go, make a reservation.

There are quite a few different walking tours, some are "free" and you just pay the guide what you think it's worth. Others you just pay a set free (plus tip!) They're a good way to see stuff you might not find otherwise. There are also themed ones eg Hamilton, street art etc. We did a food one via the Tenement Museum, focusing on how different immigrant populations over time have brought their own specialities to the country. That was fun.

We've just come back from 5 days and spent just shy of £2k.

Even street food costs more than you. A pretzel for instance was $6. We went to a food court in Brooklyn; 2 drinks, a plate of sushi and a salad was $150 inc tip.

And don't forget you're adding 20% on top of everything as a tip.

I think realistically you need at least $200 pp/pd.

If you're staying in Hudsons Yard, you don't need to get a yellow cab from airport.
Get the air train to Jamaica St in Queens and take Long Islan Rail Road to Penn station. It's literally a 10 minute walk and will cost less than $12 each! It's so well signposted and took me half an hour at rush hour vs potentially being stuck in a cab for 2 hours!

Google cheap eats in NYC and you'll get an idea of your bottom line.

Twice as much as you think. It's very very expensive unless you are very careful. That said there are bargain options for food especially lunch eg take away pizza slices for a dollar plus tax, buy bagels and cream cheese and make a picnic sort of thing and some delis serve breakfast for more reasonable prices than hotels and diners.

Book Statue of Liberty/ellis island in advance as it gets booked up, it's cheaper than other attractions as you are only paying for the transport, the places are free, and allow the full day to do both (Ellis island is so interesting). Harlem jazz museum was free.

Food if eating 2 meals and a snack will be $100 per person per day not including alcohol at modest to midrange places, obviously the sky is the limit but don't forget it's a coupon obsessed country so look online and in person especially at the New York Times.

Should add that we are not price sensitive particularly but found it out of our expectations, partly due to adding tip and tax on top of already expensive prices, we travel to Scandinavia where prices are similar but tax is included and no tips in bars etc

We were there in October and spent about £1800 for 3 adults and a twelve year old for 5 nights.

We bought a city pass for 6 attractions as we worked out the saving would be worthwhile. I'd look at entrance prices for what you want to do then find a city pass that covers them and see if it's worth it. We used the HOHO as one of our attractions and while traffic is slow it was a welcome relief for tired feet! Also did City Cruise, The Edge, Ellis Island and Natural History Museum.

We enjoyed pedicabs around central park but couldn't find passes with it included so that was extra, but still.within the £1800.
Food wise for breakfast we did bagel shops, food trucks and one diner. The diner breakfast was huge so didn't need lunch! Dinner was two mid range restaurants, one takeaway in the hotel as we were too tired to move then roadside pizza slices and dim sum. Alcohol is expensive some didn't drink much.

We spent a fair bit snacking as we are food focused travellers - so Levain Cookies, Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding, Corn dogs etc were all on the agenda too. For trinkets the cheapest vendors are on Brooklyn Bridge (Brooklyn side)

For getting around we used metro and ferries which were cheap and easy to navigate.
Have fun, can't wait to go back!