New York - spending money?

[Happywalnut]

Hi. Just wondered how much you would think you’d need for 10 days in New York, 2 adults and 2 teens. Food and activities.

I’ve looked up hotels and seems to be around £4k for room only. Just wondering how much more we would expect to spend but I expect it will be make it too expensive for us

I don’t think anyone is suggesting that you can see all of NY in 4 days! I don’t think you could do that even in 10. Rather- they may not like it, it might be tiring to have 10 days on the go especially if they normally do beach holidays and it’s also really expensive. Personally I’d do 4-5 nights, do them well not worrying too much about money and/or mix up with a few days elsewhere that will be less intense (Boston/Cape Cod is a great suggestion), then plan go back at some point if they absolutely love it. But that’s just me!

@berlinbaby2025 Philadelphia has some great things to see but it’s mostly art and Independence war sights and museums. Very good but are dc really going to be interested? Washington has better museums and iconic sights. Plus why pay for NY snd then do day trips adding to the expense? Coastal Cape Cod is essentially a beach holiday and we just combined it with Boston which is certainly less frenetic than NY.

I think people are suggesting less time as New York is wince inducingly expensive at the moment and it is really really full on. So while there is more than enough to keep you busy for 10 days, your stamina or wallet may fail before the end! Especially if you are used to beach holidays.

New York is London on steroids (and I say that as a Londoner of 26 years).

Last time we went we found that old school bagel places were good for breakfast - there was a place near our hotel on the upper east side that did a toasted bagel with spread and filter coffee for about five dollars each. It was pretty basic though - think plastic tables bolted to the floor and brusque service.

In terms of eating out costs - we went to a good but old school American Italian place on the East Village one night - we shared tomato bruschetta to start and ice cream to finish (both were enormous to UK eyes) had a pasta dish each and one drink (glass of wine for me and a beer for Mr Monkey) - with tip it cost us 150 dollars.

The good news is public transport is cheap and extensive (if rather grimy and rickety) and there is a lot to do for free - if you have never been before simply walking around looking at all the big famous sights is interesting enough for a few days.

I’d love ten days in New York. We took the DC a couple of years ago for 8 nights and could’ve stayed longer.
We spent a lot on food, most days we spent over $200 just on breakfast for 6 of us. It was great though. Our best holiday.

This sounds amazing but might need to be another year when we can save up.

It’s incredibly expensive in US ( and particularly NY and California) for any quality at all , unless you are going to live on cheap burgers/pizzas for 10 days or totally self cater in an apartment ( food in US of any quality is pricey too) I would say 5/6000 dollars for 10 days to include sightseeing etc- I would say 6 days is more suitable factoring in flight times and cost

we normally do a beach holiday but would like something a bit more special this year due to an anniversary and big birthday.

as much as I would like to do New York and perhaps a trip somewhere else in America to make up the 10 days I think it would be pretty expensive. I think £7k is our budget. If anyone can suggest anywhere else they’ve found great to go with teens I’d be very interested. We’ve always done Europe with the kids and the usual places Spain, canaries, Cyprus, Portugal etc.

Twice as much as you think! That city eats money, everything is so expensive and with just a few exceptions. Adding the tax and a tip to every meal particularly adds up. I found a hotel that included a buffet breakfast in the price which really helped (had whole fruit too you could take as a snack for mid morning) take water bottles to refill as well. I would actually recommend going for less time as we found 5 nights slightly too much, it’s very full on, perhaps combine with 5 nights upstate or on the coast

We actually travelled over on the Queen Mary 2 then stayed in new York before flying home, amazing trip and came in at £5k ish but only for 2 people in a balcony cabin. For an amazing trip more generally I look at Imagine Cruising, have some really good deals (not only cruises either)

I could easily spend 10 days in NY.
Last year we were there for 5 days and. Was spending £500 a day for 4 of us on food and drinks. Nowhere upmarket - just cafes, bagels and diners/bars. That included tips.

Then add in attractions, empire state, top of rock, broadway shows, yankees, Staten Island, museums, etc.. Easily ran to a further £500 on some days.

If it's a special holiday then why not do 5 nights in New York and really push the boat out while you're there?

Or how about the Caribbean? We do Barbados for £3.5k for two of us, staying in places we find on Air bnb/ VRBO We eat in at home probably half the time but it's a very special holiday, especially as we go in the winter.

Or do somewhere in Europe but book a private villa if you don't usually do that, to make it more luxurious/ special. Somewhere like Skopelos where the town has stuff for teenagers but it's more off the beaten track. Or a bit glitzy like Fiscado on Kefalonia.

Or Venice if you want a more sightseeing holiday. You could do a couple of nights at the Lido if you wanted to add a bit of beach. Or somewhere like Sorrento which is half beach half city break all in one.

With teens I’d look for an aparthotel type place then you get more space and can save a small fortune by making your own breakfast, snacks, coffee etc and cook simple dinners a couple of nights or get takeaway food.

If you pick your time of year it's not CRAZY for hotels. I went last March with a BA companion voucher (and used Avios) - flight cost £200 return for 2 of us, and hotel was about £900 for 5 nights (perfectly good budget Hilton type hotel near the World Trade Centre, no breakfast included but we wanted to brunch in lots of places anyway). We were thinking of going to Paris but New York was cheaper. We had been before so didn't do all the main tourist spots but did eat at some pretty nice restaurants. It was expensive for food but I can't eat 3 meals a day I. America so we were only paying for 2 meals a day. Didn't buy much as not interested in American brands and didn't find any bargains. I am pretty sure Copenhagen was more expensive, comparatively.

March seems a cheap time of year to go, so maybe consider when is cheap and see if you can go then. Weather was fine in March but it can be quite changeable - could have been unpleasantly cold and snowing. The summer can be quite humid in New York. Personally I don't think the summer is a great time to go. I'd love to try October half term for Halloween.

If you do want a combined holiday, consider Washington DC or Boston and Cape Cod (I loved Cape Cod!). Again best if you can avoid the summer peak, I expect Cape Cod is very expensive then and booked up. I think we went in early June. Weather was nice but not quite sunbathing weather.

P.s. if you do go, check out the Tenement Museum. It is one of my favourite places on earth! Absolutely fascinating, a real trip back in time. I go every time I go to New York. You get a guided tour that is interactive and lasts about an hour. There's different tours, so you pick whichever one interests you most. The guides are really interesting.

I agree with this, I went early May and the price for four adults for four nights also in Hilton hotel was 4k. That was BA business class (no companion voucher) there (upgraded from premium), premium back and breakfast at the hotel which meant none of us were hungry for more than a snack at lunch time.
The weather varied from sleet and pretty much 0 degrees to about 25, its a freaky weather place.

In NY, always check where hotel is. There’s little else at the WTC site for example so there’s travel costs and time. Ditto if you stay in Harlem or Brooklyn. The best tip is to plot on a map what you really intend to visit and then look at what hotels are within reasonable reach or days are very long and tiring. That’s why most people don’t do 10 days.