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Affordable NYC: what to do and how to do it cheap
A common misconception about traveling young is that it isn't possible because it's too expensive. While I agree that some things can be pricey, I am living proof that traveling far and traveling cheap can be done!
I recently spent a 3 day weekend in NYC with my mom. We were able to pack nearly a week's worth of activities in that short amount of time and it was cheaper than you'd think! In this post you will find my itinerary of NYC including tips, tricks, and prices! Enjoy 🙂
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
Transportation: If you plan on flying, download the Hopper app! With this app, it tracks the flights you want and knows when it will be the cheapest to purchase.
Hotel: If you are going to strategically plan your trip it all, have it be with the hotel location. This trip we stayed across from Madison Square Garden, which allowed us easy walks to many places like Times Square or the Empire State Building! *additional tip: I always book through booking.com and by doing so I am now considered a frequent traveler with them and get some of the best discounts on places with the best locations!
Public transit: I am a huge advocate for public transportation – particularly the subway. When I first moved to Europe, I would get lost and take the wrong trains and subways all the time (it was rough). But once you understand how it works, you will see so many extra things you wouldn't have time to see if it weren't for using the system. On the very first day, go ahead and get a weekend pass (less than $30). If you get this pass, you can use any bus or subway around the boroughs so you when you go to catch a train or bus, you don't have to worry about buying another ticket.
Pack: Another post of mine discusses the essentials for packing, but this particular trip I want to highlight bringing snacks! With all the walking, it was nice we had crackers and granola bars in our bag without having to pay extra in the city!
NYC sightseeing pass: I was skeptical about the sightseeing pass, but it turned out to be a great purchase! There are two different options, either a flex pass or unlimited pass. Each pass allows you to skip the lines in most of the attractions! The unlimited pass is more expensive but it's just how it sounds, you are able to use it an unlimited amount of times for however many days you purchased it for. A flex pass allows you to choose how many attractions you would like to do and it's valid for a year. If you're traveling in the summer, I would recommend a flex pass. A lot of the attractions are museums and during the summer it's better to experience more of the city while it's beautiful weather. My mom and I purchased a 4 attraction flex pass (each pass was $84) and we were able to skip lines everywhere, including the one hour wait at the Statue of Liberty ferry. Check out the available attractions with the pass here.
Cash: Most cities you can get around without cash and just use your card, but having cash with you in the city comes in handy for when you pass carts with snacks and waters. It's a cheap way to eat and stay hydrated while walking around!
Misc: I recommend carrying around a refillable water bottle. The worst thing you can do on day one of your trip is to let yourself become hydrated! We went ahead and bought a case of water on day one, which saved us money as when we came to the hotel room to freshen up, we could easily refill our water bottles for the afternoon.
DAY 1:
This day is pretty flexible on time whether you have a full day or half day. Starting off in Times Square, be sure to walk and just look all around you. Here you can see the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, a million advertisements, taxi cabs, and stores. Check out the M&M store because it is incredible!
From Times Square, it's an easy walk through Bryant Park to Grand Central Terminal. If you haven't heard of Bryant Park, it's a beautiful space to relax (not to mention the sight of the movie scene Wedding Planner with JLo and Matthew McConaughey) There are free movie showings at night during the summer if you're interested in returning in the evening!
Grand Central Terminal can be skipped if low on time, but I threw it in here because the architecture and feel inside the terminal is a cool experience. The rustle and bustle around you is fun to be a part of.
After all of that, we took a brief break to freshen up and give our legs a break.
Brooklyn Time! – We headed down to City Hall for the start of the Brooklyn bridge entrance. This took less than an hour or so but we slowly walked across. The view is spectacular and there are great photo opportunities. About half way across you can see views of the Statue of Liberty, and the NYC skyline.
After walking the bridge, go to ʺFront Street Pizza.” You can put it in your GPS, it's a short walk and it'll lead you to a street with this view below. You can walk towards the bridge you see after or while eating and it'll take you to the view after that. (amazing) I think this is one of my favorite nights of my trip. It was almost golden hour and the views were so surreal. We headed home after that to get ready for day 2!
DAY 2:
*WARNING* This is an early morning start, but definitely worth it! We were up and out of the hotel by a little after 7, taking the subway to Battery Park to go see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We arrived there around 8 in the morning and were able to skip the long line to get on the first ferry over there. If you're not an early riser, no problem to go later in the day – just make sure you give yourself about 3 hours to see both islands.
After spending the morning walking through history, we continued to do so by going to the 9/11 Tribute Museum. I don't have any photos to show here, but this place can take as short or as long as you'd like. It leaves you breathless and humbled to say the least and I highly advise you guys to check it out! (Free with the NYC pass)
After a very historic and emotional first half of the day, we headed back to freshen up at the hotel and get ready for the rest of the day. We headed to Greenwich village, a beautiful part of the city where movie locations were found (peep the Friends apartment) as well as Washington Square Park, the Flatiron building, and the start of the Highline! What's the Highline? I'm glad you asked.
The Highline was only a place I came to learn about through fellow friends that love to travel as much as me. It was an old train track that ran into the 1980s, but known today as a unique space to walk, relax, eat, shop, or socialize. There are many different entrances (free as it's a walkway) and more information can be located here.
DAY 3:
If I were to have traveled to NYC alone, I would have missed out on Madame Tussauds and that would have been a mistake. My mom really wanted to go, so we went out to start our day there. For those of you who don't know, Madame Tussauds is a wax museum of celebrities of all types. When we first walked into the first room, I couldn't tell who were the visitors and who were the wax figures and it was to be honest it was such a weird sensation of being scared but also amazed at the artwork. There are awesome humans and action figures represented in the NYC location!
Right near Madame Tussauds, is a Carlo's Bakery location. What. A. Blessing. The cannolis are only $4 a piece and worth every penny! We ate our cannoli and headed towards central park.
Central Park is an attraction all its own. Full of bikers, artists, baseball players, locals trying to enjoy the sun, and few and far between. Some of the places I would put on your list is: Gapstow Bridge, Bethesda Fountain, Bow bridge, Belvedere Castle, Hans Christian Andersen statue, Alice in Wonderland Statue. These are listed in order of the way you walk give or take! If you get tired easily, I would look into using your NYC pass to rent bikes. Some places throughout the park don't allow bikes so we ended up walking it all just so we could enjoy seeing it all. Around the park, there are multiple museums including the MET and the Museum of Natural History. While I am a firm believer that museums are mostly for winter activities, we used our NYC pass to get out of the sun and went to the Museum of Natural History.
Did someone say Broadway? If you are in NYC, I don't care how cliché it seems, GO SEE A SHOW! We did not originally plan to see a show due to the expensive prices, and we didn't even purchase tickets until Friday (the day before we went!) Everywhere we went it looked like the cheapest price would be a minimum of $90 per person. Luckily, Vivid Seats came to the rescue! We ended up seeing Frozen for $40 a person and I never laughed and had so much fun at a performance before! There's always a way to find events or activities at a reasonable rate.
***If you're not into Broadway, that's OK! You make actually like it if you went, or this would be a perfect time to fit in a ball game.
GRAND BUDGET TOTAL (per person)
$30 – transportation for the weekend
$84 – NYC pass (included Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Madame Tussaud’s, 9/11 Tribute Museum, Museum of Natural History)
$40 – Broadway show
$4 – Cannoli
$5 – Street cart lunch
$5 – Italian pizza in Brooklyn
$5 – Street cart lunch
$15 Рsplit entr̩e for dinner
$5 – Street cart lunch
$25 – Hard Rock cafe (price included collectible cup with dinner)
$20 – coffee for the weekend
$20 – souvenir
= $258*
*Excludes hotel & flights
Whether you catch a thrill for city lights and busy crowds, or are more of an ʺoff the beaten path” kind of traveler like me, NYC has it all. Throughout the touristy activities on the list, we stopped throughout for coffee or just to sit and soak it all in. If you have any more questions or suggestions on what to add, reach out to me!
I enjoyed walking through NYC with you! The places you saw, experienced and simply enjoyed were fabulous. Would have liked to see the artist working and sampling the food from the street carts. thank you for sharing.
Love this!
I’m glad!