New York City on a Budget - HELP

[susikat]

This is a fantastic thread, we are planning to be in new york this August so some great tips here, has anyone done one of the movie theme bus tours, its not cheap but wonder if its worth it?

You also mentioned the sony lab, this looks great but with only a couple of days not sure we can fit it in, are there similar things to see in Epcot like in the sony lab?

 

[VAN]

I didn't read all the comments but would like to say that we went to NY for siteseeing the last two Augusts.

We used priceline for the hotel (but you already have a free place to stay - bonus!)

Definitely get the 48-hr Greyline tour ... three tours that will give you a great overview of the city! We got the vouchers on-line prior to visit. Discount with AAA membership.

Statue of Liberty Crown / Ellis Island ... again, purchased these on-line. If you are physically able, it is awsome to go up in the crown ... but don't expect to get tickets if you don't book on-line a few months out. For Ellis Island, plan to spend at least 1/2 day and get the audio tour for that.

Get discount certificates from Restaurant.com.

Familiarize yourself with the subway system ... easy to get around. You can purchase multi-day passes which I recommend.

I work for a large company who donate money to many of the NY museums ... I was able to get free admittance into some of the museums. You may want to check with your employer to see if they have any discount programs for NY sites.

We loved Radio City Music Hall.

A couple of the restaurants we went to that we loved were:

Pongsri Thai on 48th St (reasonable and good)
Tony's DiNapoli on 43rd St (Time's Square) ... a wonderful family-style Italian restaurant ... exactly what you would imagine ... lot's of fun
Blaggards Irish Pub on 38th St

We went to Tony's both years ... not cheap, but not too expensive either. Last year we sat at a table right next to a Golf Channel anchor ... I didn't recognize her, but my DH did and he got a photo with her.

You will have a great time with a little planning and education beforehand.

============

We were four adults w/ RT from Detroit, four nights in NYC - here's a breakdown of our expenses for the trip:

Transportation (including RT air, airport parking, taxi to/from LGA, METRO card) = $588 (Spirit Airlines)
Hotel (W on Lexington - 4 star thru Priceline) = $629
Tours (Statue of Liberty Crown, Greyline, Museums, Radio City, NBC, Empire St) = $526
Food (4 sit down restaurants w/ drinks + cart lunches ... brought own breakfast) = $646
Souveniers = $101

So we did all this for 4 adults for about $2,500.

 

[mommylovesdisneymore]

This is some great imformation Thanks so much
My husband and I are going to NYC the first weekend in December with 3 other couples all of us it is our first time so we are really excited and starting to plane we are staying at the Sheraton Lincoln Harbor but would love any recommendations on some restaraunts and clubs we are also trying to budget as much as possible we will only be ther for 2 days so we will really be rushed to get so much in We want to shop Time square and FAO but what else do you reccomend

 

[leebee]

One of our favorite restaurants is Becco, owned by Lydia Bastianich, in Hell's Kitchen (not sure of the address, maybe 46th St between 8th and 9th Aves.- check their website). Absolutely fabulous Italian cooking (not just pasta with red sauce), reasonable prices for NYC restaurant, wine list is $25 a bottle. Menus, hours, etc. are online.

Bocca is an affordable alternative to restaurants. I think it's on 50th St. between 6th and 7th Aves. They have stations where you order your food. There is a salad station, pizza, panini, sandwiches, pasta, hot foods, sushi, soups, smoothies. It's a good way to get a "real" meal without paying restaurant prices. Also try the Cosmic Diner on 8th Ave. at 51st St. It could be cheaper (chicken wraps w/fries are $11, which is about standard for NYC) but the food is good and the portions generous. There is also a Whole Foods at Columbus Circle (inside the Time/Warner tower) that has a HUGE self-service cafeteria and eating area. Think hot meals... indian food, southern cooking, comfort food, roasts (chicken, lamb,pork) with two sides, two immense salad bars, bagel bar, dessert bar. It's self-serve, sold by weight. Havana Central in Times Square has great Cuban food, with reasonable prices, generous portions, and tasty mojitos!

Regarding Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island... Statue Cruises ferries (statuecruises.com) are the ONLY boats allowed to stop at Liberty Island and Ellis Island. Every other cruise/boat/ship company does a drive-by; it's a security issue. It's a little confusing... passes into the statue or up into the crown are free but you can only get them online when you purchase the Statue Cruise ferry fare ($12). SO... if you have a New York Pass, your ferry fare is already paid via the Pass, but if you want to go into the statue, you have to go online and purchase a ferry fare and statue pass for $12. In other words, you end up paying again. I encourage everyone to try and get a monument pass; it's just so incredible. My DD and DH did the crown pass a couple of years ago and it was amazing, but the hike up into the crown is strenuous. Also, be prepared to go through airport-like security before boarding the ferry and body scanning out on the island if you are going into the statue.

Do not misjudge the Met; it's not just pictures on a wall! There is an Egyptian section, with a tomb/pyramid to walk through, an armor section with full suits of armor, armored soldiers on armored horses, rooms full of statues, rooms filled with period furniture (so it's like looking into people's homes), etc.

Shows... TKTS in Times Square sells tickets on the day of the show for 20%-50% off the regular price. Sometimes this is a great deal, sometimes not so great , as they sell the best available seats... so 20% off middle orchestra for Mamma Mia is meh, whereas 50% off front mezzanine for Addams Family is great (and so was the show)! You will NOT see Wicked or Lion King tickets at TKTS, but most of the other Broadway shows sell tickets here, including Billy Elliot. TKTS sells tickets for both musicals and plays... if you are looking for play tickets, tell the line attendants as the play line is WAY shorter than the line for musicals! Another thing to try is going to the actual theaters in the early morning and getting rush tickets. Search online for Broadway rush ticket policies... some places take cash only, some are with student ID only, some are general rush, some lottery rush, and usually only 2 tickets per ID... but the prices cannot be beat. We got in line at 9:20am at the Hirschfeld, box office opened at 10, and we ended up with tickets in the 5th row to see Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette in "How to Succeed in Business..." for $30 a seat!

I have mixed feelings about the open-top bus tours during the daytime; it seems like people spend the majority of their time sitting in traffic. However, the evening tours are a different story! SO much fun to be in the top of a bus, up among the lights of Times Square, cruising through Chinatown, across the Manhattan Bridge, looking at the night-time skyline of Manhattan from Brooklyn. Several companies do this... search online for a slight discount on tickets.

Tours we enjoyed included "Food on Foot," Radio City Music Hall, and NBC Studios tour. Tickets for Letterman have an age minimum and are hard to get, and Saturday Night Live tickets are available by lottery, held in the month of August for the following 12 months.