New York City

Im looking at travelling to the States some time next year, my first trip abroad alone, and New York is the place i'd love to visit

Anyone thats been can you recommend a good hotel/ place to fly from and how much in terms of ££ im gonna be looking at needing

It’s a dump don’t bother.

Cheers for that Whicker's World.

Quoted from Hagrid

Im looking at travelling to the States some time next year, my first trip abroad alone, and New York is the place i'd love to visit

Anyone thats been can you recommend a good hotel/ place to fly from and how much in terms of ££ im gonna be looking at needing

You can check out the price on the sites below, don't forget to have some holiday insurance, we don't want to do a crowdfunding to get you home.

Skyscanner for flights  https://www.skyscanner.net/

Travel Republic for Hotels  https://www.travelrepublic.co......BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I have been a few times as my daughter lived there for a few years, stayed in Manhattan but can be very noisy even in a decent hotel, we stayed in Hoboken once which is just across the river and technically New Jersey but  still connected to the subway and really liked the comparative quiet and great view of the Manhattan skyline. As a tip and a great way to catch your first view of New York I would say catch a train in from the airport to Grand Central Station, a fantastic old station with a catch your breath moment when you walk out and see the scale of the skyscrapers outside. Also catch the Statten Island ferry, it’s free and gives a great view of the Statue of Liberty. Go early if you want to go up the Empire State Building as you get long queues. Central Park is a great park with great walks and always lots going on, go and see Chinatown, and the Greenwich village area. Yellow cabs are cheap but they like everyone there expect a tip. Don’t listen to Humbercod(as if anyone would) New York is a great City especially if you have a good itinerary. Also we never felt unsafe there

We spent 10 days in NYC this past Feb and it was far more costly than previous visits.

It’s an incredible city and I don’t want to put you off but it’s hideously expensive at times. But then so is London, Paris etc but the £/$ exchange rate isn’t great at the moment.

It’s the tipping that bites. We were tipping 20% and still getting dirty looks. I have friends who’ve been chased down the street for tipping less than that.

Bars -
- Cocktail bars - most are getting to $20 (+tax+tip) for an admittedly brilliant drink. A couple of sprit forward, craft cocktails and you’ll be struggling to see anyway.  
- Normal beer bars - cheaper outside Manhattan but somewhere like the famous McSorleys in East Village is $6 a beer + tax + tip. In general you’ll be $8-$10+t+t
- Put the word ‘Craft’ in front of any beer and you’re looking at at least $10+t+t.
- Wine - insanely expensive, even for US wines

Food -
- Again, it’s the tipping that hurts, as you’re adding generous tips on to London base prices
- In general, the unhealthier the food, the less expensive it is. Asian food tends to buck this trend.
- For instance, somewhere like the recommended, ten location chain, Xi’an Famous Foods does Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles for $8 a bowl and tipping is actually discouraged by management there
- If you go out to somewhere like Flushing (Queens), the Asian food will be cheaper still.
- A burger place, like Burger Joint is $9+t+t or Shake Shack $8.
- I’d steer clear of European food in NYC as it tends to be poor, expensive and, as much as it disgusts Humbercod, Europe is only a budget flight away from us so you might as well save your money for the real thing.

Sights:
- Empire State Building - at least $45. Personally I prefer the view from The Top of The Rock or the new experience of Summit One Vanderbilt (similar prices) and you can see the iconic ESB from there
- Statue of Liberty - $50
- The Met - $25
- Obviously, the more tourist stuff you do, the more your drachma will deplete.

Transport:
- Taxis are expensive. JFK to Manhattan is about $60 once you add on tips, baggage etc
- The subway is actually fairly cheap but scary in places. Any public service or public funded service in the US that isn’t profitable is generally left to decay like Blundell Park.
- Staten Island Ferry - free!

Personally, a lot of my favourite days in NYC have been spent wandering around the streets for free, taking it all in.

Places like The High Line and the Bushwick graffiti streets are free.

I would advise staying near (or even visiting) Times Square. It’s more expensive and a complete dump. I’d stay in the East Village, Lower East Side, Brooklyn or Queens if you don’t mind taking the subway.

There’s some great tips from Codcheeky there.

Central Park and Grand Central are free and ‘must sees’.

If you stand on any street corner for a couple of minutes you’re bound to see something bizarre or memorable.

thank you guys!

Its a bloody year away but i'm extremely excited, think i best start saving a bit more though

Quoted from Knut Anders Fosters Voles

If you stand on any street corner for a couple of minutes you’re bound to see something bizarre or memorable.

A giant Rat the size of a small dog springs to mind😲

Quoted from Humbercod

A giant Rat the size of a small dog springs to mind😲

I thought comments about Boris were on another thread.