The first time I went to New York, I was a broke college student. I went on a “save-even-if-it’s-the-last-thing-you-do” trip and discovered that, despite the hardships, you can leave a trip to New York cheap. In this post, I try to share with you the tours I took around Big Apple and I hope to tell you what to do in New York while spending very little.
Cheap New York: save on food, travel and accommodation
To be able to do everything I wanted, it was important to save a lot on food and accommodation. In other words, my gastronomy tips could only include the famous fast food and their saviors dollar menus. And, if you don’t mind eating this rubbish for a few days, this tip is golden for those with little money: you can eat a complete “meal” for just three dollars. But, if you can’t even stand walking past a McDonalds (we understand the drama), be sure to check out some cool tips on where to eat well in New York without spending a fortune.
As for accommodation, I recommend the excellent HI New York, located on the Upper West Side: good room, clean bathroom and honest breakfast. What else to expect from a hostel? When it comes to transportation, the best option is the famous and ubiquitous subway, which in New York they call “train”. You may have that dream of stopping yellow taxis in the middle of a busy avenue, just like in the movies, but I need to warn you that the fare is quite high. Here we explain how to get around New York.
Plan your trip: Which region to stay in New York?
Attention: It is not a good idea to travel to the United States without international health insurance, as hospital costs there are very high. Read here how to find cost-effective insurance (and with a discount!)
Cool and cheap tours in New York
Walking tours around New York
Wandering the city streets is one of the coolest activities in the city, and the best part is that it doesn’t take a single dollar out of your wallet. It’s great, interesting and cheap to walk around New York. You can start with Times Square to see the movement of people, stores and lights. A Time Square is at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue. There are also theaters there and with any luck, at night, you can see some performance they put on to promote the real show.
It’s also cool to walk around the southernmost region of the island, in Lower Manhattan, as Chinatown, Soho, Tribeca (more “alternative” neighborhoods) and the Financial Districtwhere are the Wall Street and the Marco Zero, which is where the Twin Towers were. Be sure to walk the streets of the Upper East Side, like Fifth Avenue, which you may already be used to seeing in films and series. This is where the rich people and the city’s main designer stores are located.
And, of course, you can’t miss the famous Central Park. There are 3.4 km² of green area in the middle of the Big Apple. It’s where Americans go to distract themselves from the hustle and bustle of the big city, taking advantage of the park to run, ride bikes and roller skates, play football, or just sit on the grass and enjoy the day.
It’s cool to observe local daily life or to try to find places you think you’ve seen in movies. The view is also an attraction in itself, as there are several fountains, observatories and attractions for sports or art inside. And also for those who enjoy doing nothing.
Another place where you don’t spend anything other than the sole of your shoe is Ponte do Brooklyn, a bridge of about 500 meters that leads from Manhattan to Brooklyn and one of the oldest in the United States. In addition to the beautiful construction, the walk across the bridge yields great photos and an excellent view of the city. I just advise you to be careful with bicycles: I was run over by one while taking a photo. When you arrive in Brooklyn, continue your walk through Brooklyn Highs Promenade for more incredible views of the Manhattan skyline.
Another park that is worth a walk is the High Line Park, a suspended park in the middle of the city, which was built on an old train line. Today it serves as a meeting point, running track or just as a green space to take a break from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. It starts at 12th Street and goes up to 30th and has several access points along its length.
See the Statue of Liberty (from afar) without paying anything
The ferry that takes tourists to the island where the Statue of Liberty is located costs $25.50 per person. If you don’t want to go up to the crown and just want some good photos of the statue, however, you can take the free ferry to Staten Island, one of New York’s five boroughs. The ferry passes in front of the island, without stopping there, but it’s enough to take some good shots of this postcard. The Ferry left from Whitehall Terminal, which is in Lower Manhattan, close to Wall Street and the old World Trade Center. And arrives at the Staten Island St. George Terminal. It runs all day long, you can check the times on the city government website.
Read more about How to see the Statue of Liberty without spending anything
Opt for the cheapest Empire States Building ticket
The most traditional and classic tour in New York is the Empire State Building. The skyscraper is on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, and is the second largest building in New York (formerly smaller than the World Trade Center, nowadays smaller than the Freedom Tower, which they built in its place). The building has 102 floors.
It is possible to visit only until the deck main, on the 89th floor, which costs 25 dollars. To go to the top, on the 102nd floor, it costs 42 dollars. I really like heights and enjoying views of cities and I wanted to go to the top. I was deeply sorry. Firstly, because the view from the 89th floor is already impressive. Secondly, because at the top everything is surrounded by glass, so it doesn’t make a big difference, except that the photos look like crap with the glass in front. So, you can pay the cheapest ticket without fear.
Read this post to get a better idea of how much to spend in New York.
New York on the cheap: museums and other attractions have free days
New York has several museums. I chose to visit two well-known and important ones: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum. And I can say without a shadow of a doubt that they are interesting museums even for those who don’t really enjoy this type of tour. The first has a collection that ranges from Ancient Egypt to contemporary art without being boring for those who don’t know much about the subject.
The second is the one from the film Night at the Museum and has many interesting galleries about the history of the world and nature, from dinosaur bones to several different types of insects. Additionally, the Natural History Museum houses the Hayden Planetarium, the building with a model planet in the middle of a glass structure. The planetarium has exciting 3D attractions about the universe. I watched the session that told about the emergence of the Moon. It looked like the stars were forming less than a meter from my nose.
The tip for those who want to visit these and other museums in the city while spending very little is to pay attention to the schedule. Some museums, like MoMA, have a day of free visits (in this case, Friday, from 4pm to 8pm). The MET and the Natural History Museum do not charge entry, they only ask for a donation from visitors. In these cases, you can pay what your pocket allows.
How to see a Broadway show at a discount
Finally, another really cool attraction in the city is watching a Broadway show. I watched Phantom of the Opera, but I sat at the very back, I admit. Still, the show hasn’t lost any of its magic.
See too: How to Buy Cheap Broadway Tickets
We bought the ticket at a discount using a coupon available at the hostel, but if you type something like “Broadway cheap tickets” on Google, you can find other coupons. You can find out which plays are playing on the Broadway website. Some of them, like Fantasma, run for years.
Another tip is to leave it until the last minute. The TKTS box office sells remaining tickets for the day’s performances at good discounts from 3pm onwards, but get there early as there is often a queue and they may sell out for the show you want. The main TKTS office is in Times Square, but you can also buy your tickets in Brooklyn (Jay Street and Myrthe Avenue – 11am to 6pm) or Front Street and John Street (11am to 6pm).
