Help planning a not too expensive vacation to NYC.?

Question

I have never been to NY and I am trying to get there and do the tourist thing, hit some museums, a few clubs, everything and anything. Need assistance with places to stay and eat and all:)

Answer 1

There are inexpensive options in good areas in Manhattan. The New York Times recommended The Gershwin Hotel. They said it is very clean. The $40 and $50 rooms have bunk beds and you have to share a bathroom. It's on East 27th Street. I would definitely take this option over going into New Jersey. At a New York hotel, you can go back for a shower, change of clothes, drop off packages or to take a nap. You are not going to go into New Jersey for any of that. And, I doubt that you can find a cheaper place than this in Jersey. You can see pictures of the rooms.
http://gershwinhotel.com/english/site1.html

You can get a double room at the Chelsea Lodge for $119 a night (private shower). Chelsea's a good area - it's between Times Square and Greenwich Village. There are some excellent, inexpensive restaurants in Chelsea. See the photos and rates:
http://www.chelsealodge.com/index.html

For inexpensive restaurant suggestions, see Yahoo Answers - Dining - United States - New York City.

There are many, many free and very inexpensive things to do in New York.
You can take a ferry ride (free) and see the Statue of Liberty and get a great view of the New York skyline. You can go to the Sony Wonder Lab on Madison Avenue (free). See an inexpensive Off Broadway or Off-Off Broadway show (some of them are excellent and cost less than $15). Have some french fried potatoes at Pommes Frites in the East Village - have you ever been to a French Fry store - a place that sells nothing but the best fries. If you're downtown near Battery Park, sit on a bench near the river and watch the people (I love to watch the dogs play). Then, go to the Financial Center and go to Custard Beach and hope they are serving Creme Brulee ice cream that day. Best ice cream in the world. If you are a fan, visit Winnie-the-Pooh. Seriously, the original Winnie-the-Pooh was a gift from the Milne family and is on display at the Donnell Library on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth (across the street from MOMA and around the corner from the Museum of Television and Radio - a vi; you can spend an entire day there; cost is under $10.00.http://www.ny.com/museums/mtr.html)... You are only three blocks from Rockefeller Center, St Patrick's Cathedral and upscale Fifth Avenue shops.

Eat something entirely new and different in the East Village. Get a real New York dinner at Grey's Papaya (two delicious hotdogs and a tropical juice for $3.00). . Go to the Time-Warner building and look at all the expensive stores where you can never afford to shop. There's a great place at Sanyo - all sorts of interactive exhibits - you can use their computers, cell phones, etc. You can also sit on a comfortable seat and watch a movie on a large screen tv. Then, you can take all that money that you've saved and shopping in Chinatown and buy cheap knockoff scarves and pocketbooks

Answer 2

If you want to stay in Manhattan, I'd try a youth hostel (some are only open to foreigners, but not all) or the YMCA.

You can stay outside Manhattan as others suggest, but you'd really be missing out, in my opinion.

My favorite eating places in NYC are generally a bit off the beaten path, hard to describe. But it's hard to go wrong in Little Italy (just north of Canal Street). I prefer ethnic restaurants in the neighborhoods, and try to avoid mid-town. Greenwich Village and the surrounding area has better ambiance, but may be pricier than it's worth. There's great Carribean, Ethiopian and other ethnic restaurants uptown.

Answer 3

Impossible--like trying to book a ski vacation to Florida.

To get cheap hotels you have to sta yin very disgusting places. MY advice is that you SHOULD visit NYC but you have to be prepared to spend ridiculous prices. It still will probably be worth it though.

Cheaper hoters that are decent would be..

1. The Helmsely
2. Fitxpatricks Grand Central
3. The Millenimum
4. Hotel Pennselyvania but it is quite dumpy but great location.

Other tips are to eat off at markets or pizza joints and avoid the trendy way overpriced restaurants.

Answer 4

try lookin for a hotel in brooklyn, to keep your trip low and on budget like in brooklyn heights (could be expensive), park slope, boerum street or downtown brooklyn. You can take the train to all of the touristy places, like canal street (6, N, R, W, M lines) from brooklyn and its prob. less than 20minutes.

Always cheap to eat in chinatown for about 5 bux. Try bubble tea, at one of the cafes on mott street, eat an egg custard at a local chinese bakery. Go to lombardi's on mott street (little italy)for yummy crusty pizza. Also, on elizabeth street, try cafe habana for cuban sandwiches and grilled corn, it is reallly good!

worth looking around: go to 59st and lexington, bloomingdales, madison avenue, broadway and and west broadway (soho), museums, comedy clubs around mcdougal street, also lots of bars and clubs and ludlow street (lower east side)

A word of advice: if you do plan to shop on canal street, bargain! If you plan to rent a car and drive around, feeding the meter is a must, and if you're unsure what meter to put your quarters in, it's usually the meter at the front of your car, otherwise you end up feeding someone else's meter, and come back with a ticket on your windshield.
ENjoy!

Answer 5

I think not too expensive and NYC is an oxymoron, but good luck with that. I'm interested in how to do things cheap in NYC too.

Answer 6

Well i've never beent to New York, but i do know that you can try staying somewhere outside the city like New Jersey... it would be way cheaper and you wouldnt be too far away

Answer 7

I agree , You can even stay in brooklyn