Im thinking about going to visit New York with a friend do you think staying in a hostel is ok?

Question

Ive never been to New York and im dying to go. Dont have alot of money so im trying to enjoy myself with the lil i do have. Have anyone stayed in a hostel before? Whats the ups and downs and do you know if any good ones in New York around everything?

Answer 1

The Hostel on W 104 and Amsterdam is clean and fine. It's close to the W 103 Street Subway stop for the 1 train. If you get an unlimited subway pass $27, then you can travel in all 4 borough: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Bronx. I live around the Hostel, it's about 15-20 minutes from Time Square. Very convenient. Walking around at night is fine, as long as you avoid walking pass 125 to Harlem. Anything below 125 is very safe. If you are walking, walk on Broadway, more people! (It's one street over from Amsterdam, where the subway station is)

Most of the time:

Uptown means going north, for example if you are at Time Square and want to go to the Hostel, you will take the Uptown 1 local train to the W103 stop.

Downtown means going south, for example if you are at the W103 stop going from the Hostel to Time Square, you will take the Downtown 1 train.

Important: sometimes when a train is call uptown, they will curve over to Queens, like the E train!

If you are going from JFK airport, you will take the E train downtown, to Brooklyn! It will stop in Manhattan and then go to Brooklyn.

If you are going from Manhattan to JFK, you will take the Uptown E train, which origins from Brooklyn, stopping in Manhattan and then curves to Queens.

You can get subway maps at this site:
http://mta.info/

Answer 2

I live in NYC. I have friends who have stayed at the Hostel on Amsterdam around 104th street in Manhattan. It is clean and has tour ideas for all of Manhattan. I highly recommend it. The only downside of this hostel is that walking north of the hostel at night isn't so safe for a woman alone, but it should be fine for a man or for two friends together.