5 tips for a cheap trip to New York

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1 / For the plane

• The best way to find an inexpensive flight to New York is to start as early as possible, when companies start to fill their planes. A study carried out by an airline ticket comparator thus indicated that the best prices were generally available 8 months before the date of the flight. But all this remains a study: it is impossible to predict the prices that the airlines will offer. Because everything depends on their fillings.
• There is still one constant: prices are necessarily higher during school holidays than out of season. It’s up to you to see if you can adapt to this imperative.
• Also watch out for price trends since the announcement of the reopening of borders in November 2021: demand for New York is exploding and airlines know it… They will obviously make sure to optimize fillings and prices. Better to book as soon as possible because the last minutes can be expensive!

2 / For the hotel

• After the plane, the hotel is the other big expense of a trip to New York. However, you should know that hotels also change their prices according to their occupancy: suddenly, the most interesting prices are also available when you do it in advance.
• You must also absolutely have the reflex to compare between reservation sites, such as the giant Booking, and the hotel site itself. The hotels can in fact keep rooms for themselves or offer exclusive special offers, whether it is a percentage of reduction or free breakfasts. You can find this out by browsing the websites of the hotels that appear in our guide to hotels in New York. The trend for hotels is indeed to want to attract customers directly and that can benefit you!

3 / For visits

• Once there, you are bound to want to see New York’s must-see places, such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building, the September 11, 2001 museum or the Top of the Rock observatory. It is therefore necessary to plan a budget for these excursions! And New York has in store for you an excellent surprise and a way to save money: the passes! There are 7 different, as you will see in the section dedicated to New York passes, but their principle is the same: it is a package that grants you an overall reduction on your visits. All the passes will allow you to save money, this is their sole purpose!
• The most famous pass is the New York CityPASS which includes 6 visits, including the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building, the September 11, 2001 museum or the Top of the Rock. If you accumulate the normal price of each entry, you will arrive well above the price of the pass.
• Another star pass: the New York Explorer Pass. This time, you choose a specific number of visits. On site, you can then visit the places included in the pass, within the limit of the number of visits chosen. No need to pre-plan your visits – just show your pass at each entry, depending on what you choose to visit.
• The 7 passes do not work the same way and you can find the pass that suits you best by browsing the section dedicated to New York passes.

4 / For transport

• To get around New York, you are going to have to buy the weekly Unlimited Ride MetroCard from the MTA, the New York transport authority, and I advise you not to save on this because you risk regret it: I saw the case on the forum of a tourist who preferred to pay for each metro trip and who, in the end, found himself paying more than if he had taken a MetroCard entry.
  But, if you stay more than 7 days, you can still optimize your weekly card according to your day of arrival and according to your activities.
• The 7-Day Unlimited MetroCard is effectively valid for 7 days from the first validation of the card. Thus, if you arrive on a Saturday and leave the following Sunday but you validate your Metrocard on Saturday, it will only be valid until Friday … You will therefore miss 2 days of transport and you will have to buy tickets at unity. A good plan is to buy the MetroCard on the day you arrive but not to use it on the first day. When you arrive, just take a walk around your hotel. Anyway, after 8 hours of flight and 6 hours of jet lag, it is better to book for the rest! The next day, you can then validate your card, depending on the planned visits. If your hotel is in Times Square, you can save a day of transportation by planning a day exploring Midtown on foot.
• If you want to use the Hop-on Hop-off tourist lines, also make sure you don’t duplicate them: it would be a shame to pay for the tourist bus and the MetroCard on the same day …

5 / For meals

• It’s not all about visiting, you also have to eat! But good news: New York is full of solutions for eating well and inexpensively. I won’t tell you about the infamous Mac Burger and King Do fast food chains because New York has a lot more to offer! For a burger, prefer local chains, like Shake Shack and Five Guys.
• If you want to eat more balanced, push the door of delis, kinds of small grocery stores where you can buy dishes by weight. It’s convenient and economical because you only pay for what you want to eat. In addition, it will allow you to eat in a balanced way.
• For a quick lunch, head to the food court in Grand Central Terminal or the Chelsea Market to devour a hot dog or a slice of pizza. If you are a fan of Asian cuisine, head to Chinatown and its inexpensive stalls.
• To complete, take a look at this list of good, quick and inexpensive addresses.

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