what budget should i plan for a week stay?

Do you want to discover New York during your next vacation but are you afraid you don’t have the budget to offer yourself this trip? No problem, through this article we help you define how much you need to plan!

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First of all, like any destination, New York can be very expensive if you choose to go there in luxury conditions, but also affordable when you know how to make the right choices to keep costs down. From flight to accommodation, through food, transport, visits or even shopping, there are many factors to take into consideration in order to be able to better estimate what the final price of your stay will be, it’s up to you to define your expectations and your main goals of this trip to look for activities and places that best suit them. Fortunately, United States Tourism Ambassador, a company specializing in organizing travel to New York, is there to advise you! The organization is selling 5 passes (Sightseeing Day Pass, Go City, The New York Pass, Sightseeing Flex Pass, CityPASS). Some offer access to cultural visits and others even include transportation for unlimited sightseeing.

When to leave?

The first thing to keep in mind, even before booking airline tickets, is to find out about the best time to plan a trip to New York. Obviously, the prices of flights and hotels vary according to the time of year, but know that the cheapest season runs from January to March, and more precisely from January 15th to March 11th. In fact, the greatest tourist attendance is observed during the school holidays, i.e. Easter, summer, but also on the occasion of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.

As regards the prices of tickets departing from France, and in particular from Paris, they can vary significantly. Indeed, some round trips can be paid 400 euros per person, which is quite a reasonable amount for a journey of more than 7 hours of flight, while others will be put online up to 1500 or even 2000 euros per person. Here too everything is a question of class, airline category, period, direct or stopover flight, etc…

Ditto for the accommodation that you will book on site to sleep during your stay. Whether it’s a hotel or an Airbnb, accommodation is a significant part of a travel budget, especially in heavily touristed areas like New York. Like many major cities in the world, the first price will be 90 euros per night with an average rate of 200-250 euros per night and up to several thousand euros per night for 5-star hotels. As with airline tickets, prices vary from month to month and it is not uncommon to find a room for 150 euros out of season, and to pay 250 to 300 euros for the same room in high season.

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Limit expenses

To get around and explore the city, the cheapest solution is necessarily to buy an unlimited metro card valid for one week for only 32 euros per person. But this is not the only option! It is also possible to opt for the legendary yellow taxis, available 24 hours a day in Manhattan and which can be very practical if you want to avoid walking too much. It obviously depends on the distance travelled, but in general their fare varies between 8 and 10 euros. To go further, take the green cabs which go to areas where the yellow cabs don’t go.

As for food, being in the hotel, you really won’t have any choice but to eat out and for a week at a rate of three times a day (twice if breakfast is included in your booking), it can get crypto fast. But again it is a difficult point to determine because some may settle for a 3 euro hot dog while others prefer 200 euro meals in a very good restaurant. Just know that a breakfast in a Starbucks costs from 5 to 6 euros per person for a coffee and a pastry and that eating in a fast-food restaurant varies on average from 8 to 10 euros for a second course, a drink and a dessert. In small restaurants, a dish generally costs from 10 to 12 euros and a complete meal from 20 to 25 euros. Be careful though, there are many establishments with menus between 50 and 60 euros.

What overall budget?

Those who’ve been there before will tell you that you don’t have to be a billionaire to spend a week in New York. 2,000 euros may be enough for you to fly there with your partner for an unforgettable stay despite limited expenses. The ideal is to start with a balance a total of from 2,200 to 2,500 euros for a couple. To have fun without counting too much and live the American dream to the fullest, it is advisable to organize your trip with an envelope of at least 4,000 euros.

Credit: Luca Bravo

That said, by doing it well in advance and comparing all the options, it is possible to spend a week in the Big Apple without breaking the bank, and in particular thanks to theUnited States Tourism Ambassador. This organization’s mission is to make travel to New York easier, for example by offering good deals and email promotions on hotels, flights and New York Passes so you don’t miss out on anything instantly!