Hello New Yorkers!

I am very excited about my two-week trip to NYC in November. This is the very first time I have a planned a trip on my own, just for myself, and I suddenly realize that I have NO idea how much to set aside for a daily budget. I realize this is a bit of an impossible question, but I'd appreciate a rough idea. (Or should that be a ballpark figure, since I'll be in the US?)

To tell you a bit about myself and the kind of trip I'd like to have: I'm not wealthy, but I am not a backpacker, and am MOSTLY interested in getting the flavor of the city and its people. I LOVE food, but believe excellence is to be found anywhere from a hot dog to an haute cuisine feast, so I have no agendas there. Finally, I enjoy shopping as much as the next woman but this won't be a shopping trip, and I won't be scouring NYC for famous label bargains.

OK, so... do your worst. I'm expecting some wild variations in quoted budgets, but I figure that if I aim somewhere in the middle-to-high end of the estimates I should be OK.

Thanks,
Sally

P.S. On a completely different subject: I am a lifelong, ardent lover of the art form known as tap, and it's always been a dream of mine to go to a tap club. However, I've just been told by a former New Yorker that tap clubs don't exist any more. Is this true?

My idea of a "tap club" is a bar with a good beer selection, so hopefully someone else can help you there.

Here's what you need to think:

Hotel - by far your biggest expense. $150/night should give you plenty of lower-end but decent options, from budget hotels to Priceline for bigger hotels.

Transportation - Take the subway and buses exclusively, and you'll only pay $24 a week in unlimited Metrocards.

Food - You'll have lots of options if you say $5 for breakfast, $10 for lunch, $15 for dinner; so that's $30/day.

Going out at night - This is where things can get very expensive, in the city of $6 beers. Don't know what you're intending there, but assume $6 beers and $10 cocktails.

Admissions - I'd set aside $20 a day for tourist attractions.

Shopping, theater tickets, etc - That one's up to you!

Do you mean tap dancing when you ask about "tap clubs"? If so do a goggle search for "tap dancing New York City".

LOL! Yes! Tap dancing clubs.

And thanks so much, Red. That's a good starting point.

Red, your first reply is why you were missed so much!!

Sally, I find when I travel I only have 2 meals a day. I do try to stay somewhere that I can buy a qt of orange juice for the fridge, bread or pastrie, cheese, fruit, and maybe yogurt. That would take care of a light breakfast, lunch or dinner if I preferred to put my money elsewhere.

You could be me from your description of what you want from your trip! I advise not to have a hot dog from the cart outside the Guggenheim! Wait for Grey Papaya's or the Shake Shack for good junk food. Have a blast.

Thanks, Salsa! That's a great suggestion.

I absolutely can't wait. Last time I was in NYC I was six years old (yes! six!) and it was so amazing that I still have memories.

Cheers, everyone!

Red had some very good suggestions, Id like to add a couple.

First, you could pay 12 bucks for an egg salad sammich , or go down the street and you'll find a place that has a 10 dollar chicken cutlet lunch special, that they started serving last week, that'll knock your socks off. The moral: ask the people in the area that you're visiting, when you're visiting.

Second, be careful of the tourist traps... Tavern on the Green has a nice view, but thats about it. I ate a better Porter-house at Outbacks and it was a lot less expensive. Oh, and the Brooklyn Diner, aint nutin like a real Bruklyn Diner.

Third, there are less expensive hotels outside of Manhattan, that are clean and in decent neighborhoods: the tradeoff is travel time. If you want to do a little research, and dont mind a little more travelling, you could save 20 to 50 bucks off of what red said and add another couple of attractions to your itinerary.

And Last you want the best way to get around in NYC: its walking, start stretching now. Walking is also the best way to find all the stuff we hide from the tourists . Trains stall, parking is through the roof, buses break down, but youre legs will get you there every time.

Have fun, Howie

I think you can find cheaper hotel in the Jersey City and travel to the Manhattan.
Also when you go to visit a NY museums you'll be able to pay only 1$ for a entering because in a some museums they have recommended price but you can pay lower price but in that case you cann't visit some part of a museum but still you will be able to visit almost all the museum. When I was in the Museum of Natural History I payed only a 1$ and I couldn't visit buterfly part.
Also you can save some money if you buy something for eat on a street, like chicken kebob. (the best chicken kebob I have eaten at the corner between 6th Av and 55th street near the Hilton Hotel)

P.S.
My English is not so good but I hope that you can undarstand

You didn't say whether you'd found a place to stay at yet, hope you found one. I just read your thread. But I was going to suggest a local in Manhattan, on the UWS I rented from in April 2005, if you're alone, she has a great 1 br w/bathroom for $65 per night. She may have gone up, but it would be far less than the less expensive hotels in Manhattan.

I'll be glad to forward you to her if you'll e-mail me at jeffreysmith@triad.rr.com.
Jeff

Hi everyone,

I've just realized that I never headed back here to thank you all for the wonderful advice you gave me before my trip to NYC last year. (Sorry Jeff - by the time you posted I was gone!)

Man oh man. I had the most incredible three weeks of my life and fell deeply in love with the place. Astonishingly, arriving in NYC felt like a homecoming, and I knew soon as I arrived that I would need to return regularly for the rest of my life.

I found New Yorkers to be an incredible bunch who (and everyone is surprised when I say this) weren't just personable, but charming and welcoming. Even in the swankiest art gallery in The Village, where I was shown around the different installations and the curator spent 20 minutes explaining a piece to me. Unreal.

I didn't visit The Statue of Liberty, I didn't go on a Sex in the City Tour, I didn't go shopping (although I somehow managed to bring back - gulp - 33 CDs!), but I came back proud to have been given the title of Honorary New Yorker by a dear friend, a native one. Museum Mile was mother's milk, as was the jewel that is the Public Library; going on the Staten Island ferry at night made me cry, visiting record shops on Bleecker Street made me giggle with glee, and St John the Divine was, despite renovations, divine; Arthur Street reminded me of certain parts of Buenos Aires, and yes! - the best hot dogs are at Gray's Papaya. But other than time spent with my beautiful native New Yorker friend, my favourite times were the ones when I was just walking the streets, or sitting in a café or diner, writing in my travel journal and watching and listening.

I hope it's not too long before I can get my next fix of what I now agree is surely "the greatest city in the world". (Which reminds me - next time, Letterman!)

Loved your post Sally, thanks for checking back and telling us all about your trip.

I recently traveled to NYC and had arranged to do a temporary (weekend-long) sublease. Bad idea. So I was stuck at the last minute finding a hotel. I really hit the jackpot on location and price with the Econolodge near Times Square. While the touristy area wasn't my favorite, it did put me very close to transportation. Plus, the hotel isn't on a main street which makes it pretty quiet. I paided under $200 a night for a very small, but very clean room. It has been recently updated and serves a typical light breakfast (pretty average, but helps save on costs as well).