NYC on a budget...

Hi,

My sweetie and I are giving ourselves a trip to NYC for Christmas - we%26#39;re going to be travelling between Dec. 27 - 30 and need some advice. We%26#39;re both starving students who would love to experience the big apple on a budget. Are there any like-minded travellers with advice on places to stay (and maybe one night in a more fancy place), cheap ways to get around the city, good food, interesting (%26amp;free?) attractions!?

Thanks for any help we can get,

cheers, jane

NYC on a budget...

hostels or the Y for lodging

www.ymcanyc.org

www.hostels.com/us.ny.ny.html

you%26#39;re coming at one of the busiest most expensive times of the year

NYC on a budget...

The cheapest way to get around the city is by foot. Second to that, get an unlimited MetroCard for each day (if you plan on taking more than 3 rides each day) for use on subway and buses. Cabs are expensive, and during the holidays there can be a lot of traffic getting through the main parts of town.

Good food: check out the East Village, Lower East Side. Chinatown is a good bet for fun, inexpensive meals. If you%26#39;re interested in trying a more upscale place go for lunch instead of dinner. Cheap breakfasts can be bought at the many sidewalk carts: coffee, bagels (not the best, but they%26#39;re cheap!), other pastries, and fruit. Also, servings tend to be large here, so look into sharing entrees, splitting dessert.

You%26#39;ll be here while most of the Xmas attractions are still going strong. Check out the windows of the department stores and the tree at Rockefeller Center. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a suggested donation, so feel free to pay the student rate (in fact, investigate any museums you%26#39;d like to visit to see if they have a student rate). Central Park is free to visit, and something you shouldn%26#39;t miss.

Do a search on these boards for ';cheap'; and ';free.'; Many posters have had great success at putting together fun, inexpensive visits. It looks like your biggest concern/expense will be lodging. I%26#39;d get that settled first.

My advice;don%26#39;t even try to stay in NYC on a starving students budgets. There are plenty of reasonable places in,for instance,Jersey City. You travel in and out of the city by PATH train. It%26#39;s not as convenient but much cheaper than the hotels here and from what I%26#39;ve seen,the hostels here are awful.A little bit of distance from the city will get you better lodgings.

As for restaurants-where else?Chinatown of course. And ethnic restaurants in Manhattan. And outside Manhattan too. One of my favorite places to eat is Flushing. Every kind of cuisine and you just take the number 7 train.

How do you get around-subway. Unlimited Metro passes are a bargain..

Jersey City might be cheaper than Manhattan but the ';nicer'; hotels in Jersey City (Marriott, Doubletree, Candlewood Suites, and Hyatt) aren%26#39;t exactly priced for starving students

Haven%26#39;t I read somewhere there is free ice skating. Is it Bryant Park?

Walking is free too - we did a lot of that in October - have fun

My Sweetie and I are off to Stockholm for New Year - would have like to come back to NYC but hubbie said it was far too soon.

Have fun

CathyC

Jane, I hope 1 of you is over 21, otherwise you may have a problem with a hotel. The Ys have some private rooms. The Vanderbilt Y and the Westside Y both get good reviews here and I think a private room is around $75/night. Since you%26#39;re coming during the holiday, another idea is to find an apartment from someone who%26#39;ll be away. I%26#39;d check

newyork.craigslist.com

but please be careful and don%26#39;t give strangers all the money up front.

Here%26#39;s a website from NY Magazine on cheap everything from food to shopping

nymetro.com/cheap

There are TONS of free things. Here are just 2 websites with lists

鈥llinfoabout.com/features/freebies050802.ht鈥?/a>

gonyc.about.com/cs/freestuff/a/aa040902a.htm

My favorite website for this is Cheapo Travel!

www.cheapotravel.com/ny

Here%26#39;s a great previous post about travelling ';with an eye for a bargain.';

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k287298-鈥?/a>

Here%26#39;s a great pair of posts: a ';before'; plan and an ';after'; report by a person on a very-thin-shoestring budget! Impressive!

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k246077-鈥?/a>

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k324070-鈥?/a>

Both of the Smithsonian Institution museums in New York (the Cooper-Hewitt on Fifth Ave in the 90%26#39;s, and the branch of the National Museum of the American Indian at Bowling Green), are free -- ditto the Staten Island ferry whose terminal is behind the latter.

Thanks again everybody. I think we%26#39;re going to book into the carlton on madison ave - i got us a really good price (astonishingly enough, only $40 more than for the 2 of us to stay at the YMCA!!)

keep the entertainment suggestions coming! I think we%26#39;ll do:

- Statan Island Ferry,

- Self-guided tour of Central Park and the Central train station

- Skating in Central Park - it%26#39;s free isn%26#39;t it??

- A (single) drink at the Rainbow Room Grill,

- Possibly rush or standing room ticket to broadway show (Any suggestions for a great one to see with a 23 year old who doesn%26#39;t necessarily like musicals - he did LOVE wicked when he bought me tix for the Toronto show)

Thanks again, you guys rock!!

cheers, jane