Everything & Anything New York City

bb69

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Hot dog off a cart $3.

McDonalds prices similar to UK. Deli choices everywhere. Order in a pizza for a cheap evening meal.

(Personally I'd do at least a couple of special meals).

The thing I found tougher was buying soft drinks cheaply. If anybody has any tips on buying multiple cans / bottles 250ml - 500ml sizes cheaply in NYC please. I got eight cans of Pepsi for £2 in Tesco the other day. Where can I stock up at this sort of price next time I'm in New York?

Research where your nearest TD Bank ATM is. It's about the only one that won't charge you if you need to withdraw cash.

Hi go to Duane Read (or alternative chemist) for soft drinks etc.. You can buy a huge bottle at least 2.5 litres of something fizzy for $2-3 or so, you can also stock up on water and snacks etc there. Some larger stores have really good choices for groceries.

Also I like to go to D'agostino supermarkets but Duane Read is virtually everywhere

PeacefulWaters

bb69 wrote: »

Hi go to Duane Read (or alternative chemist) for soft drinks etc.. You can buy a huge bottle at least 2.5 litres of something fizzy for $2-3 or so, you can also stock up on water and snacks etc there. Some larger stores have really good choices for groceries.

Also I like to go to D'agostino supermarkets but Duane Read is virtually everywhere

Cheers. We did use them and, as you say, they were fine for the giant bottles. It was the individually sized cans and bottles that we wanted though.

Claremac wrote: »

Re the TD Bank - does it depend on which card you are using in them whether you get charged a fee? I'm planning on taking my Halifax Clarity and my Fairfx $ currency card. Will either Halifax or Fairfx charge?

Most ATMs charge a fee for competitor card withdrawals, typically $1.75. TD don't and are well represented.

dreambirdie

i am heading to nyc in nov and have a few questions regarding spending money.


i don't know how much to bring in actual dollars and how much to keep available on my card


i am hoping to have around £700/£800 saved up this is for 4 nights/ 5 days


but don't know how much to exchange here and bring over in actual cash? i don't know how safe i would feel leaving money in the hotel room and obviously don't want to be walking around during the day with a lot of cash on me.


my current account has a maestro card but next month they are changing all maestro cards to MasterCard and the lady in the bank told me these are more widely accepted.


any ideas?

PeacefulWaters

dreambirdie wrote: »

i don't know how much to bring in actual dollars and how much to keep available on my card

i am hoping to have around £700/£800 saved up this is for 4 nights/ 5 days

To be fair, it's an individual judgement call.

In the same position I'd take around $300 in local currency to cover taxi fare, tips and places that don't accept my card. Then rely on cards for the rest.

i don't know how safe i would feel leaving money in the hotel room

I never leave cash or cards in a hotel room. But most will have a safe.

my current account has a maestro card but next month they are changing all maestro cards to MasterCard and the lady in the bank told me these are more widely accepted.

Ok, be careful about relying on one card. Have a plan A, plan B and plan C! If your card is declined or blocked you will have a problem.

Take a read of this:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money

Credit card is probably the way forwards with your current account card in reserve. I'd suggest trying to get two credit cards with different banks, including Halifax Clarity.

Look to pay for goods on card and minimise cash withdrawals. When you do draw cash find your nearest TD Bank ATM as they don't charge a fee. Most others do.

M4RKM

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Newark is cheaper to travel in to NYC from, and I think there's a cheapish public transport option.

So we ended up paying $70 each way, including tip, for a taxi to / from JFK.

Newark is by far the most expensive to get to NYC from especially by Taxi or Car Service.
The Public Transportation option from Newark is $12, and from JFK it is $7.50.

Depending on where you're staying in NYC depends on which is the best option for an airport to fly in to, which people normally don't consider.

chadders1966

I'm off to New York for a couple of weeks in July, starting to think about what I'm going to do (I like to plan in advance). It will be my 6th trip, and I've realised I have never spent much time outside of Manhattan so will be looking to spend more time in the other Boroughs. I'm staying at the Andaz Wall Street so quite handy for Brooklyn at least.
I enjoy museums, art galleries, churches, synagogues, architecture etc. Not that interested in shopping or nightlife although I like to explore different areas and sample a bit of everything. Any suggestions from anyone for places/areas to visit outside of Manhattan welcome. Off the top of my head I've been to the zoo and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, Flushing Meadows in Queens, Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn and nowhere in Staten Island.

John259

chadders1966 wrote: »

Any suggestions from anyone for places/areas to visit outside of Manhattan welcome.

How about a trip on the Hudson Line up to Poughkeepsie?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Line_(Metro-North)

poor_johno

John259 wrote: »

How about a trip on the Hudson Line up to Poughkeepsie?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Line_(Metro-North)

Have you been?

John259

poor_johno wrote: »

Have you been?

No, but judging by photographs from various sources and videos on YouTube it looks to be very scenic once you clear the NYC area and run alongside the river. I also had a look round Poughkeepsie station on StreetView, that also looks good. Obviously it would be great if someone else here who has actually done it could comment.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bear_Mountain_Bridge_from_below.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_c8C-0OcA4

https://www.google.co.uk/maps?ll=41.705596,-73.937709&spn=0.001452,0.00327&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=41.705602,-73.93759&panoid=xISdee-cw5dmq3NaxBDpOg&cbp=12,295.03,,0,2.66
Walk down the street from the station and there's a park alongside the river.

FWIW I have visited New York State further north up the river (including the Kingston area) - that was good.

poor_johno

John259 wrote: »

No, but judging by photographs from various sources and videos on YouTube it looks to be very scenic once you clear the NYC area and run alongside the river. I also had a look round Poughkeepsie station on StreetView, that also looks good. Obviously it would be great if someone else here who has actually done it could comment.

Yeah it looks really nice, great suggestion. I might do this on my next visit.