How much to take to NYC

mumbles87

Hello,

I saw an everything NYC thread at the top of the forum however I couldn't see if it had a guide to roughly how much spending money would be advisable to take.

We are going for 6 nights. Accommodation all booked and paid for so that isn't a cost I need to factor in. Also what is prepaid is the SUV transfer from the airport.

Anyways we have bought 7 day NYC passes to get us into all the attractions

I have got us two sim cards from ebay for USA usage which apparently need $15 on each to get free calls and txts between the two for a week (may be a month cant remember.. can someone confirm if this is correct?)

We also plan to get a weeks subway and buses pass which im told is roughly $29 so thats already $60 out of my budget before I have even done anything lol

However I was thinking about $500? would this be enough for the 6 days. We dont actually arrive in NYC until 12pm local time so wont get to our hotel until prob 2 or 3 (on the sat) then we leave late friday

One other thing need to budget for is Pay per view of the wrestle-mania as couldn't get tickets. so thats around $20

so really that brings me down to $400 to start the week with, all calls, travel and attractions paid for. Will the 400 Last or should I try and take just a little more? I do have a post office credit card which doesnt charge for abroad usage that i could use for shopping if ness

jpsartre

The Mania PPV is more like $60. If you're staying at a hotel you might want to check that PPV is available in your room. It should be more fun going to a bar that shows it anyway.

As far as how much to take, it's impossible to say as it all depends on what you want to do. Food options range from very cheap to very expensive so you could each eat for $10-15 a day and you could each eat for $300-400 a day. It's all up to you really.

mumbles87

jpsartre wrote: »

The Mania PPV is more like $60. If you're staying at a hotel you might want to check that PPV is available in your room. It should be more fun going to a bar that shows it anyway.

As far as how much to take, it's impossible to say as it all depends on what you want to do. Food options range from very cheap to very expensive so you could each eat for $10-15 a day and you could each eat for $300-400 a day. It's all up to you really.

as far as the PPV goes we have wifi in the room and my laptop is going to create a hotspot for all our devices.. so i can buy it on there. $60s tho! wow thanks for the heads up!!!! such a con its only £15-20 here

i know we wont eat costly as its a family trip and my family dont do OTT food wise.. eat on a budget where possible

going to do some research on restaurants this week

Meadows

This really depends on what else you plan to do and where you plan to eat. You can use delis etc. but Manhattan is not as cheap to eat as many other places would be in America.

We tend (or rather me) go out and bring back something for breakfast, maybe grab a bite to eat if hungry through out the day or have Buffalo Wings in a bar and then go to a restaurant in the evening, or if we had the main meal in the day time then stop off at a deli for something to take back to the room.

Word of warning if you go to a deli that does hot/cold food that you can select and put in plastic lidded tray then unlike the UK they weigh and charge per weight so if you fill the tray thinking you pay per pot then you will get a shock at the checkout :eek:

mumbles87

Meadows wrote: »

This really depends on what else you plan to do and where you plan to eat. You can use delis etc. but Manhattan is not as cheap to eat as many other places would be in America.

We tend (or rather me) go out and bring back something for breakfast, maybe grab a bite to eat if hungry through out the day or have Buffalo Wings in a bar and then go to a restaurant in the evening, or if we had the main meal in the day time then stop off at a deli for something to take back to the room.

Word of warning if you go to a deli that does hot/cold food that you can select and put in plastic lidded tray then unlike the UK they weigh and charge per weight so if you fill the tray thinking you pay per pot then you will get a shock at the checkout :eek:

thanks for the warning there! will note that!!!

Well we have the NYC passes so we will be making the most of them most days, few things we want to do outside the passes like mayb catch a basket ball game

food wise my mum bless her is taking boxes of cereal etc for our breakfasts (we have 2 bags each at 23kg due to going economy plus so taking advantage) and her idea is we eat this before we leave the hotel in the morning and then we can go do stuff and have lunch then a nice evening meal (like you said above)

torbrex

When I go touring in America, I tend to allow $30/day cash for routine expenses and everything else goes on my credit card.
The routine stuff is lunch/snacks, tips and normal priced entry fees for museums, car parks and other incidentals. I usually don't spend the whole $30 every day and the change mounts up so that I can use it for an evening meal every couple of days instead of putting it on my card that day

Obviously (as has been said) NYC tends to have a price hike over the rest of the country so my budget might not allow for that and it has been a couple of years since I was there so a review might be in order for my next trip.

claire16c

Make sure your mum declares the cereal on the customs form when it asks if you are bringing any food in. If you tell them it's breakfast cereal they might not even ask to see it, but if they do don't have it right at the bottom of the suitcase making it a pain for you to find!

Doshwaster

Taking cereal to the US?! This is the country that Kelloggs is from - you can buy it there to lighten your bags and save any hassle with customs. You'll have to go out to buy the milk anyway to go with it anyway

Besides, in NYC you are never more than a few feet from somewhere selling food 24 hours a day. One of the best meals I've ever had was in a corner diner at something like 3am.

securityguy

mumbles87 wrote: »

food wise my mum bless her is taking boxes of cereal etc for our breakfasts

They have grocery stores. They're cheap. Taking cereal is insane, given you'll need to buy milk anyway.

Moreover, it's quite a feat to have found the one hotel in NY which doesn't throw in at least coffee, bagels and muffins for breakfast.

jackieblack

securityguy wrote: »

Moreover, it's quite a feat to have found the one hotel in NY which doesn't throw in at least coffee, bagels and muffins for breakfast.

Then I guess they must be staying at the same hotel we stayed at..... no, wait, it must by the one a girl I work with stayed at..... no, it must be the one my friend stayed at......
How can that be? :think:..... we all stayed at different hotels :huh::huh::huh:

(But I agree that taking cereal is ridiculous)

Meadows

Agree that taking cereal to NY is a bit silly as there are little delis on almost every corner where you can nip in get a couple of ready pots of fruit/yogurt/granola etc. chilled on ice, pick up a couple of coffees and go back to your room. These will cost a few $, then you have the options for something warm, again all quick to take out (so quick you need to step back while you decide what you want), and don't forget unless you say otherwise a coffee is milk & two sugars - Only made that mistake once :eek: as I drink black no sugar. And it does my head in as to how I want my eggs, what type of bread etc. do I want bread or croissant ....

Loads and loads of walk in and takeaway delis more than the sit down ones, with a fast service as they are mainly catering to the early morning workers. I also feel really safe leaving hubby in bed asleep and walking out to a deli at 6 - 6:30 in a morning coming back with a good breakfast to start the day.