Today’s guest post has been written by Rhian Westbury. Rhian is a freelance writer and writes for her own self-titled blog. She writes mainly about money, budgeting and how to save money on travel and everyday living. At the moment she’s saving to buy a house and renovate it so anywhere she can save money she will. You can see examples of her work at www.rhianwestbury.co.uk or follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn. 

Whether you’re lucky enough to have visited New York before, or it’s your first time it can be quite overwhelming. There’s just so much space to explore and things to do and see. And for a lot of people it can just seem very expensive. And yes New York can be expensive if you want to do everything and go shopping loads. But it’s only as expensive as you make it.

I’m lucky enough to have visited New York five times and during these trips I’ve picked up a few tips on how you can save money on your trip.

Be flexible when you fly into the city

Like with any other destination if you go during the summertime or around key events you can spend £700+ on flights into New York. But if you’re pretty flexible with your dates then you can get flights for a steal. I’d always recommend using Skyscanner to see when the best deals are.

My last trip to New York was in March and we paid £99 for flights one way, and £149 for flights back with Norwegian. This time of the year can be mixed weather wise but it’s not as busy then which can be a plus.

Book your accommodation as early as you can

Accommodation is generally the most expensive part of New York travel but the quicker you book it the better. If you use sites like booking.com you can actually book with £0 deposits and free cancellation. This is a great option if you want to book a few alternative dates as you’re not sure when you’ll be flying.

We secured our accommodation at The New Yorker which is close to Macy’s and the Empire State at £350 for 4 nights in a double room which is a great steal. Just a few months later we checked and the same room was almost double the price. I’ve stayed at this hotel 3 times now and always had a great stay as it’s such a central location. Plus it’s attached to Tik Tok which is a 24/7 traditional American diner.

Take advantage of the walking tours

The hop-on, hop-off bus tours are absolutely amazing and I would highly recommend them. But if you’re exploring the city on a budget walking tours can be great. There are some tours in the city which are free, or very cheap and give you a taste of the city. They are great to do near the start of your trip to help you get your bearings.

I also loved the walking tour around Ground Zero which was really enlightening and emotional. These tours can give you so much more information than you’d find just doing a self-guided tour.

Walk as much as you can

Some of Manhattan is really spread out but a lot of places are walkable. It might look like a lot to see something 20 blocks away but it actually doesn’t take all that long. On most trips I’ve done I’ve walked 30+ blocks at a time and it’s been perfectly pleasant (unless it’s raining). By walking more you get to see a lot of the city.

If you are looking to go to places further afield plan them all on the same day and buy a travel card for then. This way you won’t spend lots of money on train trips.

Eat street food during the day

Food can add up when you’re in New York, especially as a lot of hotels don’t offer breakfast on site. I’d suggest eating street food, at least during the day as you can save a lot of money doing this. There are so many vendors on the street offering food which you can pick up for a few dollars. And places where you can buy a slice or two of pizza for not much more.

Another favourite of mine is Macbar where you can get a pretty large portion of Mac and Cheese for just $8!

Don’t eat on main roads – venture down the side streets

When you do decide to have a sit down meal you can save a lot of money by venturing down some of the side streets. A lot of the time you pay for convenience so eating around Time Square or Grand Central can be expensive. All you need to do is go down the side streets to find some more independent restaurants that work out much cheaper.

Some of my favourite reasonably priced places to eat include: Juliana’s for pizza in Brooklyn, Bareburger to build your own burger and The Meatball shop for great Italian.

Book combination tickets

If you’re looking to do some of the big attractions such as the Statue of Liberty tour, The Empire State, Rockafella etc look around at all the different passes. There are lots of different options of combination tickets so chances are there will be one which covers exactly what you want to do.

By booking your passes in advance you’ll save money on the attractions compared to buying tickets on the day. You’ll have paid in advance so it’s one less expense for when you arrive and you can skip the queues when you arrive. When I last went we got the Citypass which covers six major attractions with a few interchangeable options if we changed our minds.