More for Less in New York
Manhattan is probably the world’s liveliest island in the most exuberant city. The food choices are many and the city offers everything from Italian to Indonesian cooking. The majority of the restaurants are of a satisfying standard, but eating out every meal can be expensive. Fresh fruit, bread, yogurt and water from a supermarket are a great money saver.
If you haven’t previously been to New York, the Staten Island Ferry serving more than 70,000 passengers a day makes a nice (and cheap) excursion. Staten Island is the least populated of the five boroughs of New York and is less well-known than Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn. A walk to Battery Park in lower Manhattan takes you past the blocks around Wall Street where today’s stockbrokers and businessmen strive for tomorrow’s success. As you reach Battery Park, the ferry terminal is easy to find. Don’t forget to keep your camera at hand for the Statue of Liberty, and on the way back you might want to perpetuate t the lower Manhattan skyline.
From the bus terminal on Staten Island the bus to the nearest beach departs regularly. As me and my friend arrived in South Beach I remembered a book I read where the author encourages beach visitors to approach a lifeguard to find out whether there are currents in the water. Therefore I approached the first lifeguard I caught sight of.
"Excuse me. Is there any danger of swimming in the ocean?"
The lifeguard looked at me puzzled. "No, unless you don’t want to be wet."
We both laughed.
After a few hours on South Beach we returned to Manhattan. Strolling along the East river we admired Brooklyn Bridge, New York City's most famous and best-loved bridge. A walk over the bridge gives you an unforgettable view, but the official length end-to-end is over a mile, so make sure to bring comfortable shoes if you plan to reach its opposite side. A couple of minutes later we reached Little Italy where restaurants with blue-white squared table cloths lined the street. A man clad in jeans and a tight t-shirt told us to continue to Chinatown instead. "Little Italy is so much smaller now, the prices have doubled and the food is nothing like the real Italian. It's not like it used to be here, it's just really touristy."
We followed his suggestion and ended up in a shop filled with Chinese dresses, neat skirts and colorful blouses in satin fabric, sunglasses, watches and caps. My friend chose up to ten dresses to purchase.
"I must bring presents to my family and friends in England", she said. The young attendant couldn’t hide her happiness.
After thirty minutes the perfect presents were picked, and we headed back to Chelsea International Hostel between 7th and 8th Avenue on 20th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan’s safest area. During our New York stay we moved around between different hostels, and Chelsea International House became one of our favorites.
Next morning in Stillwell Avenue, Coney Island’s main station. Most people who live on Coney Island, located in southernmost Brooklyn with its famous beach on the Atlantic Ocean, are African-American or Hispanic. Formerly the area was a major resort and home of amusements parks, including Steeplechase Park which was the heart of Coney 1897 to 1964. Its founder George Tilyou whose parents owned a small hotel at Coney Island once said: "If Paris is France, Coney Island, between June and September, is the world."
Later we met up with our friend Aude at Flatbush's subway station in Brooklyn. As we were in the city she kindly said we could stay one night in her apartment to save living expenses.
Next morning we went for a jog in Prospect Park where Brooklyn runners and bicyclists in gaudy colors do their daily exercise. Aude who studies at Parsons School of Design and loves shopping wanted us to visit her best friend at Bloomingdales. In 1886 Bloomingdale's moved uptown to 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, and by the 1920s the store covered an entire city block. Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs and 7 For All Mankind are a few of the store’s available brands, but if you have patience and luck you can also find less expensive items.
We stopped for a nutritious smoothie In Jamba Juice, which has several branches around the city. The boy behind the counter pulled up a microphone and smiled to the girl who just ordered: "Hi everyone! We have a first timer in Jamba Juice today, give her applause please!" We in the queue and everyone by the tables applauded whilst a few cheered and whistled.
We read the menu board where smoothies with names as Peach Pleasure, Banana Berry, Mango Mantra, Strawberries Wild, Berry Lime Sublime and Tropical Awakening made you want to try all of them. Finally I bought a Carribean Passion with passionfruit-mango juice blend, orange sherbet, frozen strawberries, frozen peaches and ice.
If musicals are your cup of tea you should definitely join the queue by one of TKTS discount booths on West 46th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue. After 3pm Monday to Saturday it’s possible to buy half-price tickets to the evening’s Broadway musicals which are not already sold out. We bought seats to Aida, a musical from 1999 with songs by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, for 50 dollar per person. Normal price is $100. Aida takes place in Egypt on Pharaohs time containing a triangle drama and forbidden love. When republic was introduced in Egypt 1952 Aida became a symbol for the countries independence.
If you’re on a budget there are plenty of good hostels to choose between in New York City. Bowery´s Whitehouse Hotel of NY on 340 Bowery, near Greenwich Village, boasts the best rates in the city for private rooms with prices starting at 28 dollars per person. It’s suitable for students, backpackers and young travellers on a budget. The smallest and one of the oldest hostels in New York is Chelsea Center East on East 12th Street close to 1st Avenue in trendy East Village. Hostelling International on 891 Amsterdam Avenue at West 103rd street, only one block from Broadway Avenue and three blocks from Central Park, is the largest hostel in the city. They have a wide range of services and provide discounts to help your travel budget go further.
Without doubt, you can see more for less in New York.
Thanks Tina! I'd say at least 6-7 days. I spent about 2 weeks in NYC the first time, but still felt there were much more I wanted to see before heading home. In my opinion, you'll never get enough of NYC. :)
Great tips and amusing story! How many days does a first-goer need in NYC?