These are the costs you have to expect for a New York holiday 2023
New York is on many people's must-see list for city breaks. Have you ever wondered how much money you need for a trip to New York? To give you a rough idea of the budget, I've listed my expenses here.
Of course, it always depends on how you travel, what you want to see and whether you eat out a lot or can do without a meal.
Since I always get questions about the costs and prices in New York, I have compiled a list here so that you can get an idea of how much money you can expect to spend on your trip. New York trip for your trip to New York.
Conclusion: Unfortunately, prices in New York have exploded since our last trip before Corona. We were in New York again in April 2023 and found that the spending per day is significantly higher than in 2019.
Costs for entering the USA: Applying for an ESTA visa
If you are entering the US for the first time, you will need to apply for a visa ("ESTA") before travelling. This must be obtained up to 72 hours before departure and is valid for two years.
If you have applied for a new passport within the two years or your name has changed, you will need to reapply for ESTA.(Read my instructions for the ESTA visa to the USA here).
Update 2023: The ESTA application to enter the US now costs $21 instead of the $14 it used to cost.
Cost: $21
Cost of flights to New York
Flights usually take up the largest portion of a trip, and New York is no exception. Depending on the time of travel, flights from Europe cost different amounts.
I booked my last flight via the search engine for flights skyscanner.de and booked it. Skyscanner shows the cheapest providers. Here you can choose if you want to book a non-stop flight or if you want to see flights with several stops.
I always book direct flights from Frankfurt to New York. The departure point depends on where you live. Since I live right between Stuttgart and Frankfurt, I usually choose Frankfurt as my departure point.
Before Corona, flights were still available for 360 euros, but with Lufthansa the prices are now only available for over 700 euros. Make sure you use Skyscanner to find flights.
Dom was able to fly with Norse from Berlin to JFK for 480 euros. I was much more expensive from Frankfurt. However, since I had an open jaw flight to Philadelphia and back from New York, I was able to fly for 515 euros (outbound with Eurowings Discovery, return with Lufthansa from JFK). Singapore Airlines, which used to be the best and cheapest airline, cost over 1,000 euros when I did my research (before Covid: 350 euros).
In general, you need to budget around 500 euros for flights.
Tip: Subscribe to the airlines' newsletters to be informed about special offers. The cheapest month is November. The best time to travel to New York this is not the best time to travel. Unless you like temperatures below 0 degrees.
Tip: When travelling to New York, it definitely pays to keep an eye on the long term. I have also found bargains that way several times. With Lufthansa, you can actually only book if there is an offer, as direct flights from Frankfurt almost always cost twice as much.
Costs: 360 - 570 € (depending on travel time)
Light fare with Lufthansa without luggage to New York. Suitcases cost €50 per flight.
See my tips on how to find good and cheap flights.
Costs for overnight stays in New York
Since Airbnb is banned in New York, there are hardly any cheap and good hotels in Manhattan. Offers on Airbnb are therefore illegal (read about this in my hotel tips for New York). Therefore, you should definitely book a hotel.
I never book hostels with dormitories and prefer well-located hotels for city trips so that I can reach everything quickly. A private bathroom is also worth a lot to me.
You can find all my hotel tips for New York here.
Costs for 1 week hotel:
1,300 € (2 persons) at the Aloft Brooklyn
1.000 € (2 persons) at Pod 51
1.900 € (2 persons) at Moxy Chelsea (great location for sightseeing and our last booked hotel. We booked the upgrade "with view". Otherwise it would have cost "only" 1,600 euros).
HOTEL WANTED? ????
For the search for a good hotel we recommend the platform booking.com. We always book our accommodation on this platform or directly with American Express, as we get additional discounts with the American Express Platinum credit card (see details here, only worthwhile for frequent travellers).
Costs for means of transport in New York
In New York, there are various ways to get from A to B. I always use the metro. I always use the metro, and hardly ever a taxi (Lyft or UBER). Even though I have walked all the way through downtown Manhattan: Sometimes you do take the metro or a taxi.
Cost of the airport transfer JFK - Manhattan: approx. 70 $.
→ My tips on how to get from the airport to the city centre in New York
New York Metro Card: $2.75 one way | 7-day Unlimited Pass: $33(add a $1 deposit for a MetroCard).
A ride with the Yellow Cab taxi costs a basic fee of $3, plus tax. Every 1/5 mile costs 70 cents(the exact breakdown can be found here).
My tip: Use the New York City Taxi Fare Finder to calculate the price, download the Lyft and UBER app to your phone before you travel and then compare the prices. In 2023, we didn't use Lyft and UBER at all because the prices went up enormously. In the evening, a ride often costs over $70, only rarely are the prices affordable.
Ride the ferry for free? Thanks to the Staten Island Ferry, it's possible. The trip takes about 25 minutes from Battery Park (southern tip of Manhattan) to Staten Island. You have a great view of the Manhattan skyline, the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn, as well as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Entrance fees for sights and tours
After the flight and accommodation, the biggest cost is the entrance fees to sights and attractions in New York. Depending on how long you are in New York and what you want to see, there are several ways to save money.
Current admission prices for the top sights:
SUMMIT One Vanderbuilt: $42 (regular admission).
The Edge: $40 (normal admission, at sunset +$10), City Climb with access to the platform: $185)
Top of the Rock observation deck at Rockefeller Center: $40, without queue: $85 (sunset 24h upgrade: $10).
Empire State Building with observation deck: $79 for both decks (sunset: $92)
One World Observatory: all-inclusive ticket $59 (there are several options)
MoMA Museum of Modern Art: $25
Guggenheim Museum: $25
Day ticket Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off: $72 (for all routes)
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: $31.50
Boat tour around Manhattan: $41
9/11 Memorial & Museum: from $17 (depending on time)
Graffiti & Street Art Walking Tour: $32
So as you can see, there's quite a bit of spending going on here. That's why we bought the New York all-inclusive pass before every trip. We had the pass for a week because it was the most worthwhile. It was great. Since there are now 7 discount passes in New York, here is a New York Pass Comparison created.
New York Pass for 1 week: $339
⚠️ We have a discount deal for the New York all-inclusive pass from Go City! When booking via this link in the discount code VIELUNTERWEGSNY (capitalise everything) and save 10% when buying a 3, 6 and 10 day pass.
Since we already had the pass, we even got to see more attractions that were included. Among others, Madame Tussauds New York, renting bikes in Central Park, the boat trip around Manhattan and much more.
You can read my detailed comparison and test of the New York Passes here and find out which one is worth it for you.
Costs for food and drink
In New York, you can find food on every corner. The question is: Do you want to eat fast food, hot dogs, pizza and bagels all the time?
Then you can save a lot of money.
If you have booked a hotel with breakfast, you can save this point in the budget. However, we love to have breakfast in New York at Ess-a-Bagel or buy a matcha tea at Cha Cha Matcha.
For healthy food like sushi, salads or soups, you need to budget a lot . My tips: Before your trip, find out where there are food trucks in New York. You can also eat delicious food here. Prices vary depending on the dish.
Watch out for tips! In tourist restaurants, the tip is often already included in the bill. So you don't have to add money again. If this is not the case, you should add about 20 % (currently the must), because the waiters live from your tip. A minimum of 15 % is obligatory, 20 % is desired and sometimes not otherwise selectable.
When looking for restaurants, we like to check Resy (also good for reserving tables) or Google reviews and Time Out magazine New York. Here you can find current tips and recommendations for good restaurants in your area.
We currently budget at least $100 per meal for two for food and drink. We eat out at least once a day because we always want to try new restaurants and cafés.
This cost is up to you. Depending on the dollar exchange rate, some products are cheaper than in Germany. In any case, you should visit an outlet if you want to find bargains. See my tips for shopping in New York.
In 2023, it is not worth shopping in New York in most shops and for most products. The dollar exchange rate is too good and there are taxes on top of the prices.
Conclusion of my costs for travelling to New York
My New York trips were completely different each time. Depending on who I was travelling with and how much time we spent shopping, sightseeing or just sitting in a café, the expenses were too. For a week, I would advise you to plan a budget of at least $1,000 per person.
Do you like to visit musicals, NBA, NHL or NFL games like we do? Then the expenses for tickets are on top of that. Again, you should know that tickets under $100 are rarely available. Only musicals are cheaper.
Even if that sounds like a lot of budget at first, I'd advise you to save more and be happy if you have something left over afterwards rather than having to turn over every penny on the spot.
As I said at the beginning of the article, the total cost depends on how you travel and what you do on the ground.
I hope I was able to give you a little insight into the expenses of my travels. Do you have any further questions? Leave a comment below and I'll be happy to answer them!