TAKE A BARGAIN BITE OUT OF THE BIG APPLE
You can take a bite out of the Big Apple for much less than you’d think
New York City has a reputation for being expensive but with some care and planning the city offers a lot that’s cheap or free.
Our taxi driver swerves in and out of the New York traffic as I grip the overhead handle to prevent myself from f alling into my two daughters.
We’re on our way to Times Square, the electric epicentre of one of the most f ascinating cities in the world. This is Day 1 of our four-day visit and it’s a special trip, as neither my husband nor daughters have been here before.
This city has a reputation for being one of the most expensive in the world, so it can also be survival of the wallet for tourists.
My goal was for my family and me to see as much of New York as possible without blowing our budget.
I am happy to report that, not only did our trip come in below budget, but it also surpassed all of our expectations. The real truth about New York is that it is pleasantly inexpensive and far easier to see on a budget than Toronto.
Let’s start with transportation. Taxis are much less expensive than in Toronto. It only cost about $7 to get to Times Square from our Upper East Side hotel, about a 15minute drive.
When we travelled a longer distance, such as to the powerfully moving Ground Zero memorial, we took the subway at a cost of $2.25 each. Because New York is such a fascinating city with sights on every corner, we wound up walking almost everywhere.
As a result, our total cost for transportation was well under $40.
When it came to meals, there were even better deals. Our delicious breakfast every morning came from a local street vendor and consisted of eggs, bacon and cheese on a bun, for less than $10 for four people. My husband picked it up while the girls and I got ready, then we ate in the hotel.
We lunched at cafés, such as the Bouchon Bakery in Rockefeller Plaza and the Famous Bread Factory on Lexington Avenue, and never paid more than $40 per meal.
For midday snacks, we grabbed a tasty New York pretzel or hotdog from street vendors at less than $2 each. Our best meal deal came from the Sun Sai Kai Chinese restaurant on iconic Canal Street, which is known for its bargains.
It was a small dingy restaurant, packed with character, and the four of us enjoyed a heaping platter of rice, chicken and broccoli, plus four pork dumplings and a huge plate of noodles, all for $19. There was so much food we had to take some to go.
The steaming cups of Chinese tea, topped up by the friendly staff, were free. Because of the money we saved on meals, we were able to splurge one night at the Olive Garden, where we had a bird’s-eye view of Times Square.
Not counting our splurge meal, our four days of food cost less than $150 — including the apples and oranges we bought to snack on at night.
As for sites, we found free things to do everywhere, from riding the ferry to Staten Island, to walking around the magical Central Park, where we visited John Lennon’s memorial, to taking in the f abulous architecture inside venerable Grand Central Terminal.
On our fourth day, we visited the fascinating Guggenheim Museum, with the spiral ramp that curves up from the ground, and took in a Picasso exhibit.
It’s free to children under 12, plus we were each given a free audio tape with detailed descriptions of the paintings.
I’m an Apple (computer) fan, so I had to visit the below-ground store on Fifth Avenue, with its 32foot glass cube and transparent glass elevator. FAO Schwarz is right next door, so we went in and tried out the giant floor piano featured in the movie Big with Tom Hanks.
From there, we went to Times Square, where we visited M&M’s World, 25,000 square feet of fun. We had just walked in when the staff l aunched into a hilarious flash-mob-style dance. Then it was on to the Empire State Building.
A lesser-known site (and the only thing on my nine-year-old’s wish list) was Dylan’s Candy Bar, a three-storey candy extravaganza at Third Avenue and 60th filled with 5,000 kinds of candy, licorice, mints, fudge and chocolate bars.
For bigger expenses, you can save on Broadway show tickets by buying them at the Times Square TKTS booth on the morning of the show.
I shaved hundreds off our bill by booking our hotel (Affinia Gardens) and flight ( JetBlue) as a package through Expedia, and by leaving from Buffalo.
The package cost about $1,450 but it could have been even lower if we’d stayed at a cheaper hotel.
The trip for four people cost less than $2,000.
I’m already planning our next trip to New York.