Prepare a trip to New York It is not an easy task. There is a lot of information and we must adapt it to our tastes so as not to have a supersaturation of data. After going through this, the first step we recommend you do when you start preparing it is to start doing an analysis of the visits or things to book in New York, especially if you travel in high season or on special dates such as Christmas or Easter, times when you do not book on time you can run out of seats or pay an extra cost, which in the case of this city can mean a good pinch .
1. Flights
The first step in planning should be to book flights to New York. Doing it with time or taking advantage of an offer can make you find a direct flight during Holy Week for 400 euros.
2. Hotel
One of the main things to book in New York and one of the best tips for traveling to New York is to take the hotel as many months in advance. After many laps, we believe that the best area to stay in New York It's Midtown, especially if it's the first time you're in town, it's near Times Square, on the island of Manhattan. If you do not want to waste much time traveling to this area where there are almost all tourist attractions and be in the crux, the best option passes through this area. We have booked the Holiday Inn New York City - Times Square, 3 minutes walk from the most central area of the city.
Of course, we warn you that finding a good, beautiful and cheap accommodation in New York on dates like Easter or Christmas is almost impossible if you do not book well enough months in advance. In our case we start looking at 4 months and we have to recognize that already we were late, finding an increase of 30% practically at the usual prices.
For more information you can consult this post about the best neighborhoods and hotels to stay in New York.
3. New York Contrast Tour
The New York Contrast Tour It has become the most famous and recommended excursion in the city, even probably not missing in the preparations for the trip to New York. It is a quick way to see the most important places in the Harlem, Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn neighborhoods, located beyond Manhattan and many times left a little "outside"of the most conventional itineraries, especially when it is the first time you travel to New York. Once hired, they pick you up at the hotel or stay at a meeting point, and during the approximate 5 hours that the tour lasts, you go touring and explaining the different important points of each neighborhood. After assessing the different options, we recommend doing it on Saturday, since it is the sacred day (Shabbat) for Orthodox Jews of Williamsburg, in Brooklyn and thus be able to see the environment that Day in the area.
If you want to do it in Spanish, you can book this New York Contrast Tour or the Contrast + Misa Góspel Tour Offer, two of New York's most recommended tours.
The New York Contrast Tour price it's $ 70 per person
4. Travel insurance to be booked in New York
Something that we must take into account when we travel is to have the best travel insurance for New York. If we also travel to a country like the United States, where healthcare is private and the minimum price for any consultation can cost us about $ 500 up to thousands in case of an operation, do not carry a good travel insurance for New York, is to assume a high risk that could even lead to a mortgage for a lifetime.
We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom for the trips we have made to the US and New York, we take out the insurance of 100,000 euros, which allows us to travel to the United States in peace and, above all, well insured.
Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.
5. New York CityPASS, New York Pass or New York Explorer Pass
There are countless attractions and places to see in New York that are worth not being missed. That can be a great outlay if we want to visit them all. To save enough money we have two main options:
- New York Explorer Pass
Booking the New York Explorer Pass allows you to enter 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 of the main attractions of the city, skipping the lines. It is a card that offers great flexibility to be able to choose the tickets we want from the 58 available attractions, until the last moment.
You can find extended information in this post about the New York Explorer Pass: how it works, what it includes and prices.
- New York CityPASS
Acquiring the New York CityPASS allows you to enter 6 of the most visited attractions in New York at a price 42% cheaper.
With this pass you can visit:
- Empire State Building Experience
- American Museum of Natural History
- Metropolitan Art Museum
- Observatory of the Top of the Rock or Guggenheim Museum
- Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island or Croisières Circle Line
- 11S Memorial and Museum or Intrepid Museum of the Sea, Air and Space
Apart from the free entrance to these attractions, the New York CityPASS will allow you to skip the lines at the most visited attractions, you just have to look for the signal and pass directly.
The price for adults is $ 114 and for young people from 6 to 17 years old $ 89
- New York Pass
The New York Pass it's kind of memory card, which allows you to freely enter more than 80 tourist attractions in the city.
You can purchase the New York Pass for 1,2,3,5,7 or 10 days. This is only valid on consecutive days and will be validated at the time it is first used.
Apart from the free entrance, the New York Pass will allow you to skip the lines at the most visited attractions, you just have to look for the signal and pass directly.
Find all the information and book here
The prices for the New York Pass They are as follows:
1 Day $ 109.00 $ 89.00 (adult / child)
2 Days $ 189.00 $ 169.00
3 Days $ 239.00 $ 189.00
5 Days $ 299.00 $ 209.00
7 Days $ 339.00 $ 219.00
10 Days $ 399.00 $ 239.00
You can find more information in this post about the New York Pass: how it works, what it includes and prices.
Depending on the days we are and the attractions we want to visit we can choose one or the other. In our case the New York CityPASS It already included almost everything we wanted to see, so this is the choice we have made, saving us 42% of the total amount we would have had to pay without it, apart from enjoying the skip-the-line ticket, as important on days like Easter week.
6. Helicopter tour to be booked in New York
The New York helicopter tour It is one of the most famous excursions in the city, with which from the heights we can enjoy the best views over Manhattan. The helipad is located in the southern part of the island, at Pier 6 (Pier 6), easily accessible by subway. Most tours fly over the Hudson River, passing along the Statue of Liberty, to the financial district of Manhattan, providing incredible views of the island and its skyscrapers.
Most tours last between 15 to 20 minutes and prices start at $ 130. We recommend this New York Helicopter Tour, one of the most recommended on the internet.
One tip, they say the best time to do the helicopter tour in New York It is at noon, when the sun is higher and it is less annoying to have good visibility.
7. New York sports events tickets
- NBA (Basket) Tickets
Another one of the things that we were clear that we should book in New York before the trip were the tickets to watch an NBA game at Madison Square Garden . We already saw one in Los Angeles on our trip to the western United States and we have to say that we found it a unique experience, since in addition to being able to see the stars of the NBA, the show when they are not playing, it is already worth it for If only. In the end, after assessing many options among the matches that were available on the dates we were going to travel, we have chosen a match between the New York Knicks - Chicago Bulls.
Something to keep in mind is that the NBA season It is from the end of October to the end of June.
- NFL (American Football) Tickets
Another thing we wanted to do in New York was to see a New York Giants football game, but the NFL season is quite short, from the beginning of September until the beginning of February, when the Super Bowl is held, so it did not match our dates and we had to leave it for the next occasion.
Keep in mind that the MetLife Stadium is in the New York metropolitan area and it is necessary to use public transportation to get there.
- MLB (Baseball) Tickets
One of the most popular sports in the United States It's baseball. In New York you can see a New York Yankees game, the most famous team in the city, especially if you have enough time, since the matches can last for many hours. Of course, despite that, we believe that just to see that purely American show, it is already worth it. They play in the spectacular Yankee Stadium, which is located in the Bronx, where it is very easy to reach by subway. The season runs from the beginning of April to the beginning of November and it is convenient to book in advance.
- NHL (Ice Hockey) Tickets
Another of the most followed sports in the United States is ice hockey. In New York you have the opportunity to see a game of the New York Rangers who also play in the most famous stadium in the world, the Madison Square Garden. The season lasts from October to June and we recommend, especially in games with a great rival, as in other sports, book in advance to secure tickets and good seats.
8. Broadway tickets
Hard to resist walking around Broadway Not attending any of his famous shows. Although you have seen them in other cities around the world, they say that nothing is comparable to seeing one on Broadway. We have not been able to resist, we have decided to Aladdin, this being another one of the things we had to book in New YorkIn advance. They say that the most cutting-edge shows are always full, so they recommend booking the ticket online in time to get good seats. Some of the best Broadway shows They are: The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Blue Man Group, Cats, Wicked, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chicago, Anastasia or School of Rock.
* One of the cheapest options, if you want to go see some of the most famous musicals, even if the seats are worst quality, is TKTS, a local Times Square, very easy to recognize for its large red staircase and the long line that always exists, where you can buy tickets for the same day at much cheaper prices.
Recommended travel cardsRemember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
9. Restaurants
In New York we can find restaurants of all kinds of cuisine and for all budgets. Most do not need any type of reservation, but in certain restaurants it is necessary to book in advance in New York. You have to keep in mind that it is the city with the most Michelin stars in the world, counting on six restaurants with 3 Michelin Stars including Le Bernardin restaurant and many other trendy restaurants in which it is essential to book with enough time to find a table.
Especially after eating remember that the tip there is something "mandatory" and that is between 10% or 20% depending on the quality of service.
10. Concerts
All the great singers and musicians perform at some time in New York. These concerts are usually filled, so it is important book a concert ticket With enough time in New York. If your interest goes through attending a Jazz concert, you can get the tickets right there, except if it is a world-renowned star.
To attend a Gospel Mass you should not book in advance, you only have to go to Harlem on a Sunday morning and choose one of the many churches where they are celebrated. It is free, although it is recommended to leave a donation.
10 + 1. Internet in New York
If you want to have internet in New York, something very necessary today, especially considering the amount of applications we use in our trips and the need to be in contact with our family and friends, you can choose several options:
- Buy a SIM card at the airport or at a phone shop in the city.
- Buy one Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, saving you all the time of the negotiations and making the whole process to have internet in the United States much more comfortable, fast and easy.
In this case, with the Holafly SIM you will have several Gb to surf the Internet (depending on the option you choose), they will send it to you for free at home, you will keep your WhatsApp number and you will have assistance service in Spanish. You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.
More information on the Holafly post, the best prepaid SIM card for travel
Do you want to organize a trip to New York?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to New York here
The best hotels at the best prices in New York here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book the best tours and excursions in New York in Spanish here
Book your transfer Airport⇆New York here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Save money and time by booking the New York CityPASS here
10 things to book before traveling to New York
The best offers of Flights to New York here
The best hotels at the best prices in New York here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book the best tours and excursions in New York in Spanish here
Book your transfer Airport⇆New York here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Save money and time by booking the New York CityPASS here
10 things to book before traveling to New York ** All images are provided by Shutterstock
