Planning a trip to New York City can feel overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time. With countless attractions, busy streets, and endless food options, it’s easy to get confused about where to start. After spending six amazing days exploring NYC with our family, we’ve gathered practical, experience-based tips that will help you plan better, save money, and enjoy the city stress-free.
If you’re looking for a complete itinerary, check out our 6-Day Itinerary for a detailed day-by-day plan.
New York City Tips from Our Experience
We love researching for our travels—and believe me, we did a lot of it for NYC. From choosing where to stay to understanding the subway, comparing attraction passes, planning meals, and lining up local experiences, here’s everything we learned.
Where to Stay in New York City
New York is a dream destination, but accommodation costs can be high. We first considered budget-friendly options like:
- New Jersey
- Brooklyn
- Manhattan’s Financial District
Public transportation from these areas is well-connected but time-consuming. If you’re a solo traveler or a couple, it’s manageable. But with kids, long commutes can be tiring.
We finally chose to stay near Times Square. Everything we wanted to see was easily accessible from here. The hotel was pricey for what it offered, but the kitchenette and room size worked for us. Plus, buses and subways were easily available.
You can read more about our experiences in our NYC Family Travel Blog.
Getting Around NYC: MTA Experience
We relied heavily on public transport:
MTA Buses
- Easy to use
- Slow during busy hours
Subway
- Not the most pleasant (lots of stairs + the smell!)
- Extremely fast and well-connected
- Best way to save time
We purchased the 7-day unlimited pass along with a MetroCard from a nearby station. You can also use OMNY, mobile payments, or tap cards. You can read more about it on the MTA website.
Choosing the Right Attraction Pass
We listed all the attractions we wanted to visit and compared prices between Go City, CityPASS, and individual tickets.
CityPASS didn’t match our requirements, so we compared Go City vs. individual pricing.
Our Price Comparison Table
| Attraction | Individual Price | Go City Pass |
| One World Observatory | 143 | 0 |
| Empire State Building | 156 | 0 |
| American Museum + 1 Show | 94 | 0 |
| Intrepid Museum | 104 | 0 |
| Go City – 4 Attractions | 0 | 385 |
| Total | 497 | 385 |
We booked the Empire State Building slot 10 days before our visit to secure an early morning time using the pass.
Important Tips:
- If you want sunset views, check pass restrictions before purchasing.
- Some attractions need advance booking; some don’t.
For detailed attraction reviews, check our NYC Observatories Blog.
Our Practical NYC Learnings & Tips
- Prepare for walking! Expect ~20,000 steps daily. Wear comfortable shoes (not new ones).
- Plan meals ahead, especially for popular eateries—waiting times can be long.
- Statue of Liberty: Book in advance and choose an early slot.
- Night Experiences: Choose an open-top night bus tour or a boat tour—NYC looks magical at twilight.
- Central Park Pedicabs: Confirm the price before the ride or pre-book.
- Taxi/Cab Tips: Compare Uber, Lyft, and Revel. Be cautious with yellow cabs. For airport transfers, cabs are convenient if traveling with kids and luggage.
- Ticket Prices: Compare Go City, CityPASS, and individual tickets based on your itinerary.
- Museums: Keep enough time—NYC museums are huge!
- Roosevelt Island: Visit early morning or evening. Take the tram one way and the ferry back.
- Kids’ Stores: LEGO, Disney, M&M’s, and Harry Potter stores need time—kids can spend hours there!
Things We Would Like to Do In Our Next Visit
- Watch a Broadway show
- Visit more parks and piers
- Try more ferry routes
- Explore more food spots
- Visit Little Italy, Chinatown, Upper Manhattan, Brooklyn & Staten Island
- Explore more museums and observation decks
- Visit bars/restaurants with skyline views
Read the entire NYC series here…
https://oneplusone3.in/category/city/usa-%f0%9f%87%ba%f0%9f%87%b8/new-york/
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