How much money should I take to New York with me for 7 days? - New York City Message Board (2024)

1 post

3 helpful votes

I know this sounds like a lot but budget at $200 bucks a day.

Hey xscottish-galx:-) It all comes down to you and how you're going to be spending your time here..a metro card will take care of your transport w/in the City..entrance fees/cost vary depending on where you're planning on going..w/a budget, you can easily get away w/a bagel & coffee/tea, lunch and dinners can be anywhere from pizza to food carts to self-serve salad food bars at many of the markets..I'd hesitate to put a price tag w/out knowing how exactly you're going to be spending your time but bottom line, following above, think you'd be able to get away w/under $100 a day easy.. even way less! Enjoy!

Edited: 14 years ago

This is such a hard question to answer, since it really depends on what you plan to do. A 7-day MetroCard is $27, but as for the rest of it, I suggest that you look at the prices on http://www.menupages.com and find the admission fees for the attractions you want to visit, and work out a budget, then increase that budget by 30%.

Also, Americans don't tend to bring cash when we travel, we bring credit cards, so most of us aren't used to doing this sort of planning ourselves.

Destination Expert

If you eat cheap and stick with free sights then $100/day/person will be more than enough. If you want to enjoy a nice dinner or two and go to some of the higher priced sights, then $200/day/person could be spent quite easily.

The last time we were in NYC, not counting the plays and lodging, we averaged about $120/day/person. We ate cheap some days (bagel&coffee $, sandwich/hot dogs $, snack $, pizza $, drinks $) and other days we ate moderately expensive (bagel $, sit down $$, snack $, nice dinner $$$, drinks $$).

We mainly stuck with seeing the neighborhoods and attractions that were free or under $10/person and we got the 7-day, unlimited ride Metrocard (which is now $27/person) and we used a taxi a few times (but each trip was less than $20+tip.)

And that didn't include any souvenirs.

Edited: 14 years ago

Hi Scottish-gal, we are like you and planning to to New York on a budget for a week. In my research I have found that the museums and tourist sites are quite expensive compared to Europe (prehaps except London) so I am planning to buy this pass:

http://www.citypass.com/city/ny.html

As each of these attractions are $20 + each, I think it's pretty good value.

Don't forget to add tips when you are budgeting, they really add up.

ncmc -- Bear in mind that two of the museums listed on there -- the Met and the American Museum of Natural History -- are pay-what-you-wish. The admission price listed on the site is only a suggestion.

Im going for 6 nights and am taking about $1400, although most stuff is paid for except TOTR, Metro Card and museums.

You could easily get by on $100/ day, with a bit of effort less than $50 would be enough.

Just like life, some of the best things in New York are free. Spending a day at central park would be fantastic and could be completly free.

Bagels, street food and Mcdonalds means you could eat for less than $20 a day if you wished.

I took $200 a day and had money left

have a look at http://www.menupages.com to get an idea of food prices dont forget tax and tip and alcohol though!

I agree $100 could be enough depends what you want to do!

Dammit I wanna go back!

My husband and I will be going for 5 days and won't take more than $200. in cash with us and will probably bring a lot home. We rarely spend cash when we travel, but put it all on plastic. So, if your question is "how much money to bring"....I would bring $200. and have an ATM card to get more cash if you really need it. I would try to charge most everything if you have a credit card that does not charge an international conversion fee. We use Capitol One when we travel internationally since it does not have a conversion fee.

If your question is "how much money will I need to budget per day"....I think $100 a day for two people would be plenty after you have paid for your accommodations. $100 a day a person would be more than plenty. But, I like parks, walking, people watching, etc.