How To Visit New York City On A Budget

Walking near Seaport across from Brooklyn

The big apple can take a big bite out of your wallet. But if you do some advance planning, you can visit New York City on a budget.
I always start with flights when planning my trips because when you travel as a family, you have to be flexible. For this trip to New York City, I was able to use Southwest points for my ticket and add my daughter as my companion so she flew for FREE.
You can read my previous post on how to earn the Southwest companion pass for two years here.
The hotel comes next. I start with awardmapper.com to see which hotels are in the city and how many points they require to book. For this trip, I tapped the Wyndham New Yorker for 15,000 points per night. Since I booked, Wyndham added three tiers for point redemption and unfortunately, they raised the points for this hotel to 30,000 per night.

Our hotel room at the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel

I still think the New Yorker offers great value even at the increased rate. It is well located just 5 blocks from Times Square and next to Penn Station.  Our room at the New Yorker was huge plus the hotel is historic and bursting with charm.
For transportation, there is no better way to get around New York City than with the subway and your feet. On the subway, each ride costs $2.75. When you are ready to go to JFK airport, take the LIRR to the Skytrain. Total cost will be approximately $20 per person. The subway is less, but takes much longer. And of course, taking an Uber is way more expensive and can take just as long depending on traffic,
Now that we have our flights and hotels booked with points, we can move on to food and experiences.

View from our hotel room and our yummy bagel

My favorite bagel store, Liberty Bagels, is located across the street from the New Yorker next to the Starbucks. They told me they are opening a second location too. If you like vegan cream cheese, this is your place. And a huge bagel with smear costs approximately $6. Wow!

The line moves fast and the slices are big! 

Joe's Pizza is also a steal of a deal. Located right off Times Square, you can get a huge piece of delicious authentic NY pizza for just a few bucks per slice.
There is so much to see in New York City, you will just have trouble deciding what to do. Remember to check out Todaystix.com and the half price ticket booth for Broadway shows.
And have fun!