What Does a Trip to New York Cost? Our Overview of Travel Expenses

New York is on many people's "Must See" list for city trips. Have you ever wondered how much money you need for a trip to New York? To give you a rough idea of the budget, I have listed my expenses here: prices for food, activities, ESTA, hotels, flights, and tips for saving on sightseeing.

The total costs depend on how you travel and what you do while you're there. The overall travel costs for one week in New York are currently around $2000 to $3000 per person. The trend is upward.

It always depends on how you travel, what you want to see, and whether you will be dining out frequently or can skip a meal now and then. If you're frugal, you can get by on $200 a day.

If, like us, you enjoy attending musicals, dining out, and visiting many attractions in New York, you should budget $300 to $400 a day.

Conclusion: Unfortunately, prices in New York have exploded since our last trip before the pandemic. We visited New York again in April 2024 and noticed that daily expenses are significantly higher than the previous year.

If you are entering the USA for the first time, you must apply for a visa ("ESTA") before your trip. This must be completed at least 72 hours prior to departure and is valid for two years.

If you have applied for a new passport or your name has changed within the two years, you must reapply for ESTA. (Read my guide for the ESTA visa to the USA here).

Update 2024: The ESTA application for entering the USA now costs $21 instead of the previously common $14.

Costs: $21

Flights usually take up the largest portion of a trip, especially to New York. Depending on the time of year, flights from Europe can vary greatly in price.

I researched and booked my last flight through the flight search engine Skyscanner. Skyscanner shows the cheapest providers. Here you can choose whether you want to book a nonstop flight or if you want to see options with multiple stops.

I always book direct flights to New York from Frankfurt am Main. However, the departure city depends on where you live. Since I live exactly between Stuttgart and Frankfurt, I mostly choose Frankfurt as my departure point.

While before the pandemic, flights were available for €360, prices with Lufthansa are now only available for over €700. Definitely use Skyscanner to find flights.

Dom was able to fly with Norse from Berlin to JFK for €480. My flight from Frankfurt was significantly more expensive. However, since I had a multi-city flight from Philadelphia and returning from New York, I was able to fly for €515 (outbound with Eurowings Discovery, return flight with Lufthansa from JFK). Singapore Airlines, once the best and cheapest airline, was over €1000 during my research (previously €350).

In general, you should budget around €500 for flights.

Tip: Subscribe to airline newsletters to be informed about offers. November is, by the way, the cheapest month to fly. However, this is not the best time to visit New York unless you enjoy temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius.

Tip: Observing flight prices for a trip to New York is definitely worthwhile. I have often found good deals. With Lufthansa, you can only book in case of a deal, as direct flights from Frankfurt almost always cost double.

Costs: €360 - €570 (depending on travel time)

Since Airbnb is banned in New York, there are hardly any affordable and good hotels in Manhattan. Offerings on Airbnb are therefore illegal (read more in my hotel tips for New York). Therefore, you should definitely book a hotel.

I never book hostels with dorms and prefer well-located hotels for city trips to reach everything quickly. Having a private bathroom is also very important to me.

You can find all my hotel tips for New York here.

Costs for 1 week of hotel:

In New York, there are various ways to get from point A to point B. I always use the subway, and rarely a taxi (Lyft or UBER). Even if I have crossed downtown Manhattan entirely on foot: sometimes you do take the subway or a taxi.

Cost for the airport transfer JFK - Manhattan: about $70

-> My tips on how to get to the center from the airport upon arrival in New York

Metro Card New York: $2.75 for a single ride | 7-Day Unlimited Pass: $33 (plus a $1 fee for a MetroCard)

A trip with a Yellow Cab Taxi has a base fare of $3, plus tax. For every 1/5 mile, there is a charge of 70 cents (you can find the detailed breakdown here).

My tip: Calculate the price with the New York City Taxi Fare Finder, upload the Lyft and UBER apps to your phone before the trip, and compare prices. On the last trip to New York, we didn't use Lyft and UBER at all because prices have risen enormously. In the evening, a ride often costs over $70, with affordable prices being rare. This will not change in 2025.

Want to ride for free? Thanks to the Staten Island Ferry, that's possible. The ride takes about 25 minutes from Battery Park (the southern tip of Manhattan) to Staten Island. Along the way, you get a great view of the Manhattan skyline, the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn, as well as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

After the flight and accommodation, the biggest expense is the entry prices for sights and attractions in New York. Depending on how long you stay in New York and what you want to see, there are various options to save money.

As you can see, quite a bit of expense adds up here. That's why we purchased the New York all-inclusive pass before each trip. We had the pass for a week, as it offers the most value. It was excellent. Since there are now 7 discount passes available in New York, I have created a comparison of New York passes.

New York Pass for 1 week: $359 (price varies by season)

Since we already had the pass, we were able to see even more attractions that were included. Among other things, Madame Tussauds New York, renting bikes in Central Park, the boat ride around Manhattan, and much more.

You can read my detailed comparison and test of the New York passes here and find out which one is worth it for you.

In New York, you can find something to eat on every corner. The only question is: Do you want to constantly eat fast food, hot dogs, pizza, and bagels?

If so, you can save a lot of money.

If you booked a hotel with breakfast, you can save on this point in your budget. However, we love to have breakfast at Ess-a-Bagel in New York or buy a matcha tea at Cha Cha Matcha.

For healthy foods like sushi, salads, or soups, you need to budget a lot of money. My tip: Research before your trip to see where food trucks are located in New York. You can also eat deliciously here. Prices vary by dish.

Watch out for tips! In tourist restaurants, the tip is often already included in the bill. So, you don't have to add extra money. If this is not the case, you should add about 20% (currently the must) since servers depend on your tip. A minimum of 15% is mandatory, while 20% is expected and sometimes only selectable alternative.

For finding restaurants, we like to check Resy (also good for reserving tables) or Google reviews and Time Out New York magazine. Here you find recent tips and recommendations for good restaurants near you.

We currently calculate at least $100 for meals and drinks for two. We go out to eat at least once a day as we want to try new restaurants and cafes.

This cost depends on you. Depending on the dollar exchange rate, some products are cheaper than in Germany. You should definitely visit an outlet if you want to find good deals. See my shopping tips for New York.

In 2024, it is not worth shopping in most stores and for most products in New York. The dollar exchange rate is too good, and prices are subject to tax.

My trips to New York have been completely different each time. Depending on who I traveled with and how much time we spent shopping, sightseeing, or just sitting in a cafe, the expenses varied as well. For a week, I recommend budgeting at least $1000 per person.

If you enjoy musicals, NBA, NHL, or NFL games like we do, then ticket expenses are additional. Here you should also know that tickets under $100 are rarely available. Only for musicals, you can find cheaper options.

Although this may sound like a lot of budget at first, I advise you to save more and be happy if something is left over rather than having to be frugal on-site.

As I said at the beginning of the article: Total costs depend on how you travel and what you do there.

I hope I've given you a little insight into my travel expenses. If you have any further questions, please leave a comment and I would be happy to answer them!

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