What are the requirements for traveling to New York
If you're wondering what you need to travel to New York, here's a summary of all the information you should keep in mind. Take into account that it can varies from country to country, so ask or take a look in the website of your U.S. Embassy.
- A valid passport with a biometric data chip.
- Many nacionalities need the ESTA, a system to travel to USA within the Visa Waiver Program. Take a look to our step-by-step guide to apply for the ESTA, where you'll find a tutorial for the submission and all the information you need (cost, duration, differences with the visa, etc.).
- There're some cases that the ESTA isn't valid and you must apply for the visa. In our guide to apply for the Visa to travel to the USA you're going to find all the information.
- You may be asked for an exit ticket in the migratory control.
- Depending on your country, you may need a mandatory vaccinations for travel to the United States, so it's a good idea to visit your local International Vaccination Center to discuss your specific needs.
When is the best time to travel to New York
If you're wondering when is the best month to travel to New York, our answer is that it depends on what you're looking for. Do you want to experience Christmas in the big city? Do you prefer to visit during fall season with the yellow colors? Or are you looking to go when it's the cheapest time to travel to New York?
If you want to travel to New York during the cheapest season 💵, then you should go from January to March and from September to mid-November approximately. The most expensive times tend to be late November (coincides with Thanksgiving in the USA), December (for Christmas celebrations), Easter (can vary between March and April depending on the year) and June to August (for school vacations both in USA and other countries).
If you are free to choose your dates and/or your don't need to experience a special celebration in New York, we think spring and fall are great times to explore the city:
- 🌸 Spring in New York: temperatures begin to rise and you can walk down the streets without dying of heat as in summer (we've been in June and the city was an oven). The trees start to bloom and the pictures in the parks are beautiful, the open-air markets open, the Macy's Flower Show takes place and in general atmosphere is really good.
- 🍂 Autumn in New York: after the summer tourists in the city decrease, as do the temperatures. The leaves on the trees change to yellow and red, with October being the peak time to see this spectacle of color. It's also the time when Halloween is celebrated, with the city's houses decorated in the craziest way you can imagine, and Christmas preparations begin.
What tourist passes are there in New York
There're cities where you don't need to pay for a pass which includes several attractions, but New York isn't the case. Take a look at our New York touristic passes comparison (coming soon) where you can see the different types of passes, what they include, the price, the duration, etc.
The truth is that the market it's a bit confusing as the names of the passes are pretty similar and there are hardly any differences between some of them. They could make it a little simpler, couldn't they?
Here's a quick summary of the 3 main companies and their types. To buy them, you can do it through the Civitatis website or the official websites (for GoCity and New York Pass we have a 5% discount with the code YOURTRIPTOUSA5).
What we recommend is to compare the prices and choose the website that gets you the best deal. Although it may seem the opposite, sometimes Civitatis is cheaper and you can also pay in Euros, so you avoid currency exchange fees if you don't have any of the debit cards we'll talk about later.
- GoCity: has the Explorer option (by number of attractions) and the All Inclusive option (by number of days). Both include the Empire State, the Edge, the Top of the Rock and the Statue of Liberty (not the crown, just the pedestal). You can buy them here through Civitatis or here on the GoCity website, remember our code YOURTRIPTOUSA5 to get the discount!
- New York Pass: is the same company as GoCity and has the option Essentials (3 attractions in 30 days and one of them is an observation deck), Explorer (by number of attractions) and All Inclusive (by number of days). You can buy them here through Civitatis or here on the New York Pass website, remember our code YOURTRIPTOUSA5 to get the discount!
- New York City Pass: you can visit 5 attractions in a 9-day period. You can buy it here through Civitatis.
Which is the best travel insurance for New York
We always recommend traveling with travel insurance regardless of the destination, but in the case of the United States this makes more sense than ever. It's one of the countries with the most expensive health care system in the world, so any problem you may have can mean having to pay aberrant amounts of money.
We've published a comparison with the best travel insurance for the United States that can help you decide which insurance is the best for you. You'll find a very visual table with all the coverages and prices of each of the insurers and discounts to make it a little cheaper.
In our case we always use Heymondo and, although we haven't had to use it in the United States, we did it in Canada, Panama, Bolivia, Vietnam, Laos and Australia, with excellent service in all cases. Remember that you can use our 5% discount on any Heymondo insurance for being our reader. 😊
Take a look to this travel insurance for the United States comparison in case you need to book one
What are the best tours in New York
Something that makes this city unique is the endless amount of things to do in New York, both within the city and in the surrounding areas. From our experience, apart from the typical visits in the city and these free things to do in New York, the best tours are:
New York Contrasts
The New York contrasts tour is undoubtedly the most popular in the city. With this tour you'll get to know the Bronx, Harlem, Queens and Brooklyn neighborhoods with a guide, walking through the more alternative areas of the city and learning about its history and cultural diversity. There are several modalities to choose from:
- New York Contrast Tour 4,5h: with the shortest version you'll visit the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Harlem. You can book it here.
- New York Contrast tour 7h: with this extended version you'll visit the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Harlem and Coney Island. You can book it here.
Free walking tour of New York
Booking a free tour of New York can be a great way to start exploring the city. Of course you won't have time to see all the landmarks, but you'll be able to get an initial idea and then continue discovering on your own. We recommend this free tour of New York, it lasts 2.5 hours and you only pay what you wish.
Musicals, shows and sporting events in New York City
Do you fancy experiencing the thrill of an NBA game in New York? Then check out these NBA tickets to see if there's a game on during your visit and you're lucky enough to attend.
On the other hand, it's well known that New York is the cradle of theater, there's no better city (apart from Las Vegas) to see a play or musical. Here you can see some of the most interesting shows on Broadway, tickets usually sell out fast so don't leave it to the last minute:
- The Lion King Musical
- Aladdin the Musical
- Michael Jackson Musical
- Mamma Mia! the Musical
- Moulin Rouge the Musical
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- Chicago the Musical
- Stranger Things: The First Shadow (Theatre)
Niagara Falls Tour
Although it's quite far from New York (670km or 416 miles) and it's a really long trip, if you have enough time and you're looking forward to visiting one of the biggest waterfalls in the world, don't hesitate! Take a look to this Niagara Falls Full Day Tour from New York, it includes transport by bus, English-speaking guide and you have the option to add the cruise.
One-day trip to Washington D.C.
Visiting the capital of the United States, known as the city of the free museums, is a fantastic plan if you have enough time. There are several ways to get to Washington D.C. from New York, you can choose the one that best suits you keeping in mind that 1 day is enough to see the most important sights, although you can certainly spend more time if you wish.
💡Recommended: 24 top things to do in Washington DC
Where to stay in New York
We've written a very complete guide about where to stay in New York, where we tell you which are the best areas in the city (including "economic" alternatives) and we recommend you some accommodations to make your search much easier.
It isn't a secret that the price of the accommodation in New York is currently crazy. Sometimes you find a cheap flight to the city and you buy it impulsively, then you start looking for a hotel and you realize how much money it's going to cost. 😰 We've all been there, but if you want to travel to New York you have to assume that it's what it's.
Some tips when looking for a hotel in New York:
- Focus on the areas we recommend in our post on where to stay in New York and search on Booking.com.
- Read the guest reviews and start with the most recent ones. This is where you'll see the true pros and cons of each hotel.
- If you want to opt for a more economical option, read our article on cheap accommodation in New York (coming soon). Although not ideal, one trick is to share a room and/or bathroom.
- Try not to book hotels that score below 7.5. This would be a good score in other parts of the world, but not in New York. The value for money is below our standards (even if they cost a pretty penny).
- Don't include breakfast unless the price is decent. They're usually expensive and in the city you have plenty of places to have breakfast for less.
- Always check if taxes are included in your reservation to avoid surprises. In New York there are 2 taxes on accommodations that you won't get rid of: 14.75% of the total price of the hotel + $3.50 per night of city tax.
In addition, there are hotels that have a 'resort' category (although most of them aren't a resort as such). These add an additional tax for the use of their facilities that can vary between $10 and $50 per night. In addition, some accommodations may charge a security deposit, but unless you've vandalized the room, you'll get it back when you leave the hotel.
How to pay in New York
Paying by card in New York
In New York practically everything is paid by card, both in large and smaller businesses, and in general contactless, Google Pay and Apple Pay are accepted. Tipping in restaurants is also paid by card: when paying you'll see on the screen the percentage of tip you want to leave (15%, 20%, 25%...) or you can write a specific amount (it's expected to be a minimum of 15% and if you go in a large group often a mandatory minimum of 20% to 25% is charged).
If you travel to New York from a country with a different currency, you must take with you at least one of the best cards to travel to the USA in order to avoid all the currency exchange fees that the traditional bank cards apply. If you make payments with a conventional bank card you'll be charged between 4% and 5% in commissions for currency exchange on each payment.
💡Recommended: Best travel card for the USA |Comparison and Opinion|
As a summary, these are the cards we've used in our trips to the United States:
- Wise: you can withdraw cash at ATMs up to 200€/month without any commission. In addition, you can make payments in any foreign currency with ridiculously low commissions (usually below 0.40%) with a limit of 30,000€/month. You can avoid that opening an account in Dollars within the app (it's free). You can order Wise card here, only shipping cost apply.
- N26: we use this card a lot to pay in foreign currency, as it has no monthly amount limits and doesn't charge any commission. You can also withdraw money at ATMs without limit, but it always charges a 1.7% commission in the case of currencies other than Euro. If you order your N26 here, when you've made up 4 purchases of at least 20€ you will receive 15€ as a gift in your balance.
- Revolut: we use it for withdrawing Dollars at ATMs (up to 200€ monthly) and making payments, but only on weekdays as during weekends there's a 1% commission. You can order your Revolut card here, only paying the shipping cost.
We think it's best to carry more than one card, combining Visa and Mastercard, so you end up paying almost 0 in fees.
Paying by cash in New York
However, there're still some places where only cash is accepted in New York. An example would be laundromats or some street food stands. Therefore, we recommend that you carry a few dollars in your pocket using one of these 2 options:
- Withdraw cash at an ATM in New York: we recommend you to use the Wise card since, as we've already mentioned, it allows you to withdraw up to 200€/month without commissions. However, most ATMs in New York charge a small fee of $2 to $5 depending on the bank. This fee is charged by the ATM, so no card covers it.
- Change currency at an exchange office in New York: change your Euros (or any other currency) into Dollars at your destination going to an exchange office, either at the airport (they usually have worse exchange rates) or in the city itself.
DO YOU NEED A NO FEES CARD FOR YOUR TRIPS?Get your Wise card here for free
Withdraw money and pay in other currencies without fees!
💳Check it out: Best Travel Cards for the USA | Comparison & Opinion |
How public transport works in New York
New York City Transit is the main transportation network in New York City and includes both buses and the subway. The subway will be your best friend (or enemy, depending on how you look at it) during your visit to New York, because the distances in the city are huge. You'll have to use it many times! We found the New York metro, apart from being old and lacking in maintenance, to be quite a hassle. But don't worry, getting lost in the New York subway or getting somewhere you didn't want to go is part of the adventure. 🤣
There are a total of 28 lines and you can see the updated New York subway map here. Whoever designed it must have had a very privileged mind! Most of the lines are bifurcated in numbers or letters, for example the red line is bifurcated in 1, 2 and 3 and the blue line in A, C and E. What you have to do is to look at what color and number/letter has the stop you want to go to and then you'll know which line to take exactly.
It's also very important that you pay attention to which direction you want to go, because there are stations with an entrance specific for a direction. For example, if you want to go to the south of the city, you'll have to enter through the entrance marked Downtown and if you want to go north, you'll have to enter through the one marked Uptown. If you get confused once you've paid the ticket, you'll have to exit and pay again at the other entrance.
Also, keep in mind that for the same line there is Local subway (makes all stops and is slower) and Express subway (skips stops to go faster). It happened to us that once we were inside the coach, an unintelligible message started to sound and suddenly the subway started skipping stops. This meant that the Local line we had taken had changed to Express, skipping the stop where we wanted to get off. We had to get to the end of the line to catch another subway and go back. It's crazy!
What is the price of the New York subway?
Each single ticket costs $3.
What is the New York subway schedule?
The metro operates 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
How do you pay for the New York subway?
Due to the disappearance in 2026 of the MetroCard, a rechargeable card for the subway and bus, the only way to pay for the New York subway is by using the OMNY. This contactless system works with both cell phones and cards, just swipe them near the screen and you're ready to go. You also have the option of buying a physical card and recharging it, you can buy it at the machines in each station although we don't find it so practical. Things to keep in mind about this system:
- There are no passes.
- It has a maximum weekly amount of $35 (about 12 trips). This means that once you exceed this amount, the rest of the trips will be free until day 7. You must use always the same payment method.
- You can pay for up to 3 people with the same card.
How to get internet in New York
Another important point when traveling to New York is internet. Although practically all hotels now have free wifi included in your rate, you'll surely need internet while you are visiting the city: read restaurants reviews, search on Google Maps how to get from one point to another, look for information about a tourist spot, etc.
We'll talk more in detail about this topic in our post on how to have internet in the United States: best SIMs and eSIMs, but as a summary these would be the main options:
- Buy a local SIM in New York: the 3 companies that work in the United States are Verizon, T-mobile and AT&T. Usually at the airports there aren't stores, so you have go to the city to get one SIM. In this post you can find all the plans they have and the cost.
- Buy an eSIM in advance: if you want to do your homework at home and not worry about this issue once at your destination, you can buy an eSIM for New York if your cell phone allows it. Here are the 2 options we recommend and their respective discounts for you to compare:
INTERNET IN THE UNITED STATES
We have 2 discounts for you:
-3 FREE days with eSIMFlag ➡️ Unlimited data at the best price! Code: TRIPTOUSA10
-10% OFF with SimLocal ➡️ Best deal with limited data! Discount applied automatically
🤓 Take a loot at: Best SIMs & eSIMs for traveling to the USA
How many airports are in New York
There are 3 airports in New York: John F. Kennedy Airport (known as JFK), La Guardia Airport and Newark Airport (the furthest from Manhattan).
Each of the airports has its own public transportation system to New York (which we will talk about in separate articles), but you also have the option of booking private transfers from any New York airport to your hotel.
We hope these tips for traveling to New York will be useful for you to organize your visit to the big city.
