Get tickets to NYC's best attractions: gyg.me/1uX4VZRq Join my in-person tours: funkyexperiences.com/ Get the FREE 3-day guide: invite.bublup.com/-Tof5joJelG1
An alternative to LIC is Williamsburg in Brooklyn. It is about four stoops from Union Square(14th at) in manhattan. It is a place where hipsters hang out. Safety is important. NYC is no more dangerous than any other major city. Sarah has suggested to not be out after 10PM. Good advice. It also helps you get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow. If you are out and about remember there is safety in numbers. In Wall Street late at night (Why?). There is very little foot traffic in the area. Leave the area ASAP. Traveling on the subway late at night. Nobody on the platform? Hand out by the coin booth until you hear your train coming. I love crossing the B bridge. My advice is take the train to Brooklyn and walk towards the city. When you finish the walk you’ll be by city hall. Lots of busses and trains to take you to your next destination. There are also things to do and see in downtown Manhattan. Not so if you walk toward Brooklyn. I think a visit to Times Square at night is worthy of your time. I go back home to NY yearly And love taking pictures. There is so much light I take pictures without a flash or pushing the light sensitivity. Locals avoid Times Square. Then again you aren’t a local. Besides, most of the tourist sights are closed when TS is lite up. Sarah has warned you about the scamsters and they are here a plenty. Besides the lite up area it is entertaining, for me, to watch the scamstars try and work the street. It is part of the street entertainment. You decide. Staten Island isn’t for site seeing. Generally it is a residential area. The only reason to visit Staten Island, in my opinion, is to get off the Staten Island ferry (FREE in both directions!) and catch a returning ferry back to downtown Manhattan. The view of lower Manhattan is worth the ~ one hour (including the wait to board the ferrys) total time. Tourists are hip to this trip and know to go to the starboard (right) side on the trip to Staten Island for the Statute of Liberty. True about the Wall Street bull. What many people don’t know that since this is a bull his genitalia is on display. Many people rub his private area as his body has a patina but his private part is bright and shiny. Everything in NYC is expensive. Some good news is the food doesn’t have to be. Stay away from chain restaurants as Sarah suggests. It is more expensive than the chain restaurants at home because of rents et al. Plus they strive to taste wherever you go. Go to neighborhood restaurants. There is a wide variety of cuisines to sample. The restaurant may be expensive compared to home but the food will be better and less expensive than the chain restaurants. Storyblocks cinema. Good idea. Unless you are a professional photographer or videographer, these images will be better than any images you want to create. Take a small camera or use you cell camera for images of your family with the Brooklyn Bridge (or other tourist destinations) in the background. Sarah may suggest not going into tourist trap souvenir shops. Good idea. On the other hand, you can purchase great postcards at a reasonable price. Here is a fun thing. Negotiate the price. You can get the postcards for less than the published price sometimes. If it doesn’t work write this off as entertainment. I negotiated my the price of my Brooklyn baseball cap. As Sarah suggests, if you are in the city for about a week, get the MTA weekly pass for ~$33. The subway is definitely the fastest way to get around. Somethings to consider. The trains are three stories below ground. During rush hour let the locals out of the subway car 1st and climb the stairs. They do this all the time and can climb the stairs faster than you. When they have left you can climb the stairs at your own pace. There are very few handicapped accessible stations. For short trips try the bus. Yes it takes longer to get where you are going. In exchange for time you will be above ground and see the environment. Also the buses are handicap accessible. Want to stop in the middle of the block to take a picture? Look behind you 1st. As Sarah suggests, locals can give you a dirty look or say something about your behavior. Like you, locals have places to go and people to see. This is merely a polite thing to do. Oh yes. Unofficially, Jay walking doesn’t exist. A break in the traffic? Cross against the light. I now live in Seattle and I still cross streets this way. I check the street traffic and make sure there aren’t any local cops around. I guarantee no NYPD officer will ticket you for Jay walking. Good bathroom hack. An additional one is chain food chains have bathrooms for customers. Find the bathroom and wait on line until your time or go to a cashier for the passcode. Advanced hack. I’m a street photographer and walk the streets all day and into the night. If you are going to return to the area later in your trip make a record of the pass code and use the code again. Mask On Nurse Marty (Ret)
I love how much stronger your NYC accent has become since your earlier videos! I study and teach a lot of foreign languages as well as English dialects, and the various accents in the Boroughs are some of my all-time favorites. It’s entirely natural for people’s accents to change during their lives, whether through osmosis or deliberately changing it. In any case, you’re an excellent communicator and I deeply appreciate all the helpful information.
These are all great tips overall! I agree that hotels in Midtown are quite expensive. Thankfully I had points I could use so that my stay was significantly cheaper. When I was in NYC last September by myself, I rode the subway quite a lot, and I had no problems or concerns with regards to safety. I rode it only during the daytime however. Awesome video!
I gotta add something to the “don’t stop in the middle of the sidewalk” : PLEASE walk at a normal pace 😭 Most people walk from point A to point B, and a crowd of slow tourists is an absolute nightmare
Honestly when it comes to safety and crime…..it’s more so common sense. If you’re walking in an area that seems very off putting, the people around you give off a weird vibe, and you actually see something bad happening, either leave that area quick or if you have to walk in that area to get to your destination…keep all of your belongings out of sight and extremely close to you, as well as just mind your business which is a superpower that most NYers seem to have. When it comes to weather and what to wear…..I’m sure it’s just the tri-state area that experiences this but specifically here in NY….the weather is bipolar and sometimes disrespectful.
Well, not all the visitors reside in the United States, for the rest of the world IS NOT COMMON that a man shoved a girl to the train; sorry you guys have got used to it, but it's not common sense and I think it's good to know how can we anticipate this kind of scenarios
RIP those pushed onto the subway tracks, killed in the subway cars, etc do not have the opportunity to use Spidey senses. Bradley Cooper was even mugged at knife point on the subway at like noon, enroute to pick his kid up from school. Crime and harm are usually everywhere and least expected, that is the advantage the predator has over the prey. But yeah, keep an eye out, but respect the victims, most are not naive and not trying to be a victim, bad people are just unpredictable.
@@jerick.rodriguez It is very unfortunate that the young woman was shoved into the train, but that is not a normal occurrence, at all. Also, if you don't feel comfortable taking the subway, then opt for other options like uber or lyft.
I really want to go to NYC now! And your videos feel current..love the awesome authentic recommendations. Your daughter is SO cute and a natural in front of the camera! Do a video on traveling NYC with kids.
Sara, Just spent a few days in New York and was lucky enough to get to the Mets vs Yankees. It was a brilliant night and the New Yorkers we spoke to were great. Word of warning, me and my wife are in our 60’s and we were asked for identification when buying our drinks. We didn’t carry our passports as we didn’t want to take too much with us. Didn’t happen in the bars we went to but they were pretty strict in the stadium. We found a kind vendor who accepted my vaccine passport which had my dob on. May be worth a mention. Had a great time.
Great video! I would say that sometimes you do need to have some extra cash on hand for tips, bodegas, buskers, ice cream/hot dogs in Central Park, street vendors etc. Some places only take cash. Also, about hotels - if you are planning to do sightseeing mostly in Manhattan, I would rather pony up the extra money to stay in Manhattan and be able to walk, explore and be closer to the sights I want to see on my time instead of staying somewhere in the outer boroughs just for the cheaper hotel ...you can have the best intentions about taking trains wherever you need to go during the day and at night, but if you happen to have a few late nights out, safety can be a concern and if you're not quite sure about taking the subway, you will be taking cabs/Lyfts/Ubers back to your hotel in the outer boroughs and that cost can add up (and take up time, too).
Tom D would be proud of that sick plug! Bonus tip if I may add as a semi local (I'm a 15 min drive from NYC in NJ) : Sunday mornings are the BEST time to sight see. Seriously. Anything before 11 AM, the city still seems "asleep" and it's so much easier to get around..I go nearly every Sunday :)
Sarah When someone is taking the Subway. Go to the middle of the platform and look for a striped bar. That is where the conductor cab is or go to the front of the car. That is where the motorman is. Weather I NYC varies. Hot and humid weather with severe thunderstorms to cold and snowy weather. Tourist traps unfortunately are being spread to the Coney Island Boardwalk.. Do not give any thing to them. I agree with you when it comes to restaurants. I go to a bar restaurant in Sheepshead Bay. The service is great. Always people should 20% tip Great video.
In terms of saving money on accommodation, I cant emphasise how much cheaper staying in an AirBnB is. It's about 10% the nightly cost of a hotel. You can find them in Brooklyn, Upper Manhattan and New Jersey. Yes you have to commute, but it's like 10-30 minutes max by bus!! This leaves you with more money for fun spending in New York.
I've been watching your videos quite a bit! I'll be there in December with my daughter. It's her favorite holiday hands down. So far I purchased tickets for The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular Show and a 4 hour Dyer Heights tour (Christmas day..kinda figured that would be a good day since some things may be closed and it'll give us a little break as we chill for a bit.) I found an Airbnb right by Times Square with all the action. I got it just in time too. All of my "hearted" pads skyrocketed considerably before the end of April. We have both been to NYC once but this trip is Christmas focused. I've been investigating like nuts and plan to utilize your video to get from LaGuardia to our Airbnb. There's only two other things I plan to purchase tickets for...ice skating and I think we're gonna go with The Edge. One World Observatory sounds great for all the obvious reasons but towering over all of NYC didn't seem as cool as kinda being eye to eye. I like the see through floor but the other seems intriguing as well. I want to book tickets for dusk. I almost bought tx last night but I held off so I could see what the distance is between our temporary NYC home and where the Dyer Heights tour ends. I'm thinking Christmas night may be the time to go after the tour which is scheduled to end at 8. Any thoughts on this? And any other suggestions that I should look into or book? Btw, my daughter will be 15 in June so she's at a great age to be adventurous with. Oh and we plan to definitely ride the Staten Island ferry. There's other good tour guides I've checked out but I feel most comfortable with your videos and one other lady...the dudes are ok but I'm sticking with the ladies! 💜 Thanks so much for your insightful, helpful videos. 💜🎄💜
I find this video is sooooo helpful. Planning my first NYC trip this year. Please do a video on baby friendly activities and places (I'll be bringing in my 1 y.o. baby and I really hope to do all the fun things with her along).
I love all your videos, so informative and fun to watch ! I lived in New York for 6/7 months and I miss it so so much ! Hope to be back soon. I feel/felt like a local, but I still hope to do your tour one day. Thanks ! XX
I love your videos, Sarah, my husband and I have been binging them as our trip to NYC approaches (we'll be arriving this Thursday) we will only have a few days to explore the city so it will be a little taster for him. This will be my 5th time visiting but the last time I was in NYC was in 2014 so I'm sure LOTS has changed since my last visit.
$6000 is the total amount my daughter and I spent for our trip to NYC in May 2022. (we stayed for 7 nights) This is our 3rd visit and we love it more and more each time thanks to Sarah's amazing videos with tips and tricks!
$6k? What! I just came from a trip last week with My two sisters and I with an 1 year old & a 4-year old. And we stayed near Times Square (the Hyatt Centric; we were on the 53th floor and got to experience the 54th rooftop bar at 10:30am to take photos only) for an entire week and it costed us $5k in total. Definitely go to The Color Factory, the samples are amazing from the macaroons to gelato after the ball pit. We even took a boat ride on Classic Harbor that costed $200+ for our party.
@@tatyanna408 When I was researching hotels, the Hyatt Centric would have been over $3300 for the 2 of us to stay on a high floor with one king bed. How in the world did the 5 of you stay there and only end up paying $5000 total for the trip? You need to post a video with your tips and tricks, because that's amazing!! 😀😀😀
@@bri6713 I booked the hotel 3 months in advanced. We stayed in the 2 Queen Oversized High Floor room (rainfall shower & separate tub). I made an account and got the members advance rate. Did everything by the app. Checked in. Only put 2 adults & 2 kids on the reservation. So when I got to the hotel, all I needed was to get the room keys. The app will give you better rooms available.
@@bri6713 the exact price for the hotel was $3,345.02. All of our activities like the Classic Harbor, I found a 15% off coupon code that worked. The kids really didn’t want fancy food, so street food, McDonalds, and snacks kept them good and us to. 😭 After all the walking, we wanted lazy convenient food for dinner. Definitely Uber’ed food to the hotel.
I'm finally coming to NYC in September for my birthday as a 1st time visitor. My sister is coming with me but she's been to NYC multiple times pre pandemic. I definitely been watching you and Here Be Bare videos lately. I'm coming from Orlando(biggest tourist city imo), so I'm use to bipolar weather lol.
Hi Sarah, I just discoverd your channel and find it very entertaining. The main reason to watch your videos was to practice my English listening and, let me tell you, I think your English sounds very clear to me, it may be because you're an educated person/communicator or simply my understanding of the language is good. Hope some day I can visit the City That Never Sleeps, thanks for your tips and videos abouit it.
@@dbased1915 i would imagine it's just restaurant/place dependant. To my knowledge though, no. I know they recently scrapped covid testing before arrival so i assume most if not all won't need it.
Im from Long Island and I’ve only been to the city a few times. I want to take my aunt there, she’s visiting. I’m binge watching all your videos rn, so helpful. Ty
The fact that these restaurants charge these super high prices yet only pay their waiters $5/hr is insane. Also, that the expectations for tipping % keeps climbing and now sits at 20% as a “normal” tip is ridiculous! Just out of control. NY needs better laws so the owners pay their staff instead of patrons
I found New York safe. The people were lovely and would give you directions if you asked them. When I said I was from Australia, they wanted to know more. I was there for 11 nights in 2018 and saw so much, but there was so so much to see that I didn't get a chance to. I found the Subway easy to get around (apart from Fulton street, but that's a long conversation). We stayed in Upper West side and had a supermarket across the road (well Broadway) with a deli and we were able to get something for dinner there. Saved us a lot of money. Plus we were out and about all day that all we felt like doing was changing into our trackie dacks (Australian slang for tracksuit pants) having a drink and unwinding for the day. I loved New York and can't wait to go again! I better get saving!
Hi Bella 😂 First Baby? Is there another on the way? BTW - agree with your assessments. To anyone watching this… take one of Sarah’s tours. My daughter really enjoyed the tour she took with her and Sarah is a really down to earth person. Only reason to go to Times Square is to people watch and you can combine it with a Broadway show. Oh yeah, don’t stop on the sidewalk.
I live in lower Manhattan and have a toddler side kick. The Staten Island Ferry is a wonderful place where we go to burn off her little kid energy. It is a safe and scenic boot ride. You can move around the entire trip. You"re allowed to eat and drink. I like the back of the boat, so I wait for everyone to board, my granddaughter and I wave at the workers on the boat and ramp, go right up stairs or go forward and take the elevator up, if we have a stroller. The back of the boat is emptier and the view is amazing. I like the view to the east, Governor's Island and Brooklyn. The Statue of Liberty and the tourists are on the west side of the boat. The Staten Island Zoo is an easy car service ride away. It is a good small zoo for little children. The mall on the Staten Island side is a good place for children because it is mostly empty. It was empty when we were there last summer. It's not for adult tourists as much as it is for locals or people who are here for a long time. I have only gone at mid day during the week.
I planned a trip to New York for my anniversary around Fall and thanks to your videos I have a more clear idea of what I want to do around New York, keep up the good work, your content is lovely and amazing!
Love your videos very informative. Would be very helpful for our next visit. I think though that Time square should be on the to do list. I know There’s really not much there,but it’s very Iconic. Otherwise it’s like going to Oahu & not seeing Waikiki beach & Diamond head.
Hey Sarah! Just wanted to say that thanks to your amazing videos, I had an amazing time in New York! I can't wait to go back and do the things I couldn't do this time around. Thanks again :)
I just think it’s funny that I found you right before Covid when we were planning a trip, now we are catching up on that travel credit and I found you again and you have a daughter and now so do I. Life
I stayed at The Sonder in Long Island City when me and my spouse came a few weeks ago and we loved it! We were right next to the subway and had access to Manhattan and the rest of the boroughs. I’ve stayed in Midtown the other two times I came last year and while it is more convenient LIC was just a 15 minute train ride away.
Thank you for sharing Ashley! Sonder is such a great option! I'm glad you had a good experience and got to stay in a different area for your recent trip. I might be a little biased but I love LIC, glad you did too! 😊
Hey I love your video Sarah and hi to Bella, she is so adorable! Thank you for these tips, loved it. Looking forward to visiting soon, at the moment I am a light packer and was thinking if you often travel too? With Bella with you, would love to recommend the bento bag on your future travels from Nomad lane. It is simply the best!
Definately worth getting the ferry to and from Staten Island. Also love getting the bus right uptown to Cloisters, Mosaic garden and St. John's then Harlem.
Hi Sarah, My wife and I love your up beat videos. We realize your content is primarily targeted at new visitors to the Apple. But how about returning visitors? I have been visiting NYC for over 50 years. Thank you!
We got a hotel in midtown for our trip very soon for only $115/night that normally is $300/night! Going right now may be chilly, but the deals we’ve gotten are AMAZING!
When people say New Yorkers are rude, I like to refer them to that ending subway scene in Crocodile Dundee where the commuters help to get Sue and Mic back together. That's what in your face New York nice looks like.
Local here, solid information for tourist, but got some improvements to bounce arounds. 1. Dont go to hotels unless you wanna be hella fancy or you hella rich, go stay at a Airbnb as she said, it's more affordable 2. I get you want to do some restauraunts and all that, yes do that, dont forget that there are some delis or bodega as we say that have good sandwiches, I recommend the chopped cheese on a roll. 3. There's free entertainment everywhere, just gotta know where to look, free movies in the park, free shows/concerts. Broadway is good but tickets can be expensive if you dont look up todaytix. 4. Explore the outer borough, there's more than just manhattan you know, even Staten Island...ONCE. The bronx got some culture, Queens got the foods, Brooklyn got the yuppies gentrifyers but more importantly it got history. 5. Learn our subway system map and you wont get lost...much 6. Get out of the way, we got places to go and things to do, we friendly but dont mess with our gait. 7. As she said, dress comfortably, look at the weather before you go and use your best judgement. 8. Good Luck
The best CHEAP away to see NYC is take the Madison A e BUS all the way from 49 th st. To end of line ( lower Manhattan ) & back 👏👍. I have lived in NYC & Forest Hills a total of 7 yrs . Took our 2 sons back there when they were pre teens ( coming from Columbia , SC ) We WALKED everywhere , rode bus , subway etc.
Hi Sarah! I've been watching all of your videos in preparation for my trip to NYC from the UK in Spring 23.. Do you have any advice about being vegan in NYC? My friend, who I am travelling with, is a meat-eater and I am vegan - I'm hoping there will be places we both can enjoy!? Thanks :)
As a vegetarian in the city (who’s come from California) I can say that there is no variety in what plant based options there are. The only places I’m guaranteed to find something other than a lentil or bean patty for a meal is at a west coast chain. Severely limited options for proteins in store as well. I have only seen beyond/impossible meat, tofu, and tempeh at a handful of grocers & have seen tofu offered once on a restaurant menu. The one thing you can find nearly everywhere is a wide variety of plant based milks, so that’s a plus!
