Trip Information
Spring (April / May)
Spring in New York is cool with mild but pleasant temperatures of around 22c / 72f.
July is the hottest month with average highs of 30c / 86f and the coldest month is January with average ‘highs’ of 4c / 39f.
As the city is in the northeastern part of the United States it is susceptible to cold air masses from the Arctic. Snowfall and freezing temperatures are common from December to Feb making it a quintessential winter wonderland but be prepared for the bitterly cold weather and equally for the heat and humidity if you plan on visiting in July or August.
Before you go
A visa is required to enter the US as a tourist/visitor.
Only book via the ESTA US Customs and Border Protection site. There are other sites that may offer the visa application but they may not be secure and will likely come with an additional charge.
Cost for an ESTA is £16 / €19 / $21 and can be processed for approval within 30mins or up to 72hrs. An email confirmation will be issued which can be printed however showing an electronic copy at customs will suffice.
An ESTA is valid for two years from approval unless your passport expires within this time.
Departing Flight Information
For those familiar with our travels we always do a meet and greet at airports.
Yes they do cost a little more than off-site parking but you don’t have the hassle of waiting for a transfer bus, they are generally reliable and so much easier pulling right up to the terminal or when you depart and your car is waiting there for you.
This trips’ parking was via Park It Easy for £10 per day. We generally never use the same meet and greet company as prices vary so use a few different search sites such as Holiday Extras, Compare Airport Parking or Purple Parking. It pays to register an account with them as they do provide good discount codes for future use.
We generally use an AMEX Gold Card for our travel bookings as any spend means points which equal prizes ie discount on travel and accommodation.
Some Amex cards also provide Priority Pass lounge membership with 4x free passes per year.
Heathrow’s lounge is definitely one of the best airport lounges to relax in before a flight.
Flight Arrival Information
Our flight was from Heathrow to John F. Kennedy Airport with British Airways and American Airlines code share via
Skyscanner.
Skyscanner is our preferred flight search engine but prices were also checked via Google Flights and direct with the airline British Airways.
Cost was £650 / €780 / $842 including seat selection and 23kg checked luggage each.
You can catch some good deals via British Airways and Virgin Atlantic from £350 return from the UK to NY. Registering your email is advised so you can get notified of the deals as soon as they launch. There is also Norse Atlantic Airways that do consistently cheap flights however we have not flown with them so won’t comment on what they are like.
Be mindful on any of the cheap deals that you’ll need to be flexible on dates and the price displayed is generally hand luggage only. Checked luggage can be an additional circa £150 return. Seat selection can be extra too although you may get a free seat selection 24hrs after check in time but if you’re not travelling alone there’s a risk you may not be seated together. Obviously always check the details within the flight booking before paying.
Flight time to New York is circa 7hrs direct from the UK.
Trip Information
Security at JFK Airport can be slow and although online waiting times may state 20-30 minutes be prepared to wait up to 2hrs. Keep this is mind if you have a connecting flight within the US.
There are plenty of taxis outside arrivals but as this was a night time arrival we booked an Uber just as we walked out of the terminal and it was there within minutes.
In New York there are a range of Uber vehicle choices including large luxury sedans such as the Chryslers that you see in the movies and used by celebrities but they are expensive to hire. A standard taxi ride to Harlem where we were staying was about 40mins due to less traffic at night and cost around £50 / €60 / $62.
A much cheaper option is to get the JFK AirTrain from all terminals to Jamaica Station to then get either the Subway or Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) into Manhattan. The AirTrain is free within the airport but costs £6.70 / €8 / $8.40 if you are exiting at Jamaica Station.
The Subway from Jamaica Station into Queens, Midtown, Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan will cost around £8.70/€10.30/$11 and takes around 50 minutes.
The LIRR is quicker (30mins) and costs from £10-£15 / €12-€18 / $13-$19.
The US Dollar at the time of writing is $1US = €0.95 / £0.80
Cost of a cwoffee in NY is around $6 / €5.70 / £4.80
Interesting fact; there are currently $2.35 trillion in US currency in circulation and a normal sheet of paper can be folded 400 times before it breaks whereas a US dollar bill can be folded 8000 times!
Whilst tipping is not mandatory in the US there is an expectation that you should tip and especially to those in the hospitality industry where wages are very low and tipping is a critical form of additional income.
When your bill arrives be prepared to add another 15-20% as a tip and carry smaller cash denominations for smaller tips. You can of course choose not to tip but it may be deemed to be rude or insulting or that poor service may have been given! Your choice of course so tip or not as you wish.
We recommend the use of a Revolut card for your travels which you can use as an App as well as a physical card. It can be used all over the world, is free to apply, can be linked to your accounts for easy online transfers and has low exchange rate fees. There are also monthly plan options which give midweek no-fee exchanges in over 30 currencies as well as access to airport lounges, travel insurance and airline miles.
Practical Advice & Tips
NYC is big!
The size of New York City cannot be underestimated. There are five boroughs in NYC; Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens and Staten Island and they are all quite unique with their own distinctive vibe.
Manhattan is your central city borough with the Bronx to the north. It’s 13miles / 21km or a 5 hour walk from Lower Manhattan to the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx so where you stay and how you want to get around is key.
As a rough guide Staten Island is 20miles / 32km from Central Park, Queens is 10miles / 17km and Brooklyn is 8 miles / 13km.
Comfy walking shoes are a must!
One of the best interactive maps of NYC with attractions is Introducing New York.
The Subway is the cheapest and quickest way to get around NYC but it is not the usual mode of tourist transport like the London Underground or Paris Metro. Outside of Downtown areas the stations are not as well maintained and the trains are not the cleanest but it all adds to the true character and experience of a visit to New York. There wasn’t any point during our travels on the Subway that we felt unsafe.
Most fares are $2.90 / €2.75 / £2.30 per ride or you can get a 7 day MetroCard for unlimited Subway and Bus trips for $34 / €32 / £27.
More details on the subway and fares can be found here: MTA Fares.
You have to have the experience of ‘hailing’ a Yellow Cab taxi while in New York and they are a good way to get around although sometimes it’s faster to walk when the traffic is gridlocked. Fares vary so check out Yellow Cab taxis for more information.
Where to stay
As one would expect there is a plethora of accommodation choices so it really comes down to budget and where you want to stay. We chose to stay in Harlem in Upper Manhattan in a beautiful traditional Brownstone apartment and as Harlem is just outside of Central Park it gives good access into the city with a great range of accommodation choices that may not be as costly as Lower Manhattan.
NY Airbnb and NY Booking.com are the best options for accommodation but also check out NY Expedia for further hotel deals.
Recommended hotels by budget include:
£££££ The Plaza pure luxury located on 5th Avenue next to Central Park
££££ Hyatt near the Empire State Building with a rooftop bar
£££ The Jane has uber cool décor in the equally cool West Village district
££ Chelsea Rooms is basic but its location close to Times Square and Madison Square garden makes up for it
£ NAP York a hostel that we could only have wished for in our old backpacking days! Modern, clean with all the amenities a budget traveller needs.
What to do
There’s so much to see and do in New York we couldn’t list them all but below are just a few options. Check out our Highlights section for more details on some.
If you have time definitely take a day trip to Washington DC to see the sights there such as The White House and the Lincoln Memorial. Flight time from JFK is 1.5hrs but a quicker option (taking into account early arrival at the airport, boarding etc) is to catch the train which is 3 hrs one way and gives an opportunity to see some great scenery. For more details and to book tickets visit Amtrak.
New York is absolutely one of those must do destinations. Its iconic landmarks, sights and sounds are what make this trip highly recommended and you don’t need many days to see everything, three to five days will suffice. It’s not the cheapest of city visits but the reality is not many major tourist destinations are these days.
There are so many more highlights we could write about from the vibrant Greenwich Village and the Blue Note Jazz Club to the Red Stairs in Times Square to the Museum of Natural History so if you are planning a trip to New York and would like more info don’t hesitate to contact us.
Just remember to bring a good pair of comfy walking shoes and be relaxed about having to tip 🙂
Get it booked!
