One more thing....

Shows..go to the TKTS booth at times square, and theres one at wall street, or was. The tickets can be up to half price, and still a sticker shock. They may not be the MOST popular plays, but hey, they're cheaper and they're broadway.

cabs. 2 dollars to step into the cab, and about 3 dollars more for every mile after that, or more. In other words, if you have the budget for it, great.Other wise subways can be almost as fast and a LOT cheaper.

Thanks You for your advice, I think I will save myself the trouble and just stay at the HI. Free tours of the city on foot how great is that! I've taken subways before so thats not a problem. Now I need to look at a map and figure out how much a taxi will cost from the Broadway theatres back to the hostel. I don't want to take the subway at night by myself. I just went ahead and bought tickets so I don't have to waste time in some long line for cheap tickets. I'm also going to buy a City Pass as it gets me into all the museums and tourists attraction for about half off. Thanks for the advice on the statue of liberty. I'f you can think of any other worthy advice I'd be very greatful thanks very much Tortuga

I just stayed at the Chelsea International Hostel for a couple of nights, and have some mixed feelings about it. Only a few blocks to the subway. Safe neighborhood. Location is good, even more so if you are a gay male (which I am not).

Pluses:

location

excellent cleanliness

good security

mattresses OK

free transit maps (ask for one)

Minuses:

Price is high: $32-36 a night for a bunk bed.

No Wi-Fi in this day and age? WTF? Computer use is 10 cents a minute. Not acceptable.

No matter how hard I tried, the door locks are hard to use. Some work, some don't. If you can get into the building, you can't get into your room and vice versa. (They do not use commercial quality locks). This is really annoying! It was topic (a.) of complaints by everyone there.

Staff is civil, at best. Actually, the guys that I dealt with (this place has an immense staff) were universally professional. There was a woman there who simply refused to help or answer questions. (young, possibly Hispanic, about 25). When asked about taking the train to Long Island, she said that she couldn't help, and provided the quote of the day: "I don't know much about traveling". I replied "You work in a youth hostel and don't know much about traveling????" (Seriously: anyone who hands out transit maps ought to know which station the train leaves from, Grand central or Penn). There was another woman (Asian, about 35) who was busy playing video games on the computer, who hastened a guess at which station it might be, even though she was irritated at being pulled away from her video game to answer a question for a guest. Where do they get these people?

The staff hides behind the bulletproof glass, never ventures outside.

Will I stay there again? Probably not, though now I have memorized their routine.

Would I recommend it? Nope. Not a chance.

Ok, see the NYV Cheap and Free section in North America. Its chock full of things.

The American Museum of Natural History is quite fascinating. It is FREE, except for the special exhibits, then you pay through the nose. Note that all normal payments are suggested. So is the Metropolitan Musuem of art. It is FREE, though they may charge, once more, for special temporary exhibits. The MOMA is like 22 dollars, and worth it, I suppose. If you get half off on the city pass, I'll be surprised. On Fridays at 4(get in line at 2) they let you in for free or a low price until 6, when they close.

The Staten Island ferry is practically free, and another great night view of NYC.

In my next life, I'll get an apartment on Staten Island and just take the ferry back and forth.

Oh yes, at the desk with the free tours is a visit to a comedy club. Most of the acts are totally lame, but they only want you to spend about five bucks, so I guess you get what you pay for. The guy that leads you around on that tour is cool to talk to, at least.

Central park is now safe during the day FLASH. Go take a few hours and visit it. It too is free!!

The Cloisters are outright cool. They're a subway ride away BUT, check to see if its safe. Last time I went there the area felt kind of sketchy, and its outside the central central park area. That was 10 years ago.

I also hear great things about the Brooklyn museum of art. Next time I go to NYC I'll see it.

well, see NYC cheap and free. Christina has a lot more ideas like this.

One more thing. By all means, go to the World trade center, but don't expect to see much. There isn't even a an interesting museum or memorial there. It's pretty pitiful.

There was just a big hole when I was there, which is now probably filled with construction equipment for the new tower being planned.

i too am looking at hostels in new york. i definately want to stay in manhattan other then that i dont really know where to start. ive been looking, and two of them have caught my eye, the hi new york, and the jazz on the city. this will be my first time staying in a hostel so i guess im not sure what all im looking for. any suggestions for a first timer?

Hi Tiff,

Is the Jazz on the Town hostel the one down on 14th St? If so then I would avoid it: it has no communal areas, very cramped dorms and a poor atmosphere. The HI is much (much!) bigger and has good facilities, but 106th St is a bit out of the action. It's got a good selection of tours and ways of meeting people though. This thread has some more opinions on: http://boards.bootsnall.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/940098755/m/38100524316

I don't know about hostels in NYC... even the expensive hotel rooms are pretty tiny.

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