I’m a lady in love with many cities, and New York is one of them. New York City is one of the best cities in the world, and it really is worth it to visit. I learned and did a lot during the eight years I lived in the city, and in a lot of ways, it’s still home.
I love sharing the tricks I learned for navigating New York City and recently shared my top tips for getting around and having a great time on a budget with Round Trip with Colleen Kelly. Listen to my segment starting at around 12:10.
The key to getting around New York on a budget is mastering the subway, the city’s mostly underground network of trains. This system of trains connects Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx and runs through a section of Staten Island. It can feel intimidating, especially on a busy workday, but once you get the hang of the New York subway, no public transit system in the world can faze you.
And while they may not be as pristine and peaceful as other stations, several New York subway stops—like the 72nd Street Q station on the Upper West Side and the 23rd Street N/Q/R station—are worth a visit for the art alone.
How To Ride The Subway
You can tap to ride and pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay or a chip based credit card. Or buy a transit card at a train stations, drugstore or news stand.
Subway trains are named after numbers or letters and run 24 hours. Trains heading north and to the Bronx are called uptown trains. Trains heading south and to Brooklyn are called downtown trains. Announcers will state the direction of departing trains as Manhattan-bound, Bronx-bound, Brooklyn-bound, or Queens bound. From Manhattan, a Queens-bound 7 train is heading east and will take you the Citi Field, the U.S. Open, Jackson Heights and Flushing, for example.
Some New York subway trains run express, meaning they only make certain stops along a route. Local trains make every stop on a line. On the subway map, black dots signify local train stops and white dots show stations where all trains on a route stop.
Check a map to figure out where you’re going—and check for potential delays—before you get to the station. This makes it easier to make alternate plans when construction or station closures get in the way.
How To Hail A Taxi
New York has what might be the best public transit system in the United States, but there are still times when hopping in a cab is going to be your best bet. And while there are far fewer iconic yellow cabs on city’s streets than there used to be, but they’re still out there. And they’re often cheaper than ride shares during surge pricing.
You can request a taxi through the Curb app or Uber. Sometimes, it’s quicker to hop in the yellow cab in front of you than to wait for a car to make its way to you. Cabs signal their availability by turning on middle lights on their roofs. When you see a cab with its light on, step out as far as you safely can and lift an arm to flag down the taxi.
To learn more about New York or how to plan the perfect New York City trip for you, pick up the latest edition of Lonely Planet New York City, co-authored by me!
