New York On A Budget

Anyone from the UK arriving in the US by air or sea must fill out an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) form in advance. The ESTA scheme checks whether you're eligible to travel to the States under the Visa Waiver Program. It costs $14.

Fill out the form on the official ESTA website – it takes about 20 minutes, and must be filled in at least 72 hours before you fly. Once you've done it, make sure you keep a note of your reference number somewhere safe, or better yet print the authorisation page. For full info see our ESTA for US Travel guide.

Broadway shows are always a huge tourist draw, but you'll pay for the privilege. Pitch up on the night to see Wicked or the Phantom of the Opera, for example, and in the unlikely event you can find a ticket at all, you could end up paying anything from £57 to £155 ($76 to $208) a seat.

How to get tickets

If your heart's set on seeing a particular show, it's best to plan ahead. Tickets for the big shows tend to go on sale about six months in advance, and if you want a specific show you may need to book it from the UK. The New York Theatre Guide has a good FAQs section to get you started (although avoid booking your tickets through them, as they add hefty handling fees) – About Travel also has tips.

If you buy online, there are a host of websites claiming to offer discounts on official Broadway tickets. But make sure you check what the handling fees will be - we've heard of sites charging an extra $20-$50 per ticket, which can soon take the shine off a bargain. You might be better off sticking to Ticketmaster or the show's official website - always compare to make sure you're getting the best deal.

Want the Broadway experience but don't have a particular show in mind? You can just turn up and try to score tickets for that day. The famous Times Square Ticket Booth offers up to 50% discounts – eg, Chicago tickets for $31. Queues can be long, so note there are also booths in South Street Seaport and downtown Brooklyn.

Ex-MSE Rosie took her theatre ticket MoneySaving to the extreme - here are her tips:

We can't stress this enough: make sure you've bought travel insurance as soon as you've booked your trip to New York, so you're protected if you have to cancel before you jet off.

Travel insurance is even more important than normal when visiting the US given the sky-high cost of medical bills if the worst happens. You'll need a worldwide policy that includes the US to ensure you're covered for a visit.

In the UK, the price you see is usually the price you'll pay, but in the States, taxes often aren't included. So to work out what you'll actually be charged, check if a price is with or without tax – sometimes mental arithmetic's required:

• In restaurants and coffee shops sales tax is 8.875%.
   

• In shops, sales tax of 8.875% applies to many items, including cosmetics, computers and jewellery. (Many items of clothing and shoes costing less than $110 are exempt from the tax, though some aren't – see the full list.)
   

• Food shopping in grocery stores isn't taxed.
   

• When booking a hotel, always check that tax is included. Some comparison sites hide the true cost of a stay, and the first time you find out the true figure is at the hotel. The tax is 14.75%, plus $3.50 per night on top.

Look for 'visitor' discounts, eg, 10% off at Macy's and Bloomingdale's

International flights to New York either land at JFK, which is about 20 miles from the city centre, or Newark International Airport, which is a bit further out. While it's tempting just to jump in a cab, that can easily cost $70+, which can get your visit off to a pricey start – instead, look at the alternatives:

Taking the train – $11 from JFK or $15 from Newark

• From JFK, the AirTrain, which runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, costs $7.75 one-way (under-fives free) to Jamaica or Howard Beach stations, and takes 50-75 minutes. 
  
  You'll have to swap to the subway at one of these stations, and it will cost a further $2.75 one way to get to the centre of Manhattan (a Metrocard's cheapest, and up to three kids under 44" go free with each adult).
   

• From Newark, the NJ Transit is $15.25 one-way for the 25-minute journey to Penn Station. Concession tickets (for children, senior citizens and people with a disability) are $11.25, while under-5s travel free.

Forumite FarleyFlavors has found another option to get from Newark to Manhattan for around $5, by catching the NJ Transit 62 for $1.60 (exact change needed) to Newark Penn Station, and from there using the Path train for $2.75 to get to the city. The 62 has a limit of two bags (22"x16"x8") per passenger, though FarleyFlavors says they are not too strict about this unless the bus is very busy.

A pre-booked bus or van – $19 from JFK or Newark

• For a shuttle van from the airport (the likes of which you might remember from Home Alone) you're looking at just under $20 per passenger, per trip. They are often "shared rides" with up to 10 passengers per van, but you can just book one seat.
  
  
• The NYC Airporter shuttle bus offers a a journey from JFK Airport to Grand Central Station, for $19, or $35 return.
  
  
• The Newark Airport Express shuttle bus from Newark to Manhattan stops is $18.50 for a single fare, or $31.50 return.

Don't let a fear of the unknown put you off trying the New York subway and bus system – it's by far the cheapest way to get around (other than walking of course). The free Citymapper app can help you navigate it like a true New Yorker.

To use it, you'll need a Metrocard (which is a plastic, swipeable card which can be topped up, a bit like an Oyster card in London). You can buy them at the subway or in local shops – they cost $1, and for a holiday there are two payment options:

• Pay-per-ride. Each journey costs $2.75. You can top up between $5.50 and $80, and get an 5% bonus when you do (so if you top up $20 there'll be $21 on your card). You can use cards with pay-per-ride credit for up to four people per journey (just hand it to the person behind you to go through the barrier).
   

• Seven-day unlimited. This pass costs $33 for the week, which means you can travel the entire city for less than $5 per day. It can only be used by one person, but if you're likely to make at least 13 journeys in a week, this is likely to be the cheaper option.

If you're planning to hit lots of the big sights and attractions, you might want to consider an attraction pass. Among the best-known are:

The CityPass, which currently costs £105.90 for an adult (£86.65 for a child), and gives you entry to six attractions:

• The Empire State Building
• American Museum of Natural History 
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Top of the Rock observatory deck OR Guggenheim Museum 
• Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island OR Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
• 9/11 Memorial and Museum OR Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum

The New York Pass, which allows you to choose between one and 10 days of sightseeing at 100+ attractions, including most of those listed above. Prices range from around £100 to £360 (for children it's £75 to £230).

To make these worthwhile you'll need to really pack in the sightseeing though. Make sure you plan ahead, and weigh up the cost of buying tickets separately vs getting a pass.

The movies often show New York blanketed in snow, but summer in the city can be sweltering and humid (with temperatures often hitting 30 degrees between June and September).

While the majority of hotels, and even hostels, offer air-conditioning, it's always worth double-checking as you might want to pay a little more for somewhere that does.

Out and about, you'll find most other places in New York have air-conditioning, whether they be shops, restaurants or museums. Taxis and subway trains are air-conditioned, but not the stations themselves (a team of intrepid reporters even visited 100 of them to find the hottest).

It might not be the first outing that springs to mind when planning a trip to New York, but there are beaches within easy reach of Manhattan.

Perhaps one of the best known is Coney Island Beach and Boardwalk in Brooklyn (pictured below), which is less than one hour from central New York, and costs $2.75 to get to using the Metrocard – the subway stop you want is Stillwell Avenue.

There are three miles of sandy beach to enjoy – though it's a good idea to stick to the touristy area for safety.

The Luna Amusement Park borders the beach, but this can soon turn a cheap day trip into a pricey one – a fixed date advance pass costs $41 if you're taller than 48 inches, while an any day pass is $69.

Other popular beaches include Rockaway in Queens (which also has a surfing area) and the Franklin D Roosevelt Boardwalk on Staten Island (which you can combine with a free ferry ride past the Statue of Liberty). See the NYC Parks website for more options.