My Top Tips in NYC!🍎

The Big Apple is in fact that… Big.  So it can be overwhelming, especially for first time or solo travellers, so here are some NYC tips and some good to know information to hopefully make you feel a bit safer going into your first New York visit.

The first thing I learnt, moments after leaving the airport, was the NYC cab system and how much safer it is to use a yellow cap over anyone else.  The Yellow Cabs in NYC, which for one I couldn’t get over were actually real, are tracked and fairly priced so that tourists as well as locals can use them with ease.  As we joined the long cab queue in JFK, a gentleman approached us (2 young girls, classic target) and offered us to go in his taxi as the yellow ones were ‘shared taxis’ and would have numerous stops.  Being naïve and not having researched how cabs worked in the US, I believed him and started following him to his car before a young, local, girl stopped us and warned us that Yellow cabs are far safer and very rarely shared, so we re-joined the queue.  We were obvious targets in an airport, young, female, tourists who would’ve been fooled into a random taxi company charging us far more than usual, so thank god for that girl!  Lesson learnt though… Never choose a private taxi company (Unless pre booked with your holiday) over the yellow cabs, even if the queue is super long, it’s safer to wait.

Next super important tip is just that, the Tips.  In NYC and America in general, tips aren’t added to the bill and it is expected to leave at least a 20% tip for your waitress, driver or server.  In almost all establishments, when paying with card, there will be an option to add gratuities, even at your local supermarket.  I couldn’t believe it either but it’s frowned upon to not add even a small percentage to the bill for your server. This is therefore an important thing to add onto your budget and ensure that each food or transport budget includes a little extra for tips.

Speaking of transport, although the yellow cabs are safe, they are much pricier and slower than the subway, due to NYC traffic.  So the other obvious option of course is to take the Subway, but before taking the subway (Which I have explained in my ‘How to navigate the subway’ blog) double check how long the walk would be, as you’d be surprised at how close most landmarks and tourist spots really are.  There are some scenarios of course when walking would take hours so the subway is the better option, but if the weathers nice and it’s not too long of a walk, make the most of seeing the culture and walking through new parts of New York that you would’ve missed on the subway.

As you may already know, New York is a grid system and therefore pretty easy to navigate… once you understand it.  To break it down easily, there’s Avenues and Streets.  The Avenues run North to South, with the streets running East to West so when you’re in lower Manhattan, you may be in 5^th Avenue but not the 5^th Avenue that’s famously known for the designer shops, as that runs between 49^th Street and 60^th Street.  So for example, when you’re giving an address to a cab driver, make sure you give them the Street and Avenue so that you don’t end up block away from your destination.  A block is just the space between two avenues or streets by the way, nothing too confusing there! 

The Weather in NYC ranges massively and is very seasonal, which means that Summer is very, very hot, Winter is very, very cold and everything in between can be a bit of both.  We visited recently in April and had one day of blue skies and beautiful sun and another day of dark clouds and a baltic wind so in terms of packing, definitely be prepared for anything.  A trench coat or small mac is a great option as it won’t take up too much room but will be perfect for a windy or rainy day.  I also found that even on the sunny days there was still a breeze from all of the shade of the tall buildings so cardigans or thin jackets are your best friend.  Although Christmas in New York looks like a dream, which I’m sure it is, weather wise it’s not so much.  Temperatures can go well into the minuses during December so pack lots of layers, hats and scarves, the last thing you’d want is to be heading back to the hotel early because you’re cold!

Finally, as with any big city theft is always a worry and always common.  New York is no different, especially in the busiest tourist areas like Times Square so to finish this post off, here are some of my top tips (That are common sense really) for keeping you and your belongings safe.  For the girls, cross body bags with a latch are a necessity.  Although the small shoulder bags may look great and be on trend, they are the easiest to be grabbed in a second where as a cross body gives you much more of a chance of keeping your belongings near you at all times.  Also, avoid wearing your blingiest belongings to the busiest spots as this may make you a target for theft.  Finally, sticking together is key.  Even if you’re in a quiet area, staying with your travel buddy or group is essential to keep you all safe and to avoid ending up in the wrong side of the streets alone.  Don’t let this frighten you though, you should be safe in all big cities so treat it like any other and you should be completely fine!  Just enjoy NYC!!