I was shocked to see that the West Side YMCA now only has two person rooms and they are $88 a night with communal baths down the hall. At least that's all I could find on their website. For $176 a night you can get a double, double room at a number of hotels instead -- and have a private bath.

A long way from when I spent $6 a night for a single room there in my college days!

Go to Expedia website and type in dates and NYC. Then ask them to sort by price. There are lots of rooms in NJ for about $100 - with 2 double beds - do not know how they feel about sharing a double bed.

Research these and check which ones charge for parking, which ones have reasonable access to public transportation in NYC and/or shuttle service to public transportation. I would not take website's word for this part, since we have found shuttles sometimes disappear in translation from website to reality - so make some phone calls.

And find out what exactly "very tight budget" is - while it is certainly possible to do NYC on a more modest budget, it still is a very expensive city and they need to be reality-based in actual dollar (US, not Canadian) amounts.

Thanks again folks. Because these are young people, they do not have travel experience. Therefore, they don't have any idea what their budget should be. I'm just trying to get them started. The advice has helped.

Suze, there possessions are of value to them. Being inexperienced , they don't know what to expect. But, I too , have heard that security in hostels can be a problem.
They just want to see the Big Apple and have a good time and hopefully have a stress free holiday. They are responsible young people, and wouldn't want to be sneaking in the others.

Wow, the 'Y' is expensive!
They very well may have to stay outside the city.

Thanks again for all the help.

"Having heard" of problems with security in hostels is both too generic and possibly outdated. Definitely have them check the Thorn Tree forums posted above (or do it for them). You can probably get specific information about the hostels in NYC. Also, don't overlook the possibility also suggested above of getting one or two private rooms in a hostel.

Hostels exist specifically for this type of traveler, and they're used extensively by youth from all over the world to travel when they otherwise would not be able to afford it.

Consider how much different the experience would be to come "home" to your hostel by walking through the city late at night, vs. having to haul it back to New Jersey or other out of town area on a train after a night of having fun.

As to not knowing what their budget "should" be, that's not so much relevant. Either they have the money to spend, or they don't, so what they actually have should be dictating their choices, right?

I would love to see how many people have experienced things stolen from their rooms at the Four Seasons or The Plaza compared with the ones who had things stolen at the hostels. I think the fear of their stuff being stolen is pretty unfounded.

Perhaps they should be looking at the rest of their budget too. First, the US dolar - though pitiful vs the euro - is much stronger than the Canadian or australian dollar. Second, even simplt things in NYC are more expensive - esp in US dollars.

I'm not trying to be discouraging. I hope they come and have a great time - but they need to do some sort of a top-line cut at a budget - so they don;t think they can live on $20 per day.

The place at 103/Amsterdam can be found at:
http://www.hostels.com/en/availability.
php/HostelNumber.1850

They do have rooms for 8 at $32 per person as well as secure lockers etc.

What´s with the under 21 thing? I´m 20 and have been considered an adult since I was 18 in Europe. So people will think of me as a kid in NY? Is it only a problem for large groups?

No, it is not just a NY thing or a large group thing. First, although in US people are legally adults at 18, they can not drink legally in any place in US until age 21, can not rent a car from most companies until age 25, and face age restrictions on some hotel rentals until age 21.

It is almost impossible for someone under 18 to rent a hotel room (we discovered this when doing research for our son 2 years ago), and some hotel chains or individual hotels set age as 19, 20 or 21. Not that they check age ID for everyone - if you show up, look presentable, and have a valid credit card, they may choose not to enforce rule - but they can and sometimes do.

Many hotels in the US have been burned by groups of young people partying (and causing thousands of dollars in damage) during spring breaks. Or even just renting rooms for keg parties that no one's parents would let them have at home.

Therefore - if it's an expensive hotel, or if you are a young single or a young couple well-dressed and with good credit you generally will not have any problems.

But groups of young people - esp if casually - not to say sloppily dressed - wanting to stay at inexpensive hotels are very suspect - and most hotels will not take them - or will require large holds on their credit cards.

Unfortunate - but this has been becoming more and more common - and who can blame the hoteliers for not wanting to have their rooms trashed and other guests annnoyed.

As for drinking - the reason for that is to cut down on the huge number of accidents - and deaths - of and caused by teens driving drunk. (Until recently drunk driving was not taken seriously in the US as it is in europe - but was considered a right by many adults - who did it repeatedly with practically no consequences. Now - at least - we're beginning to do something about it.)

I would suggest a hotel thru Priceline for Jersey City. It is very cost effective and allot of people use it as an option when getting something in Manhattan is too expensive.

Review this board and see how many people have gotten the Hyatt Regency for under $60+taxes per day. Even with transportation costs, they should still come out way ahead. Plus, they should be able to find somewhere cheap nearby to park the cars.

http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelinean...abiddingfrm266

This link show great feedback for the Hyatt

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ew_Jersey.html

Here is a quote from one of the reviews which notes how easy the transportation is:

<i>The Hyatt Jersey City is a great place to bring the family for shopping and sightseeing in NYC. Couldn't be more convenient relative to the Path subway to the World Trade Center. It is a 4-minute subway ride at an affordable $1.20 cost. Better yet, get a 7-day MetroCard Pass and use of the Path and New York City subway and bus systems is unlimited. Even more fun, ride the water taxi or ferries that dock on an adjacent pier and head-out to all parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.</i>

A million years ago--okay, ten--I stayed with a college group at the Vanderbilt YMCA. It was clean and convenient and inexpensive, and maybe it still is. We shared baths (like a dorm) but had rooms for four that locked just like a motel room. Good luck.

There is no way a hotel will rent to 8 people when only one in the group is over 21. Not going to happen.

I highly suggest going the hostel route.

As far as the car situation, I would park the cars in New Jersey and take NJTransit into Manhattan.

ONce again, thank you all so much. I've passed all the information along to the young lady and she's please to at least have options that she hadn't thought of.
It's good to hear that hostels are a good choice. I've never stayed in one in North America.

As long as they have a clean , safe place , they'll be fine.
Thanks again.

&lt;&lt;Suze, there possessions are of value to them. Being inexperienced , they don't know what to expect. But, I too , have heard that security in hostels can be a problem&gt;&gt;

I understand all that... The point I was trying to get across is if this is only a 3-4 day trip, they shouldn't need many &quot;valuables&quot; with them.

Using a money belt is always smart. So what would be left behind in a hostel for the day would simply be the next day's clothing. I would hope they aren't traveling with fancy electronics, expensive cameras, etc. and if they are they should carry them not leave them in the hostel.