is new york new years eve possible on a budget?
 

Hi - I am turning 40 this new years eve and have always dreamed of doing it in new york. i know it is probably very last minute, but having a limited budget i had thought this idea needed to go on the back burner. my husband has just told me he has been socking away some money to try to take me to live out this dream, but i'm not sure where to start looking for best "new york on a budget ideas" at this vey costly time of year...anybody have any suggestions? We are coming from western Canada, so our flight is eating up a large chunk of change. Any info is so gratefully appreciated.

I'd suggest trying priceline for a hotel asap, since alot of the hotels are going to be either sold out or have hefty price tags over the holidays. Try finding a hotel outside of the Time Square area for better pricing too. There are alot of hotels in the city that have opend recently so there should be availability.

You might check The Ace hotel on 6th Ave and 29th ST. It is new and not well known yet, and they have been running specials.

Also The Marakish on Broadway at 103 was rennovated not long ago, and is well priced.

You also might try some of the discount hotel websites like www.travelocity, www.hotels, www.expedia. Some have been offering deals with air and hotel.

There are special events all over the city on New Year's Eve that are low cost and no cost, and as we get closer to the holidays we can give you more ideas but I can get you tickets to a FREE concert (you would have special seats, hence the need for tickets) at St. John The Divine, which is an amazing concert each year "The Annual Concert for Peace" several thousand in the audience, 150 singers, and special guests from Broadway and the Opera world. The concert starts at 7pm and we are usually out by 9 so there's still lots of time for more celebration. Several other fodorites are coming to the concert as well.

Hope this helps a bit and let us know if you have any other specific questions.

Well, it is possible. :) Look at Priceline for a hotel, or stay outside of the immediate downtown area. IF an option Big Apple Hostel is a superb location. If the single bedroom is already sold out- which probably is, then you can book yourself a 4 bed dorm for about $175/night. I stay here frequently and alway book the whole room.

Start here:
http://www.eurocheapo.com/newyork/

Book ASAP!!!

How many nights are you thinking?

Hotels are expensive and are obviously the biggest chunk after airfare. I would consider some of the smaller hotels w/ shared bath.

There is LOT you can do for free in NYC:
Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
Staten Island Ferry and view the Statue Of Liberty
Neighborhood Walks
Free movies
Free concerts
Central Park
Window Shopping
Free Cruise (well It's theIKEA Ferry, but its FREE) http://info.ikea-usa.com/Brooklyn/StoreDirections.aspx
Also free Ferry to Govenors Island (which has free bike rentals on Fridays)
Even Free Kayaking - http://www.downtownboathouse.org/

Countless free tours
http://www.bigapplegreeter.org/02-ho...how_spend.html
http://grandcentralterminal.com/info/historictour.cfm
http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/visiting.html


There are also a LOT of cheap eating options:
http://streetvendor.org/vendys/finalists
http://www.veselka.com/
http://www.max-ny.com/
http://www.pommesfrites.ws/
http://www.caracasarepabar.com/ie_index.php
And MANY, MANY, more...

Where can you get the St. John The Divine ticketc?? I am again going this year and haven't made it there to see the concert. I also like the fire works in Central Park on New Years Eve. with the marathon. :)

Since I am one of the singers, we get tickets for friends and family to sit in a special area. I can get a total of 10 tickets and 5 are spoken for so if you would like tickets, please let me know.

I have to disagree with the reco for the Marrakech. I Know they keep saying they are redoing it - bit it was/is (?) really a hostel and there have been numerous reports of unclean and verminous conditions.

Unless it is under completely new management and have been gutted I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Also to be avoided are the Carter and the West Side hotel and Hostel. The Newton has some rooms iwth shared bath that are quite inexpensive and is reliable.

I went IN to see teh Marrakech recently and the whole hotel has been redone. The lobby has a nice bar area now, and the rooms I looked at were clean and updated. I also asked a couple of people in the lobby who were guests if they were happy with their rooms and got positive responses. I would never recommend a hotel that I had not checked out.

It's possible to renovate the public areas of a hotel and even some of the rooms and still not be operating a legal hotel. As I warned in my post in January, the Marrakesh does not have a hotel operating license. So I'd avoid it, whether the lobby is beautiful or not. Here's a link to the post I made earlier this year: http://www.fodors.com/news/story_3294.html

I don't think anyone has asked you the question WHAT about NYE in NYC has been the dream? Are you thinking about going to Times Square???? (oh, no) Are you wanting to go out dining and dancing? That's very expensive. My best advice for a budget NYE is to arrive on Jan. 1 or 2 when hotel prices drop, airfare probably drops, Xmas decorations are still up and on the sales are on.

Hotel rates are crazy on Dec. 31 even at places that are reasonable the rest of the time. My favorite hotel in Midtown is getting $240 pre night in late December, $410 per night on Dec. 31, and then $110 per night starting on January 1.

Since I am one of the singers, we get tickets for friends and family to sit in a special area. I can get a total of 10 tickets and 5 are spoken for so if you would like tickets, please let me know.

I would love to get 2 tickets!!!! If available, I would like to be considered for any extras you may have.

Is it your dream to do NYE in NYC, or to have your birthday in NYC (or is your birthday the 31st?)? If you can at all let go of having to be there on the 31st, you will save a ton of money. A January visit will be substantially lower airfare, hotels, etc. (But if the dream is to be there on the 31st, then go for it. It will be worth the money if you've been wanting to do it your whole life. I have yet to regret the $$ I've spend on any trip!).

Oh and the Pod hotel is another budget alternative that people really like. In the FAQs on the Lonely Planet "Thorn Tree" board, there is a list of favorite budget hotels. I wonder if they're all booked for NYE, though. You know, if you flew in the 31st then stayed into the 1st week in January, you could take advantage of the lower, post NYE hotel rates, and plane fares would be lower than if you tried to come, say, from Christmas to New Years.

Bugetqueen, I have 5 tickets left and you can have all of them if you need them. I can probably get a few more if anyone else wants them.

We can meet up at St. John's just before the concert and I can escort you up to your seats.

If you have never been inside St. John's the cathedral is HUGE and seats more than 4,000. This concert always fills up the church.

If anyone wants to sit in the reserved section in front of the church, tickets are also available through the St. John's website, not sure of the cost of those tickets, but it's not that expensive and the seats are great as well.

WOW- thanks everyone for all the info. To answer the questions- yes i do want to be in NYC for the 31st as that is my birthday, and as a girl only turns 40 once I am willing to splurge a little. I will definately be searching all the links people suggested. i guess i just need to suck it up and book it as things aren't going to get any cheaper...

Even if hotel rates are like Anonymous said--$410 for the 31st then $110 starting the 1st, for their favorite hotel--on average, it won't be too terrible if you visit, say, the 31st to the 5th. Or you could do a short trip. I'm in Seattle and I've done long weekends in NYC--I know some people wouldn't fly cross country for a 4 day trip but I do worse that that for work, so it doesn't bother me.

NYC is HORRIBLE on New Year's Eve, and then New Year's Day it feels like a morgue. Go the next weekend when things are normal and the hotels and restaurants act like they are happy to see you

Although NYC has a reputation for being very expensive, I beg to differ! There are numerous ways to do it on a budget. Check out the website www.nyc-visitor-discounts.com. It has lots of suggestions for very discounted and free stuff.

Enjoy!

THere's a really nice B&B up in my area, that I have toured and can recommend that won't break the bank even over the holidays. It's the Harlem Landmark Guesthouse, althought it's not actually in Harlem, it's in Hamilton Heights. It's on W 147th ST on a National Landmark tree lined street, with all rennovated brownstones. The subway is around the corner A/D line and midtown is only 15 minutes away.

There is a website, so you might google it for info and pictures.