by Tara Wagner

Created on: March 14, 2011

Traveling is never cheap, and with an abundance of world-famous gourmet restaurants, designer clothing stores and pricey Broadway shows, it’s easy to imagine a trip to New York City quickly gobbling up a limited budget. However, with a little advance planning and research, a dream New York City vacation including many of the must-see tourist attractions can become a reality.

A good place to begin is by checking out the site www.cheapinthecity.com. An article titled “101 Ways to Save Money in New York City” has great tips for those visiting, living in or moving to New York City. Accommodations are a large part of the cost of any vacation, and options to save include subletting an apartment or staying in a hostel, in addition to using online travel booking sites.

Transportation costs can be reduced by taking the subway and purchasing an unlimited Metro card. For reducing food expenses, the site recommends venturing to Greenwich Village for meals and avoiding the restaurants in Times Square and midtown, eating out for lunch instead of dinner and checking out the many food vendors in the city - the New York experience isn’t complete without having a hot dog!

New York City is known for its museums, among them the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art. While these museums have suggested fees and some required fees, entrance to all is actually by donation only. Several tourist attractions, including the Guggenheim Museum, the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden, have a “pay as you wish” evening where visitors can pay less than the set fee.

Theater is another New York institution that tourists won’t want to miss, but can also  be very expensive. The Public Theater, which hosts Shakespeare in the Park, even offers free shows. Another option is to check out off Broadway shows or the Hiptix program if you’re under 30, which offers heavily discounted tickets. There’s also something called the Theater Development Fund, a non-profit organization which gets a set number of seats to each show to be sold at a discount, sometimes up to 50 percent off.

Visitors can also buy a New York City Pass for one, two, three or seven days, with pricing for adults and children, that allows free entry to over 55 New York City attractions. These include the Empire State Building observation deck, the NBC studio tour, the Staten Island Botanical Garden and Children’s Museum, the Cloisters, the Tour at Lincoln Center and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, among others. Check out the list of attractions and all the details at www.newyorkpass.com.

And of course, the trip won’t be complete without visiting Times Square or taking a walk in Central Park - there‘s no charge just for looking around. There’s plenty to do and see without spending a lot of money, just Google “free things to do in New York City” and get started on that list.

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