Four Days in NYC on a Budget

New York City. It's energetic, exhilarating, and EXPENSIVE! This four-day New York Itinerary is perfect for first-timers who want to see it all, but don't want to spend it all.

New York. I had been wanting to book a trip back to New York for the last few years and I finally made it happen! I went to New York with my Mom when I was 18 and we had a blast -- We saw Chicago: The Broadway Musical, ate the “World’s Best” pizza slice for $1.99, got 5-minute caricature drawings of our faces, and took the Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. At 18, that was the most fun I could have, but now at 26, there were so many (not-as-touristy-but-still-pretty-touristy) things I wanted to do (and eat) in NYC. So in August, Jordan and I jumped on a quick flight to the Big Apple and really had a blast! 

Let me first tell you, I am a PLANNER.

No, I don’t just make a list of things I want to do whenever I visit a new place. I literally plan out hour-by-hour what we will be doing. I map out the city so I know exactly where all of the sights are, where to grab a cheap bite to eat, and where the nearest subway is.

My mentality is, If you’re only going to visit a place once, why not make sure you have time for everything you want to do! 

If you’d like to skip out on the nitty-gritty details of the trip, scroll down for a short, but detailed, 4-day itinerary of NYC. 

Day One - 5th Avenue

We arrived in New York bright and early (9:00am). After we dropped our bags at our AirBnB in Brooklyn we were starving, so our first stop was the famous plant-based brunch spot, The Butcher’s Daughter. We shared the avocado toast with two coffees and it was delicious Not only is the food amazing, but the aesthetic of the restaurant is every blogger’s fantasy. Breakfast total:  $25

Pro-tip for foodies: When visiting a food-enriched place like New York, Jordan and I will share one dish at each place we go to so we can try as many restaurants as possible, without getting too full.

5th Avenue. After breakfast, we took the subway to Union Square Station and started our descent up 5th Avenue. Along 5th Avenue you can see some major historical landmarks, such as: the Flatiron Building, the Empire State Building, the New York Public Library and Rockefeller Center. The Flatiron building was the first stop on our list. If you are into architecture then this building is a must-see! Across the street is Eataly, a marketplace that is filled with Italian restaurants, events, and high-quality Italian food products. We bought some Italian sodas and drank them in Madison Square Park which is also located across from the Flatiron building. There is a Shake Shack located in the middle of the Park, making it the perfect spot to stop and have a picnic! PSA: It would probably be best to go before or after 12:00PM to beat the long line of hungry tourists. Subway + Lunch: $16

New York Public Library. Continuing up 5th Avenue you will eventually get to the Empire State Building, where you can pay to go up and admire the view. If you’re on a budget I would suggest skipping this attraction and going to a rooftop bar/restaurant instead, which is what we did. In my opinion, it’s better to see a view of New York with the Empire State Building in it, anyways. Next on route is the New York Public Library (5th Ave and 40th St), which is not only beautiful, but the steps are a perfect place to stop, rest your feet, and people watch. 

Joe's Pizza. At this point we were starving, so we saved Rockefeller Center for another day and went to the famous Joe’s Pizza for a little pre-dinner snack. I’m not exaggerating when I say, this is one of the best pieces of pizza I've ever had, and for only $2.50 a slice, you can’t go wrong. Pre-dinner Snack: $2.50

Joe's Pizza - 1435 Broadway

The High Line. I highly, HIGHLY recommend walking the High Line at some point of your trip. The High Line is a 2.3-km-long (or 1.45-mile-long) elevated trail created on a former railroad. The trail features nature, art and design. Not to mention some gorgeous views. We walked the High Line during sunset, which was so perfect, and had dinner in Greenwich village, at a restaurant called Balaboosta. This restaurant is not very budget-friendly but we decided to splurge a little on our first night. If you do go, get the grilled Octopus. You won’t regret it. Dinner: $100

Subway ride home: $6

Total money spent: $149.50

Day Two - Greenwich Village and NoHo

Greenwich Village. We started the day at the Union Square Market, where you can pick up fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as gorgeous bouquets of flowers. Next we returned to Greenwich Village for brunch at Bluestone Lane Cafe, followed by visiting 66 Perry Street (Carrie Bradshaw’s Brownstone apartment) and the Friends Apartment on Hudson Street. This brought us into NoHo where we spent the day shopping and checking out cute little coffee shops. Breakfast: $25

Rubirosa. Before our trip, we asked our friends for restaurant recommendations in NYC; almost every person told us to go to a restaurant called Rubirosa and get their famous Tie-Dye Pizza (vodka/tomato sauce, with a swirl of pesto and fresh mozzarella -- I’m literally salivating typing this). Remember when I said Joe’s was ONE of the best pieces of pizza I’ve ever had? This was the other one. Dinner: $30

We finished the night at Refinery Rooftop, a rooftop bar in Midtown Manhattan. We each bought a drink and admired the view of the Empire State Building. It had rained earlier that night, which made the sky look super foggy and ominous.

Some other great rooftop bars in Midtown Manhattan are: Spyglass, Monarch and Cloud Social Rooftop Bar.

Grand Central Station is only a 10-minute walk from this area, so you can check one more site off the list on your journey home!

Drinks + Subway: $30

Total money spent: $234.50

Day three - Times Square, Rockefeller Center and Central Park

Times Square. We spent the morning in Times Square, exploring and seeing if we could get cheap tickets to a show. You can find discounted tickets at TKTS Discount Booth, under the big red steps in Duffy Square (47th and Broadway). Prices range from $30 to $150 depending on the show. We decided to skip out on a show to save some money (and because there were none that peaked our interest) and instead had an early lunch in Times Square at a place called Los Tacos No. 1. A lot of travel blogs I had read prior to the trip recommended this place as the #1 restaurant for cheap eats, and I understand why! Everything on the menu is under $7, with tacos being only $4 each. We waited about 20 minutes in line to get our tacos, and it was so worth it! Lunch: $25

Magnolia's Bakery. Lunch was followed by dessert at Magnolia’s Bakery, where we got the highly recommended banana pudding. My expectations were super high with this dessert, and to be honest, I don’t see what all the hype is about - it just tastes like … banana pudding. Central Park was next on the list, and we were able to hit Rockefeller Center on the way (it’s about a 10 minute walk from Times Square)! Dessert: $4

Rockefeller Center. The Rink at Rockefeller Center (the one that is in almost every Christmas movie ever made), is located at 5th Ave and 48th Street, but the Center extends to 50th Street. There are some awesome attractions in this area, such as: Top of the Rock (Observation deck on top of Rockefeller Center), Radio City Music Hall, and The Tour at NBC Studios. 

Central Park. One of my favourite parts of the trip. It is so nice to just walk around the park and explore the different points of interest. You can buy a map for $2 in the park, or you can download it here: http://assets.centralparknyc.org/pdfs/maps/Central_Park_Map.pdf. I feel like you can spend a whole day exploring Central Park, but we only managed to see the Beatles' Strawberry Fields tribute and Imagine Mosaic before walking to Levain; a bakery known for their giant, warm, hard-on-the-outside, gooey-on-the-inside, heavenly, cookies. This cookie made up for the banana pudding disappointment. Heck, if I had stepped in dog poop this cookie would have made up for it. Cookie: $4

DON'T LOOK AT THE NEXT IMAGE IF YOU'RE HUNGRY!

Chocolate Walnut Cookie from Levain Bakery

Brooklyn Bridge. From here, we took the subway to Brooklyn Bridge Station and (tried to) enjoy the bridge at sunset. If you're not a fan of huge crowds, I recommend going to the Brooklyn Bridge for sunrise rather than sunset. At sunset it was SO busy with tourists and angry bicyclists trying to get home from work. We finished the night at a little hole-in-the-wall sushi restaurant, which was amazing and very affordable, but unfortunately I didn't write down the name. Dinner: $30

Total money spent: $292.50

Day 4 - Lower Manhattan

Our final day in NYC was spent exploring SoHo, and of course, eating. 

Russ & Daughters. We went to Russ & Daughters Cafe but the wait was too long, so we walked down the street to their bagel shop (179 Houston St). The sandwich we ordered was by far the best cream cheese and lox bagel I’ve ever had. We got the Scottish Smoked Salmon with dill and horseradish cream cheese on a sesame bagel. It was perfection. Breakfast: $12

Prince St. Pizza. Before we headed to the airport, we made it to Prince St. Pizza, another highly recommended restaurant. I’m a thin-crust pizza gal, so this pizza was not my favourite out of the 3 pizzas we tried in New York, but it was definitely tasty. The restaurant's walls are covered in photos of celebrities that have visited the tiny pizza joint over the years, which was very cool to see. We had our pizza in Elizabeth Street Garden, which is a quaint, yet beautiful park located just around the corner from Prince St. Pizza. Lunch: $5

That brought us to the end of our trip to New York City. Taking into account our accommodation, travel (not including airfare), and food, we spent a combined total of approximately $645 USD ($322 each). We also splurged a bit on some meals, so you could definitely bring the total down to $550 if you wanted to! I would say the main factors that kept our costs down were walking everywhere (rather than taking taxis), staying at an AirBnB outside of Manhattan rather than a hotel, and obviously not doing expensive tourist attractions. I do suggest checking out some museums during your visit! We wanted to go to the MoMa but unfortunately it was closed for renovations while we were there. Other than that, I loved every minute of our trip and was so happy we were able to do everything on our list, without breaking the bank. I hope you find this guide helpful and enjoy your stay in the Big Apple! 

Love, Jen 

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