Personally my favorite New York City transportation is my own two feet. Walking around the city is my favourite thing to do. It gives you the chance to see every corner, every building and every park the city has to offer. Sometimes walking gets you to places you would never get the see if you took a subway or a taxi.
Table of contents
Walk around Manhattan
Walking is a great option if you are visiting the city for more then just a few days and you have time to take it easy and not rush everywhere. Some days we had things we wanted to do in different parts of the city so walking wasn’t an option. I think we have never walked as much as those 2 weeks and I wouldn’t want it any other way! After two days of walking around we didn’t need to use google maps to see where we were, which felt great!
While walking towards Washington park, we passed trough a neighbourhood that was just like from a movie scene. Family houses, all attached to each other, narrow but high with expensive cars parked in front of them. Needles to say, we loved it, it was so calm with almost no people which is a nice break from the crowded and loud city center.
NYC subway
Taking the subway was by far the best kind of transportation in New York City. It was affordable (2,75$ per ride, 33$ per week + bus rides unlimited), fast and reliable. Plus there is always someone interesting to see or a dance performance to admire.
More info: https://web.mta.info/metrocard/
Famous NYC yellow cab
The taxis in NYC are pretty expensive so we didn’t use them. We did use Uber a couple of times which also adds up, but the prices depend on time of the day, rush hour, distance… If you get stuck in traffic, which happens often, walking will be the better and faster option.
More info: https://www.uber.com
Bikes
Citi Bike is another option for moving around the city (12$ for 24hour access, 24$ for 3 day pass). Even though it looks interesting, I have to admit it looked pretty scary, riding a bike in such a big city with so much traffic! I saw a family with a little girl renting bikes and trying to ride them across the Brooklyn Bridge. I thought to myself, why would you try to do that with a child? The crowd was huge and you couldn’t even walk fast so riding a bike was impossible! It took them 10min to realise and I saw them turning around and giving up on the idea. Maybe borrowing them and riding them in a calm part of the city is a great idea, but I personally didn’t try it.
More info: https://www.citibikenyc.com
Train
If you are not staying in the city or you just want to visit places outside of the city I highly recommend the trains that go from the Grand Central Station.
Since we weren’t staying in the city and we were commuting every day from Connecticut we used the train twice per day, every day and it was great! It took us 1 hour in each direction and it was just enough time to make a plan for the day or make a recap of it in the evening. The seats have a power outlet which was amazing because it happened more than once that we forgot to charge either our phones or our GoPro so this saved us. There is plenty of room and you get to see outside because it does not go underground except the last part when it enters the Grand Central Terminal.
You can find more info about it here: https://www.mta.info/mnr
Best way to get around nyc as a tourist
- Walk
- Subway
- Train
- Bikes
- Uber
- Yellow Cab
Explore more
I hope this little blog post will help you learn something about getting around in this big city. It’s always good to be prepared with information about a destination before arriving. Knowing the prices of different types of New York City transportation is pretty important, especially if you are on a budget! I know I always am since I am still a student. Make sure to check out the best NYC Itinerary and find out things to do in New York City for Christmas holidays to make your trip amazing! Until the next story, enjoy, live, love, explore, stay healthy and keep adding new places to your bucket lists! Xx Donatela
Nice read! New York is in my 2021 travel list. Hope the travel will less restrictive in few months.
Thank you so much! I hope everything will calm down and you will be able to explore it properly!
Great post! It’s good to know how to get around New York.
Thank you so much!