Just a few things I have learnt from my holiday in New York City, the big apple, the concrete jungle or the city that never sleeps (truly it doesn't).
1. TIPPING
So if you haven't heard about tipping in America then I don't know where you've been, but I can tell you after talking to locals it isn't so necessary as you think, although you should definitely tip if they were helpful service to you. Keep in mind, I travelled with my sister so we split tipping each day and paying for different meals a day (it's the best thing about travelling with your family).
Where we tipped:
Transport services - transfer to and from the hotel/ airport
Room cleaning - when we head out for our day we left a tip from $2-5 but this varied different days (we stayed their for 14days & we left the tip with a note)
Dining out - this is straight forward, on the bottom of the receipt it has the "tip gratuity" on it, some places are 15%-18% of your bill. Give what you will, this is just a suggestion depending where you dine at.
Tour guides - You sure do, it's up to you maybe $10 maybe more/ less it's up to you.
2. ATMOSPHERE
The city is busy (obviously) but you can find everything so conveniently, walk down the street and find a Sephora, Forever 21 and iconic locations!
Central Park is so beautiful anytime of the day - although we didn't venture out in the night time (because duh, us two Aussies got 'lost' in the daytime, let alone night time - have you seen Home Alone...)
3. TRANSPORT
We took our first Taxi (yellow cab) probably after the 1st week being there. I was a bit hesitant just because we didn't know the way around properly, they could definitely take us the long way around and charge us a lot more than what we should... Luckily it wasn't a long trip.
We didn't take Subways (as it was our first 'solo' overseas trip and didn't want to get lost on a very public train... maybe next time)
Definitely make use of Uber whenever you get the chance!
a) Cheaper
b) Friendly
c) Much nicer than public transport
4. FOOD
Ridiculous amounts of food that costs less than what you get!
You can find healthy options if you really look for it.
Definitely try Shake Shack - not an everyday meal but it tastes pretty good as a cheat meal
Hands down the best place to go eat & feel full to the max, is Olive Garden in Times Square! The customer service is A+ and the food is delicious!
5. LOCALS
Honestly if you get lost, there is always someone to talk to. If you need directions talk to a local or go into a restaurant or hotel I'm sure there is someone who is willing to help - we needed to get our clothes cleaned and we definitely didn't want to pay almost a hundred for the cleaning service at our hotel, one day towards the end of our trip we were eating our breakfast and a local lady sat next to us (we got to talking) long story short she was super lovely and managed to help us find a local dry cleaning/ laundromat AND IT ONLY COST US $20 for a big bag of clothing (seriously Thankful to that lady who we got to know on a personal level - so refreshing)
The Uber drivers are super friendly, helpful! We took about 6 drives with Uber and every time we felt safe and got to know on another level
I really enjoyed my time in New York City as it was very different atmosphere, eye opening, and inspiring! I can definitely see myself going back there in the future :)
Let me know in the comments below if you would like to visit New York or if you have been there what do you enjoy most about New York City!
Love,
Kathy x
