Is NYC really worth the incredibly high prices?

I think it is one of the best culinary cities and definitely worth a visit.

Definitely plenty of options in good (not great) locations for under $350 and there are plenty of street food/ quick dining deli type places and pizza for well under $20/ plate. But its a very expensive city, yeah

My wife and I went in November and we really enjoyed it. Flights and board were $1800 out the door. We went on a Thursday through Sunday trip.

I think all told we spent around $4000, and we didn't even too much tourist stuff other than a hop on hop off bus and the WTC tower and we saw one broadway show.

The food was really good though. If you've never been I would say do it. After going though, it's not something I am itching to do again.

Just returned to MSY last Friday after 5 great days in Manhattan. We spent a lot of time at Met Museum of Art looking at impressive temporary exhibits. We saw only one homeless bum in a subway. Marriott Courtyard 92nd & 1st East Side was $328/day + taxes/fees. Simple good breakfasts for two at nice diners $45 before tip. Lunch and dinner can be much more.

One great improvement on subway and city buses is that you now just tap any credit card that is tap enabled. You no longer need a farecard, ticket, token or exact change

In the past we have used AB&B a few times but found quality very hard to assure. Boken elevators, bad locks and hostile neighbors were common problems.

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Is NYC really worth the incredibly high prices?

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Yes. Have you been to one of earth’s epic cities for a vacation? Paris, London, Tokyo, NYC, etc.? I ask bc they are ALL expensive…and they are all worth it.

Yes it’s absolutely worth it. You don’t have to break the bank. For $10, you can get Hallal food from a street vendor, some of the best food in the city. Subway rides are $2.90. And don’t linger in Times Square or Rock Ctr, there’s so many great neighborhoods to explore. Also, check out the high line. Used to be a hidden gem, but it’s crazy packed now but still really cool.

Food isn't that much more expensive, but drinking is for sure.

That aside, just in Manhattan alone you can find amazing food around almost every corner for under $15/meal. Starting with a bagel and lox in the morning, and ending the day with noodles from a storefront diner in Chinatown plus whatever you do in between is a phenomenal food day that can only be replicated in a few places on this planet.

And for $30-$40 entrees (a few bucks more than what you pay at Parrains BR these days and I love Parrains), you can eat one of the best meals of your life at hundreds of different restaurants just in Manhattan. The challenge with NYC is there are so many options it can be hard to make a decision.

A few years ago, I popped into a little Pakistani hole-in-the-wall in Manhattan called Haandi and got a really good lunch for like $7. It's probably $10 now.

As others have said, there's a food court in Koreatown where you can get some great Korean food for cheap.

And, yeah, New York pizza is awesome and cheap.

The point is that you can have some fun food experiences without breaking the bank.

We didn’t pay a ton at all. Clean Hilton hotel near Times Square so that we were super close walking to playhouses. Went to a play each night (four) and ate breakfast at hotel, lunch in local spots/delis and nice dinners just wherever we saw. We’re not real foodies so we chose based on what was nearby. Great Italian places.