Anonymous
Post 09/23/2025 08:29     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is pretty easily a $5-7k trip. You will probably need 2 hotel rooms, and should expect to pay $500/night or more for each. Tickets will be $1k+. Train is easier and cheaper if coming from DC, but you should still expect to spend at least $750. Then, cab fare, food, spending money at the toy stores…


I just did a quick search of Amtrak tickets and you can probably get them for $150-$200 a person if you buy now. They will keep going up between now and Christmas.

Definitely will need two hotel rooms unless you are staying in Jersey City or another suburb where they have larger rooms. Cheapest thing I found in Manhattan was $468 per night and next cheapest was $650.

Tickets to a Knicks game started at $250 per person.

Show tickets run from around $90 a person to a lot more.

We never take cabs - just walk or use public transportation which is really cheap.


At that price, you drive. Park at the garage in Jersey City at the Exchange Place garage. If you book in advance, it’s less than $40 per day. There are other overnight parking spots in Hoboken and Seacaucus that will get you directly to Penn Station or Herald Square.


DP. But why would you drive if the price is the same? I'd much rather read or nap than to fight traffic. And if you use Red Cap you'll get to board first and have your choice of seats.


But it’s not remotely the same. 150-200 per ticket for Amtrak is going to be 600-800 for their family of 4. Vs parking the car for 40 bucks a day for a few days. Math!
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2025 08:16     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is pretty easily a $5-7k trip. You will probably need 2 hotel rooms, and should expect to pay $500/night or more for each. Tickets will be $1k+. Train is easier and cheaper if coming from DC, but you should still expect to spend at least $750. Then, cab fare, food, spending money at the toy stores…


I just did a quick search of Amtrak tickets and you can probably get them for $150-$200 a person if you buy now. They will keep going up between now and Christmas.

Definitely will need two hotel rooms unless you are staying in Jersey City or another suburb where they have larger rooms. Cheapest thing I found in Manhattan was $468 per night and next cheapest was $650.

Tickets to a Knicks game started at $250 per person.

Show tickets run from around $90 a person to a lot more.

We never take cabs - just walk or use public transportation which is really cheap.


At that price, you drive. Park at the garage in Jersey City at the Exchange Place garage. If you book in advance, it’s less than $40 per day. There are other overnight parking spots in Hoboken and Seacaucus that will get you directly to Penn Station or Herald Square.


DP. But why would you drive if the price is the same? I'd much rather read or nap than to fight traffic. And if you use Red Cap you'll get to board first and have your choice of seats.

$150-200 per person times 5 is up to $1000. Driving and parking is nowhere near that amount. The train is great, but the value is when you can get tickets < $70 pp.
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2025 07:52     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
You have to book the jelly cat cafe at FAO Schwarz 4 weeks out.
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2025 07:49     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
Anonymous wrote:As a local, I would recommend:

• The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center. It is absolutely magical and I would chose it any day over the Radio City show (which, honestly, is cheesy and not worth the price).

• If you want to ice skate in a beautiful setting on the Hudson and without crowds of stumbling selfie-taking people, consider the rink at Brookfield Place. It's adjacent to the Winter Garden, where there is a Santa who has yet to be discovered by the masses (as well as shopping and an upscale food court).

• The holiday train show at the New York Botanical Garden is worth the subway ride to the Bronx. The artistry of it is amazing, and it's indoors so you don't have to worry about bad weather.

• Go to Lillie's Victorian Establishment in midtown for afternoon tea or pre-dinner cocktails. It's not about the food, but the decor . . . they deck it out with OTT holiday decorations. Make reservations early.

• If the holiday market at Bryant Park is on your list, be aware that it is a claustrophobic mob scene. The market at Union Square is more manageable, especially if you go in the morning.


DP here - I am saving these tips for a future visit! Thanks for sharing!
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2025 00:16     Subject: Re:Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
DH and I are going in early December. We’re staying at the Andaz 5th Avenue with a combination of Hyatt free night certificates, points, and a suite upgrade certificate for 5 nights. Flying first class round-trip IAD-LGA for $169 per ticket plus United PlusPoints.

Seeing both the Nutcracker and the Rockettes (orchestra front) and definitely planning to hit the Bryant Park Christmas Market.

Dinner plans for Le Bernadin, Per Se, Caviar Russe, Eleven Madison Park, and Gabriel Kreuther.

Total budget is $6K, almost all of which is for our Michelin Restaurant Extravaganza. It’s easy to play the points and miles game to land everything else at minimal expense.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 23:39     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is pretty easily a $5-7k trip. You will probably need 2 hotel rooms, and should expect to pay $500/night or more for each. Tickets will be $1k+. Train is easier and cheaper if coming from DC, but you should still expect to spend at least $750. Then, cab fare, food, spending money at the toy stores…


I just did a quick search of Amtrak tickets and you can probably get them for $150-$200 a person if you buy now. They will keep going up between now and Christmas.

Definitely will need two hotel rooms unless you are staying in Jersey City or another suburb where they have larger rooms. Cheapest thing I found in Manhattan was $468 per night and next cheapest was $650.

Tickets to a Knicks game started at $250 per person.

Show tickets run from around $90 a person to a lot more.

We never take cabs - just walk or use public transportation which is really cheap.


At that price, you drive. Park at the garage in Jersey City at the Exchange Place garage. If you book in advance, it’s less than $40 per day. There are other overnight parking spots in Hoboken and Seacaucus that will get you directly to Penn Station or Herald Square.


DP. But why would you drive if the price is the same? I'd much rather read or nap than to fight traffic. And if you use Red Cap you'll get to board first and have your choice of seats.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 22:04     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
You can also take a bus from downtown DC or Fairfax. I live in Tyson’s and there is a bus that leaves right from the metro station and puts you in lower manhattan.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 21:10     Subject: Re:Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
We went last year on New Year's Day to save a lot on lodging (and with New Year's falling on Wednesday, that gave us an extra-long weekend). We drove to Staten Island, parked in the outlet mall parking using SpotHero, and took the ferry (free!) to lower Manhattan, where we stayed in a Sonder. Our transportation/lodging costs came in around $1200 -- before Christmas would be much more, but probably still cheaper than midtown. The kitchen in the Sonder apartment enabled us to do breakfast on our own, although I think we ate out for all our other meals. I was perfectly happy to stay in lower Manhattan and drive so I could spend more on things like theater tickets -- might be a strategy that could work for you too.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2025 04:00     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am doing similar trip, but on a budget. Family of 4, sharing 1 room, I plan to spend $7k for 7 days. Hotel $3500, flights $2000, dining out/tickets $1500.


I think you’ll have to do some planning to stay within that food budget. But depends how old the kids are and how much they eat.


Yeah, agree, I’ll probably go over budget!


If you already know you’ll go over budget, you’re not doing this trip on a budget. You’re just doing it.
Anonymous
Post 09/19/2025 15:45     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
We did this last year and are a family of three that includes a teen. We spent three nights at a hotel in Midtown and took the train from DC. I booked the hotel and train the previous June. As others have said, booking Amtrak way in advance reduces the price significantly. I think our hotel cost a bit less than $1500 total. Food costs a ton more than you think it will and tickets to a show are expensive. All in, I'd say our trip was probably around $5k, not including a few things we purchased when shopping.

Also note that NYC is extremely crowded that time of year. I read about it on DCUM before we went last year and just kind of shrugged it off, but it's unlike any other city crowd I've been in. You literally just walk with the crowd because there's no choice. It was nice to be there around the holidays once, but I'll never do it again. Although with international tourism way down this year, it might be less crowded.
Anonymous
Post 09/19/2025 12:34     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is pretty easily a $5-7k trip. You will probably need 2 hotel rooms, and should expect to pay $500/night or more for each. Tickets will be $1k+. Train is easier and cheaper if coming from DC, but you should still expect to spend at least $750. Then, cab fare, food, spending money at the toy stores…


I just did a quick search of Amtrak tickets and you can probably get them for $150-$200 a person if you buy now. They will keep going up between now and Christmas.

Definitely will need two hotel rooms unless you are staying in Jersey City or another suburb where they have larger rooms. Cheapest thing I found in Manhattan was $468 per night and next cheapest was $650.

Tickets to a Knicks game started at $250 per person.

Show tickets run from around $90 a person to a lot more.

We never take cabs - just walk or use public transportation which is really cheap.


At that price, you drive. Park at the garage in Jersey City at the Exchange Place garage. If you book in advance, it’s less than $40 per day. There are other overnight parking spots in Hoboken and Seacaucus that will get you directly to Penn Station or Herald Square.
Anonymous
Post 09/19/2025 12:04     Subject: Re:Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
It will be expensive for sure, but I'd recommend not over spending on the hotel room. The last time I was in NYC with my kids we were in the room to shower and sleep -- we were on the go, go, go. A trip to NYC is that kind of trip. Just get something safe and clean with enough beds/pull out couches.
Anonymous
Post 09/19/2025 10:11     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
Anonymous wrote:This is pretty easily a $5-7k trip. You will probably need 2 hotel rooms, and should expect to pay $500/night or more for each. Tickets will be $1k+. Train is easier and cheaper if coming from DC, but you should still expect to spend at least $750. Then, cab fare, food, spending money at the toy stores…


I just did a quick search of Amtrak tickets and you can probably get them for $150-$200 a person if you buy now. They will keep going up between now and Christmas.

Definitely will need two hotel rooms unless you are staying in Jersey City or another suburb where they have larger rooms. Cheapest thing I found in Manhattan was $468 per night and next cheapest was $650.

Tickets to a Knicks game started at $250 per person.

Show tickets run from around $90 a person to a lot more.

We never take cabs - just walk or use public transportation which is really cheap.

Anonymous
Post 09/19/2025 09:07     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
This is pretty easily a $5-7k trip. You will probably need 2 hotel rooms, and should expect to pay $500/night or more for each. Tickets will be $1k+. Train is easier and cheaper if coming from DC, but you should still expect to spend at least $750. Then, cab fare, food, spending money at the toy stores…
Anonymous
Post 09/19/2025 09:03     Subject: Reasonable budget for Christmas visit to NYC?
It will be twice as much as you imagine. Hotels are ridiculously overpriced around the holiday season. And restaurants are pricey (even mediocre ones).