New York · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
The beds are the expensive part; almost everything worth doing above ground is free or costs a subway swipe.
Upper West Side hostels
The cheapest dorms cluster in the low hundreds streets above Central Park, with a second belt in Williamsburg and Bushwick across the East River.
What a day costs
A dorm bed runs 50–90 USD, food 25–45 if you eat at counters and slice joints, and the subway caps at about 34 a week.
Getting around cheap
Tap a card or phone at the turnstile with OMNY and fares stop charging after twelve rides in a week. The Staten Island Ferry is free.
Free by day
The High Line, the Brooklyn Bridge walk and Central Park cost nothing, and several big museums run pay-what-you-wish or free evening hours weekly.
Where travellers meet
Washington Square Park on a warm evening does what a hostel bar does, only with chess players and a fountain full of children.