New York Travel Guide: What to Know Before You Go

New York looks overwhelming from the plane window and turns out to be one of the easiest big cities to find your way around. Most of Manhattan is a numbered grid, the subway runs all night, and nobody minds if you stop and check your phone, as long as you step to the side of the pavement first.

How the city is laid out

New York has five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. Most visitors spend their time in Manhattan and a slice of Brooklyn. Above 14th Street, avenues run north to south and numbered streets run east to west, with Fifth Avenue dividing the East Side from the West. Twenty street blocks make roughly a mile. Below 14th Street the grid breaks up into older, crooked streets in the Village, SoHo and the Financial District. Going north is "uptown", south is "downtown", and subway entrances are often marked that way, so check before you swipe in.

The subway and OMNY

You pay by tapping a contactless bank card or phone on the OMNY reader at the turnstile. MetroCard sales ended on 31 December 2025. After 12 paid rides in any seven days, the rest of that week is free, but only on the same card or phone, so each traveller should tap with their own. Express trains skip stations and local trains stop at all of them, which matters when you're going a short distance.

Entry rules and ESTA

Travellers from visa-waiver countries need an approved ESTA before flying. Apply on the official US government site (esta.cbp.dhs.gov) at least 72 hours before departure. The fee rose sharply in September 2025, and many lookalike sites charge extra on top. Everyone else needs a visa, and waiting times for interviews can be long.

What to book before you land

Statue of Liberty pedestal and crown tickets, Broadway shows, timed entry for the 9/11 Museum and the observation decks, and tables at popular restaurants, many of which release reservations 14 to 30 days ahead.

Tipping and tax

Menu and shop prices don't include sales tax, which is added at the till. In sit-down restaurants a tip of 18 to 20 percent is expected, and bartenders expect a dollar or two per drink. Taxi drivers, hotel porters and housekeeping get tipped too. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, though a few old delis and pizza counters still take cash only.

Safety

Crime in the areas visitors go to is low, and the subway is used by millions every day. Use normal big-city sense: keep your phone in hand rather than on a café table, avoid empty subway cars (there's usually a reason they're empty), and ignore anyone selling tours or "free" CDs in Times Square.

Plugs are the flat two-pin American type, on 120 volts. Tap water is excellent. Drink it.