The New York Trip Checklist for UK Travellers

An ESTA dies with the passport it is attached to, so a renewal after you apply means applying again.

Under four nights and you are buying location; past six the maths flips and you are buying space.

The area sets how your days feel far more than the hotel does, and it is the harder thing to change later.

New York adds around 14.75 per cent plus roughly $4 a night at checkout, so a $300 room clears nearer $350.

A separate $25 to $40 a night, charged whether you use what it covers or not, and it is not a tax.

Names claim neighbourhoods they are not in: the Algonquin sells itself as Times Square and sits on West 44th.

Several New York hotels have rebranded or been rebuilt, so reviews from before the change describe a different hotel.

Newark suits the west side, JFK suits Midtown east, downtown and Brooklyn. Getting this wrong costs you an evening.

There are only four cases where one is worth it. Outside them it costs you a night in the city for nothing.

$40 each since 30 September 2025, including infants, so a family of four is $160. Copycat sites charge more for the same form.

US medical costs make this a genuine requirement rather than the optional extra it can feel like in Europe.

Submitting is not the same as being approved, and a small number go to manual review.

Observation decks, Broadway and the popular museums price by demand and the good slots go first.

The parades, the marathon and the tree lighting all close streets and move hotel prices sharply.

Card is accepted almost everywhere, so the fee applies to nearly every transaction of the trip.

Fares are capped at $35 over a rolling seven days, but only if the same card taps every time. Two people sharing one card never trigger the cap.

It is being withdrawn in favour of OMNY, and the fare is now $3.00 rather than the $2.90 you may remember.

One to two dollars a drink and two to five dollars a night for housekeeping, left in the room rather than at the desk.

Both are routinely asked for on arrival. An ESTA authorises you to board the plane; the officer decides on entry.

If a fee appears at checkout that was not on the confirmation, having it to hand is the whole argument.

UK flights land in the morning and rooms are rarely ready, so this decides how your first day works.

Type A and B sockets at 120 volts. Most phone and laptop chargers handle it; hair dryers and stylers frequently do not.

The fare applies entering or exiting at Jamaica or Howard Beach, and is charged before any onward fare.

Often shows as the cheaper flight and is the most expensive of the three to reach the city on public transport.

The planned LaGuardia AirTrain was cancelled in March 2023. The Q70 is free both ways; you pay only the $3.00 fare when you change.

This is the first tap of the seven days that counts towards your $35 cap, so start as you mean to go on.

Sales tax of 8.875 per cent is printed on every bill; doubling it gives 17.75 per cent. Round up and you have tipped correctly.

North to south a block is about 264 feet. East to west it is 750 to 900 feet. Ten blocks is either half a mile or 1.4 miles.