okay guys i have a few questions.

How much money (in dollars) do we need for 10 days in south beach and 4 in new york? accomodation is paid already... and we will be there june/july.

rough guides are good!

also will bars etc take a UK driving licence as ID?

Well, I assume there are two of you. You would need at least $50.00 per day for food for the two of you, and of course, that would not include much in the way of alcoholic drinks or swankier meals. When I go to NYC, I can eat very cheaply -- for example, coffee and yogurt and fruit for breakfast, a burrito for lunch, and a reasonably priced and delicious Indian meal for dinner--might only run me about $20.00 or even less. But if you want to up it a notch in quality, of course, plan on more.

What plans do you have for your time there? If you are low key tourists, who are content to hang out at the beach or walk around Manhattan, you don't need a lot of money. But if you want to take in the sights and the nightlife, see shows, hit the clubs, buy things, the money needs will be racheted up.

Just as a rough estimate, I would say $1500 for the two of you should do, but that won't cover too many extras.

we kinda thought approx $2000... we wanna do a bus tour in new york (the SATC one!) and also go to a few bars and rock clubs in miami and new york... but daytime, we are pretty happy to wander round manhattan, go to a few museums and in miami, just hit the beach really...

we are pretty low key tourists, wanting some time to relax and just meet some people and get a few good nights out but not like every night. some will be more low key...

im excited, i know its a while until we go but still... also new york for 4th july.. what should we do? street parties or?

I think you can have a good time on 2000.00. I've heard the SATC tour is a hoot. One of my dearest friends lives on 6th Ave, just down from Radio City Music Hall and just a few blocks in either direction from Times Square and Central Park. Her husband's bday happens to be July 4th, so they are usually celebrating that in some way, but I will ask her what's fun and hip in the city on the 4th. I'm sure there will be tons of options! You're going to have an awesome trip!

i know im so excited, we just have to raise the rest of the money to pay for it and THEN the spending money to... haha not so easy.

i am selling a bunch on ebay lol

we have booked a nice art deco hotel right on south beach which looks lovely, and then the hilton times square in new york.

walking2lose is correct! You can eat very cheaply (and very well) in NYC! But be forewarned, drinking will take a chunk of change! The SATC tour is fun! You'll like that!
If I could recommend one tour in New York City, I would say go on this one:
http://www.accomplicetheshow.com It is so worth the price. I've taken both of them and LOVED them, and brought friends back who LOVED them as well! Such a novel way to really see and immerse yourself in the city.
Grab a Village Voice when you get into the city, that's the free paper in the red boxes on literally every corner. You will find plenty to do in there. 4th of July weekend is a good time, the fireworks are spectacular! Also, there will be plenty of free concerts that weekend in New York. Check Central Park Summerstage, the River to River festival at Battery Park, and the Bandshell at Prospect Park. They have GREAT free shows. If you are feeling adventurous, wander down to Coney Island for the world famous hot dog eating contest on the 4th of july! I love Coney Island and its very authentic NYC and a great cheap date. For fireworks viewing, people flock to the South Street Seaport...which is very fun. You will meet mostly other tourists there though. If you want to have a great time with the locals, head down to Red Hook brooklyn, or the Brooklyn Promenade. You can party on Smith Street in Brooklyn (Brooklyn's "Restaurant Row", lots of great bars too!) and the neighborhood is friendly and charming. Just a couple weeks ago my husband and I met some tourists from Atlanta and we took them around Brooklyn and had about a dozen pints.

If you want to see a show, go to the TKTS booth in the middle of times square. You can get day of the show tickets for half price or even less! The Metropolitan Opera has a $20 ticket deal on Wednesdays as well.

$1500-$2000 is very sufficient for a good time! When you are in Miami Beach, don't skimp on sun screen. The sun is very very very hot in Florida in July. I was down there once and was literally burnt to a crisp in less than 15 minutes. And that was in the winter!

You are gonna have a great trip! WOOT!

thankyou so much !! the village voice thing is on our list already... i have an uncle who lives in queens so hopefully we can meet up to

Last year at this time (for my birthday) I did 5 days in NYC (Holiday Inn, 2 blocks over from Times Square) for around $600. That included one big splurge birthday dinner at Babbo (Mario Batali's restaurant). The rest of the time I did things like get dinner at the Stage Door Deli and then take the leftovers back to the hotel for lunch the next day (huge servings). That $600 also covered my cab fares for the few times I took a cab and a bunch of little stuff.

One thing I'd recommend for NYC is a city pass if you plan to visit any of the typical tourist attractions. http://www.citypass.com/city/ny.html I got mine and the only thing I didn't use it for was the Natural History museum, but I still saved money overall, and some of the coupons came in useful.

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thanks photo!

we are very excited, in miami tommy lee has opened a rock bar which looks worth checking out, and then there is just the amazing beach, plus i wanna get out into the everglades to

Wow, sounds like a fun trip!

NYC can be cheap if you want it to be. I lived in the burbs so I've been there dozens of times. I never took a cab, always the subway or walked. In fact, if you are feeling in need of exercise, take the subway to Brooklyn and walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and up through Soho. I used to clock about 6 miles a day of walking.

Also, I've found it's cheaper to drink in Brooklyn. I'm not sure what your cocktail of choice is but you can find $3-4 beer at some fun bars. When you're in Manhattan ordering mixed drinks, that's when it gets to be $$.

I know the UK/US exchange rate has gone down but when I was in London a year ago I almost died, it was so expensive. Many of the prices were similar to US prices, except that the lb was 2.5 stronger. So in America, I could go to the bar and spend $15 on a couple drinks and food... but in London, it would be 15 pds, or about $37. Ack, Sticker Shock!!!

Eheh. Whenever I visit my family in the USA, I like to have plenty of money for things to do. £1000 will get you around $1500 USD right now.

We always try to get money together as soon as possible before a trip to the States. We went for two weeks a couple years ago and survived on £500 just living off of grocery items instead of eating out all of the time.

Also, movie going is wicked cheap out there and they usually have blockbuster movies out in theatre sometimes in excess of 6 months before they come out in the UK! (SO and I went to see happy feet in 2006 and it cost us a total of £5 for two tickets, 2 small popcorn and 2 drinks...watch that gross butter stuff you can add to the popcorn, btw) That was back when the rate was well close to $2 to the £1.

Also, make sure you have at least $50 left on you the day you're due to fly back. If you run out of USD and you get the munchies in the airport...boy oh boy...will you be sorry! I know I was

for ten days, counting in taxi's n drinks, 2 meals out a day, I would bring at least $2250. If you can, and if it fits your diet, here are a few places (food wise) that you have to try once in your lifetime!

Red Lobster. Seafood place, but they also do steak and other grill foods. Home of the Cheddar Bay Biscuit, the most amazing bread stuff in the world. (What's a one day indulgence?)

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It's funny you mention the exchange rate, joyra. I had a vivid discussion with a friend of mine from Yorkshire who was visiting his fiancee in NYC over Christmas (she's doing her PhD here).

He was complaining about the horrible exchange rate and how awful it was. I called him out by saying, "but it's -still- in your favor!" and he gave me a disdainful tone and said that it just was unnatural to be below 1.6 to 1.

I did not mention how evil the exchange rate was when I lived over there for a couple years. It took a few months to stop going, "This is an 8 dollar beer" or "This is a 17 dollar movie ticket". I ended up passing on the over 10 dollar McDonalds and other fast food. Man, I miss living in the UK with being flat broke with no car and the 70 lbs skinnier it made me ;>

PrettyPaula, as for the UK driver's license I don't forsee it being a problem. Worse comes to it, I haven't been to a place that wouldn't accept a passport as age identification though I know it's not ideal to carry that around at the bar.

Since it's NYC, you probably would be ok with just your UK license. However, to be on the safe side, I would have your passport with you just in case. In the town I live in (granted it's a small town and not NYC or even Boston), but some of the local bars won't even accept out of state licenses.

I am staying at the Hilton Times Square tomorrow night for my bachelorette party! I will let you know how it is

thanks j diddy! have a great time x