Low-Budget Day Trip to NYC

Despite the fact that we live less than three hours away from NYC, neither Mike or myself have spent much time in the city. We've both taken occasional trips with family and friends, but we hadn't been in the city together since 2015. So when our good friends wanted to take a day trip together, we were happy to adventure to Manhattan again!

 We opted to park on Staten Island and take the ferry across. The ferry takes about 25 minutes to cross, goes right past the Statue of Liberty, and it's free!

  

  

 If you've been following the blog for any length of time, you'll know Mike & I are big fans of the National Park System. Castle Clinton National Monument is located in Battery Park, at the very southern tip of Manhattan. Originally, the fort was built to protect New York City from the British during the War of 1812. Over the years, it was home to a variety of different organizations.

After the war, a roof was constructed and the "Castle Garden" was born. The garden was a restaurant and entertainment center and hosted opera singers, circus performers and more. In 1855, it was changed to the official immigrant processing center for entry into America. Over 8 million immigrants passed through the garden while it was open. The center was closed in 1890 when Ellis Island was opened nearby. The next attraction in the Castle was the most surprising of all - an aquarium! It served as the New York City Aquarium from 1896-1941 and was one the city's best attractions while it was open. The NPS left the site alone for years until restoring it and reopening it as a national monument in the 1970's. 

Castle Clinton is located in Battery Park at the bottom of Manhattan. We visited in late May and the weather was delightful for a picnic lunch in the park.

 I visited the site of the twin towers back in 2006 while all of this was still under construction. But none of us had visited the memorial since it was completed. The memorial was really beautifully done and was a nice walk from Battery Park. 

Our third stop of the day was President Theodore Roosevelt's birthplace! Located in the heart of the flatiron district on East 20th Street is a little brownstone home where the President was born and grew up. The NPS runs tours on the hour throughout the day on a first-come first-serve basis. We were lucky enough to snag four spots and toured the period rooms upstairs.

While you're waiting for your tour to start, there is a fabulous little museum filled with information on Roosevelt. It is home to the shirt Roosevelt was wearing when he was shot on the campaign trail in 1912. 

  

My friend Pamela completed her first Jr. Ranger program! 

Our final stop for the day was sunny Central Park! 

  

 Our last activity of the day was boating at Central Park. This is something that has been on my bucket list for years, and honestly it was just as magical as I had dreamed. We had a great experience and it was a highlight of the day!

My handsome rower. 😊

  

 If you want to pay $45/half hour you can sit back in the gondola and have someone else do all the work for you!

  After wandering around Central Park we went in search of dinner and found a nice little place with good burgers. Then we took the subway back down to the ferry landing and rode back across the bay. 

Overall, we had a great low-stress day in NYC! For those interested in cost.. here is the breakdown for our day. 

Low Budget Day in NYC Breakdown:

Parking: $12

Ferry: Free

Gas: $15

Boat Rental: $15

Subway: $6/person

NPS sites: Free
Dinner: $15/person

Meandering around Central Park: Free

All together $70/couple or $35/person

I feel that cost is not bad for a day in the city. Most buses that take you in to the city will put you back $30/person to start, so we were pretty happy with our cost for the day! It helped that we packed our lunch and were willing to take the subway to get around. Any other ideas for free places to visit in NYC? Leave them below in the comments section!