New York City Guide

No. MetroCard sales and refills ended on 31 December 2025. Tap a contactless bank card, phone or an OMNY card at the reader on subway turnstiles and buses, and the $3.00 fare is taken automatically. An old MetroCard can still be spent down until its balance runs out, but you cannot add money to one any more.

A single ride is $3.00 on OMNY, tapping the same card or phone each time you travel. After 12 rides within 7 days, the fare caps automatically at $35.00 for the rest of that week on subways and local buses, so a busy week of sightseeing never costs more than 12 single fares.

LaGuardia: the free Q70 LGA Link bus reaches the subway at Jackson Heights or Woodside, then it is a $3.00 fare onward. JFK's AirTrain is $8.75 and connects to the subway or LIRR at Jamaica Station, so budget $11.75 in total. Newark: NJ Transit's own combined ticket, which includes the AirTrain fee, costs $17.25 to Penn Station in about 30 minutes.

Yes. Most of the supply flows unfiltered from the protected Catskill and Delaware watersheds more than 100 miles north, which together provide about 90% of the city's water; only the smaller Croton system is filtered. The city runs continuous testing and disinfection, so tap water needs no filtering or bottled alternative.

Expect 14.75% in combined tax on top of the room rate: 8.875% New York City and State sales tax plus a 5.875% hotel occupancy tax, confirmed by the NYC Comptroller's own audit of the tax. Add flat nightly fees of $1.50 to New York State and up to $2.00 to New York City per room (less on rooms under $40). On a $250 night that adds roughly $40, before any resort fee the property charges separately.

Yes, $70.00 flat between JFK and anywhere in Manhattan, either direction, set by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Add a 50 cent MTA surcharge, a $1.00 improvement surcharge, a $2.50 New York State surcharge and a 75 cent congestion charge if you cross into Manhattan below 60th Street, which brings a typical ride to $74.75. Weekday trips between 16:00 and 20:00 add a further $5.00.

Only if you are in a car. Since 5 January 2025, vehicles entering Manhattan at or below 60th Street pay a toll, charged once a day: $9.00 in the daytime and $2.50 overnight. It does not apply to pedestrians, cyclists or subway and bus riders, though it adds 75 cents to a yellow taxi fare that crosses the line.

No. The subway and buses reach almost everywhere for $3.00 a ride, capped at $35.00 a week, and Manhattan's grid is easy to walk. Driving adds the $9.00 daytime congestion charge below 60th Street and some of the country's most expensive parking, so a car works against you here.