Before You Fly to New York: What to Sort Out at Home
Three things to sort out before you leave home: some cash for the newsstand, an eSIM that works the moment you land, and both Uber and Lyft ready on your phone.
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Sort out three things before you leave home: a little cash, an eSIM that works the moment you land, and both Uber and Lyft on your phone. All three take ten minutes at home. Any one of them can eat an hour once you’re here.
New York runs on cards. You can tap a phone at the subway gate, the bodega and most restaurants. But the first hour after a long flight is when a small missing thing hurts most, and almost all of it is fixable on your couch before you go.
Bring some cash anyway
The city is close to cashless, and you’ll pay by card for nearly everything. Bring cash anyway, in small bills.
The newsstand is why. Those little kiosks on the sidewalk and at subway entrances are the quickest place in the city to grab the basics: a bottle of water, a cold drink, a snack, cigarettes, a pack of painkillers or antacids. No aisles, no line, done in thirty seconds, and usually cheaper than a deli or a drugstore for the same thing.
Most of them take cash only. So do a lot of the street vendors: the fruit cart, the pretzel guy, the person selling water at the park gate. Tap your card at one and you’ll get a shake of the head.
Twenties are fine for a restaurant. For a newsstand, bring fives and ones. Nobody wants to break a hundred-dollar bill for a bottle of water. Our tipping and money guide has how much cash to carry and what tax does to every price.
Set up an eSIM before you leave
Buy an eSIM, install it and set it up before you leave your country. Do it at home, on your own Wi-Fi, with time to fix anything that goes wrong.
The moment you land is when you need data most. You’ll be calling a ride, checking which terminal exit to use, and texting whoever’s waiting for you. Airport Wi-Fi is slow and asks you to sign in. Hunting for a SIM card shop in an arrivals hall is a bad way to start a trip.
Done right, you switch off airplane mode on the runway and your phone just works.
Get both Uber and Lyft on your phone
Getting from the airport into the city, take an Uber or a Lyft. The AirTrain and the subway are the cheapest way in, but after a long flight, with bags, in a city you don’t know yet, they’re a lot for a first-time visitor. Put the ride in your budget. If you want to use public transit, take it on the way back to the airport, once you know how the subway works. That airport ride is the one exception. Once you’ve checked in and head out to explore, take the subway everywhere. It gets you virtually anywhere at a good pace, and cabs are rarely worth it.
Install both apps at home, and sign in to both. Signing up can ask for a text code or a card check, which is easy at home and miserable at a baggage carousel.
Then check both when you land. For the same ride at the same minute, the two apps often quote different prices. Open one, open the other, take the cheaper one. It costs you ten seconds.
When you book, follow your app to the pickup spot. Anyone in arrivals offering you a ride is not your driver, whatever they say. Our airport guide has what a ride costs from JFK, LaGuardia and Newark, and how to take the train back.
The rest of the list
- A contactless card or a phone with a wallet set up. That’s your subway and bus fare. Use the same one every time and the weekly fare cap kicks in. The subway for first timers explains it.
- Comfortable shoes you’ve already broken in. You’ll walk more than you plan. Everyone does. The rest of the suitcase is in what to pack for New York.
- The first night’s plan. Know how you’re getting from the airport to your bed before you board. Our where to stay guide helps if you haven’t booked yet.
First trip? Read first time in NYC next.
Questions about anything in this guide? Reach MUSEENYC at museenyc.art@gmail.com or @museenyc on Instagram.
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