New York: Start spreading the news

Step off the plane in New York, and you're walking into a new dimension filled with smells, sounds, sights and people like you never imagined. It's like walking into a giant movie set. You need at least two weeks - preferably four - as there's just far too much to see and do in a city that is the financial, publishing, artistic, theatrical, musical and gastronomic hub of the world. Ask any New Yorker and they'll all say the same thing: this is the greatest city on Earth.

But is it safe?

For those whose idea of Manhattan is grounded in a dark, violent, drug-fuelled past (the 80s) - that picture bares no relation to today's Manhattan. The island has now been gentrified beyond recognition, evidenced by the rents in Harlem being almost as expensive as downtown. There's reams of cops everywhere, and I guarantee you'll feel safer in NYC than in downtown Auckland's Queen St on a Friday night.

Stay in touch

Do not use your New Zealand sim card while in the US unless someone else is paying for it. Swap your sim for a prepaid card from T-Mobile if you're on Vodafone or TelstraClear (GSM); or AT&T for Telecom (CDMA). Note that in America you get billed to receive, as well as make calls and texts.

Where to stay

Avoid Midtown, it's an overpriced wasteland full of tourists that doesn't represent the essence of New York. You want to be downtown. Also don't expect to pay a ruble less than US$200 ($296) per person per night for a room here - and rates go up steeply from there. The quality and size of your room can vary enormously for the same amount of money so it pays to do your homework.

Tip: look up sites with user reviews such as tripadvisor.com.

Pounding pavements

One of the most fun things you can do is to walk the streets.

Manhattan is flat, compact and laid out in a famously logical grid system. And there's so much to see! Amazing architecture abounds with buildings hundreds of years old right next to modern marvels, but the most interesting feature of NYC is the people.

And contrary to myth - New Yorkers are nice! You can strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere, about anything, like you've known them for years.

Be warned that when you rehydrate there are approximately zero public toilets in Manhattan. Get used to finding a cafe/bar/restaurant and making a bee-line for the door that inevitably warns "restrooms are for customers only" and being a wee bit dodgy and using it anyway if it's unlocked.

Sightseeing

A Lonely Planet New York edition is indispensable, and you also need one of the fold-out plastic maps they have in convenience stores (about US$10) which feature the major tourist attractions, subway lines - everything you need to get around.

If you're doing the obligatory super-touristy things like the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building, book ahead and go first thing in the morning, preferably on a Monday, unless you want to spend hours waiting in queues of loud, fat, sweaty tourists. Go early to the spectacular museums and galleries too, such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, and the American Museum of Natural History. Do not miss Central Park, which is beautiful in any season and - like walking the Brooklyn Bridge with its amazing view of Manhattan's skyline - it's free.

Another fun way to devour some history is taking a pizza tour (scottspizzatours.com) around Greenwich Village, where you'll visit the first actual pizzeria where the modern pizza was born in 1895.

Eat, drink and be cheap

As a rule, downtown is cheaper than uptown, and the coffee has improved to the point of being more than passable. The food from street carts, which need a very high standard of hygiene to get a licence, is great. Many of them compete in the Vendy Awards (streetvendor.org), and serve killer food for 7 bucks or less.

Tip: if something's good New Yorkers will queue for it. Go to the cart with the queue, but avoid the carts outside tourist attractions.

St Marks Place in the East Village and MacDougal St in the West Village have a cornucopia of restaurants, bars, comedy, live music and cabaret to suit everyone, and there's also amazingly cheap food in Chinatown.

Cash rules everything

Unlike New Zealand where nearly every shop has Eftpos, in Manhattan you'll often come up against the impenetrable wall of the "cash only" sign - even in restaurants. You will be caught short unless you carry cash at all times.

Tip: you can get travel cards from some New Zealand banks (mytravelcard.co.nz) which allow you to pre-load money in US dollars, eliminating most fees.

Not quite tip top

Because the minimum adult wage is US$6.50 per hour, everyone in the service industry relies on tips, and you are expected to tip even if the service is bad. You should tip $1 per drink at a bar, and between 10 and 20 per cent for everything else, including taxis and meals. There is a state tax of 8.875 per cent which is typically not built into the marked price, so just double whatever the tax is and add that to your total.

Shopping

You have to do 5th Avenue. It's beautiful and iconic but the price tags will make your purse clench. Go to the Meatpacking District for new designers, while the flea markets in Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen are great fun. The shopping in Soho and Nolita is very stylish and diverse with small boutiques and chains, and you get amazing bargains from vintage stores.

In sum

It's totally safe throughout Manhattan. Downtown is where the action is for food, music, shopping, accommodation, bars, and restaurants, particularly if you're on a budget. Stay near a subway line. Go to Chelsea for private art galleries, and uptown for the big famous galleries, museums, and Central Park.

Remember there's hidden costs on everything service-related, and that you always need to carry cash. Get a Lonely Planet: New York before you go and remember that this article covers a mere fraction of everything you can see, do and experience in Manhattan, the Rome of our time and the first city of the world.

CHECKLIST

Helpful websites on New York:

For discounted tickets to Broadway shows: tdf.org.

For getting around the city: hopstop.com.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: statueofliberty.org.

Empire State Building: esbnyc.com.

Guggenheim Museum (coolest museum architecture ever): guggenheim.org.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: metmuseum.org.

American Museum of Natural History (biggest museum in the world, complete with a blue whale hanging from the ceiling): amnh.org.

Museum of Modern Art: moma.org.

Sea, Air and Space Museum: intrepidmuseum.org.

Madison Square Garden for a game or a show: msg.com.

New York Yankees baseball stadium: newyork.yankees.mlb.com.

New York Giants football stadium: giants.com.

Daily Show tickets (best time to try is 10am Eastern Standard Time): thedailyshow.com.

Colbert Report tickets (best time to try is 10am Eastern Standard Time) colbertnation.com.

Tyra Show tickets: tyrashow.warnerbros.com.

The Late Show with David Letterman tickets: cbs.com.