Customer Reviews

Frommer's NYC Free & Dirt Cheap

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In planning for my first trip to NYC, I was faced with a veritable wall of guide books to pick from at my local library. Because I like to look for the offbeat when travelling, and because, well, I'm poor (hence, the library), this one caught my eye right away.

It had me at hello (or, more accurately, the introduction entitled "The Best Things In Life Are Free"). Wolff's prose has the perfect blend of knowledge and wit to really make the places he's writing about come alive, with solid historical insights where applicable (the sections on Coney Island were quick but fun reads, quite informative for a newbie like me) and plenty of reference materials to help you plan out your days (maps, addresses, phone numbers, hours of operation, etc.). Especially handy are the subway map and free events calendars printed on the inside front/back covers--efficient and helpful on the go.

I knew the real test would come when my host in Brooklyn took a look at it--she's studying museum education and having lived there her whole life, knows many of the nooks & crannies around town. When I started showing her the listings about places like the Forbes Galleries, the original Winnie the Pooh housed at the NY Public Library, and panorama of NYC at the Queens Museum of Art (all free or very cheap), her eyes lit up. And I knew we had a winner on our hands. If it could impress a city slicker like her, no wonder it had impressed a hayseed like me.

If you're looking for a book that can take you off the beaten tourist track, or even if you live in NYC and are looking for some fresh ideas for cheap entertainment, I really can't recommend this highly enough. Good tips, great resource, and a fun read.

I bought this book even though I'm a native NYer. Mr. Wolff has some great suggestions. I wish the food section was bigger, but it's got some of my personal favs and he also pointed out a few that I have immediately fell in love with. He also missed a few that are similar to restaurants he talks about, ie for Vietnamese he mentions one, but I feel it's a runner-up to Pho Bang (best spring rolls and Pho in the city).

As for activities, we've tried a few free ones and that's where this book pays for itself. There are some terrific ideas listed here which you'd expect to pay for, but are free.

Great buy for NYer or visitor.

Just purchased this book and it's amazing. I've lived in NYC for over five years and I can't believe all the free stuff I never knew existed. This is a great resource just to have around the house. I'm sure it'd be cool for tourists too as a lot of the free or "dirt cheap" stuff is pretty cool.

I used this book recently on a weekend trip to visit my friend in Manhattan. Not only did I eat very well for very little money but my foodie friend was shocked that I (the visiter) was showing her these amazing hidden gems! I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to live well on a very low budget.

This book was an amazing resource for just a few days in New York, but one that I will keep for years. In fact, I bought another copy for the friend that I stayed with in the city. The maps and directions were extremely accurate and well-organized by location in the city. If nothing else, there is an easy-to-read subway map of Manhattan in the back cover. Fantastic book overall.

Even though I was going to NYC for just a few days, I found good info

in this book. Inside the cover was a weekly schedule for free entrance

to several museums. This was very handy.

Actually, to get more use from the book, one should be there a little

longer, or, better still, move there. Wonderful advice.

I bought this book for each of our daughters in NYC - who already live there - - what a nice surprise that they are getting even more new ideas and ways to save $$$ and enjoy the city life.......

This book is full of where to go and what to do ideas; and they all cost next to nothing to do. It's the book to use before you go to NYC. Use it to help you plan your days; almost all the museums have a few hours one day a week with a "pay what you wish" entrance fee. It's a book I return to every time we are planning to visit the city.

I bought this for my upcoming trip to NY, and it has been very useful in showing how to see many great places at little to no cost...very worth its weight and price!

I've lived in NYC for more than 10 years now, and am very good at navigating the city. I tried to use this book to help me select any random inexpensive restaurant one afternoon, (in any random neighborhood) and found it maddeningly frustrating.

In general it's a good reference book for say..."picking one thing out, and then executing a plan on visiting that spot". Maybe that's the problem, I was expecting more of a guide book, and this book is definitely not a guide book.

To look at the maps with their legends and keys, and then to try to refer back to the detailed description page is VERY FRUSTRATING.
The legend is organized alphabetically, but not the reference material.

Ok, I thought, cross check the Index! Wrong.

One example, on map page 98, the key for the "Knitting factory" is number 38. Since I can't quickly find it within the material, I check the Index pages under K. Nothing.

It's a great concept with some excellent material, but it is poorly organized with a poor layout and index reference.

While in a major bookstore chain the other day I noticed an end display of many of these books, and it didn't look like it was flying off the shelves. I think the natives might be on to something.