Having booked the trip back in August last year, I recently had the opportunity to visit New York with my immediate family. We’d never been to the USA before, so we were all excited at the prospect of visiting the big apple. Booking so far in advance, we were fortunate to have found a great deal on Virgin Atlantic flights from Manchester and used a local independent travel agent to coordinate our accommodation.

We flew from Manchester on a Saturday lunchtime which arrived into New York mid-afternoon. We spent 4 nights and 3 full days in New York sightseeing, before heading off on an early flight to Savannah on the Wednesday morning.

For our America trip, we split our currency into part cash, part Monzo. Monzo is an online bank account that works in partnership with MasterCard. Having a Monzo card on our trip was a great way to keep track of our spending, without the worry of having unwanted dollars at the end of the trip. 

American culture is much more tip-focussed than the UK, meaning that we were still keen to take cash with us for this purpose and to be able to secure our currency at a better rate ahead of time. I thoroughly recommend Monzo .

Getting to the City

Once we landed in New York, a flight that lasted just over 6 1/2 hours, we headed to the city centre in a yellow cab. In the international terminal, these are very easy to spot as they have a specific dispatch terminal to coordinate tourists and catch a cab easily. The great thing about getting a New York yellow cab is that they have a fixed rate to the city centre. Taxi rides from JFK to Manhattan cost a flat fee of $52 + tip. So you're looking at approx. $65 for a one-way trip. If you are travelling on a budget or as a couple, I’d suggest finding alternative transport, however, as a family of 4 with 4 large suitcases, travelling by taxi made our transfer to the airport much smoother. On our return journey, it was easy to flag down a yellow taxi from the roadside. It’s worth making sure, however, that despite it being a fixed charge, that you ensure that the taxi driver sets the meter accordingly, as the driver on our return trip did try to overcharge us over the flat rate. 

Where to Stay in New York

We stayed in the Upper West Side at the Hotel Beacon, 75th Street on Broadway. We stayed on a room-only basis and found the hotel was quiet and away from the hustle and bustle of central manhattan, whilst still being a stones throw from central park.

The hotel was approximately 20-30 minutes walk from central manhattan but a 5-minute walk from the nearest subway station should you wish to use this instead. Although breakfast wasn’t included, there were a handful of breakfast shops or bagel shops en route to central manhattan for us to grab a quick bite to eat. 

Sights and Attractions

When in New York, there is an abundance of things to see and do. If you are travelling on a tighter budget, many of the buildings in and around New York are as beautiful outside as they if you would pay to view them inside. Travelling as a family of four, we limited our paid attractions to the Big Bus Tour. We thoroughly enjoyed the BigBusTour and opted for the deluxe package which included 3 days use of the hop-on hop-off bus, a ticket up the Empire State Building and a boat tour around the Statue of Liberty and a night tour.

If you are interested in investing in BigBusTour tickets, I’d highly recommend booking these ahead of time online as you will make considerable savings this way, versus buying them from the totes scattered around the city. Our tickets cost £58.20 each online, versus the on-street price of £64.70. Considering the cost of the Empire State Building is $38/ £31 and the Circle Line Liberty boat cruise starts at $31/ £25, meaning that you if you were to pay for these attractions anyway, that you are only paying a couple of extra pounds for the privilege of using the hop-on / hop-off bus. 

Sights we visited:

As part of the BigBusTour, we were able to cover a broad area of New York, including Uptown, Downtown, Brooklyn and Harlem.

Upper West Side & Central Park

Central Park - the most visited urban park in the United States, covering 843 acres. 

Strawberry Fields - a memorial dedicated to the memory of former Beatles member, John Lennon

Lincoln Centre - visit here to source discounted theatre tickets for broadway/off-broadway shows. We bought our tickets for the off-broadway show ‘Sistas’ and loved it.

Midtown

Times Square - Great to visit day or night, Times Square is a fantastic and buzzing heart of Manhattan where many high street brands, fast food and restaurants can be found.

Grand Central Terminal

Empire State Building - The views from its 86th-floor observation decks are unmissable. This was the highlight of my trip to New York.

Lower Manhattan & The Financial District

Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island (Circle Line Liberty Cruise) - An express cruise to the Statue of Liberty that sets off from the midtown pier that gave great views of the NYC skyline, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Brooklyn Bridge - As part of our BigBusTour we were able to drive beside the Brooklyn Bridge and explore Brooklyn in the comfort of our seats.

One World Trade Center - One World Trade Center is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex. It’s currently the tallest building in the United States and the sixth-tallest in the world.

911 Memorial - The memorial is located at the World Trade Center site, the former location of the Twin Towers. It’s a truly moving memorial to commemorate the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six. 

Food & Drink

When in New York, there is no shortage of places to eat and drink. We took the opportunity to eat at Ellen’s Diner to experience the singing waiter experience and were not disappointed. It’s pricy but well worth it for the atmosphere and talent in the room.

We also took the opportunity to eat at Junior's. Juniors are famous for its cheesecake, and the Red Velvet Cheesecake is something not to be missed! 

You would also be daft not to try a New York bagel whilst in NYC. There are bagel shops everywhere, but I’d recommend checking out ‘Black Seed’.

Trip Highlights

I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 nights in New York and would highly recommend a visit to Central Park, the Empire State Building and of course, investing in a BigBusTours pass.

Have you been to New York? What was your highlight?

In February 2019, I started Matched betting as a way to supplement my income and a way to use my free time outside of my marketing placement more productively.

I dabbled into matched betting initially as an experiment to see if I could make a few hundred pounds (as many had claimed you could) to supplement my savings, and have found it to be a great side hustle for me, which in less than 6 months has made me over £1000 profit from a £10 initial investment.

So, What is Matched Betting?

Matched betting is a legal and tax-free way to use the offers that bookmakers ('bookies) give to new and existing customers. These offers can then be turned into a guaranteed profit thanks to matched betting and the use of betting exchanges.

Matched betting isn't a new concept and has been around for years. You may have even seen it written about on The Guardian Online in 2010

The amount of money that people make from matched betting varies and you may find on forums and on youtube some people who have made £10,000's . My profit is much more modest, but has been a slow learning curve to ensure that I have been able to get the most from my £10 investment, without making any costly mistakes.

How much money you can make from Matched betting can depend on how much you are willing to put into your matched betting pot in the first place, how much time you have and how many new accounts you are able to create.

From February 2019, when I started with £10, I have focused on slowly building my 'bank' (the funds you have to play with for matched betting) sustainably.  Before I started Matched betting, I carried out my research. I was sceptical of the method, whether it would work and whether I'd end up losing my money and that's where TeamProfit was great at getting me accustomed to the methods and terminology.

Team Profit is a Free Matched Betting Service, complete with a comprehensive blog, youtube channel and facebook community that makes starting out with Matched Betting easy.

When you're starting out with Matched Betting, it's easier to make money quickly with a larger initial 'bank'. TeamProfit's guides indicate how starting with £10 can earn you £800 in 3 months, starting with £25 can earn you £1000 in 3 months and starting with £100 can earn you £1000 in 2 months. In essence, with more money, to begin with, you can work through the welcome offers quicker, without having to wait for your money to be withdrawn from your bookmaker accounts.

It's also worth noting that creating a separate bank account to complete your Matched betting transactions is, in my opinion, essential to keep track of your earnings and avoid affecting your existing bank accounts with multiple bookmaker and exchange transactions. 

For my Matched betting I set up a Monzo account. This was quick and easy to do and it means that my money earned from my matched betting does not get mixed up with my other transactions. 

Using TeamProfit not only taught me about matched betting, but their Facebook group and blog allowed me to keep me up to date with the best offers and boosts available.

After completing all of the suggested welcome offers featured on TeamProfit, I found myself at a lul in my earnings. It was at this point that I signed up for an OddsMonkey subscription.  I don't believe this to be necessary in your first few months of matched betting, TeamProfit will contain the resources you need to get started, but OddsMonkey has definitely assisted in allowing me to boost my profits and find offers more easily.

Unlike TeamProfit, OddsMonkey is a paid subscription service to aid you in making profit through your matched betting. The most valuable resources within OddsMonkey are the daily offers lists, Odds Matching tools (which saves you the time manually searching for them) which allows you to focus on making money!

Before you pay for a membership with OddsMonkey, you can sign up for a 10 day trial for £1, allowing you to test the platform, access its more complex matched betting guides and decide if you are willing to commit to the platform. For me, I found that the platform pays for itself in the time you save, but also assists in making the most profits from your free bets.

Once you've got your account set up on TeamProfit and have read and watched all of their Matched betting guides, you will have access to all beginner guides.

During the start-up plans, you may find yourself waiting around for cash withdrawals from the bookies, particularly if you only start with £10, but as you build your bank, this problem will become less of an issue over time.

Take your time whilst you work through them, once you're familiar with how Matched Betting works now, you'll be ready to complete Reload offers.

Reload Offers can be similar to the welcome offers, very different to the original offers you completed. However, if completed correctly, they will have the same outcome – making you money! OddsMonkey have hundreds of Reload Offers listed on their website. It's important to not be too picky when it comes to picking offers and not to dismiss the smaller value offers. All £2 , £5, £10 profits add up, so it's worth getting on as many as you can.

Give it a go...

I'd recommend finding the plan that works best for you, your time available and your financial commitments. Take your time going through the plan, and if you have any questions that are not answered within the plan, you can use the TeamProfit live chat feature and they will answer any questions. As I've already mentioned, I started with a £10 investment and managed to pull that back out within a couple of weeks. Having been Matched Betting for over 6 months now, I've managed to earn over £1100 as additional tax-free income.

Want to find out more about Matched Betting? 

Find helpful guides over at TeamProfit, OddsMonkey or alternatively leave any questions you have in the comments below.

*This post contains affiliate links. What does that mean? If you click on a product and make a purchase, I may receive some compensation at NO charge to you. *

Back in May, I took the opportunity to go on a mini-break with my boyfriend to Budapest. It was both of our first times in Eastern Europe, and it did not disappoint. Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is divided by the River Danube. with the chain bridge connecting ‘Buda’ with ‘Pest’.

As with our last trip away to Naples (click to read my Naples Travel Guide), we’d managed to secure ourselves a great deal from Jet2, which involved flying from Manchester on a Sunday afternoon and flying back on Thursday evening. This gave us 4 nights and 3 full days of sightseeing, with a free morning to explore before heading back home. 

Budapest uses the Hungarian Forint as their local currency, so we’d exchanged this at the post office ahead of our trip. £1 got us 351 HUF, so I will use this for reference when costing out our excursions.  Based on our research ahead of the trip, we’d budgeted £225 each for food & excursions but managed to trade back £50 each at the airport, meaning we only spent £175 each for the 4 nights. I wouldn’t usually suggest trading currency back, but as the exchange rate had changed whilst we were away, we were better off trading our currency at the airport than we would have been trading back at the airport.  Alternatively, many of the excursions and restaurants we visited accepted card, so taking a master card such as Monzo is a great way to keep track of your spending, without being left with unwanted currency at the end of your trip. I used Monzo on a more recent trip and it worked perfectly. 

 

Once we landed in Budapest, a flight that lasted just over 2 1/2 hours, we headed to the city centre. Getting from Budapest Airport to the city centre proved straight forward. We simply walked out of the arrivals terminal, turned left and within 200m, was the bus stop that took us directly into Budapest centre. We caught the 100E bus that is a direct shuttle bus between Liszt Ferenc (Budapest) International Airport and Deak Ferenc ter in the city centre, with a stop at Kalvin Ter M. Heading towards the city from the airport, we bought our tickets on the bus (900 HUF each/ £2.68), however on our return journey, we purchased these from a machine by the bus stop. It's worth noting that if you do this, it must be stamped before using it to authorise the ticket.

As part of our Jet2 deal, we decided to stay at the Three Corners Hotel Anna. The hotel was 3 Stars but was clean and modern, and quiet too - I couldn’t tell the difference between our hotel and a 4 star. Situated approximately 20 minutes walk from the centre, we were easily able to get to the key sights on foot, without the need to use public transport, though the option was still there should you wish to use the tram. Our package included breakfast, which meant that we were well fed enough to only require a snack lunch from the supermarket, which were affordable to buy from.

When in Budapest, there are a number of both free and paid attractions you can visit. If you are travelling on a tighter budget, many of the buildings in and around Budapest are as beautiful outside as they are inside. We decided to explore a range of the free and paid attractions that Budapest has to offer, my personal favourites being the St Stephens Basilica, the Szenchenyi Baths and Fishermans Bastion.

BUDA

Funicular Train (1800 HUF Return - £5.13): When exploring Buda, we opted to take the Funicular inclined railway to take us from Adam Clark Square and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge at river level up to Buda Castle. I believe, should you wish to, there is a path to walk up the bank, however, as we had allocated budget to, we took the train. The journey itself was only a couple of minutes and cost us 1800 HUF for a return ticket, or alternatively, you can buy a one-way ticket for 1200 HUF(£3.42). For the length of time you are on the train, the ticket price is overpriced, however, it saved us the hassle of climbing the hill and saved us time, so it's definitely worth putting some HUF aside for this.

 

 

Fishermans Bastion (Adults 1000 HUF, Students 500 HUF, £2.85 / £1.42): 

The buildings at Fisherman’s Bastion are beautiful and one of the many buildings that attracted me to visit Budapest. We paid to walk along the towers of Fisherman’s Bastion, but its worth saying that there are parts of the tower you can walk along for free, and there are even certain days that it is completely free of charge to visit the towers and terraces of Fisherman’s Bastion, namely any day between October 16 and March 15. We opted to pay 500 HUF to walk along the upper towers and turrets of Fishermans bastion, to get a slightly different perspective of the city, but this isn’t necessary. For 1000 HUF, however, its a very small fee to pay. Otherwise, the easiest way to get to the free parts of the Fisherman’s Bastion is from the Matthias Church. Just walk to the balconies on the left-hand side, behind the church, to enjoy the views.

Matthias Church (Adult 1800 HUF, Student 1200 HUF, £5.12 / £3.41): Within the Castle District is Matthias Church, the most visited Roman Catholic church in Budapest, located in front of Fishermans Bastion. heart of Buda's Castle District. The church is stunning both inside and out, and for your admission fee, you are welcome to walk around both upstairs and downstairs in the church.

Buda Castle (Free): 

Buda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest. You can walk around these grounds free of charge 24/7, however, it is here that you will find the National Gallery and Budapest History Museum.

 

Cave Church @ Gellert Hill (600 HUF, £1.70): 

On our way up Gellert Hill, we decided to pay a visit to the Cave Church. The Cave Church was built into the rocks and caves of the Gellért Hill and established by Pauline monks. Thanks to its unique structure and location, the Church Cave is one-of-a-kind and makes this well-worth visiting.  For the small admission fee, you can follow a short audio guide around the church to better understand its features.

 PEST

 Hungarian National Museum (ADULT 1600 HUF, STUDENT 800 HUF, £4.56 / £2.28). With my boyfriend Dan being an Archaeology student, it was only right that we stopped by at the Hungarian National Museum, the national museum for the history, art and archaeology of Hungary. Being students, we were able to get a discount off our admission and spent a good few hours exploring the varied exhibits. The museum is definitely something worth visiting on a rainy day ( of which there were a few during our May visit).

 

Szechenyi Baths (5800 HUF - £16 -Entry Locker Cubicle): When visiting Budapest it’d be rude not to visit the baths. If you do, do not make the mistake I did when it comes to renting towels. If you are hoping to rent a towel, avoid renting ’bath sheets’. These are not the large fluffy bath towels you may expect, but instead, better resemble a bedsheet. Instead, make sure you rent a bath towel, these can be rented with a returnable deposit of 2,000 HUF (£5.70) and a towel rental fee of 2000 HUF (£5.70) to get a smaller, but thicker and fluffier towel than the bath sheet)). Payment for the rental is cash only, in HUF. Alternatively, you are more than welcome to take your own towels to the bath to save yourself the money and hassle of renting. Having only travelled with a small hand luggage case and not wanting to lug around a wet towel all day after visiting the baths, we had factored the cost of towel rental into our budget.

 

St Stephens Basilica (600 HUF - £1.70): Of all the attractions I saw during my stay in Budapest, this was definitely up there as one of my favourites and was one of the most affordable. A Roman Catholic Basilica on the Pest side of Budapest, St Stephens is the third-largest church building in present-day Hungary. As with all of our excursions in Budapest, we simply walked up and paid on the day. The Basilica has a suggested donation of 600 HUF and should you wish to climb the steps up to the top of this basilica, something I would strongly recommend, then this will set you back 500 HUF (£1.40). By climbing the 364 steps up to the top, you will be able to take in the beautiful, panoramic views of Budapest  from the observation deck.

 

 

Dohany Street Synagogue (2000 HUF - £5.70): The Dohány Street Synagogue, also known as the Great Synagogue is located in Erzsébetváros, the 7th district of Budapest, on the Pest side of the Danube. The great synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe, the second-largest in the world and the first synagogue I’d ever visited. The entrance fee was one of the more expensive of our trip and offered limitations to its EU / student discounts, something we’d taken advantage of at other locations around the city. 2000 HUF each allowed entry into the synagogue and opportunity to visit the Jewish Museum adjoining the synagogue. The Synagogue can be visited during weekdays. It is closed on Saturdays and for Jewish holidays. 

 Other Attractions: Along with the paid attractions, there are also great things to see that don’t require spending any money. The Great Market Hall (Open every day except Sunday)is a great place to visit to try local cuisine, buy souvenirs or simply have a mooch around. Whilst we were at the Great Market Hall we decided to try one of Hungary’s national drinks ‘Unicum’ Liqueur, a dark and bitter liqueur filled with herbs and spices but instantly regretted our decision. We also loved exploring the Royal Palace Gardens, situated within the Buda Castle Region, visiting the moving Shoes on the Danube monument,.This monument was created on the east bank of the Danube River to honour the Jews who were killed by militiamen in Budapest during World War II.  and walking the Hungarian Parliament Grounds. We hadn’t booked ahead for the parliament, but would have loved to have toured inside (which can range from 1600 - 5200 HUF per person).

Food & Drink

If you are going to Budapest, a visit to the ruin bars is a must. Szimpla Kert is one of the best, and one of the oldest, and is well worth a visit. We went in the afternoon which meant the atmosphere was relaxed, but visit in the evening and there is the opportunity to experience the live music and bustling atmosphere it is well known for.

If you’re looking to try traditional Hungarian food, I’d recommend checking out the Ladó Café. A traditional restaurant, serving dishes such as goulash & beefsteak, alongside the meals the restaurant has live jazz music every evening from 8 pm - 10 pm. I’d recommend trying the Hungarian stuffed cabbage.

Alternatively, if you are wanting the ultimate ‘Instagram’ restaurant, I’d recommend the food from Vintage Garden. With HUF to spare on our last night, we decided to treat ourselves to a three-course meal from here and were not disappointed.

Have you been to Budapest? What was your favourite sight?

Want to see more Travel Content? Check out my other budget travel guides: