Depends upon how cheap you want to go and what your expectations are of what you are going to get for that cheap. If you are going to get a hostel in NYC for $20 a night and then complain online because the rooms were painted with what looks like paints from the reject bin but was otherwise clean and safe (as I saw one person do), then you are WAY too big of a jackass with way too unrealistic expectations to try the adventure of staying in some of the more inexpensive, offbeat solutions NYC has to offer. Also, this is not the route to go if you want a iot of amenities. But if you are truly on a tight budget, are there to get out and see the city, and use a room as a place to rest up so you can do it again the next day, then you might try West Side Inn on the Upper West Side at 237 W. 107th between Broadway and Amsterdam. It is in an old building with all the charm and quirks of an old building, but they keep it clean and it is safe. My friend and I shared a private room for $22 a night apiece, which included the hefty taxes NYC adds to hotel rooms.

I have also stayed at Hotel Alexander—four of us shared a large room for about $100 a night. It is also on the Upper West Side. Both these places are very convenient to subways. Further, they are very close to the heart of Manhattan. You can walk to Central Park from both of them, which is a great walk and very beautiful. The city in this area has a mix of different eras of architecture and different types of restaurants, bakeries, etc.

I might add that I have also tried staying in New Jersey (Elizabeth and several other towns) and commuting into Manhattan and spent at least as much as I spent at these two places and didn’t get anything any nicer, so I don’t think NJ is really that much of a travel bargain. It also involves nearly an hour commute into the city, which is OK if you are commuting for work, but really inconvenient if you are there for a limited time and don’t want to eat up to two hours a day getting to and from what you really went there for. For the purpose of a visit to Manhattan, NJ is a nice place to live, but you wouldn’t want to visit there.

As for airline fares—have you heard about the global economic crisis? Seven months ago, airlines were still hurting from high fuel, but now they are hurting because the economy is down and no one is flying. You can get some GREAT deals right now, especially if you are not trying to travel at times that are traditionally busy.