Jumping from Midtown Manhattan to the East Village and back to Fifth Avenue in a single day is not impossible—but it’s unnecessarily stressful. Learn about the various Manhattan neighborhoods you plan on visiting and research the distance between each, that way you can finetune your itinerary and make sure the activities you've planned each day are actually achievable.

Related: The 10 Manhattan Neighborhoods to Visit on Your First New York Trip

Taking the train is cheaper ($2.90 can take you across the entire city), and it’s typically way faster, than jumping in a cab. Google Maps is the best way to figure out which line gets you from point A to B. And be mindful of the biggest mistake most tourists make on the subway—make sure you're not only taking the right train, but that's it going in the right direction. It's easy to confuse uptown and downtown lines—and a blunder that even locals are guilty of making.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About New York City’s Public Transportation

The best restaurants in New York are the kind that serve cheap house wine, have little regard for ambiance, drape paper tablecloths (rather than linen ones), and/or serve a staple dish out of a hole-in-the-wall location. We’re not saying you shouldn't splurge on a fancy dinner—you should! But keep your eyes peeled for smaller eateries that you can pop into while exploring the city’s expansive neighborhoods.

Related: The 20 Best Restaurants in New York City

Rest assured that the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, etc., are almost always worth the hype. And what’s a trip to the Big Apple without staring up at the massive billboards that light up Times Square? Don't think you're too cool to skip an iconic attraction.

For example, many NYC museums are pay-as-you-wish, a pricing model that’s not always available when you purchase tickets online. Other museums have days or hours when they're free. Even the Met has a discounted pay-as-you-wish ticket, however, it's only available to residents of New York State, or students who reside in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut.