Which place is cheaper, New York City or Quito?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations. These travel costs come from the actual spending of real travelers.
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Should you visit Quito or New York City?
Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?
Should I visit Quito or New York City? This is a common question asked by many travelers. By figuring out which city has activities that align with your interests along with knowing which is more affordable, you'll understand where you can get more bang for your buck. So, let's dive into the details and the data, which all comes from actual travelers.
Where Should I go: Quito or New York City?
Quito
Nestled between two mountain ranges lies the world's highest capital city, Quito, Ecuador. For history lovers, Quito is a very desirable destination as it's home to the Quito Historic Center – one of the largest and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas.
Even though Quito is full of people – in fact, it's the second most populous city in the country – very few of its inhabitants speak English. Luckily, however, the citizens of Quito tend to speak a slower and more clear Spanish than surrounding areas. This is the perfect place to practice what you read in your Intro to Spanish book.
Before visiting Quito, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, give yourself a few days to grow accustomed to the elevation. Staying 9,350 feet above sea level takes some getting used to. Second, don't be fooled into thinking that just because you're visiting a town on the equator that you'll need all your summer clothes. Because of the city's elevation, the area keeps a relatively cool climate year round.
New York City
The most populated city in the United States, New York City, sits at the mouth of the Hudson River and encompasses both the island of Manhattan as well as the surrounding land on Long Island, most of which is known as Brooklyn. It's a cultural, culinary, theatrical, and art center that has much to offer domestic and international travelers alike. The city covers an area of 305 square miles and has a population of about 8.2 million people in the city proper with 18.7 million in the metropolitan area.
For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best Adventure Tours to Ecuador, The Best Eco Tours in Ecuador, The Best 2-Week Tours from New York City, and The Best 2-Week Tours from Anchorage.
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Quito Prices
Ecuador PricesNew York City Prices
USA Prices -
Average Daily Cost Per person, per dayQuito $66New York City $363
The average daily cost (per person) in Quito is $66, while the average daily cost in New York City is $363. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Quito and New York City in more detail.
Accommodation
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Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one personQuito $22New York City $175
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Accommodation Typical double-occupancy roomQuito $44New York City $350
Compare Hotels in Quito and New York City
Looking for a hotel in Quito or New York City? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.
Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.
Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Quito Hotel Prices and New York City Hotel Prices.
Local Transportation
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Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.Quito $6.99New York City $49
Typical Local Transportation Prices in Quito
Below are a few samples from actual travelers for transportation costs in Quito:
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Taxi from Bus Terminal to Hotel$10
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Quito
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Quito:
- Unique Quito Transfer Mariscal Sucre Airport to Hotel: $43
- Transfer from or to UIO Airport to any Hotel in Quito: $25
- Transfer from or to Airport Mariscal Sucre (one way): $75
- Transfer Quito → Papallacta (one way / round trip): $85
- Transfer Out from Quito to the Airport: $30
- Transfer Airport → Quito (one way / round trip): $50
- Shared Transfer from Quito hotels to Airport: $42
- Private Transfer from/to Airport: $35
- Private Transfer from the Airport to the city: $32
- Private Transfer In & Out: $130
- Private City Tour & Intiñam Museum Visit w/ Transfer: $89
- Panoramic City Tour & Airport Departure Transfer: $114
Typical Local Transportation Prices in New York City
Some typical examples of transportation costs in New York City are as follows:
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Subway$4.50
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Taxi Ride$8.00
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Subway$2.50
Hired Cars and Shuttles in New York City
Also for New York City, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:
- Brooklyn Cruise Terminal One-Way Transfer to/from Manhattan: $155
- Cape Cruise Port to LaGuardia Airport (LGA) - Departure Transfer: $42
- Central Park Private Walking Tour with Transfers: $171
- Empire State Building NYC Tour, Pre-booked Tickets, Transfer: $300
- J.F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) to Cape Cruise Port - Arrival Transfer: $42
- J.F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) to Cape Liberty Port - Arrival Private Transfer: $211
- JFK to Manhattan: One Way Shared Arrival Transfer: $28
- La Guardia Airport to Manhattan Private Transfer by Sedan SUV: $130
- LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Cape Cruise Port - Arrival Transfer: $42
- LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Cape Liberty Cruise Port - Arrival Private Transfer: $184
- Luxury Group Airport Transfers and Event Shuttles: $275
- Manhattan to EWR Airport Private Transfer: $190
Is it cheaper to fly into Quito or New York City?
Prices for flights to both New York City and Quito change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Food
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Food Meals for one dayQuito $34New York City $87
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Quito
Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Quito.
- Ecuadorian Gastronomy Tasting and Cooking Class in Quito: $25
- Guilty Pleasures Walking Food Tours in Quito: $45
- Quito Eats Food Tour with 14+ Tastings: $55
- From Cayambe Traditional Cooking Class with Transfers: $60
- Food Tour in quaint old town with tastings and lunch: $71
- 3-hour Andean Cooking Class in Quito with a Local Host: $75
- Street Food Tour with Private Transport: $79
- Homemade Local Food Tour in Guayaquil: $80
- Hidden Gems Food Tour with Cacao Tasting and Culture: $87
- Cooking Class in Quito with Chef, Market Tour and Transportation: $88
- Cooking Class with Chef, Market Tour & Transportation: $88
- Cooking Class with a chef and local market including hotel pickup: $89
Typical Food Prices in New York City
For New York City, here are some examples of average food and meal prices for travelers:
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Gelato$7.50
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Snacks for Two at Yankees Game$34
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Coffee$6.53
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Smoothie$6.95
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in New York City
For New York City, here are some samples of tours and activities related to meals and dining experiences:
- New York Union Square Sweetest Food Tour: Choose Your Own Donuts: $35
- NYC Haunted History and Ghost Tour with Pizza: $39
- Private Pizza Experience (5 tastings) in Manhattan: $45
- Central Park Cafe: Scenic Lunch & Dinner Experience in NYC: $50
- Lower East Side Food Tour: Iconic Eats & NYC History Walking Tour: $51
- New York Pizza and Rats Tour: $55
- NYC Chinatown & Little Italy Food Tour Full Portions, Great Value: $59
- Brooklyn Bridge & DUMBO Food Tour: Local Eats & Iconic Views: $59
- Homemade Pizza Party in NYC: $63
- New York City's Best Pizza tour - You be the judge!: $68
- NYC: Queens, Chinatown, Little India & Street Food Tour: $69
- NYC: Flushing Chinatown Food Tour – Eat Like a Local: $69
Entertainment
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Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.Quito $16New York City $180
Typical Entertainment Prices in Quito
Here are a few typical costs in Quito for activities, ticket prices, and tours that come from previous visitors:
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Entrance to Guyasimine Museum for Two$8.00
Tours and Activities in Quito
Here are a few actual costs in Quito for available activities, ticket prices, and tours:
- “Adventure in Baths: Waterfalls, End of the World Swing and More”: $190
- 1-Day Adventure to the Andean Choco Experience the Forest: $125
- 2 Day Quito to Cotopaxi and Quilotoa Tour with Accommodation: $281
- 2 day 1 night tour to Cotopaxi Volcano and Quilotoa Lagoon all included: $280
- 2-Day Tour of Cotopaxi Volcano and Quilotoa Lagoon with hotel: $222
- 2D private Tour from Quito visiting Cotopaxi, Quilotoa and Baños: $281
- 3-Day Adventure: Quito, Cotopaxi, Quilotoa, Baños, Jungle: $897
- 3-Day Andes Adventure Visiting Cotopaxi, Quilotoa and Baños: $239
- 3-Day Antisana & Amazon comunities, Caves, Baños Guided Tour: $734
- 6-Day Ecuador Heritage Tour: Art, Culture and Otavalo: $1,847
- Adventure and Relaxation in Baños de Agua Santa: $236
- Adventure in Cotopaxi Firefall Limpiopungo and Andes: $160
Typical Entertainment Prices in New York City
Below are a few sample prices from actual travelers for New York City's activities, tours, and tickets:
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Comedy Show Tickets$56
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City Map$8.00
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Broadway Musical$111
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Broadway Show Program$10
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Magazine$6.99
Tours and Activities in New York City
For New York City, here are a few prices for actual activities, tours, and tickets provided by various companies:
- NYC Central Park Scavenger Hunt & Self-Guided Walking Tour: $3.42
- New York Ghost Tour: Self-Guided Haunted Walk: $4.55
- Central Park Stolen Archives: NY Exploration Game and Tour: $4.83
- The Battery: A Self-Guided Audio Tour from Bowling Green Park to Stone St: $5.00
- Self Guided Central Park Bike or Walking Tour Application: $5.00
- Roosevelt Island: An Audio Tour by a Filmmaker: $5.00
- New York: Central Park Walking Personalized Self-Guided App Tour: $5.00
- A New York Date Night Personalized Self-Guided App Tour: $5.00
- Broadway: A Self-Guided Audio Tour of the World's Iconic Theatre District: $5.00
- New York: Wall Street Personalized Self-Guided App Tour: $5.00
- Self Guided Audio Tour of NYC Financial District: $5.00
- New York Kids Quest: Family Walking Adventure: $5.09
For more ideas for your next trip, check out The Best Things to do in New York City with Kids, Things to Do in Central Park in NYC, and The Best Museums in New York City.
Alcohol
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Alcohol Drinks for one dayQuito $17New York City $29
Typical Alcohol Prices in Quito
Here are a few samples of the prices for alcohol and nightlife in Quito from other travelers:
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Beers for Two$9.00
Sample the Local Flavors in New York City
Some specific costs for nightlife related activities in New York City:
- Brooklyn Distillery Tour: $22
- NYC Pub Crawl Tour: $30
- Top Shelf Distillery Tour: $33
- Wicked City Burlesque Show Admission: $33
- NYC Pub Crawl & Rooftop Clubbing Experience: $34
- Cheers to Chinatown Tour and Bar Crawl: $40
- Brooklyn Literary Pub Crawl: $49
- Greenwich Village Literary Pub Crawl: $49
- Greenwich Village Piano Bar Crawl: $50
- Broadway Prohibition Pub Crawl: $64
- East Village Gangster Ghost Pub Crawl: $64
- Underground Brooklyn Walking Brewery Tour: $99
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Quito and New York City, we can see that New York City is more expensive. And not only is Quito much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Quito is in South America and New York City is in North America, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Quito would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Quito and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in New York City would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in New York City than you might in Quito.
If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Quito Expensive? and Is New York City Expensive?.
Which is Bigger, Quito or New York City?
New York City has a larger population, and is about 6 times larger than the population of Quito. When comparing the sizes of Quito and New York City, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.
Budget Your Trip is all about finding out how much everything costs so that you can travel cheaper and longer. Created by avid travelers Laurie and Bryan, our goal is to help you plan your next trip on the right budget. With average daily travel costs that are calculated from the budgets of real travelers, plus an analysis of hotel and tour prices, you can find out how much money you need to plan your next adventure. We also have plenty of travel advice, accommodation reviews, and activity suggestions.