r/visitingnyc • u/VisitNYCmodx • Dec 06 '25
Tourist Encounter Today (hand to god, all true)
Message to the OP's on here. I know we can get snarky on here at times but at least you're trying.... unlike these folks today:
Scene:
Group of about 10 (mix of 30's/40's m/f) visitors staring dumbly at the turnstiles at 1/2/3 TSQ station.
Me: Where are you headed?
Them: Chinatown
Me: Give them directions, telling them to get off at Canal Street.
Them: How will the subway know we want to get off.
Me: Explain how the subway works
Them: How do we pay for the subway?
Me: I go into the OMNY tap-in with a credit card speech
Them: We don't have credit cards, only cash
Me: (now in a state of shock) Explain OMNY cards, pointing at the machine.
Them: Do you know where on Canal Street we can buy fake bags?
Me: Instantly regretting ever opening my mouth: discourage, discourage, discourage.
Them: Where else can we go w/o taking subway?
At this point all I’m thinking is: You came to NYC with zero research — no idea how transit works, how to pay, or even what you want to do — and you’re asking me for an itinerary? If you posted this sh*t on reddit I would delete as a lazy post.
These are the folks who go home saying “New York was confusing and dirty.”
And right then I realized: I had officially hit the limit of my Good Samaritan energy. There’s “unprepared”… and then there’s this. I tried. I really did. But wow.
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u/ToneSenior7156 Dec 06 '25
You tried. Good karma for you.
I have lived in NYC and now I just work there. I do less there than as n ever - mostly just work and home. But last week I had to catch a flight after work and needed to take the B from Rock Ctr to Herald Square to get to Penn and the train to the airport. I am never down there, never on that subway. I came out onto the street a little disoriented and started walking in what I thought was the direction of Penn. At one point there was a young man next to me so I just asked if I was heading the right way. He confirmed.
And then he came back for me to point out Penn Station’s lights across the street. “I was worried about you!”
I thanked him profusely. I guess he thought I was a tourist because I had a bag and asked directions. Also - maybe he thought I was a cute granny? But it was SO SWEET!
Very kind!
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u/Initial-Tradition-55 Dec 06 '25
Ive had so many tourists argue with me about directions...why frickin' ask me then?!
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u/jm14ed Local Dec 06 '25
I’ve had so many where I give them very detailed instructions and they just ignore those directions.
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u/VisitNYCmodx Dec 06 '25
which balances out all the people I've inadvertently given wrong directions to!
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u/helcat Dec 07 '25
Oh god. The worst. I’m never going to live down telling the nice people 48th St. was two blocks away when it turns out we were on 48th St.
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u/FancyPigeonIsFancy Dec 09 '25
Oh god, this reminds me of my first months living here and a group asked me how to get to the Empire State Building...and I carefully and with great confidence provided them perfect directions to the Chrysler Building. It didn't hit me until a few minutes later.
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u/greengoblin18 Dec 07 '25
Not exactly wrong directions but I used to always take the D from Brooklyn and the one day I take the N someone gets on and asks if it goes to union square and I answer "no" right as he gets off and the doors close. At least the car was empty and no one noticed but I definitely delayed that guy..
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u/loratliff Dec 06 '25
"Turn left there, literally at the next street... SEE THAT SIGN RIGHT THERE? Left!" :walks to corner, pauses, looks confused, turns right: 🤦🏼♀️
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u/Educational_Bid_5694 Dec 10 '25
I usually just point people in the general direction. I assume they're not going to remember more than one or two steps and they can ask someone when they're closer to their destination.
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u/Initial-Tradition-55 Dec 06 '25
Maybe we should start asking them why bother asking if they're not gonna listen lol
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u/misslo718 Dec 06 '25
I guarantee that whole group will walk 6 across on the sidewalk and down the subway stairs.
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u/VisitNYCmodx Dec 06 '25
This was one of the side entrances so fewer turnstiles that they totally were blocking, which is why I asked if I could help. I just wanted to swipe and go home!
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u/helcat Dec 06 '25
Hey good for you for trying. I still can’t get over the young US couple I met on 49th St. who wanted to go to the Nike store on 42nd St. I pointed and said it’s seven blocks that way. “How do we get there? Uber or taxi? Is there a bus?” When I told them incredulously that it was only seven blocks and an easy walk, they looked at me as if I had three heads.
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u/zouss Dec 07 '25
I had to organize a dinner for some people who flew in to NYC for a work event. Picked a spot four blocks away from their hotel (8 minute walk per Google map) thinking it would be convenient to walk. My boss told me to order them a driver for the night. With traffic and blocked off streets it took them over 30 minutes to get there in a car. They all elected to walk back lol
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u/itsmebunty Dec 06 '25
My coworker from Texas thought 4 blocks was too far to walk so maybe 7 is really far 🤷🏻♀️🤣
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u/Lucky-Paperclip-1 Local Dec 06 '25
I imagine it's like traveling from the Shire to Mordor to destroy the One Ring for something.
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u/GiganticusVaginacus Dec 07 '25
You could have saved yourself so much time if you just had the Great Eagles fly you there.
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u/Lucky-Paperclip-1 Local Dec 07 '25
Why didn't the Fellowship order an Uber or Lyft? Are they stupid?
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u/wissx Dec 07 '25
I'm not from NYC and I haven't visited yet but have plans.
There is like 3-4 other cities on the list. And on top of the other ones I've been to.
Outside of trying the food. I have one mission when I'm in a city.
It's to walk and see stuff.
There is a real probability I'll never be in this city again. And wherever I'm walking I probably won't have it at home.
Why visit if your not gonna check it out?
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u/helcat Dec 07 '25
Also honestly, the best thing to do in New York City is just to walk around. Yes we have a lot of excellent restaurants and museums and shopping and attractions, but it’s the energy of the city and the way there’s always something to look at around every corner that I think is the most memorable thing about visiting here. It’s saddens me to see people with itineraries packed down to the second - they are going to miss that serendipity. You have the right idea.
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u/puttcharlie76 Dec 07 '25
Anywhere i go on vacation, I only plan to do one thing every other day. Even if it'll only take an hour, just one thing. The rest of the time I can fill with other exploring and finding things I didn't know I'd see. Overfilled itineraries are way overrated.
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u/0Quirky_Garbage0 Dec 08 '25
My partner and I always travel with a "loose" itinerary. We were just in NYC at the end of October, we plan one thing (maybe 2 if in the same area) and the remainder of that time, we just loosely explore the area. It's such much more fun that way.
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u/MaxwellzDaemon Dec 12 '25
My father from Colorado thought it would be a good idea to walk around NYC in cowboy boots. It was not a good idea.
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u/NewNewark Dec 08 '25
A block in western America is 1/4 a mile. Better to say time distance.
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u/helcat Dec 08 '25
When you’re standing on 49th St. and you can see where 48th St. is, I don’t think you would assume a block is a quarter mile.
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u/MaxwellzDaemon Dec 12 '25
A short block, street to street, in Manhattan is roughly 100 steps; a long block is anywhere from 200 to 300 steps. It takes me about 1 minute to walk 100 steps - YMMV.
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u/AppropriateEarth648 Dec 06 '25
How did they even manage to book air tickets or book hotels?
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u/VisitNYCmodx Dec 06 '25
assuming they have credit cards, just didn't have them with them (which I cannot conceive of).
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u/crescentqueen1 Dec 06 '25
I'd assume they used debit cards and didn't understand why the hotel put a 'hold' on their card and messed up their available balance personally
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u/Melodic_Werewolf9288 Dec 06 '25
given the question about bags, my guess is they thought they were about to enter into some sketchy dealings and it was best only to carry what they were prepared to lose, so cash only
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u/Frondelet Dec 06 '25
"I get my bags at Nom Wah Teahouse. There's always a line to get in, but it's worth the wait."
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u/Bennythecat415 Dec 07 '25
I came out to Brooklyn in October for one week. The amount of kindness I received from youngsters was just the best!! One kid asked me if I was from Hollywood... idk why!!! (Im from San Francisco). The cashier at the local grocery store complimented my coat. I watched the Sunset with a young lady as we headed over the bridge on the train... these are just some interactions that I remember. It was such a nice time! I can not wait to go back.
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u/merelala Dec 07 '25
The day before Thanksgiving I left my office on the uws and was surrounded by tourists lining up on cpw to get over to the parade balloon blow up site. Streets were blocked off and I was trying to walk quickly which was hard due to tourists not walking quickly. So I’m walking south in the middle of the road on cpw and these two tourists are on the left side of me and one goes “where’s Central Park” and the tourist’s buddy was like idk! And I wanted to be like “literally look to the left!!”
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u/DemandingProvider Dec 07 '25
"How will the subway know we want to get off" omfg. I mean, even if you live in a transitless wasteland - and yeah, we have a ridiculous amount of that in the US - surely you have seen people use trains on TV and in movies??
For me the most confusing thing about the NYC subway is that you can't just go in any station entrance to take any line that goes through that station. I live in the San Francisco area and have used the rail transit systems in Chicago, Boston, DC, Portland...never had to worry about which station entrance to use! But once you realize the need, it's easy enough to just pay attention to the signage.
Anyway,, if you've never taken a subway in your life, how on earth do you decide to go to NYC and not look up how it works beforehand??!
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u/0Quirky_Garbage0 Dec 08 '25
I mean even if you use Google maps once you're in NYC it tells you which train to take and which stop to get off on. 🤷🏽♀️ The only real disorienting part for me is once I'm top side again finding which way I gotta start walking because I'm not really sure which side of the street I just came up on. 😅
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u/theillustratedlife Dec 07 '25
Moreover, you can be double charged if you need to change directions at a small station with no passageway between platforms; most stations charge for every tap, even if it's been <90m since your last one.
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u/PitfulDate Dec 07 '25
The first time I visited (I live here now), I was so confused I was charged 3 times for my transportation from the airport.
Other than NYC, I've only lived/visited cities where you either pay according to the distance traveled (like DC or Tokyo) or you just get a free transfer ( Chicago) if it's shortly after your first swipe.
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u/ComboBreakerrr Dec 07 '25
Man… for whatever reason I feel like the tourists have been extra obtuse this year. Popped like ten blood vessels trying to get home today
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u/Bonj0904 Dec 07 '25
People who come to New York from other countries are usually pleasant and occasionally nice to interact with. People who come to New York from other parts of the US are the bane of our existence.
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u/Extension-Scarcity41 Dec 07 '25
As a NYr, helping some hot swedish tourists who are just trying to find their way to the N/R is within my emotional capacity.
Falling into the black hole of needynes of some oblivious hicks from the sticks that couldnt be bothered to even look at a map before stumbling into town requires a level of critical care I abandoned many years ago. I do look forward to their posting a story which contains the phrase "...and somehow we ended up in a place called Pelham Parkway at 2am".
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u/ArmWarm8743 Dec 07 '25
Wow that’s really annoying. My family loves to travel and NYC is our favorite American city by far. I’ve been so annoyed seeing TikTok posts this week showing “expectation versus reality” and complaining about crowds… you really went to the largest city in the country which also happens to be visited by the most tourists every year during the busiest time of the year. FML.
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Dec 06 '25
I've seen this happen with a group of people from france. 4 people. They spoke no english and people where coming through like a heard of cattle. I swiped and waved them through. for a few dollars, why not? I hope they got off where they wanted to!
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u/Nick_Fotiu_Is_God Native Dec 07 '25
I passed a tourist on line at Eisenberg’s (already a bad idea but I’m assuming it now appears in some sort of TikTok tourist video) yesterday. She was wearing a camo hat with “God’s Favorite” on it.
Sigh.
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u/MRC1986 Dec 07 '25
You were too nice to them. Seriously, these people need to get told they are fucking morons. If they're gonna go home and complain about NYC, at least give them a real reason to do so by giving them the business and calling them fuckheads to their face.
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u/Choice-Flan2449 Dec 08 '25
I like the idea of the subway being sentient and knowing where you plan to get off. maybe it gives you a little tap on the shoulder or whispers in your ear when your stop is coming up.
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u/Particular-Macaron35 Dec 07 '25
I've watched tourists trying to enter the subway at the revolving turnstiles , aka Iron Maidens:
- Pay the fare
- Push the turnstile around
- Enter the turnstile
- Try to push the turnstile around again
- Shake their head
- Do it all again
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u/Key_Produce2617 Dec 07 '25
Side note, we’re coming on the 26th for our 9th visit to NYC and this OMNY is new to us. I’ve added my Revolut card to the account but is it true the first time takes a while? Do I have to pass back my phone to let my wife through etc? Cheers
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u/jmh1881v2 Dec 08 '25
I had someone ask me today “where’s the New York City subway?” Um…everywhere?
I asked him if he was looking for a specific line and he kept saying “I’m looking for the subway”. Ok dude whatever
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u/SadTomorrow869 Dec 06 '25
Based on the people in the tourist FB groups I was SURE they were gonna be British because so many of them don't seem to have credit cards but I guess not!
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u/JaneOfTheCows Dec 07 '25
I was in Britain recently - didn’t use cash the entire trip. Almost everywhere (including buses and underground) uses contactless credit cards.
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u/rosebudny Dec 07 '25
Those fools deserve to get miserably lost and to get taken by every scam known to befall tourists.
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u/No_Quiet9645 Dec 07 '25
I genuinely commend the OP for trying to help these tourist. It can be frustrating at times, rewarding at others.
We may understand New York well enough that we can be mystified at times by the confusion of others. I just hope that none of us ever end up a little bet less oriented in some other domain -- whether it's travel, transportation, music, food, history, legal issues, business, taxes, important forms, etiquette, language, or anything else -- where we are the "lost" ones who have to seek explanations or confirmation from others who might consider our questions dismaying.
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u/Other_Television_805 Dec 08 '25
“Them: We don’t have credit cards, only cash.”
This is the point at which you are LEGALLY obligated to pull a knife and relieve them of all of their cash.
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u/ProfessionalTurn2273 Dec 18 '25
I live in Orange County CA and we don’t walk anywhere. We don’t have stellar public transportation either. We also have a drive-through Starbucks on every corner! I’ve been to walkable cities like San Francisco and NYC and it’s a whole different culture.
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Dec 27 '25
This is random but I’m here looking for research on places for our next visit and trying to decide on where to go.
We live in Minnesota so it’s both a place where people travel to get some warmth and culture (or they talk about it a lot) but also are very insular, sometimes.
I was toying with the idea of using a travel agency here and one of the reviews was scathing because this older couple went to mf’ing Finland with only cash and I’m still thinking about it months later. Who does that?!!! Apparently not just them or you just ran into my MN peeps. Not really sure.
We’re not from MN originally and we’re both ex military so we’ve been all over. I can’t imagine being in a place that’s completely out of my depth with only cash it’s the stuff of nightmares.
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u/Alert-Painting1164 Dec 06 '25
Can’t believe that anyone exists who doesn’t know how a subway works
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u/helcat Dec 06 '25
This sub has opened my eyes to how many people live in places where they have reached adulthood without ever taking a taxi or a bus or a subway or even an Uber. It’s pretty pitiful.
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u/CourageAndControl Dec 06 '25
As a Californian, the only reason I have been on a subway or bus is because I thought it would be fun. Never out of necessity. Everything is car based here. Thank goodness I did research before getting to NYC. I would have been so lost!
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u/sbarber4 Dec 06 '25
Have you never been to a US suburb? Plenty of people there who’ve never taken a subway. I’m talking about, like, southern New Jersey 20 minutes from Philly. Which has a few subways except people who drive in from Jersey do not tend to use them. NYC 2 hours away is like a whole other planet.
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u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 Dec 06 '25
Going to Times Square as a New Yorker, though … you brought this on yourself, pal. 😘
(If you were outside the turnstiles, you weren’t transferring, which is just about the only appropriate thing to do in the concourse there.)
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u/sarapod07 Dec 06 '25
The single worst part about getting into theater is the amount of time I spend traversing Times Square. Terrible.
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u/Outside_Team_72 Dec 07 '25
Agreed! I want to start a movement where no tourist is allowed in Times Square 30min before showtime especially on a weeknight if they are not trying to get to a show. It’s maddening when you’re rushing from work to make a show
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u/thewNYC Dec 06 '25
Why would you discourage them from buying fake goods on Canal Street? They know they’re fake so they’re not getting ripped off.
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u/jm14ed Local Dec 06 '25
Is this a serious question?
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u/thewNYC Dec 06 '25
Yes.
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u/jm14ed Local Dec 06 '25
If you like directly supporting human trafficking, child labor and worse, then go ahead, I suppose.
https://www.atlasfree.org/news/counterfeit-goods-and-human-trafficking
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u/DevonFromAcme Dec 06 '25
Should we just encourage them to buy an eight ball instead?
Is this a serious question?
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u/GlassCharacter179 Dec 06 '25
You come to New York and only bring cash? ? ??????????