New York is a city of extraordinary contrast. Central Park, an 843-acre island of wooded tranquility floats in the center of the sea of skyscrapers known as Manhattan. Homeless folk sleep huddled in tattered blankets in the shadow of the magnificent dwellings of the affluent. Expensive boutiques offer the latest designs to wealthy clients but you can find fabulous fashion bargains if you take the time to look for them. The glamour of Broadway theater co-exists with seedy sex shops, live strip shows and xxx rated movies. No exact count of the seedy sex shops can be found, but however many, they are balanced by the existence of more than 6,000 churches, temples and mosques.

Think of New York as a collection of villages, towns and cities all gathered together into a single entity. Each of these neighborhoods has a unique feel and character and is well worth exploring. With a population of 7.3 million and more than 25 million visitors every year, it's a good thing New York has more than 59,000 hotel rooms and 17,000 restaurants. The average daily room rate is $153 a night and an average dinner costs $29.81, including drink, tax and tip. If that won't fit your vacation budget, stay tuned. You can stay in the city for a king's ransom or less than $30 per day including meals, accommodations, entertainments and miscellaneous stuff you can't resist buying.

New York offers a banquet of free and low-cost activities to the traveller, but has earned it's reputation as a very expensive city to visit. Just remember, it's entirely possible to enjoy the city for a good deal less if you do the research, and I've done that for you. When travelling alone, I often stay at the numerous hostels in New York, which range from $12 to $25 for a bunk in a dorm. Most hostels have doubles or private rooms available for a slightly higher per person cost.

One of the biggest advantages of staying in a hostel is the availability of cooking and laundry facilities, which can save you a bundle! Some hostels are also far nicer than the so-called budget hotels around New York - cleaner, friendlier and safer. Personally, I find hostels a lot of fun, an opportunity to meet and get to know travellers from all over the world. Then again, there are hostels I found grubby and unacceptable. I've listed a few special hotels for you first, based on reasonable rates or unique service or atmosphere, followed by a few special hostels.

Hotels:

The Herald Square Hotel on 31st Street between 5th and Broadway is the second oldest hotel in New York. It once served as headquarters for Life Magazine, to which it owes much of it's considerable charm. Decorated with Life covers dating back to the 1800's, the ambiance is one of nostalgia for a gentler time. It was a surprise to find a budget hotel so enjoyable and so well-located. The Empire State Building is in the back yard, Macy's, theaters, Greenwich Village, Chinatown and Little Italy are within walking distance. The Herald Square maintains a 24 hour security check at the door, so that only guests can enter the hotel. Rates start at $45 for a single with a shared bathroom in the hall, $60 with private bath. All rooms have color TV and air conditioning and are spotlessly clean. At the top end, a large double room with a double bed and two singles or two double beds is $110. Discounts are available, even on these low rates. You've got to see this place to believe it. If you're interested in New York history, have a chat with Abraham Puchall. The affable owner will tell you everything you want to know about the hotel and the city. You can contact them at 19 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001, telephone 212 279 4017 or 800 727 1888, fax 212 643 9208 or e-mail: Hersquhtl@aol.com

Craving upscale? You can stay at the moderately-priced Hotel Beacon on Broadway at 75th near Lincoln Center, Central Park, 5th Avenue shops, museums and all kinds of Manhattan landmarks. The special summer prices are surprisingly affordable, at $95 for a single or double with two double beds in each room and $125 for a suite with two full beds and a sofabed. Every room has a fully-equipped kitchen including a free coffee maker and coffee. If you need more coffee, or anything else, just ask housekeeping and they will get it for you in no time flat. The service is extraordinary with every kind of amenity available and an anxious-to-please staff at your beck and call. Discounted parking is available. You can call them at 1 800 572 4969.

Looking for a very special home away from home? Based on a European concept where apartment-sized accommodations are better known as flats, there's nothing quite like the Flatotel at 135 West 52nd Street. New York's largest suites, ranging from 750 to 1950 square feet have walk-in closets, fully equipped gourmet kitchens, tasteful European furnishings and every bath is equipped with a Jacuzzi. The studio can comfortably sleep four if you use the sleeper sofa in addition to the queen-size Murphy bed. The largest flat has two bedrooms and two master baths, each with Jacuzzi. There's a 24-hour restaurant, bar, business center and state-of-the-art gym. The hotel provides (at a fee) in-room food service, grocery shopping and delivery, secretarial services, laundry/valet, extra cribs or rollaway beds and continental breakfast in the lobby. Prices range from $250 to $450 per day, by no means the most expensive in the city. Your travel agent may be able to get a discounted rate. Flatotel is conveniently located near Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall and the theater district. Discounted parking is available. Call them at 1-800-Flatotel.

Hostels:

The Big Apple Hostel, 119 West 45th Street, New York, N.Y. 10036, telephone 212 932 2300. This place, a personal favorite, is one of New York's great hidden bargains. In the heart of Time Square, you can't find a better location. You can walk easily down to Greenwich Village, Little Italy or Chinatown. You can just as easily walk uptown to Central Park and just about every attraction in town. You're already in the middle of all the theaters, Rockefeller Center and the TV studios. The reception desk is manned 24 hours a day and no one is allowed in the sleeping, laundry or storage areas except guests of the hostel. Squeaky clean and scrupulously managed, The Big Apple Hostel is priced at $18-22 for a dorm bed or $45 and up for private rooms. A few caveats: You must have a passport to stay here. It can be a U.S. passport, unlike some hostels which cater only to foreigners. During the busiest seasons, you cannot reserve a room. You just turn up early in the day to claim available space. The biggest caveat for non-smokers, smoking is allowed in the kitchen and dining rooms (although prohibited in the sleeping areas). I got around this by cooking and dining at odd times when no one else used the areas.

New York International HI/AYH Hostel, 891 Amsterdam Avenue at 103rd street (subway #1,9, B or C) is the largest hostel in the United States. Located in a truly amazing historical building, this hostel provides a spotlessly clean, safe environment for travelers with self-serve kitchen, TV lounge, billiard room, outdoor garden, library, laundry, coffee bar, tour desk, hostel shop and very friendly staff available 24 hours. Entrances are monitored at all times, and the sleeping area has a separate monitor who checks for room key and receipt before admitting anyone. Rates start at $23 in a dorm and $60 for a family room. A full-time cleaning staff does a great job keeping this place neat and tidy. The only real problem with this hostel is the location, a very long walk from Midtown. It's a terrific source for information on New York and environs.

For the truly adventurous, some of the lowest rates in New York at $14 per night for a dorm bed, consider the Sugar Hill International Hostel and it's twin property next door, the Blue Rabbit Hostel, managed by the well-traveled and knowledgeable Jim Williams. He will regale you with some great stories along with invaluable information on New York and everywhere else on the globe. I learned from Jim, for instance, that these buildings are "brownstones" a term which refers to style of architecture prevalent in New York, not the color or composition of building material. In fact the buildings seem Victorian, with lots of cornices and fancy trim. This place certainly isn't the Ritz, but it's clean and extremely traveler-friendly and the renovation of these historic structures is an ongoing project. Basic bunk rooms, self-service kitchens, well-stocked library and a surprising, beautiful garden in the back make for a very reasonable place to stay. Located at 722 St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem at 146th Street across from the subway station, these hostels are in a lively and friendly neighborhood close to Yankee Stadium, famous jazz bars, Harlem gospel music and scrumptious soul food. The architecture around Harlem is extraordinary, making a walking tour mandatory if only to look at the buildings. You can get there on the D or A train. The only real disadvantage to staying up in Harlem is the distance you must travel to get to other areas of interest, such as the Village or the Theater district. These places are near by train, but a very, very long walk, and paying $3 round trip whenever you want to go somewhere can be burdensome. (Seniors travel for half price. On the bus, just drop the appropriate fare in, but for the train you must show identification at the station to purchase senior tickets.)

You can call the Blue Rabbit or Sugar Hill at 212 491 3892 or, from outside New York, 800 610 2030. You can e-mail Jim at InfoHostel@aol.com.

The Chelsea International Hostel located between 7th and 8th at 251 W. 20th Street is one of New York's great hidden bargains. For $18 a night, you get a bunk in a dorm and access to common rooms with TV, phones and well-stocked self- serve kitchen. Beyond that, this place is very popular due to their practice of providing unlimited free coffee and tea every day, free beer and pizza on Wednesday nights and free beer on Sunday. The Chelsea is located reassuringly across the street from a police station. There's a deli on almost every block nearby as well as Chinese, Italian, and other ethnic restaurants. It's close to the Village and within walking distance of all of New York's many attractions. The proximity of the garment district, SoHo and Canal Street makes it easy to find some of the best shopping bargains in the United States.

The Banana Bungalow, located within the Hotel Belclaire at 250 West 77th Street, New York, NY 10024, telephone 800 6 Hostel, is one of my favorite places. You can also reach them via e-mail at BBHostel@Bananabungalow.com, or check out their web page at http://www.Bananabungalow.com. While not requiring an international passport, they prefer passport holders, so bring your passport, USA or otherwise, with you. The New York Banana Bungalow, with rates ranging from $12-18 (winter/spring), looks at first glance like a standard hotel, reception desk, lobby and all. Indeed, across the lobby is another reception desk for the Hotel Belclaire. The view from the rooftop lounge is one of the very best in the city, especially at sunset, and this is the setting for almost nightly parties with all-you-want beer for $2 and boom box music. The huge TV lounge offers big screen TV movies and sporting events most nights. The kitchen is self-serve if you are so inclined, but the resident chef, Carlos is a talented cook who prepares three excellent meals a day at very reasonable prices. This hostel is located in a convenient and safe neighborhood right on Broadway and only three blocks from Central Park. You can walk from here to just about anywhere you'll want to go, but it's on a bus line and the subway is two blocks away. There are many delis and inexpensive restaurants close by, and one of my favorite places to shop in the city, Fowad is at 93rd and Broadway. Fowad features designer samples of men's women's and children's fashions as well as some damaged clothing and accessories. Great bargains, but be prepared to wade through a lot of so-so stuff to find the best.

Speaking of bargains: You can get a discounted ticket to a Broadway show for as little as $15 or pay $85. Treat yourself to free ballet, opera, concerts and theater in Central Park with big-name performers during the summer. Andre Braugher of TV's Homicide performed the title role of Shakespeare's Henry V in the 1996 season. Amuse yourself browsing at any of the more than 500 bookstores, 10,000 plus boutiques and stores, 65 botanical gardens, 150 or so major sports arenas Get a stiff neck gawking at 200 skyscrapers. Visit 150 plus museums or go back to nature and visit all six renovated zoos.

Write the Visitor Information Center for more facts about what's available during your visit. Even if you get advance information, it's a good idea to drop in to the Visitor Information Center at 2 Columbus Circle at 59th Street and Broadway. You'll find a multilingual staff and all kinds of useful information, maps, transportation brochures, museum and gallery lists, sights to see, tour information, discount theater tickets and a wealth of other entertainments available throughout the area.