The flight was long but pleasant, plane landed safely (and on time!), you just picked up your luggage and cannot wait to enjoy to discover the city that never sleeps: New York awaits! But first, how do you get to Manhattan? Well, that depends on the airport: New York has three main airports: JFK, Newark and LaGuardia. All of them are well connected to the city and have many transportation facilities.
So, let’s go to know the best ways to get to Manhattan! (Prices and schedules are be subject to change!)
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
New York’s biggest airport operate nearly 80 flights, most of them international. If you come from Europe or Asia you will arive pretty likely to this airport.
- AirTrain: runs 24/7 and costs $5 (children under 5 are free). It’s the fastest and also the most economical way to get from and to Manhattan. It links the Howard Beach and the Sutphin Boulevard subway stations and takes about one hour. Another possibility is the Long Island Rail Road, a bit more expensive, but takes about 15-20 minutes to get there form Jamaica Station. On weekends the fare is lower. If you wanna know how it’s like to get to the City with the AirTrain, check the post Going to JKF using public transportation, where Isabel Lorenzo, Architect-US participant , tells her own experience.
- Subway: taking the E, J or Z lines at Sutphin Blv. that runs every 5 minutes. Or the A line from Howard Beach Station. In both cases you should take also the AirTrain. The total cost will be about $7.25.
- Shuttle: there are different and reliable companies: NYC Airporter, Go Airlink NYC, SuperShuttle. Go Airlink is among the cheapest.
- Taxi: without doubt, the most expensive way to get to Manhattan (but also, the most comfortable probably). To calculate how much the ride could cost you, you can visit this web: Taxi Fare Finder.
Newark (EWR)
It is the furthest one, but it doesn’t mean that the connections are worst, by contrary!
- AirTrain Newark: the ticket fee is $5.50 and it connects to other two train services: NJ transit and Amtrak. Keep your ticket!
- Shuttle: you can find the same companies that operate in JFK, but there’s also Newark Airport Express. It costs $16 and leaves every 15 minutes.
- Taxi: we really don’t recommend that if you’re a student, as the minimun fare is about $50.
LaGuardia (LGA)
It’s the second airport in terms of the number of flights, but they’re mostly domestic. It’s located in Queens.
- City bus: M60 and Q70. The M60 runs to Harlem and connects to all the important subway lines; the Q70 does not make any stops to Roosevelt Avenue, in Queens, where you need to get the subway also (only five lines).
- Shuttle: as before, the same shuttle companies operate also from La Guardia, but the prices are a little lower; for instance, the roundtrip with NYC Airporter costs $27 (plus Free Walking Tour), three dollars less than from JFK.
- Taxi: the ride takes about 40 minutes in traffic regular conditions and costs minimum $35-40 to get to Midtown.
Have a good flight!
