The Best Airport for You
New York's three airports are dynamic, exciting meccas of air transportation. Not really -- they're just airports.
Laguardia: A little cramped, but the most convenient airport to Midtown Manhattan -- 20-40 minutes by cab and about $35 (before tip).
Newark: Probably the most convenient airport for getting downtown (traffic's rarely bad), but taxi rides cost more because it's in a different state. 20-40 minutes by cab and about $60 (before tip). But it's the nicest of the three airports.
JFK: JFK is the most popular airport, but the least conveniently located: 40-90 minutes to the city by cab, $45 plus tip. (Plus a really long wait at the baggage claim.)
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Getting to Town
The three most popular ways for getting into Manhattan from the airports:
1. Taxis and Hired Cars Taxi fares are noted above and it's not hard to get a taxi from the airport. Note, though, that when it comes time to head back to the airport, it's hard to get a taxi around 4 o'clock, since that's when the shift changes. Hired cars cost a little more (e.g., about $55 to/from JFK instead of $45) and you need to pre-arrange them, but they're typically nicer and, when returning to the airport, a pre-arranged hired car means no hassles when it comes to finding your ride.
2. Express Bus You can take a privately-operated "Express Bus" to any hotel in Midtown (i.e., around 42nd Street and Times Square) for $12 each person each way. It's a relative steal, especially if you're heading to Midtown anyway. Just pick the bus up out on the curb outside of baggage claim. There will be a (small) sign out there that says something about "Express Bus". You'll think it's just a random sign, but, sure enough, the bus will come and stop right there, usually about every 15 minutes. You'll need to pay for this in cash when you board (unless you've pre-arranged it online or over the phone).
3. Train You can technically use the train (and public busses) to get to town from the airport. I think it's a little cheaper maybe. But it's kind of a hassle lugging suitcases onto subways. Unless you know exactly what you're doing, this is not the best way to get into Manhattan. Even if you know exactly what you're doing, I'm still not convinced it's the best way to go.
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Ready to Fly?
Find the best airfares right here:
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