New York City Travel Forum

I am travelling with my 2 teen daughters to NYC for the first time. We intend to spend a few days in NYC before leaving for Washington to stay for a few days, and then travel back to JFK to catch an int'l flight to Singapore. Is train more reliable than taking domestic flight from NYC to Washington DC, and vice versa? If we buy a return ticket for train from NYC Penn Station to Washington DC, we end up in Penn Station on the way back, and will have to take the bus or taxi to JFK. Does anyone know if the return leg can end in JFK? Amtrak website does not seem to give that alternative.

No. Amtrak does not directly stop at any of NYC's airports. There is a "local" NYC railroad, the Long Island Railroad, right there in NYC Penn Station. It can take you to the Jamaica hub in Queens (maybe $7 per person 1 way). At the Jamaica hub, you can take the AirTrain ($5 per person), a monorail which rings JFK and stops at every terminal. Or you can take a CoachUSA bus ($15 person), from Port Authority Bus Terminal, which is 1 block west, and 8 short blocks north of NYC Penn Station. This is a 1-seat ride which also takes you to every JFK terminal. What would I do, personally? Well, I live here! But since you are not returning home to NYC, but leaving from JFK to go somewhere else, I would fly from DC to JFK. Bon voyage.

Thanks a lot. That was really useful. We have decided to fly from Washington DC to JFK for our flight home.

great. send me a postcard!

Amtrak does stop directly at a NYC airport.

Last I checked, Newark International is considered one of the 3 NYC airports. The airport terminals are connected by a monorail to the train station, and Amtrak makes many stops at that train station.

It would work out so much better if you could leave from Newark instead of JFK.

hey timessquare, a little surly today, buddy?!