New York City Travel Forum

I want help with how to travel from JFK to Midtown Manhattan, either supershuttle, taxi, train; what's the cheapest and what would you advise ?

Forget the Supershuttle, it's awful! The cheapest way in from JFK is to take the Airtrain ($5) to Jamaica and get the subway, E train ($2). It's quick and efficient. If time is an issue, take the Airtrain to Jamaica and then take the Long Island Rail Road (lirr.org) to Penn Station. I think that ticket is about $10-$12.

absolutely agree with 10028 - fast, cost effective, frequent service. you will have to figure out which subway exit to use or if you have to change trains in manhattan when you get there depending on where you are staying.

absolutely agree with 10028 - fast, cost effective, frequent service. you will have to figure out which subway exit to use or if you have to change trains in manhattan when you get there depending on where you are staying.

For the same $12-15, you can get a one-seat, street-level no-staircase bus ride on New York Airport Service. From Park Ave & 33 St (Grand Central Station), it serves both LaGuardia and JFK. Go to nyairportservice.com. This obviates the need to go to Jamaica, which is a slum.

I just came back from NYC last week, and I used the airtrain and E subway as suggested above.
It was fast, quick, and cheap. The signs are good, so you cannot get lost. There are escalators and elevators conveniently placed, so you can do it easily even if you have a lot of luggage.

Jamacia may be a slum, but I never saw it. You do not have to leave the station to get from the airtrain to the subway.

I also have one more question as i will be in NYC for a month and will most probably be using the subway a lot, is there a monthly metro card you can buy and has anybody got any idea of how much and can i buy this when i get of the airtrain at Jamaica?

Hey

I have been to NYC a few times and after a long flight and going through security etc...

The supershuttle is not bad it takes you right to your hotel door step, yes it'll drop off a few people on the way, much easier than going to jamica and carrying your bags etc...

ER

Eastrunner, I'm glad your experiences were good, but you've been incredibly lucky, and it's a fluke! Google "supershuttle s*cks" or similar, you'll read the horror stories. Or do a forum search on tripadvisor.com's New York City forum. I used to take them frequently because I had such good experiences in the Bay Area with the same company.

The idea is a good one, where a shared van picks up people from a local area. But that's not what Super Shuttle does in NY -- they pick up people from all over the borough, completely out of the way of the airports. I'm on the upper east side, and last time the guy was even picking people up (after me) from Oliver St. on the LES (mind you, he was totally lost and I had to show him where Oliver St. was!), before heading back uptown to get more passengers who were only a couple of blocks away from my house; the door-to-door trip to the airport was nearly three hours (instead of at most 40 minutes by train). Two people missed their flights, even after they left 3+ hours ahead!!! I also had a driver double-park the van on 7th Avenue and leave it sitting there for half an hour while he went in search of a bite to eat!!

I wish you continued good luck, but if you use Super Shuttle, you're pressing it.

as of June 28, the 30 day MetroCard will cost $89. Right now it costs $81. You do not need to buy it at Jamaica. You can wait till you get off the New York Airport Service bus at Grand Central, or LIRR at Penn Station (if you insist on taking both the Air Shuttle and the LIRR!), and buy it at either the A, C, E or 1, 2, 3 subway booth. I always buy my cards from the live person at the booth, altho there is the option of using your credit card at vending machine. For more info, go to mta.gov. And don't forget to visit my homepage for restaurant tips!