JFK to Cape Liberty by Train/Subway

My family is flying into JFK the night before our cruise. We are staying beside the airport for easy access to the Airtrain the next morning.

Could anyone share the route that we should take to get to Cape Liberty by Air Train/ Subway. There are no mobility issues and we tend to travel with few bags.

I suspect no one has replied yet because no one--well, hardly anyone--would think of doing this trip this way. Unfortunately, the trip from JFK to Cape Liberty by public transit is neither direct, fast, or easy, as it involves traveling on several different transit systems/ modes of transportation in the following sequence:

>>>Airtrain (airport monorail) from JFK to Jamaica Station; then:

>>>Long Island Railroad train from Jamaica Station to New York Penn Station; then:

>>>Walk one block from Penn Station to the 33rd Street PATH station; then:

>>>PATH train from 33rd Street PATH station to Hoboken, NJ; then:

>>>Walk a few minutes from Hoboken PATH station to Hoboken light rail station; then:

>>>NJ Transit light rail train from Hoboken to 34th Street, Bayonne; then:

>>>Taxi from 34th Street light rail station to the Cape Liberty cruise terminal. Whew—you're there!

I've ridden on all these routes numerous times—but only on portions of them at any one time (for local point-to-point trips), never in one go between JFK and Cape Liberty. Off the top of my head, I'd guess that the entire journey could easily take three hours door-to-door. Much of that time be spent waiting for “the next train” between each basic segment of the trip.

Frankly, it would be far easier—but rather more expensive—to take a car service from JFK to Cape Liberty.

If you're still thinking of doing it by public transportation, take a look at these websites, which contain information about the various legs of the journey:

http://www.panynj.gov/airports/jfk-airtrain.html

http://www.panynj.gov/path/maps-schedules.html

http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LightRailTo

One additional note, which I'm sure other posters will be along to reinforce and expand upon: Frankly, you'd be much better advised to spend your first night in Manhattan, then travel onward to Cape Liberty the next day. This would make the trip more manageable, breaking it into two separate sections.

There are a number of reasonably priced (for New York) budget hotels in easy walking distance of Penn Station and the 33rd Street PATH station. (E.g., Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, La Quinta, etc.) From everything I've read, any of these would be preferable to the hotels in the vicinity of JFK.

In addition to the directions outlined by Post Captain, you will first have to get from your hotel to the Federal Circle AirTrain station. Assuming the hotel has free airport shuttle service that is where they will also pick you up upon your arrival at JFK. The airport area hotels are not permitted to pick you up or drop you off directly at the airline terminals.

One comment on Post Captain's directions, specifically the second step. Using the E subway from Jamaica to Penn Station (or more accurately for the subway, to the 34th St. and 8th Ave. subway station) instead of taking the Long Island Railroad for this segment will save money. AirTrain plus subway costs $7.75 per person, while AirTrain plus Long Island Railroad is about $15 per person peak hour fare. Using the LIRR will be more comfortable than taking the E train, and normally using the LIRR would be quicker, but with the construction that is and will be taking place at Penn Station, the normal time advantage might evaporate.

I concur with Post Captain's recommendation to spend the night in Manhattan in the Penn Station/Herald Square area rather than in the JFK vicinity both to break up the trip and because it can be unpleasant to stay at hotels in the JFK area. NY City uses the JFK hotels as temporary housing for homeless families. This applies even to name brand chain hotels that you would normally trust to provide acceptable lodging.

Close by Penn Station...Herold Square area....is the Radisson Martinique Hotel...we've stayed there and loved the hotel and location.

Thank you!!! I realize that this is a bit of an adventure. It was a significant difference (2000$) on airline tickets from Canada. I travelled from JFK to Manhatten two years ago with our luggage to stay on 5th Avenue. I understand that this isnt the easiest itinerary.

any thoughts about crossing at the world trade centre on Path to Exchange place?

If OP would provide us with the date/time of arrival into JFK for the "family" of ?? people traveling together - we might be able to fine tune our best recommendation & strategies. Keep in mind that most JFK hotels have no full-time restaurants on site and choice of meal options are limited ... aside from pizza delivery, Chinese takeout and/or something from a local deli OR over-priced airport food in a paper bag.

Yellow taxi and/or car services (we recommend either Dial 7 and Carmel, which we just used 3 weeks ago - both for embarkation & disembarkation out of M.C.T. and worked perfect & beautifully) - 3 to 4 can possibly fit into a 4 door sedan or taxi-minivan/suv (more & more customized fleet-use Nissan NV200 are on the road these days) for about $60 w. toll included + tips - into anywhere in Manhattan ... making it a fairly simple & stress-free airport to city transfer, almost door-to-door.

If there's just 2 of you in the family & packing light - then, AirTrain to LIRR or the frugal way of using the E (express) subway train into NY Penn Station area ... would be a wise way to get around too.

Lately, our city's mass transit systems has been hit with a variety of problems & issues for daily commute, but it isn't necessary wise for the infrequent out-of-town travelers to be stranded at a waypoint scrambling to reach their destination. Well, at least all 270 of the subway stations are now fully WiFi enabled & active - so, matters are one "Google" search away, including alerts & last-minute lookup.

P.S. I just noticed OP's reply - flying in from Canada. Haven't been down at the new transit complext with Path @ WTC since it's grand re-opening, it's vast - with escalators & elevators, should be very much luggage & traveler's friend - and, easy to transfer & do things on the Jersey side.

Please do lookup before flying in to see if there are any weekend/day of planned travel schedule or maintenance, etc. that might impact on your routing.

Sorry, I'm new to the chat room concept.... I'm travelling with my husband, two older children and my mom and dad. Kids are old enough to carry their bag and my parents are just as active as I am. We booked this cruise as a "once in a lifetime" experience. I've been to New York once with my daughter and had no trouble navigating the airtrain and subway from JFK to Manhatten ..... now we must cross the river to the pier. I would love to use a website to search JFK to Cape Liberty but it is not possible. Two different transportation systems. I'm hoping someone who lives in the New York area or has made this trip might help me out

So, there's 6 of you traveling light - do you think you can all fit into a minivan ?

There are no transit discounts for children or seniors, basically all full fares - AirTrain, LIRR or E subway train (cheaper) and then Path, and then NJT plus taxi on that last mile (you will need 2 taxis) - all that $$$ is going to add up, might well be more than booking & using a minivan from either Dial 7 or Carmel car services, from JFK hotel to Cape Liberty; and, with less fuzz or easily for the group. It's one of the reason for asking about more details when I read the buzz word "family"

Please let us know whether this is coming up soon, weekday or weekend (Saturday or Sunday) - 138East/Carol is the top expert on Cape Liberty, rest of us aren't as good - the JFK to Cape Liberty transfer is one of the more complicated ones ... understood about the difference & savings in airfares vs. not flying into EWR.

The minivan trip - using Carmel car service - will run you about $130 to $135 USD in total, including tolls & tipping, which isn't bad at all - split by 6 @ $22 p/p - vs. the 5-segment connections via public transit (from JFK area to CL is maybe 75 to 90 minutes on weekend morning, weather/roads being good vs. 2.5 to 3 hours + via public transit & multiple transfers, costly nearly the same with 6 people in the group ... (peak & off-peak fares might yield some savings, not much - taxis don't discount their rates on weekends) Thus, you aren't saving anything and making this run more difficult than it should be - on the morning of embarkation.

Google Map won't come up with any easy or simple transit plan or transfer ideas on routing ... I can start running some cost analysis, a little more details would be good to be more precise.

I'd like to also advise against the airport vicinity hotels. You are a "captive" of sorts regarding meal options. By getting into Manhattan for the night you are halfway to your cruise. The worry factor is lightened the day of the cruise.

Carol is the expert. When she gets back she can tell you exactly. But I think when you get to Penn you then walk a block or two to the Path Station at Herald Square. Maybe you can try a search for the posts

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Thanks all! I'm going to look into cancelling our hotel at JFK and booking one by penn station to remove a good chunk of the travel.

any thoughts about crossing at the world trade centre on Path to Exchange place?

Yes, this would work just as well as the route I outlined in post #2. Instead of taking the airtrain to Jamaica, you take it to Howard Beach, then take the A train (subway) from there to either Fulton Street or Chambers Street in Lower Manhattan.

I'm not terribly familiar with the hotels in Lower Manhattan, but there is a Holiday Inn ("Holiday Inn New York - Wall Street"), for example, that would work for this route location-wise, putting you reasonably close to both the subway and the World Trade Center PATH station.

(As other posters have mentioned, without knowing your budget and the date of your stay, we can only give general suggestions about lodging. Hotel room prices can vary significantly, depending on the time of year and whether it is a weekday or weekend, so this is an important detail.)

Anyway... The PATH train from WTC station to Exchange Place is just as good an option as PATH train from 33rd Street to Hoboken. The NJ Transit light rail stop at Exchange Place is just a block from the Exchange Place PATH station. I can provide more details (& a link to a helpful video) later if you decide to use this route.

Greetings from Alaska! We need exact date, hotel budget, number of rooms, acceptable bed configurations (i.e. 2 doubles?) etc etc. my internet is currently very limited.

We just stayed at the Fairfield Inn, Midtown which was just a block from Penn Station. Then we did the Path train (quick walk to 33rd and 6th) to Hoboken, changed to Bergen Light rail to Bayonne. We enjoyed it as a start to our adventure. And the views of Manhatten from the Hoboken station are very neat.

Public transit from JFK to midtown / NY Penn station area or downtown Manhattan / Wall Street area with hotels are as follow: for 6 travelers

$5.00 each for JFK AirTrain plus $2.75 per ride for frequent connection @ 10 to 15 minutes including wait time to subway lines into Manhattan (E line is Express & faster) (A line at Howard Beach is local & slower, about 1 hour+) That's $7.75 per trip per person, add $1 x 2 for the MetroCard (each card is good for up to 4 traveling together to swipe; need 2 for party of 6 - 3 and 3 on each card) This is the most frugal way to get into Manhattan @ $48.50 in total.

AirTrain to Jamaica and then LIRR connection into NY Penn Station would be nicer & faster, although - not necessary a big difference in time saved (15 to 30 minutes save) - reducing overall time to about 1 hour ... assuming trains and system are running smooth with no delays, signal issues or mechanicals, etc. $12.50 per person (based on AirTrain & off-peak LIRR fare on a city-pair) plus $2 for the MetroCard - total is $77.00

For 6 travelers with 6 carry-on rollerboard or equivalent, and small cabin-sized bags, a minivan would fit - very tightly - but Carmel's online booking system will reject it as "over capacity" - base fare is just $62.00 + toll + tips (before a $3 or $4 digital discount). Otherwise, a SUV booking is shown - quoting a rate of $89 - before a $3 or $4 digital discount) East River toll crossing is $5.74 based on EZ-Pass rate, to be added to the fares due. Tipping is not included and appreciated, we typically rough up to nearest dollar at 20% of the base fare.

Dial 7 and Carmel typically used either the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna as their minivan platform; and, in practice - good for 5 to 6 adults with 1 suitcase each, backpacks can be held on the laps or kept inside the passenger area ... packing & traveling light would be to one's advantage in considering all the available options.

Thank you everybody!

I have revised my plans. We are now going to arrive at JFK and travel to our hotel next to Penn station the same evening

We will take the airtrain and at Jamaica station catch the E line to our hotel.

The next morning I believe we will be taking the Path to New Jersey. I've been told told to go to Hoboken? To catch the light rail to 34street.

I assume I'm being sent a little out of the way because that is where we can transfer to the light rail?

This will cut a good chunk out of the travel time on cruise day and will avoid the "questionable" hotels by JFK.

Thank you everybody!

I have revised my plans. We are now going to arrive at JFK and travel to our hotel next to Penn station the same evening

We will take the airtrain and at Jamaica station catch the E line to our hotel.

The next morning I believe we will be taking the Path to New Jersey. I've been told told to go to Hoboken? To catch the light rail to 34street.

I assume I'm being sent a little out of the way because that is where we can transfer to the light rail?

This will cut a good chunk out of the travel time on cruise day and will avoid the "questionable" hotels by JFK.

Please do not choose the Hotel Pennsylvania. It's disgusting.

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We chose to change at Hoboken as I wanted to see the renovated station - it is beautiful. You also could continue on to Exchange Place to get the light rail or alternately get a cab to Hoboken from Exchange Place. Travel for us was on a Saturday morning and very easy.

Please do not choose the Hotel Pennsylvania. It's disgusting.

 

 

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I agree. Look at the LaQuinta or the Fairfield. Without exact dates and other details it's not possible to make good suggestions.

Please do not choose the Hotel Pennsylvania. It's disgusting.

 

 

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Nope, the price was right in that hotel but some people had posted unfavourable reviews. We booked at the Wyndham.

Thank you everybody!

I have revised my plans. We are now going to arrive at JFK and travel to our hotel next to Penn station the same evening

We will take the airtrain and at Jamaica station catch the E line to our hotel.

The next morning I believe we will be taking the Path to New Jersey. I've been told told to go to Hoboken? To catch the light rail to 34street.

I assume I'm being sent a little out of the way because that is where we can transfer to the light rail?

This will cut a good chunk out of the travel time on cruise day and will avoid the "questionable" hotels by JFK.

Yes, you're being directed to Hoboken because that's where you can easily transfer to the light rail.

I'm glad to see you've changed your plans and will be staying overnight near Penn Station, not at JFK.

Chef Chris ~

Sounds like a very good plan. Your hotel (Wyndham New Yorker) is just a couple of blocks from the 33rd St (Herald Square) PATH station. PATH to Hoboken takes only 14 minutes; trains run very frequently (at 10-minute intervals on weekdays & Saturday; just slightly less frequently on Sunday). At Hoboken, follow the signs to the light rail platform at the far end of the Hoboken train terminal concourse. Light rail trains depart every 20 minutes or so (depending on day and time of day); the ride to 34th St Bayonne takes 25 minutes.

One advantage of this route is that 33rd Street is the start of the PATH route, so you will get seats on the PATH train; Hoboken is the start of the light rail line to Bayonne, so you will be able to get seats on the light rail train as well.

There are three taxi firms that operate in Bayonne and can pick you up at the light rail station to take you the rest of the way to the Cape Liberty Cruise Terminal; phone for a cab when you get off the light rail train:

Archie's Cab Co.; 201-858-8800

Bayonne Campbell Taxis; 201-339-8300

Bayonne Yellow Cab; 201-339-5000

You only need more than one metrocard if you are transferring between bus and subway. The limit of "4" is the number of "transfers" the card holds as the 5th consecutive swipe overwrites the information (entrance station/time) of the 1st swipe.

So for your family of 6 you only really need one card, I know big savings of $1.

I've yet to see ages but subway is free for up to 3 children 44 inches (1.1m) or less in height accompanying an adult, PATH is children under 5 are free. They duck under the turnstile..

There are elevators from Airtrain to Subway, the first set you see after the Airtrain turnstile just go to street level. You could use them make a left to exit you will first come to escalator (very narrow single person width) down to the subway. If you do not use the first set, make a left and walk over the Long Island Railroad tracks to elevators directly ahead. They will take you down directly to the subway entrance with a stop at street level first.

If you did take the first set and the escalator is not working or too narrow just walk around the escalator to the left for the above mentioned second set of elevators.

Subway station has two track levels, you want the first one for the E. If the train is too crowded (I did not see the time of day you are traveling) you can ride back one stop to the E terminal to get seats. Just stay on the train and you will have a seat after everyone gets off.