New York Port Airports

Sailing on the Escape from New York in February 2019. Which airport is best to fly into and out ? Any advice appreciated.

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I asked this very question to a friend who was born and raised in NY. He said JFK was the best one, because it was newer and larger.

I find JFK or LGA my preference due to great subway and city bus ease. For cheap transfers. 😀

There is no subway service available at LGA.

From JFK, you can take a people-mover (monorail) to the Jamaica transportation hub where you can connect with either city subway or commuter rail service (Long Island Railroad) to Manhattan.

EWR also offers a monorail to commuter rail (NJ Transit) which can also get you to Manhattan.

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There is no subway service available at LGA.

 

From JFK, you can take a people-mover (monorail) to the Jamaica transportation hub where you can connect with either city subway or commuter rail service (Long Island Railroad) to Manhattan.

 

EWR also offers a monorail to commuter rail (NJ Transit) which can also get you to Manhattan.

 

 

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There is no subway service available at LGA.

 

From JFK, you can take a people-mover (monorail) to the Jamaica transportation hub where you can connect with either city subway or commuter rail service (Long Island Railroad) to Manhattan.

 

EWR also offers a monorail to commuter rail (NJ Transit) which can also get you to Manhattan.

 

 

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Any experience with going from EWR to Amtrak station at Newark stop?

We've used all three airports post cruise from the Manhattan cruise terminal. We used a shuttle service LGA and it was simple and easy. To EWR we took a cab to Penn station and NJT train to EWR. The service is fine but trains run on a limited schedule on Sunday and we had to wait 45 minutes for the next train. Last year we used JFK which was very similar to using EWR; cab to Penn station, train, feeder train from Jamaica to airport terminals.

Taking a shuttle/car service is the easiest option for all three. Taking a bus to LGA on the weekend strikes me as a very long journey and would be my last choice.

. I connect to the R train via the Q 70. I did say in my post - city buses. Simple for me. :).

Fair point. I once took the Q70 to Woodside. But it took so long, I told myself I wouldn’t do it again. I probably repressed the memory. [emoji3]

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I come into EWR and take Super Shuttle to the Manhattan cruise port for $21. I've only taken Amtrak from EWR to Washington D.C. You can take Amtrak to New York, but you would still have to get on at least one other mode of transportation. It's just easier using the shuttle.

JFK has is another lesser known option for lightly packed travelers, ideal for someone with a 22" rollerboard/spinner & a backpack, especiall off-peak and on weekend to Manhattan/anywhere within NYC, for just $2.75 p/p one-way. It's known as the Q10 bus route, easy connection/transfer at JFK's Terminal 5 to the airtrain, serving all terminals, also stopping at Federal Circle (rental cars & hotel shuttle, and (FHV) car service pickup. Q10 bus run 24/7 - used by travelers & airline employees, continue onward to Ozone Park's Leffrets Blvd. (about 40-45 minutes on average) for the A subway line (about 15 - 25 minutes) or continue to Kew Gardens & 80th Road, where connections can be made for LIRR (limited services & mostly peak time only) but otherwise to the E/F express subway line @ Union Tpke around the corner to midtown Manhattan.

Be sure to have a MetroCard for the bus/subway fare to take advantage of the free transfer ($1 extra for the card + $2.75 for the fare; up to 4 riders can use/share the same card with enough $ values loaded)

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/q010cur.pdf

With the system running smoothly, trip time is about 90+ minutes, under 2 hours at most ... good if not in a hurry; especially when coming into NY. Definitely slower than LGA's Q70 SBS limited stop bus services with luggage rack for storage - to Woodside or Jackson Hts. subway station for the transfer into Manhattan.

Which ever airport offers you the best airfare. Then consider the ease of getting to Manhattan in a snow storm.

The easiest is LGA I am a native New Yorker and would not take mass transportation from any of the airports to the pier. Just take a taxi or Uber from LGA

Another native NYer, with all of my family still living there. Please be aware that LaGuardia is in the midst of an $8 billion construction project that will last until 2026 (at the earliest). My mother always takes a towncar service to LGA and has been dropped off anywhere from the curb right in front of baggage check to over a half of a mile away from the terminal. If you have any mobility issues, LGA could be a challenge for a while.

Sailing on the Escape from New York in February 2019. Which airport is best to fly into and out ? Any advice appreciated.

 

 

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We used JFK because of our relatively cheap nonstop flight on JetBlue. We also can’t afford limos. We used public transportation the whole way, cheap and easy. I hope New Yorkers appreciate their transit system!

Another native NYer, with all of my family still living there. Please be aware that LaGuardia is in the midst of an $8 billion construction project that will last until 2026 (at the earliest). My mother always takes a towncar service to LGA and has been dropped off anywhere from the curb right in front of baggage check to over a half of a mile away from the terminal. If you have any mobility issues, LGA could be a challenge for a while.

We have been at LGA at least a dozen times since the construction began. It is much better than it was in the beginning. That said we try to sail out of Manhattan only on weekends. The trip to and from LGA is much easier than weekdays.

JFK all the way. If you want to take mass transit take the Airtrain to Jamaica LIRR terminal and catch a train to Penn Station. You can either take the LIRR or the E from Jamaica/Sutphin Blvd. if you want to take the Subway. Note that train frequency is considerably less on Saturdays and Sundays, so plan accordingly.

Keep in mind you are coming February. LGA stops flying even if they think they see a snow flake. I would do JFK.

EWR (Newark) is the closest. Easy car/bus service. The weather would be the only challenge. All NY area airports shut down with any threat of weather/snow. We had a flight cancelled out of Newark to Florida for a 20 minute Thunderstorm and almost missed a cruise last year. Get there at least a day earlier to be safe

I completely agree with "whichever airport has the best price and schedule for air travel" with one exception - don't fly into LaGuardia in the winter. Pilots themselves say this is one of the most dangerous winter airports because of short runway lengths if slippery.

Non-residents or those without experience traveling into and out of Manhattan, and those with children or large amounts of luggage, should really avoid mass transit. I mean it. You'll be sorry. You'll be triple sorry if you try it at rush hour and you are trying to lift your luggage over turnstiles or holding up a line while you try to figure out how to buy a correct subway ticket.

Take Super Shuttle, or GoAirlink, shared van service to your hotel or port. Check their web sites. take a taxi if you want a private ride. The east coast departures board has numerous discussions on this.

We are also going on Escape this February, planning on a day earlier into EWR. Did the same thing a few years ago, only in October. Stayed at the Embassy Hotel and took a car the the terminal. The cost was about $50 and well worth it.

+1 to Pelican Bill. Avoid mass transit at all costs. The subway is a nightmare. Metrocards don't work, etc.

Don't let these posters scare you from public transit. I was just in NYC in April and the trains worked wonderfully getting around with just a little planning and research. My cousins who were also with us would use cabs, show up late for everything, and we were zipping around Manhattan with our Metrocard & NYC transit app.

There is a Metrocard kiosk at Baggage Claim at LGA where you can buy your transit passes before setting foot inside the station. I imagine they have them at the other airports. Do a search on YouTube and you'll see videos walking you through the whole process of buying passes.

For our cruise next month we're trying EWR and traveling to Manhattan via public transit. I've already downloaded the NJ Transit app, easily purchased my tickets from the airport to Penn Station. From Penn Station we will hop the red line down to Houston Street station, one block from our hotel. This will cost around $16 each. Granted, we pack light, don't have kids, and are experienced travelers, but public transit it a great option with some research and a healthy sense of adventure.

Our private driver from LGA in April cost well over $80 and wouldn't even stop at a store for us to pick up items for our hotel room. He said he would when we accepted his ride, but he didn't comply.

Don't let these posters scare you from public transit

I really wasn't trying to scare people. I am like you - I love public transit and I do my research to figure it out. I use it everywhere I go because I have experience knowing how to manage the payment systems, find the correct trains and directions/platforms, and I know my own limits about how much to carry and how rush hour may impact it.

As a recommendation to first timers, I do not encourage use of public transit because it is not luggage friendly and I find most people don't want to really do the research and get it right. I find cruisers usually have a lot of luggage and often children or elderly people in the party.

There's a lot of detail I left out.

For example, you should have cash for the ticket machines. If you need to use a credit card, you can only buy one ticket at a time, and will need to use different credit cards for each transaction as your card will likely decline on a duplicate cost charge made within a few minutes. I don't want first timers to stand in a station with no employees and unable to purchase the ticket they need.

When you have luggage, it is common for people to try to figure out how to get through the open/close turnstiles. Luggage first? Person first? And boom. Their luggage is on the other side and they did not get through. It happened as I guided 3 people from Manhattan to JFK just last month. And so one person had to go back and buy another ticket. Credit card declined. Quite the scene. Even though I had given all the directions they forgot. A lot of people need to learn it. Without luggage and schedule pressure.

Your post was thoughtful and informative, but the one after "Avoid mass transit at all costs. The subway is a nightmare. Metrocards don't work, etc." piggy-backed on yours and was hyperbolic and wrong.

I did agree that my not having children, heavy luggage, and inexperience may have been factors in my very positive perception of NYC public transit.

People don't seem to understand that most city dwellers are super happy to help with a few directions, either. Don't know which platform you need? Ask a local. There are usually cops and bored commuters all over the place, many eager to help.

I prefer doing a shared van on the way into the city (after a long transatlantic flight!) but don’t mind public transit on way back. Do whatever you feel comfortable with.

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