# Best Airport to fly into for NYC



## slomac (Jan 10, 2012)

Haven't been there in years.  What is the best place to fly into?  Newark has some great fares on SW but I see yo can also fly into JFK and La Guardia.


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## Sandy VDH (Jan 10, 2012)

LGA is my opinion. 

EWR is the worse of the 3.  Cabs are very expensive, as you have to cross from NJ to NY and there is a big surcharge for that. 

LGA and JFK has bus to subway, that can be covered by a week long subway pass purchase.  Price $29 unlimited rides for 7 days.


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## slomac (Jan 10, 2012)

There are 3 of us going so we could split the cab fare.  I heard the cab ride is about $40 from Newark. Flights are much cheaper


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## Sandy VDH (Jan 10, 2012)

Yes, but there are tunnel charges etc, that are on top of that cab fare. 

I had a fare, with traffic and add ons, be $80 - 100 getting from midtown to Newark Airport.


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## Carolinian (Jan 10, 2012)

New York is not one of my favorite places to go, so I am more likely passing through by connecting at an airport there than going to NYC itself.

I do not find any of the three NYC airports to be among my favorite, but Newark is at least tolerable, JFK is a total pit, and LaGuardia is in between.  Newark does have a train from the airport that goes into the city, and I would use that in preference to a taxi.  JFK, I think does so as well now, but I recall when the public transportation from JFK was taking a bus all the way or taking a bus to connect with the subway.  I had one time that I planned to at least spend a little time in the city since I was there, but it was cold, windy and rainy so I decided to go to the airport early.  That was lucky because I had the bus ride from hell to JFK, taking three and a half hours due to really bad traffic.  Most on the bus missed their planes, but I was able to make it to mine.


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## vacationhopeful (Jan 10, 2012)

Newark train to Madison Square Garden is via TNJ (transit of NJ). Be sure to get a cab in the correct direction (so as to NOT circle MSqGarden).

Easy to do if you pack like a foreigner verses a US citizen (you don't need the kitchen sink ).

I have taken TNJ into NYC to stay for a week at Manhatten Club. Took a cab to MC, but took the subway back a week later.


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## wackymother (Jan 10, 2012)

I like Newark best since I live in NJ. LaGuardia is okay, and JFK is, as others have said, a total pit. 

Airport buses are pretty reasonable and easy. Last time I took one, it was $15 per person. The train from Newark is about the same price, but there's more maneuvering. Or you could do the Super Shuttle for door-to-door service to midtown from any of the major airports.


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## stevelb (Jan 10, 2012)

slomac said:


> Haven't been there in years.  What is the best place to fly into?  Newark has some great fares on SW but I see yo can also fly into JFK and La Guardia.



I generally use La Guardia as it is the shortest cab ride.  Newark is not too bad as you can take the airport bus to the Port Authority and then either walk or grab a cab to your hotel.  A lot depends on where you are staying.  If you are getting a great airfare to Newark, then that's a good enough reason.  No matter which airport make an attempt to not arrive at the evening rush hour if possible.  Would not use the public transportation options unless you are young and have only carry-on luggage.


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## Talent312 (Jan 10, 2012)

LGA has the best for drive time + cab fares for Manhatten (IIRC ~$35).
JFK+EWR has decent public transit, but IMHO, if renting/cabbing, I'd go LGA.


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## scooter (Jan 10, 2012)

slomac said:


> There are 3 of us going so we could split the cab fare.  I heard the cab ride is about $40 from Newark. Flights are much cheaper



$120 to where from Newark? Make sure you get a reservation with a FLAT RATE not milage before you get to NY. There are also airport shuttle vans to a fixed destination (whatever hotel) in whatever part of town.


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## Antonio 8069 (Jan 10, 2012)

*NYC area airports*

I fly into JFK on Jet Blue (T7) and take public transit (Q10) into Manhattan:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/new-york-city/1195365-using-q10-jfk.html
Allow 1 hour 15 minutes.
LGA is quicker.  The M60 leaves from the arrivals level.  (Buy a Metro pass at the shop by the luggage carousels).


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## caribbean (Jan 10, 2012)

We have been going to NYC every summer for over 50 years.  My preference is to fly into JFK. You can catch the AirTrain over to the LIRR station@ Jamaica Station. Then catch the LIRR straight into Penn Station. You can go anywhere from there. Pretty cheap, especially on weekends (about $12 ea). About 3-4 more dollars than taking the subway, but a whole lot faster and more comfortable. Well worth a couple extra bucks. I think it takes about 20 minutes. Best deal I have found.

Have fun.


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## JPrisco (Jan 10, 2012)

LGA is one of the most-delayed airports in the US.
JFK is a bit further away and larger than LGA, but if you are traveling in snow or rain it is a better choice.
Another alternative is HPN - the local White Plains airport.  They have fewer flights, but it is so easy to get through security (a few minutes) that it might be worth a look.  They only have one baggage carousel and only handle one or two flights at a time.  JetBlue and Airtran have direct flights from there.  Larger carriers have flights with stops. After you arrive you can rent a car and drive to NYC, or take a taxi to White Plains Metro North and are in Grand Central in about 30 minutes.


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## akp (Jan 10, 2012)

*Use Carmel Limo (or similar)*

We always use Carmel Limo when flying into NYC.  I just put in random date and chose Manhattan club as the destination.  Fare for 1-4 people is $43.  You'll pay tolls and tip, but still very reasonable and the price is set in advance.

There are also always coupons available so you can probably get $4 or $6 off that rate.

Anita

New York Reservation	
From:	  EWRL 99:mci (OUT)
To:	  Manhattan Club Hotel: 200 W 56 ST (BROADWAY / 7 AVE)
Date:	  3/16/2012 (Fri)	 Time:	  2:30 PM	  	  
Passengers:	  1	 Luggage:	  1	  	  

Car / Fare Availability 

 Car Type	Fare	Availabilty
 Full Size Sedan 1-4	  $43.00	     
 Luxury Sedan 1-4	  $52.00	     
 Deluxe Sedan 1-4	  $55.00


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## bjones9942 (Jan 11, 2012)

I've done Newark once, and won't again (you really have to pay attention to what you're doing - get the right platform, the right train, etc.  Once you get into Manhattan you might need to go crosstown on a G train, so you'll need to know how to do that too).  JFK is my first choice.  When I lived in Manhattan they used to have commercials on TV to 'Take the Train to the Plane'.  Always cracked me up as I saw it for fertile mugging opportunities.  Now I do it!  There's a short ride from the airport on an airtrain to the train station, then the A train into Manhattan.  Takes about an hour to get to Chelsea.  Make sure if you go this route that you catch an A train going back that specifically says 'Airport' on it.  And the weekly metro card is the way to go if you're using the subway/busses.


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## Talent312 (Jan 11, 2012)

JPrisco said:


> LGA is one of the most-delayed airports in the US. Another alternative is HPN - the local White Plains airport....



I've flown into LGA quite a bit and never been delayed, but perhaps I'm just one of the chosen few. Actually, I like White Plains. It has the feel of a small-town, yet efficient airport.


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## Rent_Share (Jan 11, 2012)

Always used Continental Miles for NYC so EWR was the only option 

Train Under the River to Penn Station works foe me


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## abbekit (Jan 11, 2012)

We have always flown into LGA and used Carmel or Dial 7 for low cost, easy transportation into Manhattan.  This past trip we flew into EWR for the first time ever and took the train to Penn Station since we were staying across the street at the Affinia Manhattan.  It was great, easy connection.

  Cheaper airfare into EWR and cheaper to take the train rather than use a car service or taxi.  We would do that again the next time we go rather than deal with LGA.  Of course we travel light with only carry-on bags so that might make a difference if you don't want to use the train.


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## MichaelColey (Jan 12, 2012)

I've flown into all three.  There's not much difference.  As far as delays, all three are bad - that's just the way it is in the NYC area, between weather and heavy air traffic.  Cabs may be slightly cheaper from LGA or JFK, but it's not significant.  Public transportation is easy from LGA and JFK - that's what I always take, but I usually just have a carry on and a laptop bag.  There's a bus I've taken from EWR (Newark Airport Express) that charges something like $15.  It goes to 3 different locations in Manhattan.

If EWR is quite a bit cheaper to fly to, I wouldn't hesitate to do it.


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## KarenB (Jan 13, 2012)

The NJ Transit train from Newark airport to Penn Station in Manhattan takes less than an hour and cost me $12.50 last weekend.

Pretty good value I think


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## AnnaS (Jan 14, 2012)

We can fly from all three - but we drive or take car service, van, etc.  We prefer Newark - and it happens to be a little closer (usually a few dollars more but we prefer this airport whenever possible).  We never consider LGA (and it's the furthest).


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## Talent312 (Jan 14, 2012)

AnnaS said:


> We never consider LGA (and it's the furthest).



Unless you're going to (or coming from) the Jersey shore, LGA is actually the closest.

Major Airports near Manhattan
New York La Guardia Airport ... 4.9 mi.
Newark Liberty International Airport ... 12.6 mi.
New York John F Kennedy International Airport ... 14.2 mi.


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## MichaelColey (Jan 14, 2012)

AnnaS and a few others are talking about flying OUT of the NYC area as a resident, rather than flying in as someone visting Manhattan.


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## IngridN (Jan 14, 2012)

bjones9942 said:


> I've done Newark once, and won't again (you really have to pay attention to what you're doing - get the right platform, the right train, etc.  Once you get into Manhattan you might need to go crosstown on a G train, so you'll need to know how to do that too).  JFK is my first choice.  When I lived in Manhattan they used to have commercials on TV to 'Take the Train to the Plane'.  Always cracked me up as I saw it for fertile mugging opportunities.  Now I do it!  There's a short ride from the airport on an airtrain to the train station, then the A train into Manhattan.  Takes about an hour to get to Chelsea.  Make sure if you go this route that you catch an A train going back that specifically says 'Airport' on it.  And the weekly metro card is the way to go if you're using the subway/busses.



Ah...the A train brings back memories. Pre 9/11 on a long weekend trip to NYC, my brother suggested the A train to/from JFK into Manhattan. No problems getting into the city.  Back to the airport was another story.

On a Sunday, after waiting for more than an hour for the train, it finally arrived. We were worried that we would miss our flight. Couldn't understand the loudspeaker and were a bit concerned when most of the people got off a number of stops before the airport. When they shooed DH, myself and 2 flight attendants off the train at the last stop, we were nowhere near the airport and in a really, really bad part of town. The station attendant told us not to wander around that we would never find a taxi to take us to the airport. We would find some 'entrepreneurs (our term)' just outside and to negotiate a ride to the airport with them. Sure enough, we found guys just hanging around. 2 of them had a nice big boat that would fit the 4 of us so we started the negotiations.  They told us their trunk wouldn't open and that we would need 2 cars to get all of us to the airport. The 2 flight attendants refused to be separated from us so we told the guys the 4 of us needed to fit into 1 car...with our luggage in our laps  It was the most nerve-wracked 1/2 hour of our lives. All of us thought there would be a lovely write-up about a robbery-murders in the next days' papers! We joked later that they must have had a body in the trunk :hysterical: .

We gave the guys an obscenely large tip for letting us live  .

Edited to add: remembering as I write this that the train we got on was not an 'airport' train as bjones mentions above. We had waited so long and were concerned about missing our flight that we figured we'd take that one and grab a taxi at the end of the line...

Ingrid


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## Talent312 (Jan 14, 2012)

MichaelColey said:


> AnnaS and a few others are talking about flying OUT of the NYC area as a resident, rather than flying in as someone visting Manhattan.



That's fine for them, but the OP's topic reads: "Best Airport to fly *into* for NYC."


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## AnnaS (Jan 15, 2012)

Yes, I should have said LGA is the furthest from us.  

As KarenB said - not a bad commute to Penn Station if Manhattan is the destination.

Sometimes a few minutes here and there really does not matter which airport to fly into - anything can happen/go wrong, delays, etc.  Hopefully not of course.

Keep us posted and let us know how it went


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## Robert D (Jan 16, 2012)

We flew into LGA in November.  I did a search on the best way to get to mid town Manhattan from LGA and someone said best way was to take a bus to a subway stop in Queens which we did.  It was a pretty long bus ride to the subway and then we got a local train into Manhattan and took us well over an hour to get to Times Square.  We talked to the bellman at our hotel before leaving to go back to the airport and he told us the way we came takes a lot longer than taking an express train from Times Square to 125th street and then the Q10 bus to LGA.  We went back that way and it was a lot faster, easier, and more scenic.  I wouldn't hesitate going into LGA again and using public transportation to get into the city.


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