Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
free and easy to access. The
ING DIRECT Café
at 968 Third Ave., between 57th and 58th streets (
212/752-8432;
cafes.ingdirect.com
)
, offers free Internet-connected computers (and cheap and tasty coffee) on weekdays from
7am to 6pm, and Saturdays 10am to 6pm.
2 Getting There & Getting Around
Getting There
By Plane
New York City is served by three major airports:
LaGuardia Airport
(
718/533-3400
),
John F. Kennedy (JFK)
International Airport
(
718/ 244-4444
), and
Newark International Airport
(
973/961-6000
) in New Jersey.
Newark sometimes has the best cheap flight deals, and during high-traffic hours it can be the most accessible to
and from Manhattan. For transportation information for all three airports, call
Air-Ride
(
800/247-7433
).
Getting into Town from the Airports
JFK
AirTrain JFK
(
877/JFK-AIRTRAIN
[535-2478];
www.panynj.gov
) has been running for almost a decade
now, and it's my favorite pick for airport travel. The cost is only $5 (on top of the subway or Long Island Railroad
fare to get within AirTrain range), the ride is smooth, and monorails come around often enough that you won't
be in a panic over missing your flight. JFK terminals connect with the E/J/Z trains at Sutphin Boulevard/Archer
Avenue, the LIRR at Jamaica Station, and the A train at Howard Beach. For the latter, make sure you catch an A to
Far Rockaway, not to Lefferts Boulevard. The train runs 24/7. Allow about an hour for the subway and monorail
once you've left Manhattan.
LaGuardia
The
M60 bus
($2.25) serves all LaGuardia terminals, connecting to the Upper West Side of Manhat-
tan. Bus rides from 106th Street and Broadway average 1 hour to the airport, though traffic will cause that time
to vary. The
Q48
in Queens also makes LaGuardia runs, taking about half an hour for the trip from the 7 train at
Flushing/Main Street. For the complete schedule, call
718/330-1234
or log on to
www.mta.info/nyct/service/
Newark
The
AirTrain Newark
(
888/EWR-INFO
[397-4636]) is a smooth ride, but it's a little pricey at $12.50
one-way. It takes 20 minutes to get from Penn Station in Manhattan to the airport monorail. The cheapest trip is
to take the
PATH train
(
800/772-2222;
www.njtransit.com
)
from Manhattan to Newark ($2). At Newark Penn
Station you can catch the
62 bus,
which makes several stops but will get you to the airport for only $1.50. On the
downside, it's all but impossible to make that combined trip in under an hour.
Carpooling Alternatives
God bless the interwebs for bringing people together. Emerging online services are
gearing up to help you save money on cabs and black cars via carpool hookups.
Fare/Share
(
www.faresharenyc.com
) uses an iPhone app to connect riders while
CabCorner
(
www.cabcorner.com
)
facilit-
ates shares online.
Ride Amigos
(
www.rideamigos.com
)
takes a broader approach, opening its ride board for
events and commutes.
By Interstate Bus
Busing to and from New York City from major East Coast cities has become the single most cost-effective way
to get into town. Originally, these were cheap bus services created by Chinese-Americans as a means of getting
between New York City and Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Budget travelers discovered the bus
lines, and a number of companies offer frequent, regular service between most of the major cities in the East (and
as far west as Buffalo and Toronto) for a fraction of what you'd pay by train or plane. Although the Chinatown
buses remain the cheapest, we'd recommend that you check out the newer, larger services, which are more com-
fortable and offer amenities such as Wi-Fi, as well as a safer ride.
From Philadelphia, the average ride might range from $10 to $20; for the other two cities you'll pay $15 to $30,
but there are times when specials reduce the fares to just $1.
You'll probably wait for the bus to pick you up or depart from a street corner, rather than a bus station, which
some people might count as a bonus if you're not fond of bus stations.
