St. Johns University--Queens--Where should I stay?

I am going to be at St Johns University for 3 days in June and wondering where would be the best place to stay on a budget. I figure I would try Priceline for rooms around the airport area (which airport, though?) but then I will be limited in what I can do around there at night, which will probably be a drag. How easy is it to get to that University from more interesting places? I see that you can take the E or F Train or the Long Island RR directly to the conference, if that helps.
Thanks!!

Neither the E or F trains, nor the Long Island Railroad will take you "directly" to St. John's. From the E or F train Union Turnpike (Kew Gardens) Station, you need to take the Q-46 bus, for a 15-minute ride. From the Long Island Railroad Jamaica Station, you need to take the Q-30 or Q-31 bus, also for about a 15-minute ride. Bus schedules for all of these local buses can be found here:
http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/bus/qnsche.htm#reg27

There are also express buses between Manhattan and St. John's (the QM-1 and QM-1A). Express bus schedules here:
http://www.mta.info/busco/schedules/qm001cur.pdf

So if you elect to stay in Manhattan, you should allow at least 45-60 minutes to get to or from St. John's.

The only decent hotels in Queens are at the airports, and public transportation from the airport hotels to St. John's will take about as long as public transportation from Manhattan.

Thanks for the good info, GOV. When I checked the St. Johns website, they say to take the E or F to 169th st and the bus to Utopia Pkwy and 82nd. Is 169th the same as Kew Gardens?

I am less than thrilled about having to spend 45 - 60 minutes in travel time to and from the university. Where would be the best place to stay if I went by cab? How long would that take?

They are offering to let me stay in the dorms, but I have no idea what that will be like. Perhaps it would give me something more to do in the evenings rather than staying in the airport area?

The 169th Street stop on the F line is not the same as the Union Turnpike/Kew Gardens stop on the E and the F lines. (With rare rush-hour exceptions, E trains do not serve the 169th Street subway stop.) St. John's is bounded on the north by Union Turnpike. It is bounded on the east by Utopia Parkway. If you get off the subway at Kew Gardens, you take the Q-46 bus, which runs east along Union Turnpike. If you get off the subway at 169th Street (on the F) or at Sutphin/Archer/JFK Station (on the E), you take the Q-30 or Q-31 buses, which run north along Utopia Parkway.

Taking a look at the Queens bus map may help orient you:
http://www.lirr.org/nyct/maps/busqns.pdf

I'm not sure what the nightlife is like for St. John's students. I know that there are some bars and restaurants along Union Turnpike near the campus (King Yum, on Union Turnpike a few blocks east of Utopia Parkway, is a popular decades-old Chinese restaurant with decent, but not exceptional, Cantonese food). But I suspect that a lot of the students take the bus to the subway and go into Manhattan on the weekends.

Hotels at both LGA and JFK would be about a 10-15 minute ride to St. John's unless there is heavy traffic. Another possible hotel is the Sheraton LaGuardia East, which is actually in downtown Flushing, not at the airport. Also about a 10-15 minute cab ride to St. John's; a little longer by bus.

Good luck!

Thanks much--that is really helpful!

Iguanas

Iguanas:179-11 Union Tpke.,
Fresh Meadows 969-5447

is a good restaurant near St Johns. Theres also a large Barnes & Noble (w/Starbucks) for browsing and some good bagel places.

Although there isnt too much nightlife there (its mainly a residential area) Union Turnpike does have some places to explore.

One anamoly is that there IS a hotel on Union Turnpike (near the highway interchanges) but I wouldnt recommend staying there since the rumor has always been that they charge by the hour - if you know what I mean.
Unless youre in the market for that.

The dorms may not be a bad option since they were built only a few years ago - they should be very up-to-date inside.