Best Way from JFK to Midtown?
 

I will be arriving at JFK tomorrow around 7PM. Can anyone suggest the best way to get to midtown/central park area?

(Best=cheap and minimal hassles)

Thanks!

Taxi from JFK. That's your best bet. JFK is not hooked up for any sort of easy public transport connection to the city. Just pay the cab. It is a flat fare.

I thought there were busses that went into Grand Central. Any idea how much the cab is?

Cab is going to cost you $35 minimum.
Airtrain is $5 to either Jamaica or Howard Beach, then the subway from there is $2 into the city. So that's $7 per person.
The New York Airport Express bus is $13 per person if you get dropped off at Grand Central or Port Authority.
http://www.nyairportservice.com/fares.html

There are other shuttle bus companies using vans, but these get tedious since they will drop off at multiple locations, and at $15 per person do not offer a great savings over the cab.
So, if you wanna do it cheap, use the Airtrain/subway option.
For convenience, take a cab.

[This message has been edited by SeeYa (edited Mar 15, 2004).]

I went from JFK to my sister's on 96th & Broadway last Tuesday at about 7:30 PM; the ride was 45 minutes from T9 to her door. As this was a little further north than midtown, the fare was $45 + $5.00 tip. I looked at the MTA website, taking the JFK Airtrain to connect to the subway into Penn and then transferring north on the 3, but the 90-120 minutes it would have taken were not worth it when all I was there to do was have dinner with her before flying out early the next morning (not to mention running around at night in the city on public trans with an expensive new laptop).

I'll further the suggestion regarding the cab option; JFK is nothing like LGA (where you can grab the 60 bus) or even EWR when going into midtown. Enjoy NYC!

Taxi fixed rate is $35 plus tolls from Kennedy to anyplace in Manhattan. That's probably the easiest, especially on a Saturday.

Other options at

http://www.panynj.gov/aviation/jgtsfram.htm

fredmartens, my understanding, like cordelli's above, is that it's currently a $35 flat rate to ANYWHERE in Manhattan, not just midtown (in fact, the ride is shorter via the Triboro, at least, to 96th than to midtown). Did the dispatcher tell you otherwise?

As far as the Taxi & Limousine Commission is concerned, it should be a flat $35:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/news/ind01_14.shtml

I do however recall seeing a sign in a cab not too long ago that mentioned that is an additional 5 spot above 90th St., or some such thing (not that it makes it legal because they put up a sign mind you).

In so far as the trip is concerned it would depend on the amount of luggage I had:

No luggage or a carry on - Sky train
Medium to heavy luggage - Car Service
Medium to heavy luggage and I'm feeling cheap - NY Airport Service

Maybe it was $40 plus the $5 tip, but it was definitely more than $35, and, yes, that's what I was quoted up front. The few times I've gone to the Hilton NY from JFK in the last year it was $35 flat. Perhaps there is a surcharge once you're out of midtown. Any other folks with similar experiences?

There is also a $4 toll if you used a toll bridge or tunnel to get into Manhattan.

The toll is really only $3.50 if they use EZPass (which they are supposed to have, although my last two did not).

There may be a "This guy is from Out of Town and I'm charging him an extra $5" fee, but other then that, there is no surcharge for anyplace in Manhattan above the $35 plus tolls.

Not to say they won't try to get you for it though, I met a woman in the TKTS line a while ago who couldn't believe we charged $35 per person for the four of them to get from Kennedy to Times Square.

She wasn't happy when told that isn't the case, as she forked over $120 (he gave her a $20 cash discount) for the ride.

Too late for you, but I think that AirTrain ($5) to Jamaica followed by either the NYCMTA "E" subway($2) (or the LIRR to Pennsylvania Station-costs about $7?) is an easy trip.

The LIRR will have more room for bags, won't require you going through a skinny MTA turnstyle, and often runs express from Jamaica to NY-Penn.

Just did this twice in the last month.

Cab will cost $35 +$4 toll + tip = $45.
Airtrain + subway will cost $7.
I think the bus is around $15 to port authority.

Traffic shouldn't be too bad at 7pm, so taxi will take about 30 minutes.

Airtrain/subway takes about 1 hour, plus a little more time depending on how close you are to subway exit.

How much is your time worth?