Hi!

My boyfriend and I are coming over from Scotland in May for a week. This is our second visit but our first time flying into JFK. What is the best route into Manhattan? We are staying on 17th Street between 2nd and 3rd Ave. Are we best just to get a cab or is there a shuttle bus or anything? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!!

Whatever you do, avoid the shared-ride shuttles (Go Airlink and Super Shuttle), which are both really terrible. Also avoid the touts who approach you at the airport offering rides. If you take a taxi, only go to the official yellow taxi stand. It's a flat fare of $52 plus tip and toll, or about $65.

But I recommend you take the subway instead. JFK is very convenient for public transport. Take the Airtrain to Jamaica. Then go downstairs (there are elevators) to the subway level. From there you have three options:

Take a Manhattan-bound E train to Queens Plaza, where you transfer for the Manhattan-bound R train to Union Square/14th Street. Your hotel is a five-minute walk from there.

You can save a little time by riding the E to Lexington Avenue, where you transfer for the Downtown 6 to Union Square/14th Street.

Someone who knows the Queens Plaza station better than I do might know if there are any stairs involved in the E-R transfer. There are escalators at the Lexington Avenue station for the E-6 transfer, but you can't rely on them working!

Yet another route is the take the J line from Jamaica and transfer at Broadway Junction for the Manhattan-bound L to Union Square/14th Street.

All things considered, I recommend the E-R route.

If you're staying for more than 4 days, it's a good idea to buy a 7-day unlimited-ride metrocard, which is good for the subway, local buses and the Roosevelt Island Tram. The cost is $30 each. The Airtrain is a separate charge of $5 each, which you pay as you exit at Jamaica. There are plenty of metrocard vending machines there. There are also attendants to help if you have trouble.

Thanks so much! That's great info!!

I think we probably will go with the Subway depending how we feel when we get in. It's a long flight from Scotland so collapsing in the back of a cab may seem more appealing at the time!

Thanks so much for your help!

If I can just ask one more question, I want to go to one of the Brooklyn Flea Markets. Which one would you recommend as i believe there are two (possibly more) Fort Greene and Williamsburg? Also can you recommend any good bars / restaurants / pizza places around that area?

Thanks!!!

as a fellow brit,i can see why you are feeling a bit daunted by the subway,but me and my girlfriend have used it the last twice we have been to NY,and found it so easy (and cheap),so dont worry,if you have any concerns at all,the staff manning the Subways are more than helpful,so you have nothing to worry about,if you use Oracles directions,you will be there in no time!!! hope that hopes to quell your concerns,and have a great time!!!

My wife and I live two blocks from the 17th st Hotel. When we land at JFK we try to get the Go shuttle bus, there is usually a ticket sales guy outside each terminal, $16 each last trip. If they say it\'s a really long wait, 30plus minutes we\'ll get a cab. But we never had a problem with the shuttles. They deliver us to Grand Central in Manhattan, Then we jump on the Lexington Ave bus (1 block away) to our street on Second Avenue. But we already have Metro cards, you will have to have $2.50 in change each, or go into Grand Central station and buy Metro cards with sufficient value. Note: on a nice day you can walk to your hotel from Grand Central, just 1 mile.
I\'ve never taken the subway to JFK, I\'ve made mistakes just taking the airtran from the long term parking to the terminal, I didn\'t find it to be very easy to understand, plus I think the airtran to the subway will take much longer. Not something I want after a trans Atlantic flight!
Good luck

Thanks guys! We are flying in on May 29th! As i said we may end up just taking a cab after such a long flight, but it is always nice to have options!

Thanks for the great feedback!