Vicky

I am going to Stresa, Italy, flying non stop to Milan from JFK in May. From PA where i live I will take the train to Penn Station. My last several visits to Ny I got a taxi from Penn Station to my hotel and the drivers didnt' speak English and on one occasion had no idea where to go and we had to direct him (and it wasn't an obscure street). So I am leery of a long taxi ride with a stranger who does not speak English. I will arrive back in the states about 1:30 at JFK and need to get back to Penn Station to take a train home.

I read about the Airporter bus but not sure where at Penn Station it picks up or how to buy tickets. If I try to click on the website my computer says it might contain malicious malware.

Trip Advisor suggests the LIRR to Jamaica then the Air Train (and do the reverse from JFK)

Does anyone have any advise. Not so much concerned about cost as easy as things things get since I have a 1 hr drive to Harrisburg then a 3 1/2 hour train ride to NY.

sf7307

One thing isn't clear - are you going to take the train into Penn Station and go straight to JFK, or are you staying overnight at a hotel first?

Vicky

I am going straight to JFK from Penn Station. Not spending time in NY this trip

nytraveler

How much luggage do you have and are you willing/able to haul it up and down escalators or possibly stairs.

From Penn Station it is simple to take a train to Jamaica station ($7.50) and then transfer to the Airtrain ($5) to take you to your terminal. Will take about an hour once you get on a train - and they run to Jamaica all the time.

If you do not want to deal with the luggage I would get a car service (so you don't have to wait on line for a taxi) to take you direct to your JFK terminal. Call Dial 7 or Carmel and they will have a car ready for you.

And believe me every driver in NYC knows her JFK is (while yes, they may well not know every hotel).

doug_stallings

If you're going straight to JFK from Penn Station, then your best bet is to take the Long Island Railroad to the Airtrain. That's by far the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to the airport ... with one major caveat.

You may have to get up and down stairs with your bag; there are escalators and elevators down to the platforms at Penn Station and then escalators and elevators up from the platforms at Jamaica, but they may be difficult to find at Penn Station.

You can buy a single combo ticket from a couple of specially marked vending machines that will give you a metrocard that works on the the LIRR and at the Airtrain. You can add more value at the station for your return trip. The cost varies depending on the time. It's cheapest on weekends, when you can use a so-called "City Ticket" with a special reduced flat fare to Jamaica. The Airtrain always costs $5.

If you have a huge suitcase and can't manage it easily by yourself, then the Airporter bus may be better, but it stops outside the station and across the street, so you have to get yourself and your bag outside and across 7th avenue and meet the bus streetside. There's a map showing the location on the Airporter web site. It's slow, which is why I don't normally recommend it, but it's an option for you.

sf7307

That's by far the easiest, cheapest, and fastest

It is pretty easy, but the cheapest is the subway to airtrain (which is more difficult with luggage and takes longer), and it's only the fastest if there's traffic (otherwise, a car of any kind is faster).

DebitNM

Be forewarned - we took the Airporter bus to JFK and it took 2+ hours to get to our terminal, the traffic was awful. The bus also makes several stops in the city before it heads out to expressway which was also horrendous.

LIRR to Airtrain has worked for us before without a hitch.

doug_stallings

Yes, definitely beware of what @DebitNM says, particularly with regard to getting to Penn Station. That trip across town can easily add 30 minutes to your travel time on a busy weekday. If you are traveling to JFK on a weekday afternoon, that trip (which can take as little as 20 minutes from the Midtown Tunnel) can take well over an hour. The train almost always goes in the same 30 to 40 minutes (depending on stops) with another 15 minutes to get to your specific terminal.

sf7307

I would definitely recommend the LIRR/AirTrain combo DebitNM and Doug have suggested - once you're on the train it's comfortable and you don't have to worry about traffic.

Vicky

I will have one 22 " rollerboard and probably a backpack. This is my normal amount and I can manage it thought alot of steps is a pain. It looks like the LIRR and Air Train are the best options; a little confused about the ticketing though (where? how?)

ellenem

At Penn Station, you will need to buy a ticket for the LIRR to Jamaica Station. With this ticket, you can board any train that will stop at Jamaica (most of the trains do stop at Jamaica, except for the Port Washington branch).

You can buy LIRR tickets at machines or windows within the LIRR section of Penn Station. If you are riding on a weekend, you can get a "City Ticket" as Doug mentioned.

You can also buy a MetroCard (card used to ride subways and buses, but NOT LIRR), adding enough money ($5 per ride) to cover the fare on the AirTrain.

At Jamaica, follow the signs to the AirTrain--up a level and around to the right. If you chose not to buy the MetroCard at Penn Station, as you approach the turnstiles to the AirTrain, there will be machines to make the purchase there.

On your return trip, you will pay for the AirTrain at the end of the ride as you get off in Jamaica.

Vicky

Thank you all!

doug_stallings

I realize ticket for the LIRR/AirTrain is confusing, but there are three options.
1: You buy a regular LIRR ticket to Jamaica one-way, either at the ticket window or from a machine (there's no discount for a round-trip). At the Airtrain you buy a $5 Metrocard from a machine to ride that train. You can pay either in cash or by credit/debit.
2: You buy a discounted LIRR city ticket (on weekends only), and then you buy the same $5 Metrocard at the Airtrain station before you go through the turnstiles.
3: You use one of the specially marked machines at Penn Station (they have a while airplane coming off train tracks, on a field of blue down the side and are separate from the other ticketing machines) to buy a combination Metrocard that allows you to ride the LIRR to Jamaica and then the Airtrain. This is the only time a Metrocard will allow you to ride the LIRR.

Either way, you can take any train that stops in Jamaica. They run very regularly all day.