Flying in to JFK next weekend - will arrive at about 6 p.m. on Saturday - trying to decide how to get to our hotel in the Murray Hill area. I can book Carmel Limo car service for $44, prepaid. Or a taxi for $52 - I think that's the rate.

Is there any advantage (beyond the small $$$ savings) in one over the other?

Any other ideas?

Carmel will not have someone waiting, you need to call them upon retrieving your luggage. The waiting time can be minutes to annoying. Be sure to ask for specific instructions as to where you will be picked up. For whatever reason I just take a yellow cab home from the airports, unless I arrive at rush hour at LGA then I do not want to pay for the time spent in traffic.

To be honest, there's no advantage over either choice. At JFK the taxi line could be short or long, but my experience is that I often can get a regular taxi quicker than I can get a car service, but that isn't universally true. When there's a huge issue with weather or the like, it's almost always better to use a car service. When everything is normal, it's a wash.

Since the Pope is departing on Saturday morning, I suspect Saturday evening will be normal, so it's really up to you.

I can tell you that it can be a bit chaotic at JFK depending on the terminal when you're trying to find a specific car, especially at night. That's why I almost always use a regular taxi from the airport. But why not save the money? The fare difference will cover your tolls.

TO the airport is a different story entirely. I almost always use a car service.

We prefer to take a taxi from the airport to the city and a car service from the city to the airport.

The problem with a car service at the airport is that you have to call them and then go wait in front of the building for them to turn up - and identify your car versus the many others driving up. May not take long but I prefer just to get on the taxi line - usually no more than 5 minutes or so and hop in the next one. (If you pay extra for car service "meet and greet" there will be someone waiting for you with your name on a sign but then you have to trek out to the parking lot/garage, since security will not allow cars to park in front of the terminal.)

And do note that the prices you quote are the base far; both are plus bridge and tunnel tolls and tip (20% is expected).

Although you can get the price with Carmel including all costs (tip, tax, tolls) prepaid, so that might be what the OP is referencing.

We just used Carmel at Newark and it worked well. They asked us what we were wearing and what out luggage looked like. Next time I would ask what the car looked like too.

Thanks for the info - I think we'll just go ahead and use a taxi to get into the city. Maybe a car service for the trip back t the airport the following Friday afternoon, though.

We are somewhat relieved that the Pope will have left the day before we arrive (our very first trip to Rome coincided with the death of Pope John Paul) - wondering if anyone has an idea of how long the trip into the city (Murray Hill) should take on a Saturday at about 7 p.m?

Could take more than 45 minutes if the highway called the Van Wyck is tied up badly. Even at 2 AM on a Tuesday there is traffic and that is the main artery out of JFK.

The good thing is that Murray Hill is the neighborhood at the exit of the Queens Midtown tunnel.

If you do take the car service, print the $4.00 off coupon from their website. You have to write the 3-digit code on the coupon and hand it to the driver.

I used to live in Murray Hill, and the trip rarely takes more than 45 minutes, but it can certainly take over an hour, as @IMDonehere says ... and traffic both into and out of the city is usually heavier on a Friday. But you can also do the trip in as little as 30 minutes.

Definitely take a car service TO the airport - you don;t want to be out in the street searching for a cab when you need to catch a flight.