Hello.

I'm looking for the most simplest directions (if this is possible) from Harlem (Lexington Avenue and E. 125th Street) to JFK airport? Any suggestions?

Take #4 or #5 DOWNTOWN to BRoadway Nassau St. station. Transfer to the A train going to Far Rockaway and get off at the Howard Beach station. Taker the shuttle bus to the terminal. Cost is $2

Yet another, and in my opionion easier option...

Take the 125th Street bus west to St, Nicholas Ave and get the A train. No need to change trains and navigate subway transfers with luggage.

allan B is right, that may be the quickest route. The exact route I will list below.

Lake's suggestion of taking the 4/5 to the L to the A train is ridiculous. I have taken every train imaginable and been through every station as I live here. You would have to go up and down stairs at 14th Street, Union Square to get to the L train and then go down a very long escalator and stairs to get from the L train to the A at Broadway Junction. Especially no fun if you have luggage with you.

Your best bet is take the westbound 125th Street bus to St. Nicholas and get on the A train there. DO NOT get on an A train that is going to Lefferts Blvd as this does not pass the stop to JFK. The A train you want will be going to either Far Rockaway or Rockaway Beach. Get off the Howard Beach / JFK Airport stop and there will be shuttle buses outside to take you to the terminal.

I agree that probably the easiest way to do the trip to JFK is the bus to the A train and then all the way to the airport. The trip will be about an hour on the train.

If you feel like walking it's about 5 city blocks from where you are staying.

If by chance you get on the A train to Lefferts Blvd instead of the A train to Far Rockaway don't despair. You can take the Q 10 bus to JFK. Trip will taker a little longer.

Robinsen please shut up as I am the one that LIVES IN NYC and TAKES THE TRAINS EVERY DAY!!! You are 3000 miles from the NYC transit system!

Gtrekker if you check the other threads, (most notably the California ones) Robinsen aka Lake aka Treck is from California and therefore would not know nearly as much inside info as a native New Yorker. He has also been known to steer people in strange directions. If you look at the subway map at www.mta.info you will see that the directions allan b and I gave you earlier is the fastest route.

I would not recommend taking the Q10 bus as it takes almost 40 minutes depending on the time of day to get to JFK. (I've taken this bus, so I know) Also the route we gave was with the assumption that you will have luggage and/or bags with you, and therefore the easiest way would be the least amount of transfers as possible.

Next time someone offers directions, make sure they live here and not just consulting a map and guessing. I could sit here and look at a transit map in Boston or DC and make a guess what the fastest route is, but because I don't live there I would never know for sure, now would I?

Jeez Robinsen, You're so knowledgeable about both coasts. Where do you live?

No one recommended taking the Q 10 bus. I merely stated that if by accident he wound up on the Lefferts train he could get to the airport taking the Q10 bus. I am not so sure the bus/A train combination is the fastest way to go. He is on Lex and 125th. He goes downstairs and takes either a 4 or 5 to Broadway/Nassau Street. I beleve that is 8 stations away. The A train from !25th to Broadway Nassau is also 8 stops. Factor in the time it takes to get to the A train 125th St station from Lex and it is not likely this is the fastest way. to.

I gotta love Obxgirl!! LOL

ok here I will give you 2 of my email addresses although I am starting to be convinced that Rob is another Alias of this nut...LOL

gtrekker if you don't believe me then call the place you will be staying at and ASK THEM what they say. It is best to take the route with the least amount of transfers especially with luggage in tow. And no one wants to lug anything up and down flights of stairs transferring between trains when you can take 1 TRAIN and not worry about it. I am intimately knowledgeable in the subway system having had to ride it for the last 29 years of my life. Can Robinsen say that? can Rob? I really don't think so.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at the following addresses:
[email protected] or
[email protected]

Ask Guarto aka Robinsen aka Treck aka Lake who got their posts deleted by Fodor's recently for causing havoc. All you have to do is take a look and you can see who the nut is, but hey, don't take my word for it, I'm just the one that is actually born and raised in NYC after all.....

Hey SJboy keep babbling on all you want because your credibility on here is obviously questionable even by Fodors so like on AOL you are officially on ignore mode

I am Rob and it is not an alias. I have been contributing to this board far longer than you. I am 75 years old and I have lived all those years in NYC. I lived in the Bronx for the first 30 years of my life and the last 45 years on the upper west side of Manhattan. I took my first subway ride 70 years ago and have used the subways all my adult life.
I started using the subway on a daily basis in 1943 when the fare was a nickel. Why do you feel it necessary to attack when someone disagrees with your point of view.

If you are who you say you are, Rob then I apologize. The other option is if you end up on the Lefferts Blvd train, just get off at Rockaway Blvd. stop and wait for the Rockaways bound A train.

Rob if you have been riding the trains for all these years then I think you can agree with me on the point that taking the 4/5 to the L and then the A is ridiculous. Especially the long transfer point at Broadway Junction (L train being elevated and A train being underground at this station).

robinsen I'll shutup when you admit that you're schizophrenic or psychotic.

Not to mention you have the ignorance in trying to provide the most inconvenient route to JFK when you don't even live here, then trying to argue with me about it as if I don't live here and haven't been riding the trains for 29 years.

It's clear you're just a big baby who needs to have the last word on everything whether it's relevant or not. You are obviously not a credible source of information, yet you try to bash anyone who is. Sad and very unfortunate that this is your means of attention.

Nope I'm off to bed....so if someone else posts it sure as hell isn't me. Bear in mind it's 1:00am here in NYC but only 10:00pm in California. And for attacking? The only other names I have attacked are your ALIASES! GOOD NIGHT! For tomorrow I am preparing for complete ignorance day!

I certainly would agree with you the 4/5 to L to the A is not the way to go. I was surprised when I first read that suggestion. The 4/5 to A involves one transfer as does the bus to the train. Neither the bus or the train is luggage friendly but you are better off carting luggage in the subway. Bus aisles are narrow and luggage would be a problem in a crowded bus. It would be a problem in a crowded train but you have the option in the train of going to a less crowded car - the front for example. Once on the subway, 4/5 A or just the A, the distance traveled is approximately the same so the time for the subway portion should be the same since the same number of stops are involved. If you use the bus then the bus time must be added to the train time probably making the trip longer

If were doing this and was starting from Lex and 125th I would take the 4/5 A combination. My experience with buses is they are notoriously slow and 125th Street is always congested.

Rob, I see your point with the buses and narrow walkways. I've encountered this the few times I took the bus to LaGuardia from Astoria Blvd.

Another suggestion although possibly silly would be to take a cab to the A train? If I remember correctly, the next downtown stop after 125th Street on the A train is 59th Street (during regular hours). On the 4/5 you would have to pass a few more stops in between.

It's been a while since I've been through Broadway/Nassau station post 9/11. To transfer you have to go downhill and make a kind of U turn and then down stairs, correct?

Should also mention that the entire ride should take about 2 hours at best whether you choose taking the 4/5 or not.

And the sage of the SJ nutjob continues!! Offering bizarre misinformation wherever he/she goes.... He/she also offers information on Philadelphia. Is any of it right...?

For the record, taking the A Train out to Howard Beach is easy and convenient and cheap. I've never caught it far uptown-- I've usually hopped it at Port Authority (I'm a Midtown kind of guy, I guess), but never had problems with luggage or getting a seat. The itineraries proposed by the New Yorkers (Rob, allan_b, missjanna) are far, far better than the route proposed by "Lake"/"Robinsen"/"Guarto", which will take longer, takes more steps, is dumb, etc.