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Flying to Long Island for Manhattan trip

Has any had experience flying into Long Island on Southwest airlines and then traveling into Manhattan. We are trying to plan a trip for 4 couples to go to the US Open in August/Sept. and we have free southwest tickets. Would it be worth the troubleand the limo expense?

If you can all share in the limo cost, it could be worth the trip although be prepared for stop and go traffic on the Long Island Expressway going into the city. If you can plan so you are traveling on the weekend or at night you can avoid rush hour traffic which can seem like always on "the Island". Or you can take the limo to a Long Island Railroad station to Forest Hills. You'd have to call the railroad to plan that as I'm not too familiar.

Yes, it is definitely worth it. Flying into MacArthur is probably the most pleasant airport to fly into in NY/NJ metropolitan area. It's just alittle out of the way. If you will be staying in Manhattan and traveling out to Flushing in the am/pm for the tournament. You have several options for getting to Manhattan. 1) Limo/Car service - most expensive for single passenger, but probably best overall value for 8 people. Call regular car service places (just go to yahoo yellow pages, put in Ronkonkoma, NY and then search for limos) 2) Shuttle to Long Island Railroad at Ronkonkoma station then train into Manhattan - just ask the conductor if the train you will be getting on requires you to change to a different train or goes straight to Penn station. 3) Rent a minivan at the airport and drive into NYC, then you will have the van to travel out to the stadium each day. (Depending on which hotel you stay and when the tickets you have are for, you may or may not be able to park on the street) Also, I think may hotels have packages that include the cost of the hotel and shuttles to and from Flushing Meadows. There is a website for MacArthur airport: http://www.macarthurairport.com/ and LIRR: http://lirr42.mta.info/index.asp, Also, the US Open has a website (I think)

You could also get a limo or taxis to just take you to the nearest LIRR station, if you want to keep costs down. Ronkonkoma station is about 5 mins. away I believe, although I think they do have some big gaps in their schedule, so check that vis-a-vis your arrival and departure. I do know from a friend that a taxi from MacArthur to Forest Hills is over $80! Probably looking at $100 even to Manhattan, more if a nice limo. Also to add to travelin's remarks, traffic will also probably be really bad going into Manhattan on Sunday night, and bad back to the airport Friday night and weekend mornings in the summer time.

Can't help with any of the specifics, but unless you want to see Rod Laver play, don't go to Forest Hills...the Open is at Flushing Meadows (without the striped awnings) ;-)

LOL, giro is correct and none of us picked it up. Anyway, methinks has given you excellent advice. I agree it would HAVE to be worth the trouble to save the cost of 8 airline tickets for a bit of inconvenience. Even if you were flying in to one of the closer airports it will cost something to get into town. One option that hasn't been mentioned but is described on the MacArthur website is taking the Hampton Jitney. On the website it lists the cost as $25/person but if you buy a roundtrip ticket (if you use the same route to go home) it's $42 or $44/person. If you're a senior, it's $40 rt. Not sure how much a cab from the airport to the Jitney stop would be. The train will probably be the fastest (if your flight arrival coincides with a train departure) and the cheapest. The Jitneys go about every hour to hour and a half but you MUST make a reservation because they don't stop at the airport connection unless someone is getting off or they know someone is getting on. They make stops in NYC on the east side (3rd ave) between 39th & 86th st. The train will let you out at Penn Station on the west side at 33st & 7th ave. The airport website posts the limousine service as being $100 + toll ($3.50) & tip ($15-20) for up to 4 people. I would try to find out whether you could get a limo/van to accomodate all 8 of you for maybe $150. Good luck!

susanj, Just a couple of points about the LIRR: - Overhead bins are not made for large suitcases - anything over ~21" could be a problem. - Travelling weekdays before 9AM from Ronkonkoma will put you in rush hour. - Penn Station platforms have few escalators (that are narrow). If the Jitney or limo doesn't appeal to you, check into renting two cars and dropping them off in Manhattan. Base cost (before any discounts) for a larger car is ~$55./car/day+15% tax including NYC dropoff. Drive into NYC is ~1:30 depending on time/day of week.