Which airport is the easier connection to Grand Central Station? I need to catch a commuter train, and I'm wondering which is the better/easier/closer airport???

LaGuardia is MUCH closer to the city. It's probably a 30 minute ride from LGA to Grand Central without alot of traffic. JFK to Grand Central would take at least an hour or more, again depending on traffic.

There are taxi stands at the airport right in front of most of the terminals.

YOu didn't mention what airline you are coming in on, but a taxi stand that is less used is beside American Airlines all the way at the end of the main terminal, and turn right and the taxi stand is there, and the line will be much shorter.

Have a great time while you are here.

The question was about trains from the airports, not about taxis!

I believe either one is just about as easy. From LGA you will need to take a bus to the train station and from JFK you take the skytrain(?) to connect with the train to GCS. LGA will be little quicker as it is closer.

Ignore my above post. I guess it's too early for me

Sorry!

AAFF - 6am is too early for anyone to be thinking right! You're forgiven.

LGA without a doubt.

Express bus leaves every 20-30 mins for Grand Central.Takes about 30 mins (depending on time of day). Costs about $10 (?), and is a lot cheaper than a taxi.

G

There are no direct train connections from either airport to Grand Central.

It can be done by a combo of Airtrain and subway from JFK - you can;t use the Airtrain/LIRR option since that goes to Penn Station - and would require yet another subway or cab.

Or you could go via bus and subway from LGA (but the latter is not a realistic option if you have anything more than a small carryon - since neither has room for luggage). Your best bet is the shuttle bus - as noted above.

Definitely take the shuttle bus, which stops very close to Grand Central.

Are you confused yet LuccaBrazzi?

The short answer is LGA is much closer to NYC. You can take a cab to Grand Central for about $30 which would take 20-45 mins, depending on traffic.

You could also take a shuttle bus for $12-15/person which goes to right near Grand Central. Here's the info.

Midtown Manhattan/East Side
Midtown Manhattan/East Side Grand Central Terminal (Vanderbilt Ave. and 42nd Streets). New York Airport Service Express Bus
(718) 875-8200
Fare Range $10 - $12 Every 20 - 30 minutes
7:20 AM to 11:00 PM
30 - 45 minutes,
longer at peak hours

From JFK, your options are taxi for ~$55 (about an hour). Shuttle bus (the same co. as at LGA and the same price), or the newish AirTrain which connects to either the LIRR which goes to Penn Station (not where you want to go) or the subway, but also not a subway line that goes to Grand Central.

If you go to this subway map, you can see the relative locations of the 2 airports to the city and the subway lines, AirTrain etc.

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/submap.htm

You could also take a cab to a subway stop for the #7 train in Queens.

But the bigger issue, there may be a better way to get to your final destination rather than going into the city. If this is a business trip, there are limo and shuttle services to various locations in Ct, Westchester etc. Where do you want to go?

Just my 02 cents worth, but I avoid LGA at all costs. I live on LI and travel frequently and NEVER fly out or into LGA. JFK is my choice.

The last time I flew into LGA we were on an aborted landing. Very freightning. Afterwards I found out LGA has the most aborted flights of any airport. This is due to the runway layout and the amount of flights going in and out of a very congested airport. Not for me!

Don't flame me, this has just been my personal experience. A few days after my flight was aborted, I saw a news report on TV about it. Some actor (from the Sopranos) was on a flight landing at LGA, and described his terrorfying experience, which was exactly like mine. Then all the facts about about aborted flights at LGA were reported.

It's true that the runways at LGA are much shorter then JFK - that's why you can;t land jumbo jets there. Have never heard about more aborted landings there - but definitely you come very close to the bay end of the runway on every landing. But it's not as if there are planes landing in the bay all the time - I really wouldn;t make my decision based on this. (And I have flown in and out of LGA literally hundreds of times.)

Something to think about...

You are catching a commuter train, right? If so, find out if your train stops at the 125th street station (125th and Park Av.). If so, try going there instead of Grand Central. Without traffic, you should be there in 10-15 minutes from LGA. A taxi should be no more than $20-25 including tolls and tip.

That's very good advice from Jean Valjean. Better than my idea of a subway from Queens to Grand Central.

Jean brings up a very good point. 125th Street is much closer to LGA than Grand Central.

And to add even more confusion...you can take a city bus from Laguardia to 125th Street for only $2! I have not tried this trip so I don't know how long it would take.

Just a reminder: If you take the bus just mentioned, make sure you have $2 in change to pay for your ride.

FYI, the City bus to/from LGA is the M60.

I've heard that you can buy a Metro Card at some of the newstands at LGA, but it's a good idea to have the $2.00 in chage.

News for anyone considering using the JFK Airtrain:

A fire destroyed a switching room that controls traffic on the A/C line. Word is it will take 3-5 years to repair the damage and there will be MAJOR changes on these lines.

As of now, the C train is no longer and A service is at 1/3 capacity.

This leaves the E train as the preferred connection from the JFK Airtrain.

We flew into LGA and took Tel Aviv limo service which was waiting for us when we arrived. Were in the city in under 30 minutes and our hotel was 4 blocks from Grand Central.