JFK/Newark airport transfers
 

Hi

We will be travelling to NYC shortly and would like some advice on airport transfers.

We will be arriving into JFK in the evening after a 16hr flight ... as a couple of travellers are elderly are we better off booking a shuttle van service to the hotel or private car eg; Execucar).

Also departing from Newark on very early am flight - again is the shuttle van the better option or private car due to the early departure.

Also, what is the recommended check in time for domestic flights.


Thanks

I know how it feels to come in late to JFK. I strongly urge youto just grab a taxi. Unless there is a shuttle right under your nose- don't believe them when they say its in "just a few minutes". You can end up waiting a long time to get on one-which is a real drag. Again, I would budget to take a taxi going back, or else the Amtrack connection. I find with shuttles I always have to build in a lot of extra time.

Coming in to JFK I would just grab a cab into the city. The fare is fixed - $45 flat fare plus bridge or tunnel toll and 20% tip for about $60 total. This is, IMHO, easier than tracking down a car service and then trekking out into a far parking lot with your luggage or waiting for 20 minutes for the driver to go get the car (for security reasons cars are not allowed to wait at the terminal).

To get to EWR I would also get a car service. And your airline should tell you when to arrive for domestic check-in - typically 2 hours before flight time - since security lines can be huge. Also tell them what plane you ar etaking - if there are delays de to construiton or siilar they will let you know.

Supershuttle in NYC is dreadful - do not even attempt it. There are frequent reports of them driving people around in traffic for an extra hour, dropping individual travelers at 6 or 7 different hotels - and making people miss their outgoing flight for the same reason.

Do not even THINK of using a shared shuttle van in NYC. The buses are terrible, the drivers are often terrible and don't know their way around and the trip will take forever both waiting for the van to fill at the airport and then dropping everyone at their individual hotels. DO NOT USED A SHUTTLE under any circumstances. I don't know how more strongly to tell you this. Your options then are:

>a taxi (there's a taxi line outside each terminal) for ~ $60 including tip and toll to go anywhere in Manhattan

>a private car service like dial7.com or allstatelimo.com who charge about the same as a taxi but with usually nicer cars and better drivers. They will ask you to phone them when you're ready to leave the terminal and will tell you where to meet the driver. If you won't/don't have a cell phone that works here, there are courtesy phones you can use at the transportation desk. Some people feel this is more trouble than a taxi. I think it depends on the car/driver you get and luck.

>there are Express buses to Grand Central or Port Authority bus terminal. If your hotel happens to be near one of these, it's a way to save some money. ($15/person) http://www.nyairportservice.com/

For your return to Newark, you should use a private car service like dial7.com or allstatelimo.com Don't use a NYC taxi as it will be much more expensive. If you have your hotel book a private car, that too can wind up being much more expensive. I'd add for a very early am departure from Newark, you might want to consider spending that last night at Newark airport hotel.

<b>This is, IMHO, easier than tracking down a car service and then trekking out into a far parking lot with your luggage or waiting for 20 minutes for the driver to go get the car (for security reasons cars are not allowed to wait at the terminal).</b>

Maybe it's different at JFK, but at EWR (Newark) we've used Dial 7 car service and the way it works is we reserve ahead of time, then call them once we arrive. They tell us a car will meet us outside a certain door near the baggage claim area and a guy pulls up a couple minutes later and off we go. Pretty easy and convenient.

The only time I take cars from JFK to the city is when it's on business and the company automatically provides meet and greet. I've tried to change this - but that's what they pay for - so that's what we get. The driver stands at baggage with your name on a card and then you hae to walk together out to the front - and wait for him to go get the car. (I'm not about to haul the luggage 5 or 6 blocks out to the parking lot.) And at JFK the car can wait only long-enough to load - no waiting there at all. Maybe EWR allows some waiting.

So - when it's my dime I take a cab - definitely faster and easier. (And it works the same at LGA - no waiting at all for cars at pick up.)

The first train out of New York Penn station that stops at EWR leaves at 8:10AM on weekdays. On the weekends there is one at 6:45AM.
Probably Amtrak will not work for you.

<b>The driver stands at baggage with your name on a card and then you hae to walk together out to the front - and wait for him to go get the car. (I'm not about to haul the luggage 5 or 6 blocks out to the parking lot.)</b>

No need for a tourist to pay extra to be met in person. As I mentioned, just call when you arrive and they will drive up to one of the exits near baggage claim and pick you up. Lot faster and less expensive.

FYI, regular taxis are NOT recommended between Manhattan and Newark Airport because the taxis must cross state borders. According to law, NY taxis can take a fare from Manhattan to Newark, but cannot bring a fare back to Manhattan from Newark. (Similarly, NJ taxis can take a fare from Newark to Manhattan, but cannot pick up a fare once in Manhattan.) Therefore, the taxis charge high additional fees to make up for their empty return trip. Private car services like Carmel and Dial7 have no such restrictions and can take fares in both directions.

Bill - the problem is that the terminal may have 5 or 6 doors. The passengers need to be outside and to pick their car out of the 10 to 5 pulling up at any one time - and then get there quickly with their luggage. If the car is sitting too long the security people will make then circle. So if anyone opts to do this be sure that you know the number of the car and name of the company - and can read the name in the acr window and trot birskly to get there with your luggage.

While waiting (intreminably) for my car to come around I have seen security force cars to move on when their passengers didn't get to them right away. Perhaps EWR allows more time (I avodi it whenever possible) but the passengers have no more than 3 minutes or so to get to their cars in JFK and LGA.

<b>Bill - the problem is that the terminal may have 5 or 6 doors.</b>

Here's what Dial 7 sent us for a recent flight on Continental to Newark, which was pretty specific:

<i>"Terminal C, Pick-up area 3: From the baggage claim level, walk outside and follow the signs to the passenger pickup area. Walk to Passenger Pickup 3; your driver will meet you there."</i>

This is just outside the baggage claim area, maybe 10 yards or so past the exits.

When we call in upon arrival they ask what we are wearing and the driver just pulls up to the curb where we are standing and we're off ... no problems, at least at EWR.

First of all, the doors at Newark are numbered. You'll be told where to meet your car outside which particular door, and the driver will have a numbered placard to wave. But since you are departing from EWR and not arriving, it's not a problem. Be there at least 90 minutes before and check in on line if possible. The security lines at EWR can be long, but you can't always arrive 2 hours before a domestic flight that departs early in the AM. In any case for your EWR departure, arrange for a car service (Dial 7 is the one I normally use). It costs about $65 or $70.

FROM JFK, a regular taxi is usually better unless you're arriving on a very busy day, when waits can be long. Of course, it depends on the terminal you're arriving at. Not all taxi lines there are created equal. Again, expect to pay $60--$65 all in ($45 for the trip, $5-something for the toll, and the rest for the tip).

I don't usually arrange for a car service from JFK, though you can certainly do it, and with elderly travelers it does make a certain amount of sense (though it's a little more expensive than a taxi). The process is the same as from EWR. You make a reservation in advance and then call when you have picked up your luggage. You'll be told where the car will meet you outside.