Hi Rusty, I don't know if you'll check this post again before your trip... But I happened to have time to kill at Jamaica station yesterday, and decided to check out the AirTrain terminal (because of this thread!). So here are a few more details for you:

<b>AirTrain Terminal</b>
- AirTrain ticket is $5. At the Jamaica end (and so I assume also at the other end), there is a row of ticket machines that sell both AirTrain tickets and Metrocards (what you use for the subway).
- The AirTrain appears to be two cars long; if you can, get in the front car. When you get off, walk past the front of the train, down a short corridor and through the ticket &quot;gates&quot;.
- The exit to LIRR and subway is at the end of this area on your left. If you haven't purchased one yet, on the right of the ticket gates is the bank of Metrocard vending machines.
- If you opt to take the LIRR, there is one ticket vending machine on the left immediately outside the doorway between the AirTrain and LIRR. (There is also a ticket lobby downstairs; see below.) Tickets are much more expensive if you have to buy them on the train.

<b>Jamaica Station</b>
- The way Jamaica station is set up, the AirTrain terminal is on one side adjacent to the LIRR tracks; the connection to the subway is on the far side of the LIRR station. Being a monorail, AirTrain arrives at the second story level, where there is a walkway perpendicular to the AirTrain terminal, above all the LIRR tracks, connecting them. Escalators and stairs go down to the LIRR platforms.
- There's an automated conveyor &quot;people mover&quot; on the walkway, but it's a little out of the way, so it's usually faster just to walk!
- In the middle of the elevated LIRR walkway, there's a snack stand with cold drinks, chips, etc. (and these pouches of surprisingly good &quot;two-bite&quot; brownies LOL; look to the right behind the vendor).
- Westbound LIRR trains (i.e., to Penn Station) depart from tracks 1-3, on the far side away from the AirTrain.
- Connection to the subway is also on the far side away from the AirTrain; follow the signs.
- To get to the subway and also to the main ticket lobby, cross to the far side of the elevated walkway and take the elevator down to the specified floor.

---
So now my BF really knows I'm nuts. Or maybe he was just happy that I had a distraction while we had to wait for our train. (I certainly was less cranky than usual about the wait! LOL) At any rate, I'm now convinced that my Fodor's addiction is full-fledged... ;)

From ggreen's great description: &lt;&lt; AirTrain ticket is $5. At the Jamaica end (and so I assume also at the other end), there is a row of ticket machines that sell both AirTrain tickets and Metrocards (what you use for the subway).&gt;&gt;

Actually, there are no ticket machines &quot;at the other end.&quot; When you leave the airport via AirTrain, you just get on without paying anything. It's only when you get off--at the parking lots or LIRR and subway connections--that you pay. You're paying to get out, since to do so you must go through a turnstile. (It can seem a bit odd to figure out how to buy a MetroCard AFTER riding the AirTrain, especially if you're not getting on the subway afterward.)

Hope this helps someone. . .

Thanks for the explanation, ellenem! That does seem really odd to me, especially since as you say, you have to go through the turnstiles before you reach the vending machines. But it does help to explain the large &quot;Welcome to JFK International Airport&quot; sign over the turnstiles!

Oh and one other detail for anyone taking the AirTrain to get to a flight at JFK: There is a bank of monitors on the wall opposite the Metrocard machines that list all departures for the day and their status. We were impressed! ;)

There are machines and I think even a booth for buying a MetroCard on both sides of the turnstiles at Jamaica--'inside' and 'outside'--but none at the airport end. Since a traveler might be using the AirTrain within the airport to get from one terminal to another, there is no charge to do so and therefore no turnstiles to pass through. You're only charged for making the longer trip out of the airport.

I did see the booth yesterday, but it wasn't in operation on a Sunday. There were two or three red-coated MTA employees assisting passengers at the vending machines.

I heard one man complain to his young son that the five dollars was a &quot;ripoff&quot;. That surprised me; IMO the AirTrain is a welcome improvement to the other modes of airport transportation! :)

The trip was a big success due in great part to the outstanding advice I received here in this thread. Thanks so much to ggreen and ellenem, and to Doug Stallings of Fodors for getting it off to a good start. Your latter info about the AirTrain could be published it's so good. I didn't see it before leaving but came to a lot of the same conclusions. I made my decision at the last moment to take the E subway because it seemed that I was making such good time. It was fun and worked quite well. I made it to the meeting in ample time. I would have also done well on LIRR too, I'm sure. I had already booked SuperShuttle for the return and stayed with that but the reverse of the E and AirTrain would have been good too and cheaper. The SS was a roller coaster, all through Queens with a very aggresive driver in rush hour. I'll be returning in October and am looking forward to being an expert this time. Incidentally, I had two people stop me for help/directions and I came through. I felt funny about it but they seemed lost and I thought I knew the answers. Thanks again.

Rusty: About how long do you think the E-train trip into Manhattan took?

Glad your connections worked so well!

Rusty, thanks for the compliments! I'm glad we could help.

You must have had an air of confidence and ease in your surroundings for others to ask for your assistance. Sounds like you came through! :)

Regarding how long it took, as best as I can recall, the ride on AirTrain was minimal, probably 15-20 minutes including the short wait. The E took about 50 minutes but it seemed shorter. We only paused once at a station for approx. 3 minutes. Other than that, it was constant motion. Both trains had plenty of seats available but the cars weren't empty so I got a chance to people watch, without being intrusive or staring. And yes, I may have looked the part of a local since by that time all the maps were in my brain. I'm not ready to go mapless, though; the next time I'm in New York (Oct.) I'll be there for five weeks. I'm intending to learn a lot about NYC. I got started a few months ago on this after watching (via NetFlix) the Ric Burns PBS documentary on New York done in 2000-2001. I was totally fascinated and shocked that I knew so little of the actual history of NYC.

That's awesome - five weeks in NYC! Trust me, I know very few NYers who don't refer to maps. The difference between a &quot;tourist&quot; and a local is how you reference the map: standing on a street corner with the entire thing unfolded in your hands is a sign you've never really looked at it before! ;)

When you're here, some good places for NYC history are:
- NY Historical Society, adjacent to Natural History Museum on the Upper West Side. Shows are often colonial-era history, and usually well curated. (I was amazed at how little NY Revolutionary history I actually knew when seeing a related show there.)
- Museum of the City of NY, north of the Met Museum on 5th Ave; and the Museo del Barrio next door. Good smaller shows at both places.
- NY Skyscraper Museum in lower Manhattan. Interesting perspective on the city, along the lines of the Burns documentary in its focus on buildings and the economy...
- Queens Museum, near Shea Stadium. Housed in one of the buildings built for the two World's Fairs held there. Good temporary exhibits, and the permanent collection of World's Fair artifacts and history is quite interesting.

Well, this certainly doesn't pertain to the JFK commute any more. I'm sure you'll create a new post if you have questions ahead of your trip! :)

Those are great museum suggestions. I'll be sure to go to those. You're right - we should be in a different thread since we conquered the original theme/problem, but it's been fun. I'm very impressed with Fodor's; I had already read their NYC 2007 book and marked it all up. And I'm so indebted to you all for getting me this far. And I'll keep my map folded neatly, just like New Yorkers do their newspaper on the crowded subways, I think. Thanks again.

Arriving JFK at 6:15 next Fri. With luggage. Should we take a cab or air train to Central Park south?

If you don't want the hassle of taking your luggage on the Airtrain, then take a cab. It will cost about $60 ($45 plus toll plus tip). However, that's going to be a very busy night in Manhattan, so the trip may take you a long time.

If you want to save time, take the Airtrain to Penn Station and then a cab from there.

But just to give you an idea of traffic in Manhattan right now, I went by cab from 39th/Park to Columbus Circle on Saturday night, and the trip took 30 minutes. It only takes 5 minutes longer to walk.