We are in the final stages of planning our August New York trip and am trying to find a more inexpensive way to get from JFK to our hotel. Our hotel is fairly close to Penn Station and Empire State building area. I have found a litte info about taking something called a airtrain to Jamacia (sp) Station and then a train from there but I can't find a website for airtrain and no idea what train to take any info or suggestions would be great.

Thank you
Kim

here's the airtrain website

http://panynj.com/airtrain/

MAKE THE CONNECTION TO MIDTOWN MANHATTAN

Connect To Local Trains and Subways From AirTrain

There are a few ways to get to Midtown Manhattan from AirTrain.

Here are the most direct routes:
• Take AirTrain to Jamaica Station.
• At Jamaica Station, take a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train to New York Penn Station.

Or,
• Take AirTrain to Jamaica Station.
• At Jamaica Station, take the E subway to New York Penn Station.

How To Transfer From AirTrain At Jamaica Station:

When you exit AirTrain at Jamaica Station, follow signs for the LIRR or the subway. You will pass through the fare gates and go down one or more levels to the LIRR or subway platform. This walk takes approximately 5 minutes. Take a virtual tour of the station now.

You will need a Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard with at least $5 in value to go through the AirTrain fare gates. Go to Cost & Tickets for more information.

The AirTrain is the monorail-type train that connects the various terminals and long-term parking at JFK--for those services it is free. There is more than one route. If you take it to the end of the line--for example, to Jamaica Station--you pay $5 when you get off at Jamaica. This trip would take 10-15 minutes.

Jamaica Station is a transportation hub, with easy connections to the Long Island Railroad and some subway lines. Considering the location of your hotel, at Jamaica I'd opt to take the LIRR to Manhattan. There are frequent departures and connecting from the AirTrain is simple. The fare would be $7.25 during peak weekday rush hours, $5.25 off-peak weekdays, or $3.50 special weekend CityTicket fare. This trip would take about 20 minutes.

If you need it to travel even more cheaply, at Jamaica you could catch the E train (subway on a lower level), which you could take to 34th St and 8th Ave, for $2. This trip would take 45 minutes, quite possibly more, and involve dealing with more stairs at the Manhattan end.

How much you will save depends on how many "we" are.

Air Train and subway will be $7 each (but you have to get a Metrocard at the airport - subways don;t take cash). And you will have to haul your luggage up and down stairs for the subway.

Air Train and LIRR will be $12 each - and the same with your luggage at Penn Station.

So - for 2 people this will save a lot.

For 4 people the price difference - $48 for Air Train LIRR isn't that much less than the $60 or so (flat fare of $45 plus toll and tip) for a cab.

Airtrain + LIRR can actually be $10 on the weekends, so it does depend on the day of arrival (you buy a "city ticket" from the machine at the LIRR station in Jamaica). And it can be considerably more if you are arriving during the morning rush-hour into Manhattan (i.e., before 9:30 or 10 am).

But the point about the number of travelers is correct. If there are four of you, then you don't really save that much taking the Airtrain, but if it's fewer, you definitely save, and it's a much easier trip than in a cab, in my opinion.

It's obviously more difficult if you are carrying big luggage.

Thank you all for the info.

Very helpful!!!

Depending on how much luggage you have, all that getting on and off might be a real drag. If 3 or fewer in your group, you might want to just grab an airport shuttle out of JFK direct to Penn Station. NY Airport Service, for example has shuttles out of JFK every 20 minutes for $15 per person one-way; $27 round-trip.

Kim ~

Myself and a friend did this same route from JFK to Penn Station in Feb hauling a large suitcase and a carry on each..and it was fine.. we had a weekend in NY before going overseas on Monday.. I try to use public transportation wherever I go and this was a breeze.. we timed it and it took 50 minutes from the time we left JFK to our hotel.
You can do it ! I am bringing my 17 yr old daughter to NY in Aug arriving at LGA and I am planning public transportation to Manhatten then also..