Natalie

I have always flown into LGA, but my travel agent tells me most people prefer JFK for flying into NYC. It looks further away, just curious, any reason why this would be?

lucky

May depend on where one is flying in from. I prefer JFK because I do not have to make an extra airline connection. JFK is a much farther cab ride. If your flight does not arrive at peak rush hour traffic, it may not matter all much.If you are going to hit the rush hour traffic then you may want to give LGA a try.

gen

Oh, I MUCH prefer LaGuardia. It is closer to Manhattan. The cab ride from Manhattan to JFK the one time I left from there was almost $70 and it took FOREVER. Newark is a better choice than JFK, in my opinion.

DeeDee

La Guardia is much closer to Manhattan than JFK is. A much cheaper cab ride.

lucky

last time I was there the rate from JFK to Manhattan was $33, and is a set rate. Think the fare from LGA is somewhere perhaps in the slightly , than $20 range.

gail

Some of it may depend not on the getting into NYC part, but the from where you are coming part - some airlines/routes have more options into JFK - others into LGA. It would also matter if NYC were your final destination or if you are connecting. For example, our overseas flight landed at JFK, which gave us only a very few options for flying home to Boston.

As an airport, I prefer LGA. JFK is creepy late at night, which is really strange considering all the overseas evening flights departing from there. Maybe it is because of the way the terminals are spread out.

Marilyn

Coming from the west coast, I believe the non-stops on most major airlines go into JFK, while the shorter hauls or one-stop flights go into LGA. I far prefer LGA because it is so much closer to Manhattan. However, as a previous poster said, if you are connecting to an international flight you DEFINITELY want to fly into JFK because that is where you will be leaving from.

To avoid huge cab fares during rush hour book an inexpensive car service. (There are lots of them.) It will be a fixed rate, usually about the same as a taxi. Nothing more annoying than sitting on a highway that is a parking lot listening to the meter click over again and again...

gen

There is a fixed rate into Manhattan but not FROM Manhattan to JFK. When I took a taxi to JFK I sweated the whole ride there as the traffic slowed and the meter ticked away. I was going HOME from NY and when the meter went over $50 I started to panic thinking I might not even HAVE that much in cash. The fare was in the sixty something range with tip and fortunately I just had enough. No more JFK.

Philip

JFK is an international airport and can be a pain in the butt to get in and out of. I would do either LGA or Newark New Jersey if you are flying from anywhere in the US

flyer

JFK is a dump as far as I am concerned and as some of the others remarked, very expensive getting into the city from there and getting back. LGA is not much prettier but it is easy to get taxis from there into Manhattan and not as costly as JFK. If you are flying domestic, you might very well end up at LGA in any event since it does more domestic traffic than internationa.

David

As other posters have stated, if you are flying non-stop from the West Coast or internationally, you will fly into JFK. I would prefer non-stop into JFK rather than having to make a connection in order to fly into LGA. If you are coming from the Midwest, New England, or the Mid-Atlantic, then you can fly into LGA without making a connection. LGA is a smaller airport and closer to Manhattan than JFK.


Check out this website. It gives information on all the transportation options from JFK into the City, including the outer boroughs and the suburbs.





http://www.panynj.gov/aviation/jgtsmain.htm

tweedy

One thing not mentioned is that the A train goes straight to JFK from Manhattan, and the cost is $1.50 so if you are traveling light, and have the time JFK is fine. It has even taken me less time to get into Manhattan, especially with traffic on the train than taking a cab in from LaGuardia.

There is a shuttle van around the airport that will take you to the train station and the shuttle is free.

Have a great time while you are here.

tweedy

Howard

Laguardia, as everyone else has said. Frankly, your travel agent doesn't know what he/she is talking about.

x

Unless you are flying from the west coast you may not have JFK as a chioce unless you intend using Jet BLue. I find the $60, $70 trip cost hard to believe. Midtown Manhattan to JFK is about 22 miles (LGA is around 13 miles). Taxi rate is $2.50 when you enter the cab and $1.50 a mile. MEter will read about $37 and there might be a $3.50 toll charge. Add a tip and total cost should be $50 or slightly less. For the cost to escalate to $60 you would have to be stuck in a major traffic jam for more than one hour. I have traveled Upper west side Manhattan to JFK more times than most on every day of the week and at all times of the day and the longest the trip ever took was 1 hour and about 15 minutes. If you use a car service the rate is fixed to JFK - most charge $38 not including tip and toll,