LGA to Marriot Downtown/Financial District
 

I need some help! I booked at the Marriot Downtown thru Priceline for a great rate for a long weekend in NYC. I fly into LGA and plan on taking the M60 bus and other public transporation to reach my hotel. I know this is not the ideal option but my budget is limited and I have some time to kill while waiting for the others in my group to arrive. Can I buy a metro card at the airport? What would be the transfer point from bus to subway? Will the recent round of subway repairs impact me much? Any help is much appreciated.

The subway is repaired on a continuing basis - always on the weekends. Notice of change in service are always posted in subways or can be found online at ny1news.com for that weekend. Other than that all subways run 24/7 - but naturally not as often late night (midnight to 6a m).

You do need to understand that taking pubic transit from LGA to your hotel will take at least 1.5 hours and will involve schlepping luggage up and down stairs.

If you look at hopstop.com it will give you exact directions and options, although there will be walk from the subway to your hotel.

I think I'd look into taking one of the buses to the subway stop in Brooklyn or queens. Forgive me, it's been a long time since I've done it, but that would get you to the subway faster and might be an easier time getting up and down stairs, may be faster overall because of your downtown destination.

Last time I was in the city, I did the same thing. It's really not too bad, and definitely super cheap! If you're on a budget with not much luggage, it's the way to go.

You can buy a metro card at the airport, it's in the terminal right inside where you pick up the bus (at least it was for the terminal I was in. Ask the person at the information desk.) But just in case, I'd bring 2.25 in change.

I take the bus M60 to Astoria Blvd at 31st street in Queens (pretty much everyone on the bus who has luggage will get off. It's very easy to just follow the crowd. Or ask the bus driver as you get on, they are usually pretty good at announcing the stop.) Then you could take the W all the way down to the City Hall stop. You'd be about a 10-15 minute walk to the hotel. Or you could take the N or the W to Times Square and then transfer to the 1. The 1 will put you about 3 blocks from your hotel. If possible, get a good map (with subway stops) before you leave so that you can reroute if there are track closings or what not. Otherwise, I've found New Yorkers EXCEEDINGLY helpful when it comes to the subway, and usually happy to point a confused person in the right direction. Seriously.

There might be better ways with different buses, but this is what I did and it was painless.

I believe that you can take the 4/5 train. Sovtake the M60 to 125/Lesington and getcon the subway there. It will be faster than getting the R train in Queens, which is a local. However this is a time when I would spend the money for a shared van.

It's only $16 to take a NY Airport Service Express bus roundtrip from LGA to Grand Central ($10 one way). And from there, the 4/5 will get you downtown painlessly.

I tried the M60 bit once and it was my single worst transit experience in 6 years in the city. It just depends on things beyond your control. In a heartbeat, I'd spend the extra couple dollars and take the bus straight to Grand Central. There's plenty in midtown to do if you must kill time before your friends arrive.

Wow pardon my atrocious typing. I'm just getting used to this iPad keyboard.