We need to get to JFK from Newark Aiport at around 2 o'clock in the morning. Does anyone know if the Blue Van or other company provides transportation at that early hour? There will be 3 of us. We could take a taxi but we are concerned about the cost. Does anyone know the approximate fare. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I can't imagine any van service will be running then - and it's likely to be very difficult to get a cab.

I would check with a couple of car services - try Dial 7 or Carmel - to see what they would charge. You may have no other choice. (I would NOT reco trying public transit at that hour - and whatever is running would take forever.)

Separately, what time do you have to be a JFK? Can you get a room for several hours sleep and then head over to JKF in the AM?

SuperShuttle runs 24 hours as far as I know, but it is not particularly reliable in NYC, and it's not a service I could recommend. Also, I'm not sure they would do a transfer from JFK to EWR.

Public transit is also not a very viable alternative. There are few, if any, trains running that route at 2am, and doing the trip by subway would take, literally, hours at that time of the night and then you still might have to wait until 5am for a train or bus to EWR.

At 2am, there's simply no viable alternative other than a car service, and my guess is that you would pay about $150 for this trip (after tolls and tip). Still, $50 per person seems reasonable for this kind of transfer. A regular taxi may or may not take you there; few taxi drivers will want to do that journey when they can almost be assured of not having a return fare.

I guess if $150 seems too much for the transfer, then you're unlikely to spring for the cost of a hotel for a few hours of sleep.

Public transportation may be out because of time constraints, but the bus and trains should not be any slower at that time than during the day. If anything, the bus would be faster because of the lack of traffic. On the other hand, the waiting periods for the transportation mode (bus, train and subway) may be much longer.

Waiting time for public transit will be much longer.

At that time of night subways to the end of the line will run perhaps once every 30 minutes - versus 5 during the day. And trains are much less frequent too. Plus - I would not take a subway to eithr Jamaica or Howard Beach in the middle of the night. Manhattan is one thing - the far reaches are something else. I just wouldn't feel safe.

Prepare to pay a pretty penny, there is no way around it.

Good luck finding a cabbie who wants to take you all the way to JFK - unless you pay him well for coming back empty.

The first train into NY Penn Station runs at 4:48AM, then you could take the A train.

A limo is your best bet, but have a bunch of phone numbers with you to call, pre-booking one would be chancey although you should try. But if he doesn't show, have a big list of alternatives with you.

I am curious: What flight are you departing on that you have to be at JFK at 2am?

You could take the AirTrain at the airport to Newark Penn station ($5.50/person I think) and from there the PATH train to Manhattan ($1.75/person). PATH runs 24 /7. That will let you off at the World Trade Center PATH station. From there you can take a taxi or order a car service to JFK which will cost ~ $60 including toll and tip.

I'd order a car service from dial7.com to avoid worry about finding a taxi and tell them you'll phone when you get on the PATH train in NJ. It takes about 25 mins. for the trip into Manhattan. That totals about $80 for all 3 of you.

Your other option is to use the car service from Newark into Manhattan and then use public transportation (E train subway to Jamaica and then AirTrain to JFK for $7/person) from Manhattan to JFK. The NYC subway runs all night and I think the AirTrain to JFK does too. That option will be a bit more (I'd estimate $85-90) but might be faster.

You could also look into renting a car and driving yourselves. I think it would be about the same price, might be a faster trip as you don't have to go through Manhattan, but it might be more stressful and could take more time on the back end returning the car and getting to the terminal. I'm wondering if you're not arriving on a plane at Newark at that hour but coming from elsewhere. If I'm correct, this is not a good plan.

Thanks for all the advice. We are flying out of JFK at 5 a.m. to Panama but our flight returns to Newark the following week so we want to have our car parked at Newark after our trip. It looks like the least stressful option would be to hire a car. Thanks for all the advice on various options.

Instead of leaving your car at Newark, what about renting a car in each direction? Rent a car from near home to JFK and then rent from Newark to home. It may be cheaper than a week's parking fees.

according to orbitz.com you can rent a car 1 way from EWR to JFK for about $90, total price. (using Dollar, on a random date in January). Add tolls, gas, and for around $100 you have what you need, at least to get from EWR to JFK.