For two people, the shuttle etc. won't save you much money, but it will be a hassle and cost much time.

After a day of traveling and dealing with airport hassles, you should take a car service.

Again I'll ditto Gekko and urge you to use Dial 7.

Big suitcases are a huge hassle on the Airtrain.

The airtrain's out of the picture -- too much changing.

It'll be the shuttle or the car service, depending on how flush with bucks I feel nearing the trip.

goddess, the shuttle for Manhattan is a nightmare. Please don't do it.

Really? Why? What's wrong with it?

We've 'shuttled' so many places so easily, including Narita Airport to Tokyo -- a two-hour drive!

For some reason the NYC airport shuttles defy logic. It will take around 90 minutes to get to your stop because you will get on an empty shuttle and have to wait for it to fill up.

If you take one to your hotel directly, your hotel will be the last hotel on the stop.

Car service is just so much easier.

I've done it all, subway, bus, cab, airtrain, shuttle, you name it. You would have to hold me to gunpoint to get me to travel any other way than car service from Newark.

goddesstogo

GoTravel is referring to the SuperShuttle van, not the Olympia Trails bus.

The SuperShuttle waits to fill up before leaving the airport, which could take an hour as it did for me the one time I took it. Then you drive around forever dropping people at various locations . . .

The Olympia Trails bus runs on a schedule no matter how many seats are filled. It makes two or three set stops in Manhattan--a dream by comparison.

goddesstogo and others,
There's some confusion here and in other postings regarding "names" of some of the airport to Manhattan transportation options. I hope this clarifies things a little!

TAXI or CAB--understood, right? ;)

CAR SERVICE: Like a taxi in that it is the more expensive door to door option, but they are private companies that you call.
Some examples are Carmel and Dial7, but there are many others.
Prices are about what taxi fares are, but there are set rates so no worry about the fare going up if you get stuck in traffic.

"AIRTRAIN" (from JFK or Newark) is a name for what is actually a couple of connecting services.
Airtrain refers to both the monorail train directly from the terminal to the public train station AND it also refers to the whole connecting process.
From Newark, once you take the "Airtrain" from the terminal, you then have to take New Jersey Transit or Amtrak (more expensive) to get to NYC.
There is no actual "Airtrain" that goes into NYC!
From JFK, you also take the "Airtrain" to one of 2(?) stations, to connect to either a NYC subway, or to the Long Island Railroad.
Again, the whole process is called "Airtrain" , but no train that actually takes you into Manhattan will be called the "Airtrain"

SHUTTLE: Most people here use it to refer to a service like Supershuttle or Airlink.
They are shared rides, cheaper than taxis, more expensive than buses. They pick you up at specific spots at the airport, BUT they take you to your door (home, hotel, whatever) in NYC
You would think that this is actually the best option, especially for one person.
BUT these SHUTTLES are what people here tell you to avoid.
I happen to agree. They seem to take the worst, illogical routes possible, so that a 45 minute trip becomes 2 hours--even without traffic!

BUSES:Olympia Trails and other companies run buses, not "shuttles"
Buses take you from a set pick up point to a set drop off point or points. If you happen to be staying near a drop off point, great.
If not,you then have to factor in the time, expense, and inconvenience of getting yourself and your luggage to your ultimate destination