Getting in New York

Served by three major airports, two train terminals and a massive bus depot, New York City is the most important transportation hub in the northeastern USA. John F Kennedy Airport (JFK), 15 miles (24km) from Midtown Manhattan in southeastern Queens, is where most international flights land. Recently voted the third-worst airport facility in the world by business travelers, JFK is best avoided.

La Guardia Airport in northern Queens is 8 miles (13km) from Manhattan and services mostly domestic flights. If you’re arriving or departing in the middle of the day, La Guardia is a more convenient choice than JFK. Newark Airport is in New Jersey, directly 10 miles (16km) west of Manhattan. Flights to and from Newark airport are sometimes a bit cheaper because of the erroneous perception that the airport is less accessible than JFK or La Guardia. In fact, Newark has a large and spanking-new international arrivals terminal, and its four terminals are linked by a monorail system.

All suburban and long-haul buses leave and depart from the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 41st St and Eighth Ave in midtown Manhattan. Bus lines available there include Greyhound, which links New York with major cities across the country; Peter Pan Trailways, which runs buses to the nearest major cities; Short Line, offering numerous departures to towns in northern New Jersey and upstate New York; and New Jersey Transit buses, with direct service to Atlantic City and the entire Garden State.

Pennsylvania Station, on 33rd St between Seventh and Eighth Aves, is the departure point for all Amtrak trains, including the frequent daily Metroliner service to Princeton, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, and Washington, DC.

The Long Island Rail Road serves several hundred thousand commuters each day from a newly renovated platform area to points in Brooklyn, Queens and the suburbs of Long Island, including the resort areas. New Jersey Transit operates trains from Penn Station to the suburbs and the Jersey Shore. One commuter company departs from Grand Central Station, at Park Ave and 42nd St: the Metro North Railroad, which serves the northern suburbs and Connecticut.

It’s a nightmare to have a car in Manhattan, but getting there is easy. Approaches from the east include the Connecticut Turnpike (I-95); the Long Island Expressway, which enters Manhattan through the Queens Midtown Tunnel (often choked by traffic); and the Grand Central Parkway (right off the Triborough Bridge), which cuts through Queens on its way from Long Island. From New Jersey, I-95 crosses the George Washington Bridge; I-95 also continues south as the New Jersey Turnpike, entering Manhattan via the Lincoln Tunnel (at midtown) and the Holland Tunnel (near Soho). Via I-95, it’s 195 miles (315km) south from Boston, 105 miles (170km) north from Philadelphia, and 235 miles (380km) north from Washington, DC.