Travel questions - LGA+taxi? JFK+LIRR? Walking in NYC? (Union: real estate, transfer to)
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I'll be visiting NYC for the first time in a couple weeks. Only going to be there a couple days over the weekend visiting a friend.
My friend lives in Stuyvesant Town, which by the looks of Google is down there in the southeast corner of Manhattan. She told me I could fly into LGA and take a taxi (which would be the shortest distance), or fly into JFK and take the subway/train if I was interested in that.
Well, being the adventurous type, the JFK-to-AirTrain-To-LIRR-to-Penn Station thing sounds pretty fun. I walk a lot where I live... probably 10 miles a day on average, so the prospect of hopping off at Penn Station and walking the two miles to her place sounded like a great way to just see random stuff in the city. Or is that a really, really bad, boring, tedious idea? Are there other JFK-to-Whatever options? I checked out the subway... it seemed a little more confusing with more transfers.
I'm only coming with a full backpack, so I'm not concerned about hefting stuff around. However, I am a native south Floridian, and I don't ever think I've seen temperatures below 55... so walking 2 miles in what will probably be freezing ass cold might make me rethink that...
Seeing that you're interested in the adventure. Take the subway subway instead of the LIRR. Less money and you'll get a taste of NYC.
Or, take the local bus from La Guardia then transfer to the subway. Longer travelling time, but much cheaper.
Otherwise, just take a cab and go sight seeing another day. We don't want to shock you on the first day. Happened to my coworker from Europe.
You have a couple good options. A cab from LGA won't be terribly expensive and Stuy Town is easy to get to from LGA - you can tell the driver to just take the FDR, which is a "highway" that runs down the east side of Manhattan (also, there is great views of the city on this route)
You can also up the adventure ante a bit and take the M60 bus from LGA. From the M60, you can transfer to the N or Q trains at the Astoria Blvd stop in Queens (what I typically do) and take either one of those trains to the 14th St./Union Square stop. You can also take the M60 into Manhattan to the 125th St. stop, and take the 4/5/6 trains to 14th St./Union Sq. I imagine switching at Astoria Blvd. and taking the N/Q is a bit faster.
Once you get to 14th St. you can simply walk east about 10 minutes to Stuy Town.
From JFK, you can take the LIRR to Penn Station - but I would advise against that since Penn St. is on the west side of the city, completely opposite of your destination. You can take the A train from JFK to Fulton Street in the financial district, and then transfer to a 4/5 train - and get off at 14th st, just as above. If you have luggage though, I advise against this. It is quite a walk and several sets of stairs at Fulton St. b/t the A/C/E lines and 4/5 lines.
In the end, LGA is really a bit easier - but either one will work. Hope this helps! Just load the MTA subway map and follow along if you're not sure of the routes I described.
From JFK: Take the Air Train to Sutphin Blvd Station, take the E to 14th, then take the L to 3rd Ave.
From LGA: Take the M60 to Astoria Blvd Station (you'll pass underneath the elevated train and the stop is in front of the basketball court on the right hand side), take the N or Q to 14th, then take the L to 3rd Ave.
You can walk from either stop on 14th street if you want to take in the atmosphere a bit since it's your first trip.
Here's a tip - don't wear a backpack anywhere in NYC, always carry it because there will always be someone directly behind you that you'll hit with it no matter where you are in the city.
From JFK: Take the Air Train to Sutphin Blvd Station, take the E to 14th, then take the L to 3rd Ave.
From LGA: Take the M60 to Astoria Blvd Station (you'll pass underneath the elevated train and the stop is in front of the basketball court on the right hand side), take the N or Q to 14th, then take the L to 3rd Ave.
You can walk from either stop on 14th street if you want to take in the atmosphere a bit since it's your first trip.
Here's a tip - don't wear a backpack anywhere in NYC, always carry it because there will always be someone directly behind you that you'll hit with it no matter where you are in the city.
I agree that taking the E train from the Sutphin Blvd. subway station in Jamaica is better than taking the A train from the Howard Beach subway station to Manhattan.
If money isn't an issue, I vote for a cab from LGA and drop your stuff at your friend's place.
You'll see plenty and have more time for adventures w/o your backpack. It will be much more fun to walk around and duck into interesting places you stumble across w/o a cumbersome thing on your back. Due to the high price of real estate, many interesting shops, bars, food places in the city are tiny.
Wow! Lots of good information here. You guys/gals are awesome Google made the subway/bus routes sound more complicated, but you guys cleared it up. The more I look, the flights into LGA are more convenient and just a little cheaper, so I'll end up booking through that one. Depending on how frisky I feel, or how cold it is, I'll try the public transit or cab accordingly. I'm the kind of person that travels for the experience of the travel a lot of the time. When you don't have a schedule and just go with the flow, you see a lot more interesting things :-P
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