Comments on: help me get from JFK to central NJ

Question: help me get from JFK to central NJ

intermod — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 08:56:02 -0800

My German cousin is arriving on a flight into JFK on the evening of Tuesday April 10th. I will be unable to pick him up, and he's happy to take transit to where I am in Central Jersey (where I CAN pick him up). Help me get him from JFK to Central Jersey (and help me know the subtleties of the transit options) ...

We've ridden the NJ Transit trains before out of Penn Station so I'm pretty sure that will be the second leg. I guess then that I need help with the first leg.

There seem to be several options to get him from JFK to Penn Station. Train, subway, shuttle bus, taxi ... What would be a good pick for a middle-aged professional foreigner with excellent English? It needs to be on time and needs to go direct from JFK to Penn, meaning no crosstown changes in Manhattan. Penn will be enough hassle for him, after that long flight, I don't want to burden him with a Grand Central to Penn leg.

I'll monitor this for the next few hours if there are any clarifying questions ...

By: hermitosis

hermitosis — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:00:23 -0800

How much are you or he willing to spend?

By: hermitosis

hermitosis — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:08:15 -0800

Because really, there are some intense options.

By: jourman2

jourman2 — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:15:28 -0800

It'll take some transfers, but it's pretty simple. Just take the Air Train from JFK to Jamaica station, then transfer to the LIRR, which will take you directly into Penn Station (about a 20-25 minutes ride). Then just transfer to njtransit (across the hall from the lirr) in penn station. It'll be 45-60 minutes to central jersey, depending on where you want to go.

By: caddis

caddis — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:21:52 -0800

Get him a limo. There is nothing like walking into the baggage claim area to see a bright smiling fellow holding up a small sign with your name on it. JFK to central Jersey will be about $120, and well worth it. I suggest Boston Coach.

By: intermod

intermod — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:29:06 -0800

I was going to say "money is no object", but, uh, yeah, no, the helicopter option is too much. Thanks though :)

Thanks jourman2, that seems like the obviously right way to go. I'm not sure why I was worried about it and felt I needed to ask here. I guess I'm looking for warm fuzzies on exactly what the platform transfer looks like. You gave me the LIRR->Penn part, and the AirTrain site gave me the Jamaica station part.

By: sonofslim

sonofslim — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:39:54 -0800

Commence warm fuzzy: Jamaica has good signage and there will be lots of people going from JFK to Penn. I bet your cousin could do it on autopilot even without excellent English.

By: jourman2

jourman2 — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:44:13 -0800

to give you some extra reassurance about penn and the transfer to njtransit, tell him to just follow the signs to njtransit, but if he gets confused there's always tons and tons of NYPD/National Guard troops/Amtrak police just hanging out all over the place. They'll all know how to get to njtransit.

By: Izzmeister

Izzmeister — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:52:43 -0800

second the limo idea, if its not above your budget.

By: dame

dame — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:55:29 -0800

If you don't want to take the LIRR, you can take the A from Howard Beach Station or the E from Jamaica to Penn as well. I imagine the LIRR is faster, but it is an option.

By: fet

fet — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:05:29 -0800

The A train ride /sucks/ -- takes forever, and it's only $3 cheaper than the LIRR. Definitely take LIRR, especially since you're heading to NJT.

By: game warden to the events rhino

game warden to the events rhino — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:08:23 -0800

If money is (broadly speaking) no object, a taxi from JFK to Penn Station seems much more straightforward. IMHO the JFK Airtrain is a ridiculous hassle for the distance covered, and not worth doing if the $45 taxi fixed price isn't an issue for you.

By: cardboard

cardboard — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:31:03 -0800

There's a JFK-Penn Shuttle which involves a transfer at Grand Central, but it's all part of the same ticket and they herd the people like sheep, so maybe that serves your hassle needs. I've taken the shuttle from Laguardia-GCT and they are clean, comfortable buses with nice staff (who admittedly shill for tips a lot).

Google also says there's a JFK-Newark (and parts beyond) bus, but I have no experience with that.

By: infinityjinx

infinityjinx — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:50:00 -0800

The easiest way would be the cab from JFK to Penn for $45. The cheapest that makes sense would be the AirTrain/LIRR route already mentioned. Just thought I would reiterate =)

By: krautland

krautland — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:52:47 -0800

hermitosis: flyush will not take a massive load of baggage on board. those sikorski's can take a bit more than a small suitcase per person. that being said, it's a great option.

get him a shuttle or a limo. there are too many options to get lost, confused, misdirected and whatnotelse.

By: ob

ob — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:15:42 -0800

I just did this journey twice the other day. I can throughly recommend the LIRR to Penn Station (with the airtrain from the airport to Jamaica) and then, of course NJ Transit to wherever in Jersey. The A train does indeed suck and the LIRR from Jamaica is nice, pleasant and, above all, quick.

By: ursus_comiter

ursus_comiter — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 12:01:07 -0800

The Airtrain->LIRR->NJT solution is, IMHO, the far most pleasant of the listed options. I hate being in NY traffic.

By: thinkingwoman

thinkingwoman — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 15:55:45 -0800

yep, airtrain/lirr/njt is definitely the way to go.

if you're feeling anxious, or if he's anxious, just tell him that it's okay to ask other passengers about the right train. it's not scary, and no one will rob him--i lived there for 6 years and even i had to ask sometimes.

the biggest possible bungle is getting on the wrong train at jamaica. i would tell him to confirm with other passengers (or a conductor if he can find one) that the train's going to penn station. he ought to be able to finesse the new jersey transit as long as you tell him which train line to look for. the ticket kiosks are all multilingual, so he might even be able to do all those transactions in german.

if he's totally exhausted, though, a cab from jfk to penn station isn't a horrible choice. it's about $50.

By: intermod

intermod — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 18:57:53 -0800

Thanks everyone! I'm sending the detailed itinerary to him now.