JFK Airport, Midtown Manhattan, & Public Transportation

I love New York. Like, really love it. Always have, always will. The architecture, the public transportation, the literary influence. For me, it’s a perfect dream.

But what I don’t love is flying. Despite reading flight statistics and knowing the safety of flying, it terrifies me. Terrified me to the point where I had one of the worst panic attacks of my life while waiting to board, but that’s a story for another time.

Regardless of all that, or maybe because of it, I am also a person who needs to know everything about everything before I do something new. Having an idea of what to expect helps my anxiety. For months before our trip, I was planning the most minute things—down to reading menus and knowing way too far in advance what I was going to order.

Of course one of my main worries was how were we going to get from JFK Airport to our hotel in Midtown Manhattan and not break the bank on a taxi. At $2.90 per ride, I ultimately decided on the subway.

I know that’s not a groundbreaking discovery—everyone takes the subway when visiting NYC—but it was one thing I could cross off my list of worries. I figured out the station and which subway line weeks in advance and had peace of mind that we were going to get to our hotel without getting lost.

First off, there’s no subway stop directly outside of JFK—you have to take the AirTrain to Jamaica Station. Thankfully, JFK has tons of signs which make it easy enough to find the AirTrain and the walk from Terminal 5 to the AirTrain wasn’t bad at all.

You can use a MetroCard for the AirTrain—they have self-service kiosks where you can purchase one for $1 plus the cost of fare—but we found it easier just to tap our credit cards directly at the turnstiles whenever we needed.

The AirTrain only has a few stops, including the TWA Hotel, so just ride it out until you’re at Jamaica Station. From there, you’ll either walk down towards the Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport subway station or over to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), depending on where you’re going and if you want to take the subway or the train. Again, there are lots of signs everywhere, so if you know what you’re looking for, it shouldn’t be too overwhelming.

We took the E subway to the 5 Av/53 St stop, which was a block away from our hotel. The ride itself was uneventful and took maybe around 30 to 40 minutes, but I was fine paying less than $3 for a slightly longer ride.

While I did look all this up months in advance and kept it securely in my Notes app, I did find the MYmta app was relatively accurate and helpful throughout our trip. I definitely recommend downloading it if you plan on using any sort of public transportation in NYC.

Now, getting from NYC to JFK is a different story—kind of.

If you’re trying to get to JFK by subway, you need to get back to the Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport subway station. From the station, you’re going to follow the signs and grab the AirTrain to your terminal.

We planned on taking the subway again, since our departure day activities were around where we started, right by the 5 Av/53 St stop. And yes, I planned it out that way. But when we realized we had some extra time, we decided to take the LIRR from Grand Central Terminal to Jamaica Station rather than the subway.

As someone who appreciates architecture, I love Grand Central; I recommend popping in even if you don’t have a train to catch. What I did not love was the absolute trek down to the track. Maybe we walked the wrong way, maybe there’s a closer entrance—I don’t know—but it was eerie walking down there as it got emptier and emptier. Again, Grand Central has lots of signage, so don’t fret, but also don’t hesitate to ask an employee if you need it. That’s what they’re there for.

We bought our tickets at a self-serve kiosk as we made our way down to our track. The conductor doesn't check your ticket until you’re already boarded, so I can’t stress this enough—double and triple-check that the train you’re about to board does stop where you need to go. Not every train stops at every station. You don’t want to get on the wrong train and risk potentially missing your flight by having to backtrack to get to JFK.

The trains run frequently enough, so we hopped on the first train stopping at Jamaica once we found our way to the track. The ride was shorter than taking the subway, but maybe with all the walking through Grand Central and whatnot, the times are comparable. We weren’t in a time crunch—I didn’t want to miss our flight, so we started leaving NYC about three hours before our flight so that we’d be at JFK two hours beforehand—so I enjoyed the ride and didn’t fret.

From Jamaica, we followed the signs to the AirTrain and rode it to our terminal. Easy peasy.

In total, it cost us around $28 per person in transportation to and from JFK Airport to Midtown Manhattan. Which, when the average Uber ride is $52 one-way, I don’t think is too bad.

Traveling in November 2023, these were the costs we experienced:

• Subway: $2.90 per ride
• AirTrain: $8.25 per ride
• LIRR: $8.25 per ride (off-peak)

As someone who can get overwhelmed easily, I know how stressed I was about not being in control in an unfamiliar place (thanks, anxiety!) and I wanted to compile everything I researched plus my own experiences into one comprehensive post that I hope is direct and easy to understand.

To sum it up:

• Regardless if you’re taking the subway or LIRR, you’ll need to take the AirTrain to Jamaica Station from your terminal, and vice versa
• The Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport subway stop is serviced by the E and J trains
• Download the MYmta app—it’ll become your best friend
• If you take the LIRR into NYC, it’ll stop at Grand Central, not Penn Station

Thanks so much for reading all this, and feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions!