If you are flying into New York, you have the choice of three airports: John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty International. LaGuardia is the closest to our hotel, which is the Hilton New York Midtown, located at Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street, on the northwest edge of Rockefeller Center. It also happens to be the largest hotel in New York City!
However, there are some things that you should keep in mind when choosing which airport to use. LaGuardia is smaller than JFK and Newark and has fewer flights to choose from. So checking all three airport options for flights is a good idea. Cabs from LaGuardia to the Hilton New York Midtown are metered, which can be anywhere from $25-$37. But, out of the three NYC airports, LaGuardia is the least accessible by subway or bus service. A unique bus service, which can be found at nycairporter.com, will get you from any of the airports and into Manhattan and drop you off at Grand Central or Penn Station and then onto a free shuttle to your hotel all for a flat fee, which varies depending on which airport you use.
JFK is a little further away from the Hilton New York Midtown than LaGuardia but offers many more flight options. Also, JFK has an airtrain service from the terminal, which will link you to both the Long Island Railroad and the subway service, both of which will bring you right into Penn Station at 34th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues. The LIRR will take you approximately 35 minutes and cost $15, and the subway will be $7.75 but could take you 50-60 minutes to get into Penn Station.
From Penn Station, a cab ride to the Hilton New York Midtown is less than ten dollars. Subway trains are available, and the closest stops are:
- 50th Street and Sixth Avenue
- 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue
- 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue
- 50th Street and Broadway
- 57th Street and Seventh Avenue
I would suggest downloading the NYC subway app. It works great and can put you where you want to be. Also visit mta.info, which is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s webpage. Also, use panynj.gov for train and subway information from the airports.
A cab ride from JFK to anywhere in Manhattan will cost you a flat fee of $52, plus tolls and gratuity. However, there are coupons online for many car services. I encourage you to check them out. Dial 7 is just one of many; it is a solid service and offers a flat rate to and from the airport.
Newark is the wild card option. It is located in New Jersey, across the Hudson River, and offers a great number of flights. Newark offers a train service for a flat fee of $12.50 and brings you directly to Penn Station. Again, once there, you are a short cab ride to the Hilton New York Midtown. Check out njtransit.com for the train from Newark — it is really easy and inexpensive. You can be in Penn Station in 25 minutes! If you plan on using the train, the ticket for the monorail that takes you from the airport terminal to the train is the same ticket that takes you to Penn Station, and it has to be shown to the conductor.
Of course there are other options, too. There are train services from Washington, D.C., Boston, and Philadelphia, which will bring you right into Penn Station. I have heard of a brilliant idea from the Massachusetts Court Reporters Association, which is arranging for a bus service to take people to and from the convention, basically picking up members at various points along the way. What a great idea! Door to door service for an inexpensive price and having the opportunity to network and have fun on the way.
