- Transportation
- Essentials
- Cost of NYC
- NYC facts
- When to travel to NYC
- Food
Transportation
You finally made it to New York! But you haven’t thought about getting to your hotel/ stay from the airport yet! From the International/Intercontinental JFK airport and the domestic La Guardia to Manhattan, there are plenty of options, depending on budget, how many people and luggage, and which part of Manhattan you’re going to.
Taxi
Consider a taxi if you’re looking for the fastest option (not during rush hrs where it can take you 1hr and 40 minutes approx ) from the airports to Manhattan, with a flat fee of $52 (toll and tips are not included) while a uber or Lyft could cost between $58 and $80 approx.
Public Transportation (MTA)
JFK Airport is well connected to the NYC Public Transportation Network. However, it would help if you considered transfers. It’s the most affordable way into the city and doesn’t take too long. For most connections to public transportation, you will need to take either the Jamaica or Howard Beach AirTrain to MTA stations. The Airtrain will take you from JFK to the subway systems, the Long Island Rail Road, or buses while connecting all the terminals and parking lots/rental cars. The cost of a single ride with the AirTrain is USD 8. If you travel with a family, I suggest buying a JFK-Airtrain ten trip for $25. You may enter and exit any AirTrain station except Howard Beach or Jamaica free of charge, for example, terminals connection. JFK to Jamaica or Howard beach can take up to 20 minutes.
Do not throw away your MetroCard; a new one will cost an extra $1; you can keep it to refill or buy a weekly one. I recommend for a stay up to 7 days to buy (or reload) a weekly Metrocard for $33. You have unlimited swipes on the subway and local buses for seven days while a single ride is $3, so if you do a little math in one day, four rides will cost you already $12!
The available train options are the E, J, and Z lines, and which one you take depends on where you’re going in the city.
- E Train to Midtown, Times Square, Penn Station, West Village, and World Trade Center
- J or Z Train to Lower East Side, Little Italy, Chinatown, and Financial District
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)
LIRR is a commuter train that connects JFK to Midtown’s Penn station from a $5 off-peak (not during busiest hrs). For a total of $13.5 ($8 airtrain+5LIRR), in a little over 20 minutes, you are in the bustling of the city!
Airport shuttle (90 minutes approx)
Essentials
Pharmacies: so if you are coming from overseas, you’ll be surprised to see Pharmacies selling also food, toys, beverages, stationery, and medications. Some of them are open 24hrs; good to know if you run out of milk, coffee, or other indispensable last-minute items. I remember how hilarious it was telling my parents I was going to the Pharmacy to get eggs and some other food and their disbelief because we don’t have such a thing in Italy or Europe where Pharmacies sell only medications and basic health stuff.
Sidewalks have their own traffic rule! Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you, and I wish I had known this the first time I came to NYC. People here are constantly in a rush (even if they aren’t going to work, they walk fast). In a few words, always walk on your right side, be polite, and don’t take all the sidewalks for yourself and your family/friends.
Taxis: unless you are at the hotel, where many taxis wait outside, you will need to “hail” a cab ( how locals call it) or taxi yourself. Now here comes the trick! How to tell a yellow taxi is available? On top of cabs, a box is lit (the taxi written) when it is available; if a light is off, then it means the cab is busy, and when the entire box is lit, then the taxi is off duty. Taxis are relatively cheap and easy to get if it is not raining or in rush hrs or if they’re changing shifts, usually around 4 pm. I’ll make this very clear: cabs don’t want to take anyone from Manhattan to the other boroughs because they lose money, so you need to enter first than specify your destination. They can’t refuse to accept you to your destination once you are in the car! No more than four passengers are allowed in the taxi by the law.
Costs of NYC
Let me say from the beginning that NYC is expensive, from water $2.50 1 liter, restaurants, and some attractions. If you go to a restaurant don’t be surprised when they bring you tap water, take it! NYC water is clean, and you’re welcome to ask for a refill when heading out from a restaurant. Lunchtime can be more reasonable; a slice of pizza or a bagel, is about $5, coffee and pastries go for circa $7.50/8. Remember that local taxes, 8.875 % most of the time, are not included on the menus. Restaurants’ prices can vary from $30 and up, plus tips! This may sound not very pleasant, but in your budget consider to add the tips, usually from 18% to 22%, depending on the State. Tips are part of the salary for restaurant servers, baristas, and bartenders. Not only is it offensive don’t tip them, also they won’t make enough money at the end of their working day.
FACTS
NYC is laid out in a grid and easy to navigate as soon you understand a few principles.
- NYC has 5 Boroughs, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. You can read more on them here NYC.gov
- Nyc has Avenues and Streets and they run perpendicular to each other, never parallel. In Manhattan, streets run east and west, The southernmost street is East 1st Street in the East Village, just north of Houston Street. The northernmost is 220th Street in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood. Farther north, in the Bronx, the street numbers go up to 263.
- 5th ave divides Manhattan’s east from its west side
- Avenues run north and south, their numbers ascending from east to west. First Avenue runs along the East River, while 12th Avenue, on the other side of the island, runs along the Hudson River, also known as the West Side Highway.
- We use directions as Uptown (towards The Bronx ) and Downtown (Wall Street) and East side or West side.
When to travel to NYC is a question I get a lot. I know everyone would say Christmas time, but I discourage people actually to travel in NYC during the holidays, is the most beautiful time of the year, yess, but also the most crowed which means lines forming everywhere to take pictures, to famous restaurants and stores, so in my opinion avoid the holidays. I would say the best time for me is Fall or Spring. For many reasons, temperatures are cooling down or starting to warm up, and the colors are beautiful. The weather is usually nice and dry, but it’s NYC, means you can have a snowstorm in November and late April. Winter gets cold and windy, and some of the attractions can be closed or not enjoyable. Summers are pleasant but can also get pretty hot and humid.
Food in NYC is an experience on its own. Due to its diversity and melting pop of cultures, the city’s choices are infinite. Starting from the Deli, which is a local bodega most of the time found by the corners of the streets, deli’s serve cold sandwiches, from them you can order a BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) or a BEC (bacon, egg, cheese), street vendors are an iconic thing to try, get an NYC pretzel or a delicious hot dog, the price may vary from $3 to $6, a dollar pizza (cheese pizza or whatever toppings they offer), the pastrami sandwich at KAT’S DELICATESSEN, bagel (lox, cream cheese, salmon), the best hamburgers are from SHAKE SHACK, without breaking your wallet. Asian and Mexican food are the most popular and relatively cheap compare to an Italian Restaurant . And of course sipping coffee while walking is a skill you need to master during your experience, so take a chance of the many beautiful and unique local coffee shops you’ll find in the neighborhoods.
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Enrico says
Bravissima ben fatto!