Short New York stopover

[ivan_verschoote1]

Next marchl I'm returning from South America and I'm having to wait for my connecting flight from 11.59

AM until 11.30 PM at JFK New York. (on a Thursday)

Since I don' want to wait nearly 12 hours in an airport terminal, I'm thinking about visiting the Big Apple in

the afternoon.

 

A few remarks:

 

1) I want to get quickly AND affordable in the city from JFK;

 

2) this is my first visit to New York;

 

3) I don't want to visit museums;

 

4) I want to take some pics;

 

5) may'be a visit to B&H.

 

6) I want to back at the airport at 10 PM.

 

All recommendations and hints are welcome!

[simon27]

You can take the <a href="http://www.panynj.gov/airtrain/">AirTrain</a> from JFK to the Jamaica railroad station and then catch the <a href="http://mta.info">Long Island Railroad</a> into Penn Station. The trip is about 35 minutes total and would cost (each way) $5 for the AirTrain and $5 for the train.

[ibcrewin]

How's this sound..

 

12PM land in JFK pick up a cab and head to Wall Street.

 

12:45 Down by wall street you have the NYSE, Trinity Church, Bowling Green and you can see the Statue of liberty.

 

1:45 Walk up to the World Trade Center site.

2:15 Buy an unlimted metrocard and Take the 4 or 5 train uptown to canal street (chinatown)

3:00 after walking west on canal take the E train uptown to West 4th street. The village. (Option to stop here for pizza on sixth ave.) you have some flexibility here but I suggest checking out bleeker street and the surrounding area then walking north to Union Square.

 

4:15 Union Square Green Market (depends on the day, i think its open on mon, wed, and friday + saturday) It's an open air type market good times. If it's not there on that day, and you haven't eaten, stop in at whole foods for a sandwich and eat at union square. There are a bunch of good places to eat but you are on a time budget here. (Adorama isn't too far from here)

 

OR

 

4:20 34th Street Herald Square: It's totally nuts here.. but head west to 9th ave and you will see the Mecca of Photography, err uuh the Jerusalem of Photography. B&H

 

5:45 No trip to NYC would be complete without visiting Times Square. Take the A, C or E train to Time Square. Another totally nuts place. This part should be fun though since it's lit up like Times Square!

 

It's dark at this point so lets go see the locals at home and take the train home with them.

 

6:45 Getting close to dinner time. YOu still should have a good amount of time left here. What do you want to eat? Were going to Queens! If you want Greek food, take the N to Astoria, get off on the last stop and Walk under the train till you get to Elias place for Fish. When you are done you can take a livery cab back to JFK, 30 Bucks.

 

OR

 

Indian Food or Latin American Cusine, Take the 7 to Roosevelt Ave. Pretty much anywhere you go is pretty good.

 

OR

 

Stay in the city and head up to Rockafeller Center on the F Train.

 

OR Walk up Sixth Avenue, see Radio City Music Hall, and see the bottom part of Central Park.

 

You should have enough time to make it back to the airport and have a beer before your flight.

 

Good luck and happy travels.

[Ken Katz]

Ivan G

 

I've been a New Yorker all my life (suburbia now), but your itinerary looks good even for me.

[Spearhead]

I agree that the itinerary is pretty good but take the AirTrain rather than a cab, as the first poster recommended.

[ibcrewin]

I thought about the air tran thing and normally I would be all for it. But I thought that since time is of the essence here, the cab would have been faster. I just thought of something else, the cab starts off as a tour of brooklyn, You can see the verezanno narrows, the coney island rides and the New York Skyline from Brooklyn. A 30 bucks well spent.

[ivan_verschoote1]

Guys, you're fantastic!! Ivan G (what's in a name!): more than I expected.

 

I will take the cab to go into the city (30 US $ sound resonable and could be regarded as part

of the tour), for saving some money I'll return with the airtrain.

BTW: is it safe to take the airtrain in the evening after 8 or 9 PM?

[david_manning1]

Actually,

 

If you fly into JFK and want some GREAT pictures...take the Airtrain to terminal 9,

American Airlines...and take the US Helicopter flight into lower Manhattan. It lands at the

Wall Street heliport. After your excursion, end up at 34th st. Penn Station and do as the

first poster, in reverse (LIRR to Jamaica Station, Airtrain back to your terminal).

 

It might be your only chance to get Manhattan from the air (in reasonable lens distance) in

your life!

 

David---AA Pilot.

[ibcrewin]

Hey that's a great idea!!

[dj_soroka]

I suspect that the train is probably the fastest way into Manhattan if you are not taking a helicopter.

 

Right next to where the Air train ends in Jamaica is a station where above ground is the Long Island Railroad (west in to NYC), and DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH IS THE NY CITY subway system (the E train).

 

The E train is the 8th Avenue line in Manhattan (once you get to 57th street), and before that, it stops at the Citicorp building at Lexington and 53rd street and then 5th Avenue and 53rd street.

 

You can transfer to a lot of trains at Times Square or elsewhere along the E train.

[victor_ho2]

Cabs from the airport are at flat rate to NYC about $40 but definitely more than $30. The price back to the airport is also supposed to be flat but the cabbies have a different price schedule. Check with the cab dispatcher at the airport about the to and fro prices.

 

Bus service to and fro is about $15 to $20 and runs frequently. It will drop you at Grand Central, 42nd St and Park Av or at the Port Authority, 42nd St and 8th Av.

 

B&H is at 34th St and 9th Av.

 

Metro Card covers the bus and trains and can be purchased as you need.

 

Once you're in Manhattan, go to the top of one of the buildings - why not the Empire State Building, 34th St and 5th Av, or Rockefeller Center, 50th St and 6th Av.

[charles_stobbs3]

The tramway to Roosevelt Island gives you some high overhead views of the street below that you can't get from a building and a different view of the Manhattan skyline. (If it's in operation now.)

[dan_cr]

I would figure out a way to hit the MET. Even if it meant taking the cab to and

from the airport. BTW, photography is allowed of most of the collection.

Cheers!

[J.W. Wall]

Sounds like a great trip, whatever you do. BTW, according to one site, the US Helicopter trip is $139 each way. http://www.nyc.com/guided_tours/US_Helicopter.76235/editorial.aspx

[alex_rostocki1]

You have to get a few nice shots of the Chrysler building.

 

You can get many good views from Lexington Avenue around 30th street. Very late afternoon is good here, as you can get the pink light from the setting sun reflecting off of the stainless steel.

 

You can get some very nice dusk or early evening shots near the cormer of 5th Avenue and 43rd Street, with the Chrsler building in the background and Grand Central Station in the foreground.