What is the best airport in New York to fly into?

Question

Also, what is the best place to stay in Manhattan on a tight budget?

Answer 1

I have commuted through LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Airports and they all have their pros and cons. LaGuardia is smaller and your flight cost might be cheaper, however, their accuracy rate (flights leaving and arriving ontime) is not the greatest and the airport is not the cleanest. JFK is more efficient and cleaner but it is large and easy to get confused in. Also, your flight might be more expensive. Newark is nice but I feel it's a little out of the way. Their efficiency rate is not as good as JFK but better than LaGuardia. Also, in my many times going to New York, Newark is the only one that lost my luggage.

In regards to boarding, it depends on what your budget is. I have stayed in a range of boarding facilities from the Drake all the way down to hostles. My suggestion would be to go on skyauction.com or another deep discount website to see if you can get a great deal. When I stayed at the Drake I paid $47/ night (found it on lastminutetravel.com) for a room that was on their site for $120/ night. Rate change for boarding so I would say do some deep research.

Answer 2

It's hard to say when you didn't mention where you are coming in from and what airline you plan to use.

As a general rule of thumb, it will be less expensive to fly into larger airports (JFK and Newark), but some airlines have limited or no arrivals at all at some airports.

Let's assume you're going to use one of the least expensive airlines out there, JetBlue, which I highly recommend. JetBlue only has arrivals into LaGuardia to and from Florida. All other flights are in and out of JFK and Newark.

Getting to Manhattan from any airport is not a problem...there's ample public transportation from all of them and the prices are reasonable.

There are a few little known bed and breakfasts all around Manhattan. The Stay The Night B&B on the upper west side advertises rates ranging from 75.00 to 205.00.

The Gershwin Hotel in Chelsea (near the Village) has an advertised rate of 44.00 but you need to book months in advance because it's outrageously popular. There's always the possibility you could take advantage of a last minute cancellation.

These are both just examples of what you can find and both are in great neighbourhoods with easy access to public transportation, restaurants in all price ranges and cultural attractions, but your best bet is to book as far in advance as you can to make sure you get the best rate.

Answer 3

It's so much better to fly into LaGuardia. It's a lot smaller and you don't have to worry about too much traffic when you leave/arrive at the airport. I'm not sure where you should stay in Manhattan if you're on a budget, everything is pretty expensive. I usually stay with family. If you check this website www.spg.com, you might be able to find somethng in the city that is within your budget.

Answer 4

You can either fly to John F. Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA), or Newark Liberty (EWR). JFK and LGA are located within New York City; EWR is located across the Hudson River in New Jersey. Each of these airports has its advantages and disadvantages but your best bet is to search for flights to all NYC airports (you can simply type in "NYC" in Expedia) to get the cheapest option/shortest duration. Each of these airports is accessible by public transportation or cabs so if you're not renting a car you can also fly into one airport and fly out from another airport. The only airport I sometimes try avoiding flying to/from is Newark. Taking a cab there from New York City is extremely expensive because NYC cabs are not allowed to pick up fares in New Jersey (and vice versa). You can get there by NJ Transit rail and the AirTrain monorail, but that is more expensive than taking public transportation compared to JFK and LGA and sometimes you may have to wait a long time for a NJ Transit train to Newark if you are not traveling during rush hours (they often like to schedule 3 trains within a 15-minute period and then don't have another train for another 30-45 minutes).

Answer 5

If you will be coming into Manhattan, then JFK is the best airport. For $5 one-way, you can take the Air/Train from JFK to the subway and go into Penn Station (a major transportation hub in NYC).

I'm sorry I can't help with the places to stay. I'm a New Yorker and have never stayed in the NYC hotel. Enjoy your visit!

Answer 6

Flying into NY...Newark...I know it's in Jersey, but it is a better airport. As far as a 'tight budget' goes..Well NYC is not the place to visit. You might want to stay off Manhattan if you want a cheap hotel room.

Answer 7

They are all more or less the same distance from manhattan, just see which airlines are offering the best deals from the uk airport you want to travel from into any new york airport, so you have more money for a hotel

Answer 8

LaGuardia is the best in NYC.
Newark is in New Jersey but used frequently as a place to land and take off from in the tri-state area.
As far as hotels, nothing cheap in Manhatten. Best to stay outside manhatten and get yourself a metro pass. It is great to use the subway/bus system in NYC and contrary to popular opinion New York Police Officers and Transit Employees have been very helpful every time I had a question. Have a great trip.

Answer 9

If you are wanting to go into Manhattan, try for Newark/Liberty Airport (Code EWR) Eaiser to get into MidTown (Penn Station) and Downtown (Via PATH)

Answer 10

JFK for me.

Try budget hotels in East Village/Lower East Side if you're really skint.

Here's a few:

http://www.citidex.com/6560.htm