John F. Kennedy Airport, or JFK Airport, located in Queens only 15 miles from Manhattan, is the largest airport in the New York City area.  This makes JFK Airport one of the busiest airports in the world with thousands of business and tourist travelers each day. 

There are many options for getting to and from the airport.  Here are some tips to keep in mind to help you choose your means of transportation.

By Car

JFK Airport is just off the Belt/Southern State Parkway and the Van Wyck Expressway.  You can simply type in JFK Airport with Google Maps to find directions.  If you are looking for an address for a mapping source or a GPS, the best to use is:

Van Wyck and JFK Expressway
Jamaica, NY 11430

If you are parking your car at JFK airport, there are a number of parking options on-site and off-site.  A quick and easy way to find the best parking option is utilizing an airport parking search engine where you can find the parking available organized by price and distance to the airport.

Public Transit

AirTrain is the low cost, public transit option for traveling to and from JFK Airport.  With a $7 fair, you can travel between JFK and Manhattan in under an hour.  Though, getting to Manhattan will require a transfer, and depending on what you packed, you might be lugging around some heavy luggage.  This is good for the savy business traveler who knows his way around the city and only has briefcase and maybe a small carry-on or a budget traveler who would like to experience the city and its public transportation.

Taxi

Taxi cabs are one of the easiest ways to travel to and from JFK Airport (and around Manhattan for that matter).  To catch a taxi from anywhere in the city, you simply wave one down on the street; cabs in Manhattan cannot be prearranged, but you will surely find one very easy.  To catch a cab from JFK Airport, simply step outside of any terminal and you will find a taxi stand which usually has a line.  With service between JFK and any destination in Manhattan, there is a flat rate of $45, plus any tolls and tip.  A taxi will provide you a no-hassle travel to your destination, but depending on traffic, could take more than an hour, so if you catching a flight, make sure to leave plenty of time to get to the airport.

Private Shuttle

There are many shuttle companies that offer shuttles to and from Manhattan, including Airlink Shuttle, New York Airport Service Express Bus, and Super Shuttle.  The fair ranges from $15 to $20 per person and includes drop you off at your hotel or destination.  Finding the shuttle at JFK is simple and there are no reservations required from the airport, but you will need to make reservations for your return trip back to the airport.  Often there are discounts for buying round trip.  Check each shuttles website for more information about fairs and instructions.  Like with a taxi, you will want to make sure you leave yourself plenty of time for your return trip to JFK as there might be traffic and the shuttle might have to make other stops on his route to the airport.

Car Service

If you can afford this option and you plan ahead, this is the easiest and most comfortable way to travel between JFK Airport and your destination.  With the cost ranging from $35 to $50 each way, this option is often cheaper or around the same price as taxi cab service.  You will need to prearrange and prepay for your pick-up.  As with a taxi, you may run into traffic delays, but you will be riding in a comfortable and clean car for your door-to-door service.

Overall, there are many options to choose from when planning your travels to and from JFK Airport.  Just be sure to think safe and ignore any offers of transportation from solicitors in the terminal; instead, go to transportation information counters, shuttle stations, or taxi stands for help seeking out transportation.

The most important thing to know when searching for the best travel deals is how to do your research.  Here are some things to keep in mind the next time you're thinking of taking a lovely trip.

Be Flexible

If you are flexible with your travel plans, you will have more travel deals available to choose from.  For instance, if you are able to travel during the week instead of the weekend, you will be more likely to find cheaper hotel and air fares.  Also, if you don’t have specific days in mind for your travels, you can search the cheapest hotel rates and/or flight rates within a given month and then pick your travel days based on the best travel deals available.

Going on the Off-Season

You will also have the best travel deals available to you if you choose your destination on its off-season.  After you have chosen your destination of choice, do your research and find out when their off-season begins and ends.  You may be able to find a good rate for right at the beginning or right at the end of the off-season and you are more likely to have just as pleasant of a trip as you would have going during their prime-season without having to pay prime-season prices.

Booking

A general rule of thumb is that booking though a travel agent is going to be pricier than booking your trip on your own.  The purpose of a travel agent is to make booking convenient and easy, but if you have time to do the research, you will most likely be able to save yourself money by doing all research, planning, and booking on your own.  There are a ton of discount travel websites such as expedia.com, travelocity.com, etc. where you can find deals on all aspects of your travel, such as flight, hotel, car rental, and where you can often find a better deal by booking all together.  These websites are also designed to make comparing prices very easy.

Also, it never hurts to call the hotel’s reservations desk to see what rate they can give over the phone.  There might be a promotion or a better rate you are qualified for, such as a AAA rate, that you are overlooking or that they don’t have up on their website.  And sometimes just using your pleasant voice can get you the best deal out there.

Travel Rewards

You might also benefit from researching what free travel rewards programs are out there.  For instance some airlines, such as Southwest offer free flights after you earn so many credits (credits can be earned with each flight as well as by booking other things, such as car rentals, through their website).  There are also many hotel chains, such as Hilton and Marriott, who offer free travel rewards program for your stays in their hotel.  You might benefit from choosing one hotel chain with which you know you are always satisfied and staying with them whenever possible.  Also, some of the discount travel websites, such as hotels.com, offer rewards programs and still give you the freedom to stay with different chains instead of one.

When You Get There

When you check into your hotel, politely (and let me emphasize the word politely) ask if they have any free or discounted room upgrades available.  It can’t hurt to throw in a little information about why you chose their hotel over others; for instance, you heard they had the most beautiful rooms in the city; or throw in information about why you are traveling; for instance, if you are celebrating an anniversary or birthday.  They might not be able to do any upgrades, but they might just send up a bottle of champagne.

What it comes down to is the best travel deals are any travel deals!  So do your research and happy planning.  And most of all, happy traveling!