JFK is in Jamaica Bay, south-east Queens, about fifteen miles from Midtown. It handles the bulk of New York’s long-haul traffic across six terminals arranged in a loop, connected by the AirTrain, a free automated shuttle that runs between them 24 hours a day.
The AirTrain is only free within the airport. Riding it out to Jamaica or Howard Beach costs a fixed fare, paid on exit.
AirTrain plus LIRR — the fast route
AirTrain to Jamaica Station, then the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station or Grand Central Madison.
The train leg is about twenty minutes and the whole journey door to door is typically 50 to 65 minutes. Two separate tickets: the AirTrain fare and the LIRR fare, the latter cheaper off-peak and cheaper again if bought on the TrainTime app rather than on board.
This is the right choice if you are heading anywhere near Penn Station, Moynihan Train Hall or Midtown West. Services to Grand Central Madison put you on the east side instead.
AirTrain plus subway — the cheap route
AirTrain to Jamaica for the E train, which runs express up Queens Boulevard and along Sixth Avenue into Midtown. Or AirTrain to Howard Beach for the A, which runs down the west side into Lower Manhattan and on into Brooklyn.
Total journey 75 to 105 minutes. The cost is the AirTrain fare plus a single subway fare, which is a fraction of every other option.
The honest caveat: this is a long time standing with luggage on a crowded train, and both the E and the A are busy for most of their length. If you are travelling light it is fine. With two large cases and a tired child it is a poor decision.
Taxi
Yellow cabs from JFK to anywhere in Manhattan run on a flat fare rather than the meter, plus tolls, surcharges and tip. The flat rate applies in both directions.
Because it is flat, it is good value to the Upper West Side and poor value to the Financial District. Journey time is 45 minutes at three in the morning and can be over 90 in Friday evening traffic.
Use the official taxi rank outside arrivals, where a dispatcher will put you in a cab.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft operate from designated pickup zones, which at JFK involve a walk and sometimes a wait. Pricing is dynamic — sometimes below the flat-fare cab, sometimes well above it. At peak times the cab is the safer bet.
Buses and shuttles
Various shared-van and coach services run to Midtown hotels. They are cheaper than a cab and slower than everything, because they make multiple stops.
Practical
Terminals 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8 are the current passenger terminals, with a major rebuilding programme running for years — signage changes, and the AirTrain loop is the reliable constant.
The TWA Hotel at Terminal 5 is Eero Saarinen’s 1962 terminal, restored, with a rooftop pool, a Lockheed Constellation converted into a cocktail bar on the tarmac, and a lobby that is one of the best pieces of mid-century architecture in America. You can visit without staying, and it is worth an hour on a long layover.
Left luggage is available at the TWA Hotel and at some terminals.
Layovers: anything under eight hours is not worth leaving the airport for once you account for the round trip and security. Over that, see the one-day itinerary.