How do you get from JFK Airport to Times Square?
There are three realistic options: the AirTrain plus a subway or LIRR connection, a yellow taxi from the official stand outside your terminal, or a car you book ahead that meets you at arrivals. The train combination is usually the most predictable when Queens traffic is heavy, because it never sits on the Van Wyck. A car is the most direct, and it is the one that makes sense with checked bags, a group, or a late arrival. Everything else you will read about, from shuttle vans to hotel buses, is a variation on those three.
- AirTrain to Jamaica Station, then the LIRR to Penn Station or the E train into Midtown.
- AirTrain to Howard Beach, then the A train to 42nd St-Port Authority, a short walk from Times Square.
- Yellow taxi from the official taxi stand, on the TLC flat fare that applies to Manhattan trips.
- Pre-booked sedan, SUV or black car matched to your flight number and terminal.
- Wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) with a ramp, if you need one.
How far is JFK from Times Square?
JFK sits in Jamaica, Queens, roughly 15 miles (about 24 km) southeast of Times Square, which occupies Broadway and Seventh Avenue between 42nd and 47th Streets in Midtown Manhattan. By road, drivers typically take the Van Wyck Expressway north out of the airport and then cut west across Queens toward the Queens-Midtown Tunnel or the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. We do not publish trip times, and you should be sceptical of anyone who does: those 15 miles behave completely differently on a Tuesday morning than on a Friday evening, and no car service controls the Van Wyck. Keep in mind that the tunnel carries a toll and that Manhattan applies a congestion charge in the zone south of 60th Street, which includes Times Square. Amounts change, so confirm the current ones with the MTA.
Taking the AirTrain and subway to Times Square
The most common train route is the AirTrain to Jamaica Station, then either the LIRR to Penn Station at 34th Street, about nine blocks south of Times Square, or the E train into Midtown, which stops at 50th Street and at 42nd St-Port Authority. From the Howard Beach side, the A train also runs to 42nd St-Port Authority. The AirTrain links every terminal to those two stations, and fares for the AirTrain, the subway and the LIRR are set separately by the Port Authority and the MTA, so check the current ones before you travel. The honest downside is friction: you will change trains at least once, and stations are not always the easiest place to be with two suitcases.
- From any terminal, follow the AirTrain signs on the departures or arrivals level.
- Choose the Jamaica branch for the LIRR and the E, J and Z subway lines.
- Choose the Howard Beach branch for the A train.
- Get off at 42nd St-Port Authority or Times Sq-42nd St and walk the last block or two.
- Check elevator availability in advance if you are travelling with heavy bags or a stroller.
When is a car service worth it over the train?
A car earns its place when the friction of the train outweighs the saving. That usually means more than one suitcase per person, a group of three or more, an arrival after the evening, a passenger with limited mobility, or a hotel that is several avenues from a station entrance. The train wins when you are travelling light, alone or as a pair, in daylight, and Midtown is jammed. We would rather tell you that than sell you a ride you did not need.
- Families with car seats or strollers, where transfers are the hard part.
- Three or more travellers with checked luggage, where an SUV holds the whole party.
- Red-eye or very early departures, when connections thin out.
- Passengers who use a wheelchair and need a ramp-equipped WAV.
- Business arrivals heading straight to a Midtown address with a fixed appointment.
Where can a driver actually pick you up in Times Square?
Not in the middle of Times Square. Broadway through the heart of the square is a pedestrian plaza, so no vehicle can stop there at all. Pickups and drop-offs happen on the streets around it: Seventh or Eighth Avenue, or cross streets such as West 43rd, 44th or 45th. Most Midtown hotels also have a specific entrance where cars are meant to pull in. The single most useful thing you can do is give an address and a cross street instead of saying 'Times Square', because the square itself is not a place a car can reach.
- Send your hotel address plus the nearest cross street when you book.
- Expect the driver to suggest a corner if your block is closed for an event.
- For theatre pickups, agree on a meeting point a block away from the marquee crowd.
- Share a phone number that works on landing so the driver can reach you.
How does the yellow taxi flat fare from JFK work?
Yellow taxis running between JFK and anywhere in Manhattan use a flat fare set by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission instead of the meter, with tolls, surcharges and tip added on top. We do not publish the amount here on purpose: the TLC updates it, and a stale number online is worse than no number at all. Check the current flat fare and surcharges on the TLC's own site, or ask at the taxi stand before you get in. One practical rule holds no matter what the fare is: use the official taxi line outside the terminal, and ignore anyone who approaches you inside the building offering a ride.
How do you book a car from JFK to Times Square?
Book through the Ready Go USA app for iOS and Android, by phone at 212-448-1088 or 917-562-8568, or over WhatsApp. Scheduled rides run Monday through Saturday. The more your driver knows before you land, the smoother the pickup is, so send the flight number and the terminal rather than just a time. Rides are paid directly by the customer.
- Flight number and airline, so the pickup can be adjusted if the arrival moves.
- Terminal and, if you know it, the arrivals door where you will wait.
- Number of passengers and checked bags, so a sedan or SUV is assigned.
- Car seats, oversized items or a wheelchair accessible vehicle, requested up front.
- The full Times Square address with its cross street.
Where can a car actually stop near Times Square?
A car cannot stop in the middle of Times Square, because Broadway through the heart of it is a pedestrian plaza. Drop-offs happen on Seventh Avenue, on Eighth Avenue or on the numbered side streets in the 40s, and most hotels in the area have their vehicle entrance on a side street rather than on Broadway itself. Give the driver the street address of the building, not the name of the square.
The side streets around the theaters are also the slowest part of the trip, especially in the hour before shows start and in the few minutes after they let out. If your hotel sits mid-block on a theater street, a corner drop-off on Eighth Avenue can get you to the lobby sooner than sitting in the block waiting for the car ahead to move.
- Use the building's street address, for example West 45th between Sixth and Seventh, instead of Times Square
- Ask the hotel which entrance vehicles use; some have a dedicated drop-off lane, many do not
- Around curtain times the side streets crawl, so a nearby avenue corner is often the faster option
- With luggage, agree on the exact corner before the car is a block away
- If the group splits, pick one meeting point and stay there: phone reception is fine but the sidewalks are crowded
How do you handle luggage, kids and car seats on this trip?
Choose the vehicle by the luggage and the passengers, not by the cheapest tier on the screen. Four adults with four large suitcases do not fit in a sedan, and families traveling with small children should say so when booking so the vehicle and any child seat are sorted out before the flight lands rather than at the curb.
The same goes for anything bulky or awkward: strollers, golf bags, instruments, a folded wheelchair. Mentioning it at booking time costs one sentence; discovering it at the terminal costs the whole trip.
- Count suitcases, not just people, when picking sedan or SUV
- Say if a child seat is needed and for what age
- Flag oversized items such as strollers, sports gear or instruments
- If someone uses a wheelchair, say whether it folds or needs a ramp
- Keep the address of your hotel written down, not only on a phone that may be out of battery after a long flight
What changes if your flight lands late at night?
A late arrival narrows your options rather than removing them. The subway runs overnight in New York, but with longer waits and emptier platforms, and other shared services thin out after the evening bank of flights, which is why a ride booked in advance is the simplest way to go from the terminal door to a Midtown hotel door. Check AirTrain and subway service at the time you travel rather than trusting a schedule you read months earlier.
Two small things make a night arrival easier: give your flight number when you book, so dispatch can see if the plane is running behind, and keep the phone number you listed switched on and reachable once you land. Nobody can promise an arrival time on New York roads, but those two details remove most of the confusion.
- Send the flight number and the airline, not just the landing time
- Turn the phone on and off airplane mode before leaving the gate area
- Have the hotel's street address and cross streets ready to read out loud
- Decide the meeting point before customs, not after