Best way to get from JFK to Manhattan for 5?

[Owlbabie5]

Taxi or pre arranged car?

If you all have luggage you won’t fit in a taxi

Depends what you mean by best. Cheapest? Nicest? Quickest?

Limo or town car not as expensive as you would think, that's what i would do

Personally I’d do Uber XL. You can get a taxi but if there aren’t any big 7 seaters waiting when you get to the front of the taxi rank queue (they can be a bit rare in NY), you might end up having to wait ages or split into 2 regular cabs which will be double the cost. Uber will likely be cheaper than booking a car service and in my experience, I fly into LGA more often than JFK but I can’t imagine it differs that much, you don’t normally wait more than 5 minutes.

It depends how much luggage. We did Manhattan with just hand luggage. Walked out of the terminal the man managing the taxi queue which consisted of 1 other family and us sorted us a taxi. $50 including tip later we were at our hotel, all very easy.

Course you can get five seater taxis! We just did six of us..about 50 dollars I think

Limos take 5 or 6 people, although if you have a lot of luggage it will have to go in the car with you as well as the boot/trunk voice of experience

I think we rang a firm from the airport, they did send a 4 seater vehicle first but we eventually got one that seated 5. We got the idea for the limo when we saw 6 people get out of one so got one from the way back might have done a bit of shopping while we were there

In the taxi queue they have larger vehicles and call one forward for larger groups.

We did it with 4 people and large cases and am sure I saw larger parties. Maybe worth having a look on TripAdvisor to see what people say.

I have used Uber going the other way and they are super efficient and quick to arrive in NYC.

Large taxis are plentiful at JFK and by far the easiest option. Don’t make things complicated by pre-booking anything, just walk up to the taxi rank.

It's 18 years since I last did it, but back then a pre arranged limo service was best option (not cheapest, but all cheaper options so massively less convenient that it would have been a foolish false economy)

Please be aware that ‘limo’ in the US doesn’t necessarily mean what we Brits think it does. You might end up with just an ordinary car.

Pre-booking puts the onus on you to let them know when you’re ready to be picked up. Might not be practical unless you’re sure your mobile works in the US and that it will be quick to connect to the new network. Usually you get a text message saying “Welcome to the USA blah blah blah” as soon as you land but texts etc are sometimes delayed coming through.

As others have said, Uber XL (download and become familiar with the app ahead of time) or just getting in the taxi line would work. They have various sizes of taxis at the airport.

However, that having been said, I visit NYC very frequently, and I often take public transportation from JFK into Manhattan. It’s fun and challenging and would make you feel like a real New Yorker. Most map apps have a public transport option (the iPhone map does, for instance) and in big cities like NYC it totally works!

Best of luck lugging your cases on public transport into Manhattan, especially if you’re coming here in Summer

We are a family of 5 and used Carmel Limos - here. It wasn't a limo - rather a large people carrier with plenty of boot space.

Just let them know what size you need. I just had to call them when in the baggage hall and then they told me where to meet the car and the registration etc.

How do you know which is the official taxi place?

Erring towards taxi- easier, cheaper and maybe more convenient????? Dial 7 and Carmel seem to have some corkers re reviews. Mobile won’t be working in arrivals.

How do you know which is the official taxi place?

It’s well-signposted and very obvious when you get there.

Why wouldn’t your mobile work in arrivals? Mine always does. We have gotten taxis from there rank and pre-booked limos. The thing with the limos is that because it is dark inside (blacked out windows) you won’t get to see the sights on the way in to manhattan which may be an issue for you, particularly if it’s the first time.

Great, thank you.

Great point Dip, taxi it is then.

Re phones got the 3 deal for some phones ( US calls extortionate). One phone will be swapping to a US sim but need to buy it first.

Follow the signs to the taxi rank, when you see a queue of people and a shouty person at the front yelling 'park a bit further away from the kerb next time buddy' when a taxi has the audacity to pull up more than an inch away and you're there!

Might be helpful to have a written note of the hotel and address as well, in case you need to show it to the driver (we've had to do this outside of NY).

I see folks with luggage on NYC public transportation all of the time.

However, if you don’t visit often I suppose a taxi/ridesharing service makes the most sense.

I just feel compelled to defend my suggestion-riding the NYC subway is a sublime joy and a wonderful hassle and I felt like a rockstar the first time I travelled that way from JFK all the way to Queens.

Have a marvelous trip.

New Yorker here. You've gotten very good advice here particularly on having your destination address written down to hand to the taxi or Uber driver. Many are immigrants and their level of English proficiency varies.

I'm happy to answer questions about things to do, places to eat, etc. Have a lovely trip and thanks for visiting us.

Yeah, I think we assumed that all taxi drivers were similar to the UK ones and a fount of all local knowledge. Definitely not the case.