What Is the Best Way to Travel Between Airports in New York?

Short answer: The best way to travel between airports in New York is a pre-booked car service — it is the only option that goes door-to-terminal with your luggage and no transfers. Allow 3–4 hours between flights for JFK↔LGA, and 4–5 hours for any pairing with EWR. Public transit works but takes 90+ minutes.

New York is the rare city where a “connecting flight” can mean a cross-city journey. JFK, LGA, and EWR form a triangle around the metro area, and airlines sell itineraries across them every day — usually without mentioning the ground trek in between. To travel between airports in New York smoothly, you need two things: realistic timing and a mode that fits your luggage, your group, and your layover. Here is how each pairing actually plays out.

JFK to LGA: The Short Hop

For anyone needing to travel between airports in New York, JFK to LGA is the easiest leg: roughly eight miles apart in Queens. By car or taxi it is 30–45 minutes in normal traffic — but “normal” is doing heavy lifting on the Van Wyck and Grand Central Parkway, so budget an hour at peak. For this NYC airport transfer, a car service is the sane choice with checked bags: one vehicle, no transfers, curbside drop at departures. The budget route is the Q70 bus from LGA to Jackson Heights, subway to Jamaica, then the AirTrain to JFK (or reverse) — about 90 minutes and under $15 total via the MTA network. Yellow cabs between the two run the meter. With a 3-hour layover, the car works; under 2.5 hours, you are gambling.

EWR to JFK and LGA to EWR: The Long Hauls

To travel between airports in New York with Newark in the mix, you must cross the Hudson — and that changes everything. EWR to JFK is about 26 miles — 45–75 minutes by car on a good day, two hours when the Holland Tunnel or the Turnpike misbehave. Public transit means the NJ Transit train from EWR to NY Penn, then the subway/LIRR to Jamaica and the AirTrain to JFK: 90 minutes to two hours with two to three transfers and your luggage in tow. See the best way to travel from EWR to JFK and JFK to EWR by public transportation for step-by-step versions. LGA to EWR is similar — read Newark Airport to LaGuardia and traveling between EWR and LGA. For these crossings, a licensed car service (check the NYC TLC registry) is worth every penny when you are hauling bags or racing a boarding time.

Rules That Keep You From Missing the Flight

Rule one: never book an inter-airport connection under three hours — four if EWR is involved, five if you must re-check bags. Rule two: the car beats transit whenever you have more than a carry-on, are traveling with kids, or land during rush hour (weekdays 7–10am and 4–8pm). Rule three: price the whole trip, not the ride — a $60 taxi that misses a $400 flight is the most expensive option on the list. Shared inter-airport shuttle NYC vans exist, but they run on their schedule, not yours, and multiple hotel stops can double the trip time. For the return direction, the same math applies in reverse. When the layover is generous, transit is a fine adventure; when you travel between airports in New York on a tight layover, book the car before you land and text the driver when you touch down.