There is no direct train, bus, or free shuttle between LaGuardia and JFK — the real options are the $11.75 transit chain of a free Q70 bus, a $3.00 subway ride, and the $8.75 AirTrain; a metered taxi at about $60 by the Port Authority estimate; a rideshare; a shared van; or a private car booked on a written quote. The two airports sit about 11 to 13 miles apart in Queens, and the choice is really between the cheapest way and the fastest way.
Picture a traveler landing at LaGuardia Terminal B at 2 PM with a rolling bag and a boarding pass that departs from JFK at 6 PM. Nobody at booking warned them that the two airports are 11 miles apart with no train and no airline coach running directly between them. The clock is already running, the bag has to be collected and checked again, and security has to be cleared a second time. This page lays out every real option for that transfer, with its price, its time, and its catch.
Written by David Williams · Fact-checked by Alex Freeman, Editor-in-Chief · Last verified November 2026
The 5 options
- Transit: free Q70 bus, subway, AirTrain — $11.75 per person
- Yellow taxi — about $60 by the Port Authority estimate
- Rideshare — roughly $45 to $85, higher with surge
- Shared van — about $21 to $40 per person
- Private car on a written quote
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Option 1: transit, the cheapest way
The cheapest way from LaGuardia to JFK costs $11.75 per person and takes three rides: the free Q70 LaGuardia Link bus from your terminal to Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue, the E train toward Jamaica Center to Sutphin Blvd–Archer Av–JFK Airport, and the AirTrain from Jamaica Station to your JFK terminal. The arithmetic is $0 for the Q70 plus $3.00 for the subway plus $8.75 for the AirTrain, paid with a contactless card or phone — unlimited passes do not work on the AirTrain. Allow 75 to 100 minutes door to door, and more with heavy luggage: the route is immune to road traffic after Jackson Heights, but it punishes every bag at two transfers. If you are flying out of LaGuardia rather than into it, public transportation options to reach LaGuardia Airport follow the same Q70 logic in reverse, and once you are inside JFK, getting between terminals at JFK is a separate AirTrain ride, free inside the airport.
Option 2: taxi, the walk-up choice
Yellow taxis queue outside every LaGuardia terminal, and the Port Authority puts the trip at about $60 and 30 to 60 minutes, before tolls and surcharges. There is no flat fare between the two airports — the famous $70 flat fare applies only between JFK and Manhattan, so the meter runs here. The meter starts at $3.00 and adds $3.50 per mile, which works out to roughly $45 on the meter for 12 miles, plus a $5.00 LaGuardia airport surcharge, a $0.50 MTA surcharge, and slow-traffic time when the Van Wyck crawls. A $0.50 MTA surcharge also applies to trips ending in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, or Putnam. The taxi is the best balance of cost and speed for a traveler with bags and no app: door to door, no booking, no surge, and the price lands near the Port Authority estimate in normal traffic. Metered airport fares behave the same way on other Queens runs — see how much a taxi from JFK to Bronxville costs, how long it usually takes to get from JFK to Woodlawn by taxi, and how to book a taxi from JFK Airport to Manhattan.
Options 3 to 5: rideshare, shared van, private car
Rideshare sits between the taxi and the private car: roughly $45 to $85 off-peak for the 12-mile run, climbing past $120 when arrivals cluster or rain hits, because the app price moves with demand. A shared van is the shuttle-style option that actually exists — the Port Authority names ETS Air Shuttle and Airlink New York as its authorised shared-van operators, at about $21 to $40 per person, with other passengers and their stops, so the shared van takes 60 to 90 minutes in total. A private car is the door-to-door option with no surge and no strangers: JetBlack prices this route as a per-trip quote agreed in writing before you travel, since no fixed fare for LGA to JFK was verified for this page. Hourly service is a different product — an Economy Sedan is $45 an hour with a 3-hour minimum, and that hourly floor is not a trip price. Schedule a car service in advance with your flight details so the pickup follows your actual arrival, and book airport limo transportation rather than sorting it out at the curb. The same timing judgment applies on other airport runs, such as how long it takes to get from JFK to Throgs Neck by car service and car service from JFK to Fresh Meadows. If your trip starts at JFK instead, see how to transfer from JFK to New York.
How much time to allow
Allow 90 minutes door to door for the transfer itself, and treat the connection as two separate trips, because that is what it is. A transfer between airports is not a connection: the Port Authority says to collect your checked bags at the arrival airport, check in and check your bags again with the departing airline, and go through TSA security again. The road trip alone can eat 90 minutes at peak, and the transit chain can eat 100, so a gap of under three hours between flights is a gamble, not a plan. With four hours or more, any of the five options works — pick on luggage and budget, not on hope.
Questions travelers ask
Is there a direct shuttle from LGA to JFK?
No. Neither the Port Authority nor the MTA runs a nonstop bus or train between LaGuardia and JFK, and no airline runs a coach between them. The shuttle-style option that exists is a shared van from a private operator — the Port Authority names ETS Air Shuttle and Airlink New York — at about $21 to $40 per person. Everything else is a taxi, a rideshare, a private car, or the three-leg transit chain through Jackson Heights and Jamaica.
What is the cheapest way from LGA to JFK?
Public transit, at $11.75 per person: the free Q70 LaGuardia Link bus from your terminal to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue, the E train to Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport, and the AirTrain from Jamaica Station to your JFK terminal. The fare is $0 plus a $3.00 subway fare plus the $8.75 AirTrain, and the trip takes 75 to 100 minutes door to door, so it suits light luggage and a long layover, not a tight connection.
How much is a taxi from LGA to JFK?
About $60 by the Port Authority estimate, before tolls and surcharges, for a 30-to-60-minute drive. The taxi is metered on this route with no flat fare — the $70 flat fare applies only between JFK and Manhattan. The meter starts at $3.00 and adds $3.50 per mile, plus a $5.00 LaGuardia airport surcharge and a $0.50 MTA surcharge, so the total lands near $60 in normal traffic and higher when the Van Wyck crawls.
How long should I allow between flights at different airports?
Allow 90 minutes door to door for the transfer alone, and at least three to four hours between flights. A transfer between airports is not a connection: you must collect checked bags at the arrival airport, check in and check bags again with the departing airline, and go through TSA security again. The road trip can eat 90 minutes at peak and the transit chain up to 100 minutes, so a gap under three hours is a gamble.
Sources
- Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — transferring-between-airports guidance and taxi estimates, via guides that re-checked them against the Port Authority, MTA, and TLC: truckguider.com, checked October 13, 2026; insideoursuitcase.com, re-checked August 25, 2026
- NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission — Taxi Fare: meter $3.00 plus $3.50 per mile, $70 flat fare JFK–Manhattan only, $5.00 LaGuardia surcharge, $0.50 MTA surcharge counties, accessed 2026-11-10
- MTA — subway and local bus fare $3.00, effective January 4, 2026; Q70 LaGuardia Link free; AirTrain JFK $8.75 (Port Authority)
- JetBlack Transportation — owner-confirmed service facts (per-trip quote agreed in writing, Economy Sedan $45/hr with 3-hour minimum, 24/7 dispatch, cancellation $31 breakdown, 20% suggested tip, child seats ~$35/seat for a fee), confirmed 2026-10-26, accessed 2026-11-10
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