Recommendable to fly into Long Island for Columbia interview?

[studentstudent]

Ok, so I've wasted so much money flying around that I have a round trip from Southwest, which I need to use to go to NYC in early January b/c the fares are crazy then. Unfortunately, Southwest doesn't fly directly to NYC, but I guess Long Island is the closest. Is there a way I could somewhat easily get to Columbia without renting a car? (Obviously I'm clueless about transportation in the Northeast...)

Thanks for your help.

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[EastCstBound]

Ok, so I've wasted so much money flying around that I have a round trip from Southwest, which I need to use to go to NYC in early January b/c the fares are crazy then. Unfortunately, Southwest doesn't fly directly to NYC, but I guess Long Island is the closest. Is there a way I could somewhat easily get to Columbia without renting a car? (Obviously I'm clueless about transportation in the Northeast...)

Thanks for your help.

As someone who grew up on long island, (although I don't remember any long island airports.. or is there one in islip or something?) you can take the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) into manhattan and depending where you are on the Island it can take 30 minutes to 2 hours..

G'luck..

 

[minnie2240]

Flying into LGA is the quickest way to get into NYC. There are no airports in Manhattan so unless you fly into New Jersey, it makes the most sense to fly into Long Island.

You can take a taxi or I'm pretty sure you can take the train/subway from JFK.

 

[studentstudent]

As someone who grew up on long island, (although I don't remember any long island airports.. or is there one in islip or something?) you can take the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) into manhattan and depending where you are on the Island it can take 30 minutes to 2 hours..

G'luck..

Yes, it's called Long Island/Islip.

 

[nefarious]

LIRR is definitely the way to go.

There are shuttles between Islip/MacArthur airport and the Ronkonkoma station that leave every half hour.

 

[little_late_MD]

Take the train into the city, but if your appointment is in the morning, count on being on that train for some time.

 

[Law2Doc]

Take the train into the city, but if your appointment is in the morning, count on being on that train for some time.

Yes - Unless you have a ton of time to kill, you really want to pay the extra $ and fly into La Guardia and just cab into the city. Flying to long Island and then riding the LIRR is likely cheaper, but only smart if time is totally not an issue.

 

[LizzyM]

Oye! Islip is at least 50 miles from Columbia. Meanwhile, Southwest does offer service to LaGuardia and Newark (check their website - both are offered as destinations). Both are much, much closer to northern Manhattan. (Newark is 13 miles to Islip's 50) It's been awhile since the last time I traveled through there but I'd suspect that Newark would be most convenient to the West Side of Manhattan and then a northbound subway train to the med campus.

 

[BerkeleyMD]

Oye! Islip is at least 50 miles from Columbia. Meanwhile, Southwest does offer service to LaGuardia and Newark (check their website - both are offered as destinations). Both are much, much closer to northern Manhattan. (Newark is 13 miles to Islip's 50) It's been awhile since the last time I traveled through there but I'd suspect that Newark would be most convenient to the West Side of Manhattan and then a northbound subway train to the med campus.

I would think SW would offer most of its service to JFK and LGA. Do whatever you can to fly into one of those instead and save yourself the headache.

 

[f_w]

Look at White Plains/Westchester Co. I believe independence serves this airport at bargain prices. It is fairly close to northern manhattan, but I don't know whether there is a shuttle bus to get you in.

Islip/McArthur is not a great choice if you have to go to the city. It is like 40mi out and you would have to change trains twice to get to the city.

Newark (EWR) and La Guardia (LGA) are served by southwest and have bus or train service.

 

[Tigerstang]

Flying into LGA is the quickest way to get into NYC. There are no airports in Manhattan so unless you fly into New Jersey, it makes the most sense to fly into Long Island.

You can take a taxi or I'm pretty sure you can take the train/subway from JFK.

Actually this is very, very wrong.

The best way to get to Manhattan is via EWR, in Newark, New Jersey. It's what all the locals use. Tourists use LGA b/c it's in the same state and therefore appears to be quicker. From Newark Liberty, you can take a 15 min train ride to Penn Station. From there, take the 1-9 uptown to Washington heights. I believe it's express after Columbus Circle, so you'll be there in 30-45. Very easy.

 

[tulane06]

Lizzy is right. SW flies into Islip, which is actually "Long Island" (Queens is part of NYC even though it is physically a part of LI). I don't believe they fly into JFK or LaGuardia. If I were you I would bite the bullet and take an airline that flies into Newark, LaGuardia or JFK.

 

[PlasticMan]

Use JFK or EWR; whicever is cheaper. Take the airtrain from your terminal to either the LIRR or NJTransit depending on if you're arriving at EWR or JFK. Islip is way out on long island, too far IMO.

 

[Law2Doc]

Tourists use LGA b/c it's in the same state and therefore appears to be quicker.

No - actually I think its not the "tourists" that predominantly use LaGuardia, its the business travellers, because the USAir and Delta shuttles running between Boston, DC and NY all go to LaGuardia. Newark is probably more cost efficient, but you need to get from the plane to the subway and then switch subways again in the city, which can perhaps be a pain for nonlocals, so if cost is less of a concern than time and ease, cabbing from LaGuardia still makes some sense to me. But its been a while since I have been to the city, so I don't have a good sense of cab fares anymore.

 

[studentstudent]

Southwest doesn't fly into JFK or LGA (they book stuff for ATA Airlines to LGA, which I can't use my free roundtrip for). As for EWR, something's up with their website, or they've stopped flying there. I guess I'll either make sure I have enough time to get from/to Islip or look around harder for lower fares to travel the first week of Jan.

 

[PlasticMan]

Southwest doesn't fly into JFK or LGA (they book stuff for ATA Airlines to LGA, which I can't use my free roundtrip for). As for EWR, something's up with their website, or they've stopped flying there. I guess I'll either make sure I have enough time to get from/to Islip or look around harder for lower fares to travel the first week of Jan.

Yeah, I thought southwest only flies into Islip. Give yourself extra time for travelling, cause it's out there on Long Island.

 

[minnie2240]

Yeah, I thought southwest only flies into Islip. Give yourself extra time for travelling, cause it's out there on Long Island.

I don't know how you are planning on getting into Manhattan from Islip but that will be a crazy expensive cab trip. If you are renting a car, make sure to leave at least 2.5 hrs, you never know with traffic.

I'm sure there is a LIRR station near Islip & you could take a train into Penn Station, then a subway/taxi up to Columbia. But that'll take more time, youd have to check train scheds.

 

[Rusunn]

Southwest doesn't fly into JFK or LGA (they book stuff for ATA Airlines to LGA, which I can't use my free roundtrip for). As for EWR, something's up with their website, or they've stopped flying there. I guess I'll either make sure I have enough time to get from/to Islip or look around harder for lower fares to travel the first week of Jan.

If you fly to the Islip airport, what you can do is the following:
-After you get off the plane you can take a taxi (or any other form of transporation) to the nearest LIRR station (the Islip station)
-Take the LIRR straight to Pennstation which would take 1 hour and 15 minuites. you can look at the LIRR schedule(islip to penn station) here: http://lirr42.mta.info/
-Once you are at penn station (which is located on 33rd street.) you have to get to your campus, which i think is 168th street? That means you have to go northbound by either, subway, bus, or cab. I dont live in Manhattan but you would be going from 33 to 168, so thats 135 streets which is quite a long distance. I suggest geting a cab, this way you dont run the risk of getting lost if you were using the subway or bus. Plus i think i would be faster.
Total time commute: approxmately 2.5 hours, maybe more.
The bridges, tunnels, and transit for New York City and Long Island can be found here: http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/
To go back, just do the reverse, go from 168th to Penn by cab. From Penn to islip by LIRR.


You can rent a car. This, in my opinion, is not a good idea. Driving in new york is complicated especially if you are not from the area. However, driving from islip to north Manhattan would be faster then doing the above. I have never done this, but i would estimate an 1 hour commute but if you are not familiar with the roads it will take longer.


You can fly to a closer airport, which would be the quicklest and easiest but, in your case, not cost effective. If you fly to JFK, LGA, , just take a cab and thats it.

 

[tennisnr]

Just general advice for people flying into LGA or JFK

Don't waste the cash cabbing into the city. There's a good service called New York Airport Service. http://www.nyairportservice.com/

It's like 21 bucks round trip and shuttles leave every half hour.

 

[PhotoMD]

Just an FYI - both EWR and LGA are bad options if you're coming to P&S. With LGA, you have to ride the M60 bus unless you want to fork over for a really expensive cab ride. EWR is bad because you have to ride the airtrain, the NJTRANSIT, *and* the A train from penn station to get up here. NJTRANSIT is crowded and I had to wait a half hour for one while riders lined up. You're looking at 2-3 hours with either of those. JFK is great because you only have to take the airtrain and then the A train goes direct from the airport to P&S, and it takes 60-90 minutes. It's by far the best option. Note that the A train runs locally in manhattan on most weekends due to construction.

 

[PhotoMD]

Actually this is very, very wrong.

The best way to get to Manhattan is via EWR, in Newark, New Jersey. It's what all the locals use. Tourists use LGA b/c it's in the same state and therefore appears to be quicker. From Newark Liberty, you can take a 15 min train ride to Penn Station. From there, take the 1-9 uptown to Washington heights. I believe it's express after Columbus Circle, so you'll be there in 30-45. Very easy.

The 1 is local the entire way up manhattan, and it doesn't even stop at penn station. The A goes from penn to the heights express. That's a pretty broad generalization to say that only tourists use LGA. Most new yorkers fly into whatever's cheapest. I try to book into JFK as I said in the previous post.