What is the best way to get to Times Square from Laguardia Airport?
We’re not renting a car, so what would be the fastest/cheapest way to get to Times Square by subway,bus, etc.? I looked at the ny/nj subway map, and it looks like the 7 subway offers a route, but how do I get to that point. It doesn’t look like Laguardia Airport has a subway station for the 7 line. Would a bus be better? Also, we land at about 10am, and check in time for our hotel isn’t until 3pm(Courtyard Times Square), any suggestions on what to do with our luggage? Any activities/places that offer lockers would be great.
2 Responses
NYC fan
09 Nov 2009
Golden Carriage
13 Nov 2009
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The MTA’s M60 bus goes into Manhattan (106th/Broadway), and stops at all LaGuardia terminals. You can also transfer to the N and W trains at Astoria Boulevard along the way (or the 2 or 3 train when you get to Broadway, but taking a local bus like the M60 from end to end is a long ride). All of those lines (N/W/2/3) will get you to Times Square. The N runs 24 hours, the W runs weekdays only. In your situation, just take the first one that comes along; from Astoria to Times Square, it’s exactly the same ride on the N or the W, with exactly the same number of stops.
The 7 train also works very well; you can access it from LaGuardia by using the Q48 bus. It also stops at all terminals. This bus will stop at Shea Stadium, and that’s where you can get the 7 (and maybe get tickets for a Mets game while you’re there, eh?). Weekday afternoons/evenings and after all Mets games, the 7 train will also run express service into Manhattan. The express is denoted by having the "7" in a diamond instead of a circle, and the word "Express" below the diamond. Either one works for you, but you save about five minutes with the express. Take whichever Manhattan-bound train you see, but if both come around the same time, might as well grab the express.
The cost of the trip? Two dollars. This includes the bus, and its transfer to the subway. You would use a MetroCard to do this. They don’t offer single-ride cards, so you have a few options. One is to get one pay-per-ride card for you all to share, or get a few cards spread out among your party. You can also get unlimited-ride cards for a day, a week, or a month if you will be riding mass transit extremely often.
As for your luggage, I haven’t dealt with luggage in NYC before…I’m a native!! However, there’s a slight, minuscule possibility (wink, wink) that your hotel has dealt with luggage issues before. Ask them what they suggest. Maybe they can help you out directly. Maybe you can get early check-in. By the time you get there, it might be around 11 AM or even noon anyway, so that might not be such a stretch. If you have further questions about this part, ask away and we’ll see what we can figure out.
For details about the transit part, check out the MTA’s specially prepared page about getting between Manhattan and LaGuardia airport: