New York Getting Around

Walking
Walking is by far the most rewarding way of getting around New York. Finding your way is easy thanks to the grid layout of numbered streets. Walking will reveal New York at its exuberant and eccentric best. Only on foot can you truly appreciate how distinct the different neighbourhoods are and how quickly things can change from one street to another. Explore Greenwich Village, East Village, Soho, Chelsea, Tribeca, China Town, Harlem, the financial zone and Central Park. Distances can be large but most visitors find themselves walking far more than they anticipated, so bring comfortable footwear.

Walking Tours
New York walking tours will introduce you to every conceivable specialist area from New York architecture and art to music and popular culture.

Subway
Most visitors find the subway the best way of getting around New York. The subway is fast and efficient for covering longer distances and changing neighbourhoods. The New York subway is safe, fast, easy to use, convenient, cheap and entertaining. Passengers are a wonderfully diverse, cosmopolitan mix and stations often host amazing buskers. Trains run 24 hours a day on 26 lines. Waits are obviously longer at night. The New York subway is excellent for reaching neighbourhoods outside Manhattan like Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Staten Island Railway runs to Staten Island. Subway trains are generally moving uptown (north), downtown (south) or crosstown (east/west). Opposing directions may have different street entrances.

Bus
The New York bus network is vast but surprisingly easy to grasp. Again the grid system makes things clear, with most buses running uptown, downtown or crosstown. Pay with the exact coins or with a MetroCard, available at stations, hotels, tourist offices and thousands of other outlets. 1 day and 7 day passes are available. Most buses run from 5am to 1:30am. Some New York buses run 24 hours a day. Most stops have information on routes and times. A few of the faster routes are limited stop with quite large gaps between stops.

Bus Tours
Given the size of New York it is well worth considering New York bus tours to get the lay of the land. Bus tours are a fun way to learn about the city and visit neighbourhoods like Harlem, Brooklyn and Queens. Specialist New York bus tours cover everything from hip hop to New York cinema locations.

Taxi
New York’s famous yellow taxis can be hailed on the street or found at taxi stands, hotels and important stations. Taxis are metered. Tipping is expected.
 
Airports
New York has several airports of which the most important are John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Fiorello LaGuardia Airport and the more distant Newark Liberty International Airport. Getting to New York airports is straightforward. All New York airports offer a variety of public buses and shuttle buses and there are also services like the Airtrain that link with the subway system. Follow signs for "Ground Transportation".

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