Hello

There are several options:

Taxi, subway, bus:

check out this link for details:

http://www.nyctouris…

Where are you staying? Some hotels offer help with transport.

Happy travels

Here is another link:

http://www.panynj.go…

If you are travelling with only one or two people, it is not hard at all to find other people willing to share/split a cab ride to Midtwon Manhattan… I have done it several times.. The cab fare is between $25 & $30 from JFK & LaGuardia (at least it was in late 2003) – which is only about $$15 to $17 ea with tip.. Since the shuttle buses cost about $13, taking a cab is pretty nice..

A note added to Sunskin’s:

The fare has increased about $15 or so. You know, due to fuel prices and such.

Good advice about splitting the cab.

The City gets expensive, and getting to it is not cheap.

If you plan on visiting Long Island for any reason, beware, you MUST buy your tickets at the booths (which are never open) or at the machines. If you get on a train w/out a ticket you get hit with a nasty fee, especially during PEAK times.

Happy travels

Let me clarify—
LIRR (long Island Rail Road) is who charges these fees. Subways don’t.

There’s a sort of elevated train type thing that goes from JFK to one of the subway stations.

The AirTrain (the elevated train type thing) takes you to the Jamaica station. From Jamaica station, you can take the LIRR to Penn station or the subway to Manhattan. Just don’t start wondering out side Jamaica station…

The airport express takes you to grand central for $15 one way.

It costs $5 to take the elevated AirTrain directly from the airport to the subway station. Then you can purchase a ticket either with cash or credit card from a self-standing machine and take the subway directly into NYC. Probably your cheapest but longest (in terms of time) option.