Next week, I’m headed to the Nassau area for a few days, and I need to figure out the best route between the hotel and the airport. Renting a car is not an option, and I’m cheap, so I’m trying to do this all on public transit.
I’m flying into LaGuardia and the hotel where I’m staying is near the Hempstead station (Long Island RR).
Based on info from the LaGuardia & MTA sites, it looks like I need to take the Q48 bus from LaGuardia. The bus route ends at the Flushing station. Then, I would need to backtrack slightly, taking the subway westbound from Flushing to Woodside, get on an eastbound train (do I need to switch at Jamaica? the colors are different on the map) and go out to Hempstead.
Does this seems like the most direct way to do this, or is it unnecessarily convoluted? Please help!
Rather than backtracking on the LIRR, which will take a lot of time, you can take the Q33 to Jackson Heights, get on the #7 train Manhattan-bound to Woodside, and then transfer to the LIRR there and go to directly to Hempstead. You may have to transfer through Jamaica, but at least you won’t be going backwards on the LIRR.
Public transportation at Laguardia is horrid. If you must, I suggest the Q33 bus to Roosevelt Ave/ Jackson Hts (end of the line, same stop as friedo mentioned) and switch to the E train to Sutphin Blvd.
The Jamaica LIRR station is there, where you will have the most connections. If you went to Woodside, you would likely have to change at Jamaica anyway. Very few trains run Woodside to Hempstead.
D_Odds’ suggestion is the best one yet. Can’t believe I forgot about the E Train. I used to take that thing to Jamaica back when I had a hellish revmute up to Rockville Centre.
MTA runs a regular schedule. It will be every 10-20 minutes during the day. This being a airport route, probably closer to 10 minutes.
Of course, whenever I’m complaining of Queens bus service, I tell people the schedule is “Whenever the driver decides he wants to go.” But I’m usually dealing with a different line.
A little digging turns up this: Q33 Schedule(links to a PDF). Still, it is more of a “the bus will get there when the bus gets there” sort of schedule.
One correction to an earlier post. It is not quite the end of the route, but near the end, that you’ll want to exit. The map in the linked PDF shows where you want to exit.
LaGuardia airport should have someplace where you can get a Metrocard. That will allow you a free transfer to the subway. Wouldn’t hurt to have $2.00 in change handy, just in case. NYC buses no longer take paper money.
They took away the dollar slot for the Metrocard slot. One $2.00 Metrocard will get you all the way to Jamaica. However, Metrocard is the only acceptable transfer from bus to subway. If you pay cash on the bus, “No transfer for you!”
Once you get on the train at Jamaica, it’s a straight shot to Hempstead - provided that you make sure you get on a train going to Hempstead, of course, what with Jamaica being a hub.
By the way, while waiting at Jamaica, you’ll have a spectacular view of the brand new high-tech AirTrain, which for $5 will take you to from Jamaica to the wrong airport and back.
Cute, friedo. Yeah, I saw the AirTrain thing, but unfortunately there was no way for me to fly into JFK instead of LaGuardia. Too bad, since that looks convenient.