How to Get From LGA to JFK in 2026 (Quickest & Cheapest)

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There’s roughly 12 miles between LaGuardia and JFK airport with no direct train or bus between them.

If you need to travel between the two then a Yellow Taxi Cab is typically the best balance of cost and speed. They cost around $60 (£44) before tip and take 30 to 60 minutes door to door.

Public transport is much cheaper at just $11.75 (£8.60) but it takes around 90 minutes with two changes.

Yellow Taxi

⏱️ Time: 30 to 60 minutes
💵 Cost: $60 to $70 (£44 to £51) in 2026
👍 Best for: Families and tight connections

Yellow cabs queue outside every LaGuardia terminal and a dispatcher points you to the next car. There is nothing to book and no app to download.

This route has no flat fare, unlike the $70 (£51) flat fare between JFK and Manhattan. The meter starts at $3.00 (£2.20) and adds 70 cents for every fifth of a mile, and a trip to or from LaGuardia carries a $5.00 (£3.70) surcharge, with airport pick-ups adding a $2.00 (£1.50) access fee.

Two timed surcharges catch people out. Weekday trips between 4pm and 8pm add $2.50 (£1.85). Overnight trips between 8pm and 6am add $1.00 (£0.75).

The Port Authority puts the typical fare at $60 (£44). In heavy traffic or inside the afternoon surcharge window, expect closer to $70 (£51) before tip.

Tipping is expected in New York, and 15% to 20% of the metered fare is normal. Every yellow cab takes cards and the payment screen offers preset tip buttons, so you do not need dollars in cash.

The meter charges per car rather than per person, so a taxi gets cheaper per head as your group grows.

Uber and Lyft

⏱️ Time: 30 to 60 minutes
💵 Cost: Around $73 (£54) in 2026
👍 Best for: Paying in the app

Uber’s own route page puts the LaGuardia to JFK average at $73 (£54) for a 12 mile trip taking 36 minutes. That sits above the Port Authority’s $60 (£44) taxi estimate, which reverses the advice that held on this route for years.

Unfortunately, surge pricing has no ceiling. Evening peaks, bad weather and a wave of delayed arrivals all push the fare up, while a taxi meter charges the same rate whatever the demand.

Pick-up points differ by terminal, and all three are signposted “Ride App Pick Up”.

• Terminal A: directly across the street from the terminal
• Terminal B: level 2 of the Terminal B parking garage
• Terminal C: the arrivals inner lane

Request the car only once you have reached the pick-up point. Drivers wait five minutes before charging a cancellation fee and leaving, and at LaGuardia they usually arrive in under ten minutes.

An XL car seats six and costs a premium on both apps, which still works out cheaper than booking two standard cars for a large family. Both apps prompt for a tip at the end of the ride, and drivers expect one.

Shared Shuttle Bus

⏱️ Time: 30 to 90 minutes
💵 Cost: From $25 (£18) per person in 2026
👍 Best for: Solo travellers

The Port Authority names two operators for airport to airport transfers, ETS Air Shuttle and Airlink New York, and quotes 30 to 60 minutes for the drive itself.

Airlink advertises shared rides from $25 (£18) per person. Neither operator publishes a fixed LaGuardia to JFK fare, so the real price only appears once you put your dates into the booking system.

Shared means shared. The van waits until it has enough passengers and may drop others at JFK before you, which is where the extra half hour goes.

Shuttles charge per person while taxis charge per car, so the maths turns quickly. One traveller saves money on a shuttle. Two people pay roughly the same as a cab, and a family of four pays about $100 (£74) against $60 (£44) in a taxi.

Pick-up is from the Ground Transportation Welcome Centers at Terminal B and Terminal C. Book in advance, because walk-up seats depend on whatever the next van has spare.

Public Transport

⏱️ Time: About 90 minutes
💵 Cost: $11.75 (£8.60) in 2026 by subway
👍 Best for: Hand luggage and spare time

Public transport is the cheapest way between the two airports by a wide margin. No single line connects them, so the trip takes a free bus, a train and then the AirTrain.

How you pay changed in 2026. OMNY, the contactless tap-and-ride system, has replaced MetroCard on the gates, so there is no ticket to buy first. Tap a bank card, a phone or an OMNY card as you go through.

A UK contactless debit or credit card works on the gates without any setup. A card with no foreign transaction fee, such as Starling, Monzo, Chase UK or a Wise card, saves you a charge on every single tap.

The Subway Route, Step by Step

1. Board the free Q70 LaGuardia Link outside Terminal B or Terminal C. Terminal A now handles private aviation only.
2. Ride to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Av, roughly 15 minutes, with buses every 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Take the E train towards Jamaica Center and get off at Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport. The fare is $3.00 (£2.20).
4. Follow the signs through the station to the AirTrain platform.
5. Board the AirTrain and stay on to your terminal. The fare is $8.75 (£6.40) and trains run every 5 to 15 minutes.

The Faster Route Using the LIRR

The Q70 also stops at Woodside, which puts the Long Island Rail Road within reach and skips the slow subway leg through central Queens.

From Woodside a CityTicket to Jamaica costs $5.25 (£3.85) off-peak or $7.25 (£5.30) at peak, with 5 to 8 trains an hour. Add the AirTrain and the total comes to $14.00 (£10.30) off-peak against $11.75 (£8.60) by subway.

Trains run less often than the E, so check the MTA TrainTime app before you commit to Woodside rather than Jackson Heights. The trade-off is a seat and room for a case, for a couple of dollars more.

Unfortunately, neither version is kind to large cases. The subway has no luggage space, the AirTrain fills up with airport traffic, and the change at Jamaica means moving between platforms with everything you are carrying.

Frequently Asked Questions

A few questions come up again and again when people plan this transfer.