New York: Essentials

TO / FROM THE AIRPORT

New York Airport Service
212/875-8200, nyairportservice.com
Shuttle bus between Manhattan (Grand Central Terminal, Port Authority, and Penn Station) and LaGuardia is $12 one way, $21 round trip; JFK is $15/$27. Departs approximately every 30 minutes. There's also a shuttle link between JFK and LaGuardia 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m., $13 each way.

Newark Liberty Airport Express Bus Service
(Olympia Trails), olympiabus.com
Shuttle bus transportation from Newark is $13 one way, $22 round trip. Departs every 30 minutes for stops at Penn Station, Grand Central, and Port Authority.

AirTrain panynj.gov/airtrain
Follow signs at JFK and Newark for connections into the city. Trains run every 10 minutes. Fare to/from JFK is $5, which must be purchased on a MetroCard. Trains stop at connecting subway stations, so add another $2 for subway fare. If coming from JFK, use the MetroCard machine at the train-subway transfer. Rides to/from Newark are free to/from the Newark Rail Link Station, where you get NJ Transit, which takes you to/from Penn Station for $11.55. Trains leave every 30 minutes.

GETTING AROUND

Subway & Bus mta.nyc.ny.us
$2 flat fare; MetroCards available at subway station kiosks. A daily "Fun Pass" is $7; a seven-day pass is $21. Ask for map at booth. Single-use free transfer available if going from bus to bus, bus to subway, or subway to bus. Ask for transfer ticket from bus driver if using change instead of MetroCard.

Taxis
Initial fare: $2.50; 40¢ each 1?5 mile or for each 90 seconds stopped in traffic. Add 50¢ for rides after 8 p.m.; add $1 Mon.-Fri. from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. Taxis take up to four passengers.

Pedicabs
Average rate: $1 per minute; operate evenings and weekends. Licensed "peddlers" only.

Staten Island Ferry
718/390-5253, siferry.com
Free; 25-minute ride between Whitehall St. in Lower Manhattan and St. George Terminal on Staten Island. Awesome views of N.Y. Harbor, the skyline, and Lady Liberty.

New York Water Taxi
212/742-1969, newyorkwatertaxi.com
A double-decker, high-speed catamaran that makes 10 stops in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, including Chelsea Piers, Christopher St., and South St. Seaport. $5 for single rides, $20 for two-day hop-on/hop-off ticket. Hoofing it in NYC It takes the average person one minute to walk one "short" (north-south) block, and two minutes to walk one "long block" (east-west) in Manhattan. Do the math.

WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND TOWN

Free on the Street The Village Voice or New York Press At Newsstands