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I am traveling to New Jersey on the 4th of November, but unfortunately my air ticket is booked via JFK. There were no direct flights to EWR from where I live.

Which is the best possible way to travel to either Hoboken or Harrington Park on a student's budget?

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    What qualifies as a "student budget"?
    – DTRT
    Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 20:45
  • How rich is the student?
    – David Richerby
    Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 22:08

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While the train option outlined by mazeem is probably the best balance of time and cost for most people, there is a less expensive option for those who have more time. Namely, you can take the MTA subway from Jamaica to the World Trade Center (or from Howard Beach to Fulton Street), and then take the PATH to Hoboken. The fare will be $10.50: $5 for the AirTrain and $2.75 each for the subway and the PATH.

According to Google, the travel time for the LIRR itinerary is around an hour and 25 minutes, while for the subway itinerary, via Howard Beach and the A train, it's around 10 minutes longer, and via Jamaica and the E train, it's around an hour and three quarters.

I got the Howard Beach itinerary by choosing "fewest transfers" in the search options, and the Jamaica itinerary by choosing "less walking."

If you are traveling on the weekend, you can save yourself three dollars on the LIRR fare by buying CityTicket at the kiosk. This costs $4.25, as opposed to the $7.25 off-peak fare.

A side benefit of this approach is that if you take the A train to Fulton Street, you can walk through the recently opened Oculus:

enter image description here

This is especially useful in foul weather, as it means you can avoid going outside.

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    You can further lower your costs by avoiding AirTrain and taking a bus to Lefferts or Jamaica IIRC (Q10 among them). At least terminal 4 has the stops.
    – mike3996
    Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 18:42
  • @progo or even walk to the subway
    – JonathanReez ♦
    Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 18:59
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    @JonathanReez indeed, the very fit and unhurried (and impecunious) could walk to the PATH station completely free of charge. Google is telling me it will take 4 hours 20 minutes.
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 19:07
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Best way of inexpensive travel would be via MTA / rail line. You would catch the AirTran JFK Red line at the JFK airport terminal towards Jamica Station. From there, take the next available line to Penn Station. You have about 10 minutes of walk from Penn Station to PATH station (33rd st) where you can then connect to Hoboken.
Travel time: approximately 1 hour 30 minutes barring unexpected delays / closings.
Total cost: Approximately $20 if you buy tickets at a ticket kiosk.

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  • This answer is too specific. There are trains from several lines that connect from Jamaica to Penn Station. There is no reason to prefer the Long Beach line over the Port Jefferson line or any other. In fact, that is why the lines west of Jamaica are displayed in gray on the LIRR map. (Oh, and the Long Beach line is orange, not red.) Furthermore, the PATH station at 6th Avenue and 33rd Street is at least a 5-minute walk east of Penn Station; this may not be desirable for someone with a lot of luggage.
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 17:36
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    @phoog I agree, without specific dates there can be many options. I have edited the answer to check for specific dates but please feel free to edit the answer for more clarity.
    – Meta747
    Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 17:38
  • Well I would just say that when you get to Jamaica, take the next train to Penn Station. Which train is next will depend more on the time of day than on the date.
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 17:40
  • Also, if one is traveling on the weekend, one should use the LIRR kiosk to buy a CityTicket. The fare is $4.25 one way instead of $10 (peak) or $7.25 (off peak).
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 17:45
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First go to Manhattan by the routes mentioned on this previous question. That way, no need to pay for the sky train. The total cost $2 or $3.

Then follow the advice of @phoog above to switch to the path train to Jersey.

Total cost is less than $10, so you can buy some small packets of peanuts and a Daily News to read on the train.

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