Triangle Trip

One of the most efficient and economical ways to get to LaGuardia Airport (LGA) from below 57th street Manhattan is via MTA’s R, N or Q train. Total cost for a one way trip will be less than US$3.00, which includes a transfer from the train to the bus. If you’re in NYC for a few days, consider reading my article on how to maximize the value of the unlimited MTA Metrocard.

The R, N and Q trains run north-south along Broadway and through the center of Manhattan island to Queens. Once you get to Queens, hop on the M60 bus for about 20 minutes max and you’ll be at a LGA terminal.

Here are the step by step directions to get to LaGuardia Airport LGA from Manhattan.

1a. Get on the Q when you are at an interchange station because the Q runs express vs the N and R.

2. Get off the N or Q train when you’re at Astoria Boulevard - which is 6 stops after you have arrived to Queens (you’ll know when the train moves onto elevated tracks).

3. Exit Astoria Boulevard station and stay on your right hand side. Look for signs that read M60 bus and display an airplane.

5. The M60 bus will be coming off the bridge from Manhattan. Jump on the M60 and it will take you straight to all the LGA terminals.

You can pick up the same bus from LGA if you’re arriving into NYC. However, there are no vending machines in LGA for you to get a Metrocard. You’ll need to have US$2.25 in change, or you’re out of luck. For NYC visitors, you may want to check out my NYC Visitor’s Guide.

For your convenience, here are links on how to get from Manhattan to Newark (How to get to NYC from Newark) and JFK (How to take NYC public transportation to/from JFK).

The best option to go from Hong Kong International Airport (”HKIA” or “HKG”) to South China (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Huizhou, Foshan and Zhongshan) for business or pleasure is by bus (see my previous post with step by step directions). If you are not comfortable with taking the bus from HKIA and prefer the traditional train route, or simply want to stop in Hong Kong for a drink or meal, here is what you need to do to get to quickly get to Hong Kong Central then to Shenzhen or Guangzhou:

1.  Take the Airport Express train from HKG to Hong Kong Station; this drops you off in Central District. You can get a nice meal or drinks here (here’s my previous post on places to visit in Hong Kong if you can spare a day or two before going to the Mainland).

2.  From the Hong Kong Station in Central, look for the MTR train and take the Tsuen Wan (Red) line toward Kowloon.

3.  Get off at Tsim Sha Tsui station and walk to the East Tsim Sha Tsui station (a 10 minute walk)

4.  From the East Tsim Sha Tsui station, get on the West Rail line (dark purple) toward Hung Hom.

5.  Take the train one stop to Hung Hom (last stop) and transfer to the East Rail line (baby blue), which starts from this station.

6.  Stay on the East Rail line to the last stop. The East Rail line terminates into one of two stations, either Lo Wu (Luo Hu in pinyin) or Lok Ma Chau (station for the Shenzhen Free Trade zone). From here, go through customs to cross the border from Hong Kong into Shenzhen.

To get to Guangzhou, you will need to take the “Guangdong Through Train” . follow steps 1 to 4 from above. Instead of step #5, you will need to:

5b. Take the West Rail line (dark purple) train from East Tsim Sha Tsui station for one stop to Hung Hom (last stop) and walk towards the Express train station which is not part of HK’s MTR.

6b. At the train station, purchase a ticket for an express train to Guangzhou East station in Guangzhou. The price of the ticket should be around HK$150 to HK$190. I recommend you pay a bit extra and get upgraded to First Class.

Have a safe journey.

Now there’s all the more reason to room hop for those extra nights! SPG is offering free Internet service to Platinum members:

“As a Platinum member, you have access to our highest level of benefits, which now includes complimentary in-room Internet access. Now when you travel with SPG you’ll enjoy in-room Internet access — on us — at any of our more than 940 participating properties worldwide.”

In addition to the free Internet access, you can get double, triple, and quadruple Starwood points between now and March 31, 2010. Check out my previous post in case you have missed it. Enjoy!