Updated October 2026. Times, fares and airport notices checked this month.

Newark and JFK look close on a map. They aren’t. You’re crossing two states, two or three bridges and some of the slowest roads in the region, and no train links the two airports.

Our dispatch team runs airport transfers across all three New York airports every day, and Newark to JFK is the one people underestimate most. Below you’ll find each option, what it costs now and how much time to leave.

EWR to JFK at a Glance

Option	Typical cost	Travel time	Best for
Train: AirTrain, NJ Transit, LIRR, AirTrain	About $29 per person, more with the LIRR	About 2 to 2.5 hours	Solo travelers with one bag and a long layover
Shared-ride shuttle	Per person, set by the operator	60 to 90 minutes, plus stops	Solo travelers who book ahead
Uber or Lyft	Changes by the hour	60 to 100 minutes	Off-peak trips with light bags
Taxi	About $160 on the meter, plus tolls and tip	60 to 100 minutes	Walk-up rides with no app
Private car service	Fixed quote, locked when you book	60 to 100 minutes	Families, groups, tight connections

Drive times and the taxi estimate come from the Port Authority’s guide to traveling between airports. Transit fares come from NJ Transit, the MTA and the Port Authority. The two-hour transit time is our estimate with luggage and transfers. Rideshare prices move with demand, so check the app on the day.

How Much Time You Need for a Newark to JFK Connection

Most people asking this land at Newark on one ticket and leave from JFK on another. The drive is only part of it. You also collect your bags, check in again with the second airline and clear security a second time.

Your situation	Leave at least
Carry-on only, domestic flight out of JFK	4 hours between flights
Checked bags, domestic flight out of JFK	4.5 hours
Checked bags, international flight out of JFK	5 hours
You land at Newark on an international flight	Add 45 to 90 minutes for passport control and customs
Golf clubs, skis or other oversized bags	Add 30 minutes
The drive falls on a weekday between 3 and 8 p.m.	Add 45 minutes

These are our planning numbers, not airline rules. Your airline’s check-in cutoff at JFK comes first. Delta closes check-in 60 minutes before international departures at JFK, and 60 minutes before domestic flights if you’re checking a bag. United’s cutoff is 45 minutes for domestic flights and 60 minutes for international ones. Look up your own airline before you book the ride.

Check whether your two flights share one ticket. If they do, the airline usually rebooks you when the first flight runs late. With two separate tickets, a missed JFK departure is yours to fix and pay for. The same math works in reverse, from JFK to Newark.

Public Transit from Newark to JFK

This is the cheapest way, and the longest. It takes four rides:

1. AirTrain Newark from your terminal to Newark Liberty International Airport Station.
2. NJ Transit to New York Penn Station. The $16.80 ticket includes the Newark AirTrain. Not every train stops at the airport station, so check the schedule.
3. Long Island Rail Road from Penn Station to Jamaica. The subway’s E train also goes to Jamaica for less money and takes longer.
4. AirTrain JFK from Jamaica to your terminal. You pay $8.75 when you leave the AirTrain at Jamaica.

Add it up and you’ll pay about $29 per person with the subway, more with the LIRR, and spend about two to two and a half hours, longer at rush hour. You’ll drag your bags through Penn Station, up and down stairs, between two railroads.

One more thing this fall: through November 13, 2026, NJ Transit runs shuttle buses in place of the AirTrain link to the train station on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. That adds time. Check the NJ Transit advisory for the current dates before you go.

Is There a Shuttle from Newark to JFK?

Not a free one, and the two AirTrains don’t connect. What you can book is a shared-ride van from a private company. The Port Authority lists ETS Air Shuttle and All County Express for this route, and puts the ride at 60 to 90 minutes. The van makes stops for other riders, so allow for those.

Moving a group? A private Sprinter works like your own shuttle: one van, one group, no stops. It seats 14 people with 15 bags. Our Sprinter van airport transfer guide explains how that works.

Taxi, Uber and Lyft

The Port Authority estimates a taxi from Newark to JFK at about $160 on the meter, before tolls, surcharges and tip. Going the other way in a New York yellow cab, the TLC adds a $20 Newark surcharge, and you pay the tolls, including the driver’s tolls back into the city. JFK pickups also carry a $2 airport access fee. Current rules are on the TLC taxi fare page.

Uber and Lyft both serve the route. Prices swing with traffic and demand, so a quote at 11 a.m. tells you little about 5 p.m. If you have three or more big bags, check that the car class you pick can hold them.

Coming from JFK? If you land at Terminal 5 or Terminal 7, you won’t find ride apps or car services at the curb. Since May 2025, the Port Authority has moved those pickups to a lot at the AirTrain Howard Beach station, and the AirTrain ride there is free. Details are on the JFK advisory page. Book with us and your chauffeur meets you inside arrivals and walks you to the lot.

Private Car Service from Newark to JFK

A Newark airport car service turns four rides into one. Your chauffeur tracks your flight, waits up to 60 minutes after you land at no charge, helps with your bags and drives you to your JFK terminal. You get a fixed quote when you book, and it doesn’t change after that. The quote includes tolls and your chauffeur’s gratuity.

The usual route runs through Staten Island, over the Goethals and Verrazzano bridges and along the Belt Parkway. When that backs up, your chauffeur can go through Manhattan instead. Our dispatch team picks the route on the day from live traffic.

Pick the vehicle by bags, not just by people:

• Business Class Sedan: up to 3 passengers and 2 bags
• Business SUV: up to 6 passengers and 5 bags
• Cadillac Escalade Premium: up to 6 passengers and 6 bags
• Business Sprinter Van: up to 14 passengers and 15 bags

We see this trip booked by families coming off a domestic flight into Newark and heading to Europe or Asia from JFK, and by travelers whose two airlines don’t share an airport. Child seats and boosters are free. Give us each child’s age and weight at booking and we’ll install the right seat before the car reaches you. Every ride comes with a licensed, commercially insured chauffeur.

For trips that end at JFK, see our JFK airport car service. Traveling with six or more people? Read how to book a group airport transfer.

Newark to LaGuardia

Connecting to LaGuardia instead? It’s a shorter trip. The Port Authority puts a taxi at 60 to 90 minutes and about $110 on the meter, before tolls and tip. By transit, you take the AirTrain and NJ Transit to Penn Station, the LIRR one stop to Woodside, then the free Q70 bus to LaGuardia. Leave at least three and a half hours between flights with checked bags. Our LaGuardia airport car service covers this transfer, and our LaGuardia to JFK guide covers the third pairing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Option Should You Pick?

• Long layover, one bag, tight budget: the train.
• Solo, off-peak, flexible: a taxi, rideshare or shared van.
• Tight connection, kids, lots of bags or a group: a private car booked ahead.

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