As one of the world’s busiest and most populous capitals in the United States, New York City enjoys a good number of connections, by air, land and sea, so traveling to the city can be quite easy no matter your birthplace.

By plane. The city has the busiest airspace in the United States and to serve the hundreds of millions of travelers in and out there are three major airports in New York City: John F. Kennedy International (JFK), Newark Liberty International ( EWR) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA). JFK is in the borough of Queens and is a major international hub for airlines such as Delta, American Airlines, Air France and Lufthansa, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. Newark Liberty International is located in Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey. One of the three terminals of this airport is home to Continental Airlines. Meanwhile, LGA or La Guardia Airport mainly provides domestic services for the city. All three are being administered and managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

By land. There are several options for traveling to New York City: by train, by commuter rail, and by bus. Amtrak has its largest hub on the East Coast system at New York’s Penn Station. Provides regular commuter service between major East Coast points from Washington, DC to Boston, with convenient stops in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Haven and Providence. Other service points include Chicago, California, New Orleans, Miami, and Toronto and Montreal in Canada.

Meanwhile, there are three commuter rail lines serving New York City: the Long Island Railroad (LIRR), which basically services points on Long Island, but has stops at Jamaica Station, Hunters Point, Queens and Atlantic Terminal Station in Brooklyn; Metro-North Rail Road has service to points in Westchester, Putnam, Duchess counties in New York, and Connecticut; and New Jersey Transit which, like the LIRR, operates from New York’s Penn Station but offers service to points in New Jersey. All of these commuter rail lines also offer transfers or connecting services to the airport or train station.

Traveling by bus to and from New York City has its advantages: they can be cheap if booked well in advance, tickets can be booked through Wi-Fi or ticket outlets, and with more bus lines, service stops in New York City they are also growing. The traditional stop for most buses remains at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. “Chinatown” buses, so called because they mostly stop in Chinatown, are said to have the lowest driverless fares. Other bus lines include Boltbus, Greyhound, Megabus, NeOn, Peter Pan Bus Company, New Century Travel, and Tripper Bus to name a few.

By sea. A ferry system connects Manhattan with various areas inside and outside the city. The Staten Island Ferry runs between Staten Island and Lower Manhattan and is considered the busiest ferry in the United States.

Getting around New York City is fairly easy: most people take the extensive New York City Subway, which remains by far the best and most convenient way to travel around the city. If you plan to rent a car to drive, you may want to think twice because traffic in the city is always congested and secure parking is an expensive privilege. Of course, the healthier alternative is walking, and New Yorkers have been known to walk everywhere.