This guide is destined to help people visit the eastern coasts of Canada and United States. It will cover the following Cities: Montreal - Ottawa - Toronto – Niagara Falls (Canadian & US Sides) - Chicago - Miami - Washington DC - New York. I will focus more on what you need to bring and how to travel from one place to another. I will only be suggesting how much time to spend in every town but it’s really up to you to choose what to see and do in every town. Finally, this guide is based on my personal experience and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have. If you like it, share it!

On my road trip ! NiagaraFalls Rainbow Bridge

Visas

Paperwork! Yey, who loves them? No one but it’s a necessary evil!

If you are sure you don’t need a Visa or any special documents, you can skip this part directly to very important point (right below United States visa section). Please advise that even if you don’t need a visa, you might require special travel documents to present to custom boarders at the airport. These are the links to determine if you need to have a Visa or any other special travel document to enter Canada & USA:

• Canada
• United States

Canadian Visa

Your visa request can be created and submitted online but you still have to show up in person to do 3 important things:

1. Give fingerprints & have your personal picture taken.
2. Passeport Deposit
3. Passeport Retrievel (Can be send to you by post office for extra fees)

First, you need to create an immigration account using one of these links:

• English
• French

Then, you start by creating a visa request where you fill up basic information about yourself (name, age, employment status…) and trip plans. Once you finish filling up the forms, you will be prompted to send a list of documents (picture, passport, salary slips …). After sending documents, you can set up a date to have your fingerprints and picture taken.
Please note that additional documents are often needed, so it’s very important to keep track of your request status through your immigration account. Keep in mind that your visa request processing is suspended every time additional documents are needed. Visa request processing is resumed only after sending the required documents.
Finally, when a decision about your visa request is made, you will be asked to deposit your passport. You can choose if you want to come back and collect it in person or have them send it to you through post office.
You should expect yourself to stay without a passport for at least 3 days.

United States Visa

This visa is pretty straight forward: You pay, you assure and you get it

You pay: You start by creating an account through this link fill up a couple of forms to describe yourself and travel plans. A visa request is created using the supplied information.

Your visa request isn’t enough so you will have to attend an interview with an immigration officer. To schedule this interview, you have to pay fees. Two ways are provided: credit card or wiring money to a bank account. I don’t know why my credit card was not accepted, so I did the money transfer thing. After 3 days, your transfer will be confirmed and you will be able to set an appointment.

You assure: This step is all about inspiring confidence. The immigration officer will be deciding if you are eligible for a US visa or not so do everything you can to assure him that you are planning on leaving the US when your trip is over. If you think that a return ticket and a hotel reservation is enough, you should think again. The most important thing you need to have is deep roots in your current country: stable job, stable financial status, non-criminal activities! You don’t have to do this interview in English, usually an alternative language is possible. Use simple words, smile and don’t make things complicated.

You get: At the end of the interview, the immigration officer will inform you about his decision and will take keep passport. Expect to receive it by post office after a couple of days.

Very Important: Canadian and USA visas do not guarantee your entrance to its corresponding countries. There is a second check at the airport, if you fail the check, you will not be granted access.
Again, upon arrival to Canada and the United States, custom boarders will check your passport and Visas. A couple of questions will be asked, always smile and reply with simple words!
The two most important questions are:

• How long do you intend to stay? => Your return airplane ticket is a big plus to your answer.

• Where are you staying? => Give him a valid address, Do not reply with I’m staying at a friend’s place, Give him a valid address!

Must have

Sim Card [For United States]

Having a US phone number is a good thing in my opinion but what’s even more important is having internet access. It just makes your trip so much easier especially if you are traveling alone. Some people might rely on public Wi-Fi access, I did that while I was in Canada and it was okay. I recommend investing in a sim card with internet access and you will see the benefits of this must have as you read my guide.
Many prepaid sim card offers are available on the internet, I personally chose this offer from ready sim:

• Duration: 14 days
• Unlimited US nationwide talk
• Unlimited International SMS
• 1GB of Data through unthrottled 4G
• 35$ + shipment fees only!

More offers are available through this link

Please note that shipment takes up to one month. Furthermore, your sim activation is done instantly through a simple step: After entering the US, send a text message containing your current location’s 5 digit US Zip code to 7850.
More info can be found here

Trip Advisor city guides

This is any traveler’s hero!
Many of you might have heard of Trip Advisor, it’s a website destined to describe every city’s best attractions, restaurants, shows …
However, few are those who know that there is a phone app called City Guides Catalog from Trip Advisor which provides similar content to the website but just for a specific destination. It does not need internet connection and besides attractions, restaurants… It includes an offline map for the town you are planning to visit! Yep, it’s an offline map, no internet connection is needed, just activate your phone GPS and you are good to go!

For android phones: Open the play store and search for TripAdvisor City Guides Catalog app. Download and install it. Launch the app and browse the city catalog. It’s displayed by continents. Choose the city you are planning to visit and download the guide. Wait, it’s not over yet, once the city guide is downloaded, open the city guide and you will be prompted to download the full content of the guide. It’s only after finishing the full download that the guide can be fully used offline.
For IPhones: Buy yourself an android phone and revert to android section :D .. Just kidding, same instructions as android should be followed to download city guides from your traditional app store.

Finally, it’s a good habit to open up the city guides, select which attractions/restaurants/activities you would like to do and save your hotel address.
Desired activities, restaurants, hotel address will be displayed with a special icon on the offline city map giving you more control over your trip plans.

Google Offline map

Trip advisor city guides cover a lot of cities around the world but not all of them. For example, Niagara Falls didn’t have a city guide. Some people might choose traditional paper maps but I hardly found ones that cover the area in details. Most of them focus on attractions sites … duh tourist maps!
To overcome this obstacle, there are google offline maps. It’s basically google maps but you can take snapshots (not screen shots) to use when internet is not available.
If you want to take a snapshot, please follow the instructions described in this link

I must say that it’s a nice tool but multiple snapshots are needed for more accuracy. To see if you have enough snapshots, turn off your internet connection and see if you can figure out your way.

Additional source of energy for your phone

This is traveling 101! Because Camera, GPS, and internet are running during all day, your phone battery will be drained fast. A second power source is necessary. Whether you choose a power bank, a second battery or charge your phone while having a coffee at McDonalds, it’s really up to you.
In my case, I had a second battery and a battery charger. My daily routine was to keep my second battery being charged while I’m out exploring. I usually go back around mid-day to have a snack and switch batteries.

Walking/Running shoes

This is a must! I always considered my trip as an adventure more than a vacation. I would always choose to walk rather than take public transportations. Finally, there is no better witness to how much you saw nor what you have done than the blisters covering your feet at the end of the journey.
Walking shoes are light, comfortable and a must in this journey.

Plug Adapter

This is North America folks! They have their own special electricity plugs, don’t forget to get adapters if you are coming from another country :)

Planning it foward

I was on an adventure for 21 days and got to visit 9 major cities at a cost between 1500€ and 2000€. You might be wondering how come it’s so cheap! Well, I bought most of my tickets (airplane, bus & hotels) at least 3 months earlier. In this section, I’m going to talk about reservations for airplanes and hotels/hosts.

Airplane tickets

Whether it’s a national or an international flight, you should always use flight comparators. They guarantee you the best deals. However, you need to keep in mind the following points:

• Adjust your flight comparator to your credit card type to get the real price (first displayed price doesn’t take into consideration if you have a normal Visa card or a premier card). Airplane ticket price are more likely to increase when your credit card is a premium one.
• Always favor national flight over international ones because of high taxes on international flights.
• When buying tickets, check out airport locations (both departure and arrival), don’t get fooled by the low price very quickly. Some airports offer very low prices because they are far away from the city center. For instance, let’s say we are going to Washington DC, flight comparator displays two flights. First one lands in Baltimore and costs 55€, the second lands in Ronald Reagan airport and costs 80€. There is a considerable difference but one should be wise and check things out on google maps. Baltimore airport is 1 hour drive away from Washington and no public transportation is available while RR airport is accessible by metro lines!
• National flights include cabin luggage in ticket prices. If you have more luggages, you will have to pay more. In my case, I had a 50L backpack. Its size exceeded the standard cabin size but no one actually cared in the United States! youhooo, extra economy :)
• Sometimes, non-direct flights are cheaper than direct ones. This happens a lot in the United States. Atlanta airport is a big hub for planes where you switch from one terminal to another very easily. In my trip, I switched planes twice in that airport because it was cheaper. However, to avoid any bad surprises, always plan to have an hour difference between your first and second flight. For instance, let’s say you are flying from Chicago to Miami through Atlanta airport, if your plane from Chicago arrives to Atlanta at 10 am, you should book planes that leave from Atlanta to Miami starting from 11 am.

Bus tickets

Traveling by bus in Canada and US is very popular. There are many bus companies and I chose MegaBus. Ticket prices are low especially if you buy them in advance and service is good (Wi-Fi, electric plugs, rest rooms, decent seats …). MegaBus operates in both Canada & US. These are the links:

• MegaBus Canada
• MegaBus United States

To use MegaBus service, you need to buy your ticket online. You should arrive at the station at least 15 minutes before departure time. The driver will take your luggage after validating your reservation number. Do not forget to mark MegaBus station on your trip advisor city map. I always found that wasting 30 minutes to visit the location of the stop before departure day helps avoid bad surprises.

Sleeping arrangements

When you are on an adventure, you are not really looking for the luxury in hotels and bed. You should be more looking forward to exploring new places and cultures. This is why I chose to do my trip Couchsurfing and Airbnb style.

Couchsurfing: This concept has been there for quite a while now. It consists on staying at local people’s houses. Whether on a couch or in a private room, the goal is to meet new people and get to know the real daily life of the city. Do not confuse Couchsurfing with free nights at someone’s place. There are some customs that come along with this travel style:

• Hosts usually look for trustworthy and interesting people.
• Food and drinks are usually not included!
• Gifts are welcome but above all, be a sociable and respectful person.
• Do not be afraid to say no to some hosts, safety comes first and Couchsurfing is not a free from bad people.

AirBnb: I would say this is Couchsurfing’s little brother. It has the same concept where you stay at local people’s places but this time not for free. The difference is you have to pay your reservation per night so it’s somewhere between a hotel and a Couchsurfing experience. Why do I think of it like that? Well, because you are paying for your room just like we do in hotels except you might find a good nice host or someone less pleasant.
Anyway, references are there to guide you where your requests should be sent!

Booking.com: Because I’m a solo traveler and hotels are racist to single people, I try to avoid this option as much as I can. However, sometimes it becomes the only available choice when Couchsurfing and AirBnB are not very popular in my destination.

Attraction tickets

In the beginning, I though buying attraction tickets in advance is a good idea. It turned out it’s not! Probably the only good thing is you will carry less cash to your destination but everything they are trying to sell you about short waiting time is a scam. I bought the New York City pass (bundle of tickets for major NYC attractions) thinking I won’t have to wait in lines but I was totally wrong. If I choose to visit NY again, I will buy every ticket separately but that’s my personal opinion of course.

Itinerary

After these long boring steps of preparation, things are about to get more interesting. Introducing Marguerite: an ambitious traveler going out on an adventure. In this section, we will follow this young lady on her long journey to visit Canada & the United States and try to have an idea on what awaits us on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Montreal part 1

Marguerite flew to Montreal using an international flight. Passengers of international flights must go through immigration check. Marguerite gave her passport to the immigration officer, mentioned she is here on vacation for one week and planning to stay at 501 Avenue Mont-Royal. The officer didn’t feel anything awkward about Marguerite’s but wondered if she intends to go elsewhere in Canada. Marguerite said yes: Toronto & Niagara Falls. The officer got his answers so he wished her a pleasant stay in Canada and gave her back her passport.
Now that she made it to Canada, she bought a 3 day public transportation pass in Montreal. This pass can be bought from STM vending machines and gave her unlimited travel for 3 consecutive days for 18$ and it’s even valid on the airport shuttle to downtown.
Hint: http://www.stm.info/en/info/fares/transit-fares/3-days

Ottawa

After roaming around in Montreal for two days, she wanted to see Ottawa. Marguerite’s idea was to do this through a travel agency called Sinorama. It provides a one day package to visit Ottawa’s best attractions. The agency’s bus picks up travelers from china town in Montreal to go to Ottawa (2h ride) where they spend the day with a special guide. Our Marguerite was tempted by the idea, so she made the reservation through this link
But a funny surprise was awaiting her. Actually, the price she paid at the reservation time did not include attraction tickets, launch and guide/driver tip! It only allowed her participation to the trip. She needed to pay an extra 60 $ to really enjoy the full experience (All attractions + launch).

Hint: You can choose not to pay for all the attractions or even bring your own food to cut expenses but you must get back to the bus at the time specified by the tour guide.

Although the agency service was mediocre, Marguerite still enjoyed her time in Ottawa. It’s a beautiful small city but quite an interesting one. Her number one activity was the Ottawa boat cruise.

Montreal part 2

3 days passed quickly between Montreal & Ottawa, Marguerite’s best places were the Montreal city view from the Mont Royal Park and the Notre dame basilica in downtown. The next step in this young lady’s itinerary is Toronto, she bought a MegaBus ticket 2 months in advance for 10$. MegaBus terminal is on the 997 Rue Saint Antoine Ouest near the Bonaventure metro station. After a 6 hours trip, she made it to Toronto.

Toronto

MegaBus station in Toronto is located on 610 Bay Street near Dundas metro station. Toronto isn’t a huge city so Marguerite made an Airbnb reservation in downtown to avoid taking public transportations.
Hint: Transportation fares can be found here: https://ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/index.jsp

According to Toronto city guide, there were not so many things to do in this city. Probably the most important one was the CN Tower. Marguerite got amazing pictures from the highest observation deck in the world but this didn’t keep her from spending only two days in Toronto. She quickly packed her stuff and went back to the MegaBus station heading to the Niagara Falls.

NiagraFalls (CA Side)

The goal Marguerite set in her mind when visiting the falls was to see it by day and night. This means she needed a place to sleep. Because NiagaraFalls is more of a tourist site than a city, it was hard to find a Couchsurfing or even an Airbnb host who lives close by. Last choice was to get a hotel room. Surprisingly, she managed to get a nice room for just 40$ at the DaysInn Hotel (5943 Victoria Avenue, Niagara Falls) which is not very far from the Megabus stop situated at FallsView Casino (4555 Erie Ave, Niagara Falls, ON). The room had two king size beds and a bathroom plus the hotel offers free breakfast and access to the pool. Anyway, upon arrival, it’s necessary to show an Id and the credit card used to make the reservation to collect the room keys. After that, it’s fun time or may be a quick nap because admiring the falls can get a bit boring after 2 hours.
Fortunately, there are other attractions to pass time with and Marguerite’s favorite was a journey to the falls. It’s a boat ride that got her so close to the falls that she found herself surrounded by rainbows.
Hint: Two companies provide the boat ride attraction: HornBlower and MaidOfMist. Please note that if you are on the Canadian side, you should buy HornBlower tickets because MaidOfMist boarding platform exists only on the American Side of the falls.
By nightfall, the falls are lit with amazing bright lights which make it even more beautiful. Marguerite was a smart planner and chose a night with a firework show to add more fun to her day.
Hint: The firework calendar can be found here

NiagraFalls (US Side)

The next day, Marguerite has Chicago on her road map. There are many ways to get to Chicago. Probably the easiest way is to take the bus back to Toronto airport and then fly to the windy city but where the adventure in that? The coolest thing is to cross the American boarders on foot, and take a picture of herself between the Canadian and the American flag. This is possible thanks to the rainbow bridge: an international bridge between Canada and the United States with a magnificent view over the falls.
Hint: Cars and pedestrians are allowed on the rainbow bridge but usually the waiting time for boarder check is shorter when you are on foot.
Custom boarders are on both sides of the rainbow bridge, so Marguerite didn’t forget her passport before taking the pedestrian lane. She also brought with her 50 Canadian cents in quarters. Its fees she had to pay to cross the international bridge.
American custom boarders are no joke, and without their stamp, Marguerite knew that her trip might end there. The agent asked the usual question about how long she intends to stay and why is she coming here? Marguerite explained she is visiting the United States as a tourist and will be staying for 2 weeks before going back home. She even showed her ticket back home. The agent asked one last question: Where will you be staying? Marguerite smiled as she knew she’s almost there and replied by giving her host’s address in Chicago. The agent requested 6 American dollars as fees for entering the US but that was no match for the joy Marguerite felt after crossing successfully her first international bridge.
Next step is to go to Buffalo airport to take the plane to Chicago but this is a bit tricky. Because Buffalo airport is about 50 km (30 miles) away from Niagara Falls, 3 options were available.
First, rent a car and leave it at the airport which was very expensive to our tight budget traveler.
Second, take a taxi to the airport, it will be around 40 min drive and cost at least 75$, it doesn’t sound bad but because she doesn’t have anyone to share the cab with it’s still expensive.
Last choice was public transportations, there is no direct line from Niagara Falls to Buffalo Niagara airport so Marguerite must take bus number 40 to Buffalo city and then switch to bus number 204 to get to the airport. At first glance, Marguerite said, this is insane, I don’t know where the bus stops are nor I can do this by myself but when she knew that it costs only 4.5$, she immediately changed her mind saying: oh yeah, let’s fuc**ng do this !
Hint: Well it’s true it’s surprisingly cheap but this should not be your only motive. These are not tourist buses and you will be going through real American villages, the view and experience is totally worth it and I will be doing my best to explain where the bus stops are located. My only advice is to do this during the day for safety reasons.
Marguerite started by activating her sim card, and thanks to google maps and the internet connection, she truly felt invincible. The bus station location (Rainbow Boulevard & Niagara Street) was identified immediately as a precaution to avoid missing the bus.

Hint: You must stand on the same roadside as a mini statue of liberty.

Google maps didn’t just locate the bus stop but it also gave our young traveler about the bus times. Because she still has time, she decided to take a tour inside the Niagara Falls state park and Goat Island to admire the falls from the US side rather than sit and wait.
Marguerite made sure to be back on time to catch the bus and she also checked that she has enough change to buy the ticket bus which costs 2$ on bus number 40.
Hint: Beware ticket machines on American buses hardly return any money. The driver will likely not let you on the bus if you don’t pay the full ticket price.
The first trip took about 1 hour and got to see another side of United States: farms, old houses, small towns and weird people!
Using the internet connection and google maps, she kept track of the bus movements and knew exactly when to request for the bus to stop (North Division & Ellicott Street).

Hint: Do not rely on the kindness of the drivers nor the station signs you might find on buses to know where and when to stop. They are both poor in the United States and you might attract too much attention if you keep asking questions. Google maps and internet connection can really make you the master of the universe if you know how to use them. Finally, to ask for the bus to stop, pull one of two thin lines on both sides of the bus. Primitive technique but it works ;)

Marguerite was amazed when she saw Buffalo downtown, it was alive and the American style was everywhere but she preferred not to roam around and immediately took the 204Express bus (2.5$) to the airport (40 min trip). At the Buffalo Niagara airport, things got less complicated because flights are national so Marguerite avoided the long immigration waiting lines. However, security checks were very serious comparing to other countries. Nonetheless, the plane was on time and Marguerite was excited to fly to Chicago.

Chicago

Before leaving her country, Marguerite sent Couchsurfing requests to be hosted in Chicago and one of them got accepted. The host lives in the suburbs but that was no problem to Marguerite because the transportation utilities are quite good in the windy city. She decided to acquire a special transportation pass which allows unlimited access to all public transportation utilities (metro, bus…) for a duration of 1/3/7 days for 10$/20$/28$. The pass can be bought from any metro station but she preferred to do so at the airport. In fact Chicago airports (O’Hare and Midway) are connected to the city by metro so she thought it’s best if she can save the metro ticket fees and start right away with the CTA pass. One last thing she didn’t take into account was that these passes have to be loaded on a contactless credit card which didn’t have. Hopefully after asking CTA agents, they advised to buy a Ventra Card and load the pass on that card. The Ventra card works similarly to a credit card but it only pays transportation tickets. It costs an extra 5$ but because Marguerite registered her card online via https://www.ventrachicago.com/register-account/, the 5$ were refunded. It was very useful because Marguerite was planning to stay 3 days in this amazing city and leave on the fourth day. Although Chicago is a big city, getting from one place to another was not hard thanks to google maps and the internet connection once again. Marguerite enjoyed her 3 days in Chicago and her favorite things were the deep dish pizza at Gino’s and the city view by night from the Adler planetarium coffee shop.

Miami

On the fourth day, Marguerite packed her stuff and headed to Chicago Midway airport to take the plane to Miami. It was an indirect flight because direct ones are expensive. Indirect flights passengers usually use the huge Atlanta airport to switch from one plane to another. Air Hostess kindly informed Marguerite about her next boarding gate number to make airplane switching easier.
Hint: Atlanta airport is about 30 min away from downtown by metro so if you feel like discovering Atlanta, you might have to that into account.
Miami is may be known for its beaches and night life but surely not for its public transportation which relies heavily on buses.
The struggle began at Miami international airport where Marguerite had to take the Airtrain to the bus station and then the 150 bus to Miami Beach where she was intending to stay at another Couchsurfing host. She planned 3 days to fully explore Miami but it was a big disappointment. Most attractions were not interesting and at least 2 buses must be taken to get from Miami Beach to downtown. Even if Miami bikes seemed like a good idea in the beginning, it was expensive and the bikes are not allowed to leave Miami Beach.
She felt that Miami is overrated but at least she enjoyed her time on the beach playing volleyball and resting her feet in the ocean.
On the fourth day, our little Marguerite was happy to finally leave Miami heading for the US capitol: Washington DC

Washington DC

The flight was similar to the one she took coming to Miami. Little Marguerite took a plane to Atlanta and then switched to take another one heading to DC. She did that on purpose because it was the cheapest way to land in Ronald Reagan national airport which was the closest to DC downtown.
Actually, by looking at Washington DC trip advisor map, this adventuring young lady realized how small the city was. Hence, she decided to rent a bed in downtown through Airbnb to save money and explore the town on foot. She was right to take this decision because metro tickets are relatively expensive in DC and attractions are mostly located near the National Mall. Probably one thing she miscalculated was how long she should have stayed in this town. She planned 2 days and a half but that was barely enough for a history fan girl. Free world class museums without waiting lines plus a big zoo!
Hint: If you want to learn about the United States history, DC is the right place for you.
She was lucky to enjoy a free guided tour in the US Capitol without making a prior reservation. She was tipped that if she stood in the line at the beginning of the day, they might find her an empty slot with a visiting group.
Hint: It’s better to make a reservation at least 2 months to secure your visit to the US Capitol.
Reservation link: https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/plan-visit/book-tour-capitol
On the fourth day, Marguerite went to the Union Station to get on a Megabus heading to New York. The big apple is only 4 hours ride through Baltimore, Philadelphia and stops in Manhattan on the intersection of 7th Ave and 27th St.

New York

New York is the last stop in Marguerite’s trip so she intended to make it the best she can. She planned to stay 4 days in NY Couchsurfing in Manhattan. This would be perfect because most of the important attractions are located within reach. New York subway passes are affordable: https://www.newyorkpass.com/En/new-york-subway-transportation/
But Marguerite was not tempted by the idea. Because she had plenty of time, armed with patience and courage to walk long distances, she decided to explore Manhattan on foot. Unfortunately, that was not a great idea. Walking all over Manhattan is a big challenge that requires time and a lot of effort. May be Marguerite had the time factor but after 3 weeks of traveling, her energy was drained out and her feet were heavier than usual.
Anyway, Marguerite is strong and she won’t give up easily. Not a single public transportation was used during those 4 days. It’s crazy but only the crazy things we do are the ones worth remembering she said.
She had great time in Central Park, Brooklyn, Times Square, Highline Park, Statue of Liberty, eating hot dogs and pizza slices. However, two things she didn’t really appreciate: Some attraction had really long waiting lines especially the Empire State building. It can take up to 1 hour to get to the observatory deck which usually ruined her schedule.
Hint: It exists two other observatory decks to admire New York from above, Top of the rock and the one world tower. I recommend the top of the rock rather than the empire state building because it is less crowded and has a view on Central Park. I didn’t go on the one world tower so I can’t really comment on that.
The second point Marguerite was disappointed about was that she didn’t get to the crown level of the Statue of liberty. Actually, when she bought the New York City Pass, she read that going up the crown level is included. It turns out it’s only included for the few lucky people who must be first on line because the passes are limited. Eventually she got to visit the statue of liberty but only stayed on the ground level.
Hint: Do not count on your New York City Pass, reserve your crown level access as soon as you can. Only a limited number of people can go up to that level and actually get to touch the Statue. Places run out quickly so reserve weeks in advance through this link:https://www.statueoflibertytickets.com/Statue-Of-Liberty-Tours/
On the fourth day, by 10 PM New York Time, Marguerite said good bye not only to New York but to this wonderful journey she accomplished.
She had to take the metro to JFK airport which is not a hard thing but it requires special attention.
Hint: Metro lines that connect to JFK airport are lines A and E. They both have different destinations so make sure you are on the right train. Then, both of these metros get you to a second station to take the JFK Airtrain either from Jamaica station or the Howard beach station. Your first metro ticket is not valid for the Airtrain ticket so you need to buy another one. Make sure you have coins on you because ticket machines had a hard time accepting the one dollar bills. Finally, It take over an hour to go from Manhattan to JFK airport so make sure you leave early enough to be on time for your plane.

Credits

I wrote this guide because I believe we should stop seeing the world from our screens. It’s true we don’t all have the means to travel but this doesn’t mean that there isn’t a place nearby worth exploring. The more you explore, the better you become …
Special thanks for all my Couchsurfing hosts, AirBnb hosts, strange people I met during my trip and especially to the wonderful Marguerite: I shall remember your kindness everyday of my life and happiness fill your days wherever you go.