Travelling throughout the city that never sleeps is pretty easy – because it has one of the best subway systems in the world. You just need a network map (Google is your best friend) and a city map – pick the next metro station close to your destination and find a path through the jungle.
The lines are market by letters from the alphabet and coloured helpfully. You just need to know for each step of your journey which line to take, in which direction to travel and where to exit (like everywhere in the world, huh?). Travelling by metro isn’t cheap: after getting a metro card you can load an arbitrary amount of money onto it. Everytime you swipe the card at a metro station you currently have to pay $ 2.75. Look out for the unlimited rides ticket (7 days = $ 31). It can save you a lot of money.
Be aware that there are local trains (going to every station) and express trains leaving out a lot of stations. Express stations have a different icon on the network map and it can be very useful to take express trains: some lines on the NYC network are really long (like those to Coney Island, Long Island or Rockaway Beach). You can even get to the airport by subway – or better said, you can access the AirTrain JFK at Jamaica station.