Getting to (and from) Ithaca
This link to the Cornell University website page The Ithaca Campus: Getting Here contains all the information you will need to get to Ithaca by plane, car, or bus. Please refer to this link to assist you in your travel plans. It contains travel directions and maps as well as information about public transportation.
Travel Commentary by John Abel
One of the charms about Ithaca is that it is "centrally isolated," but this sometimes complicates travel arrangements. As far as air travel is concerned, the Ithaca Airport (ITH), which is only minutes from campus and downtown, is served by only two airlines, both flying rather smallish planes on the Ithaca routes -- US Airways/America West (member of the Star Alliance with Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, United, etc.) and Northwest (member of Skyteam with KLM, Air France, Continental, etc.).
US Airways has service between Ithaca and both NYC LaGuardia (LGA) and Philadelphia (PHL). For the former, international travelers need to transfer from NYC JFK, which is not always quick and easy. I find traveling via PHL easier because one need not change airports
Northwest has service between ITH and Detroit (DTW), but only twice per day each way. But it is a clean transfer and best for traveling from the far east or from Amsterdam by KLM.
The favored nearby city with more airlines and more frequent service is Syracuse, NY (SYR). It has 7 major airlines, and is about 75 minutes from Ithaca by rental car. International travelers can connect conveniently to Syracuse via several major airports, but for transiting through NYC I would advise preferring Newark (EWR) to JFK. DET is still one of the best for connections from the far east.
Finally, forget the possibility of train travel to Ithaca -- it's not possible.
[This page last updated on 6 February 2008]