Getting from Manhatten to JFK About This Page:

[chezp]

OK, JetBlue just changed the time of our flight out of JFK down to Orlando - not a bad thing, as we now leave at 8pm on a Friday night, rather than 7.30pm. I know we need to be at the airport two hours before, which makes 6pm and we plan to take a cab from our hotel at Madison Square Garden. Anyone got any idea roughly how much time we should allow for the journey, bearing in mind it'll be on a Friday night, during rush hour?

[disneygirl22]

About an hour should be good. Without traffic it usually only takes around 25 to 30 minutes, but you can count on there being traffic at that time. You should be fine leaving around an hour in advance, maybe 15-minutes earlier just to be sure. We drive upstate on many Friday nights and pass all the airports, and there's traffic but it never takes us more than 45-minutes to reach the airport from midtown.

[mcc0313]

I would say more like an 1 1/2 - 2 hours only becuase traffic can be so iffy and the Belt Parkway to the airport usually has some nasty traffic at the time...

I live about 20 minutes from JFK and we have a flight next week at 9:30 yet we are leaving the house at 6 since we are going to hit rush hour....our last flight out our 20 minute trip to the airport turned into over an 1 1/2....

I would think better to play it safe then get stuck.....

[Colexis Mom]

I would leave an hour and a half or more Better safe than sorry

[wherethewildthingsare]

Originally Posted by chezp

OK, JetBlue just changed the time of our flight out of JFK down to Orlando - not a bad thing, as we now leave at 8pm on a Friday night, rather than 7.30pm. I know we need to be at the airport two hours before, which makes 6pm and we plan to take a cab from our hotel at Madison Square Garden. Anyone got any idea roughly how much time we should allow for the journey, bearing in mind it'll be on a Friday night, during rush hour?

I'd put it at a couple of hours, but that's because I've been trained on international trips to be in the airport practically a day (I'm exaggerating) before departure time. I'm no stranger to killing time so it hasn't been much of a problem, but it's obviously a different story when traveling with kids.

[karmic]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

I would leave an hour and a half or more Better safe than sorry

Agree with Marnie. The traffic to JFK can be brutal!

[kewbrickny]

Why not take the Long Island Railroad to Jamaica (station not the country - lol). Then catch the Air Train (monorail) direct to JFK - 35 minutes and no traffic!

Here is the link: AirTrain JFK > Home

Enjoy!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by kewbrickny

Why not take the Long Island Railroad to Jamaica (station not the country - lol). Then catch the Air Train (monorail) direct to JFK - 35 minutes and no traffic!

Here is the link: AirTrain JFK > Home

Enjoy!

I have looked into this - what I'm not sure about is how much walking we'd have to do with all of our cases. Any idea?

[Dave Marx]

I'm not sure it'd be any worse with your luggage than getting Alexander and our luggage between Paris and DLP via RER, and from Paris to London on Eurostar. The one thing I'll say in favor of taking the Long Island Railroad is that the interior compartments on the trains don't include the big step up (once you're inside) that the RER trains had.

You do have a good advantage taking the LIRR, considering your hotel location. You'll probably do a lot better on the trains than stuck in traffic in a cab. You've got to go crosstown from the West Side to the Midtown Tunnel (on 34th St., probably), out the Long Island Expressway to the Van Wyck... during rush hour, that's a huge yuck!

I haven't been out to JFK since they opened that new rail link. It's got to be a huge improvement. (The old method by rail entailed taking a subway to a stop nearby the airport, then transferring to a city bus.)

Speaking as someone who used to drive a taxi in those parts (and spent most of his life there driving as a civilian)... the drive to JFK can include a major traffic jam or two, any day of the week, or time of day. The savvy drivers know how to use the "marginal roads" that parallel some of those routes, but those can also be a trap if you don't know them really well. Some of the drivers used to refer to the marginal roads (on the two-way radios) as "the balcony," since the highways are often down in trenches.

Driver A: "Hey, guys, the Van Wyck is a parking lot!"

Driver B: "How's the balcony?"

[kewbrickny]

Penn Station, where you catch the LIRR is "underneath" Madison Sq Garden - not knowing which hotel nearby you are in, the "bag drag" shouldn't be any worse than it is at the airport. Dave's info is spot on. (I didn't know Dave was a NYer )

[jimmymac]

I'd leave 1 1/2 hours to be safe. The LIRR / train option is a very good idea, if you donb't mihnd schlepping your bags down into Penn Station

[4Disney2]

I am here in NYC and Traffic is horrid! We ALWAYS allow plenty of time. (sometimes there is construction, an accident, etc)
Allow Plenty of time, you do not want to miss your flight!!!

[PrincessSharon]

Originally Posted by kewbrickny

Penn Station, where you catch the LIRR is "underneath" Madison Sq Garden - not knowing which hotel nearby you are in, the "bag drag" shouldn't be any worse than it is at the airport. Dave's info is spot on. (I didn't know Dave was a NYer )

Actually, Chez, I might be on that train with you! I'll send you a PM...