I am flying out of JFK shortly and wanted to get your input. I drive up from PA and normally I have never had an issue coming up the NJ Turnpike, across the Verrazano and around the Belt Parkway to the airport.
This time is different in that I have to be at the aiport at 10:00 AM and will be heading through Brooklyn and Queens at rush hour. Am I going to be in a hideous nightmare on the Belt Pkwy? Are there alternate routes in the event of a bad accident?
I was hoping to find a ferry service from Jersey City, but it doesn’t look like one exists.
Take Canal across lower Manhattan to the Manhattan Bridge, then straight out Flatbush to Grand Army Plaza. Eastern Parkway to Atlantic, then a right onto the Conduit. Nothin’ to it.
If you’re going to JFK at 10 AM, you are going to encounter a lot of traffic, no matter which way you go. Take the Verrazano and then Belt, and leave a lot of extra time in your schedule. If you have a full tank of gas, an empty bladder, and two hours to spare, you’ll be fine.
Agree with this. It’s a horrible drive. SI Expressway and Belt Parkway are not meant to be navigated at those hours, though billions try. (Some might say they’re never meant to be navigated.) If you are not going public transportation, add at least an hour to your normal trip.
You’re not going to believe this; but you posted exactly what I was planning.
To the Op:
If you can, take a train.
It really is terrible driving to JFK if you are not already on Long Island.
I won’t fly out of JFK anymore.
I use Newark, AC or Philly.
Adding an hour seems risky to get through the belly of the beast (ok the crotch of the beast). It may be enought, but traffic is very variable and you could find yourself sitting in traffic w/ a lot of anxiety. For your own piece of mind I would allow an extra 2 as you never know when a tractor trailer will wonder onto the belt.
IMHO the train is the way to go (as I stated), flying to JFK seems faster but more expensive. You may also consider a hotel near JFK and leave the night before.
It is indeed at the ass-end of the civilized world. ( Unless you’re from Woodmere, in which case, nyah nyah ! ).
Can you swap flights to get outa Newark or Philly? If not then I would side with the “get there the night before and sleep near the airport and take a shuttle bus over in time” plan.
You are flying Internationally? With a 10:00 am departure? My god. Allow at least 90 minutes to get through Security. Allow 30-60 minutes before THAT for standing in the check-in line for baggage check and boarding passes.
If it is not an International flight, then try like hell to swap the flight out of Philly instead.
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