jenny

We received our ticketing and we have 8 hrs.at JFK before our transatlantic flight ! What is there to do and 'kill time' besides reading?! We come in into Terminal 7 and leave fr.Terminal 8. Going to NYC is not a good option for us. It will just tire us out, besides we are nt. familiar with the city etc. I'm hoping for some good advice !Thanks.

Weadles

Is there any way you can change the first part of your ticketing and either arrive later in the day or overnight in New York the day before your flight? Many hotels in the city are offering early summer specials, so the expense may not be prohibitive. Quite honestly, I don't know what else to suggest. JFK has a poor selection of shopping and restaurants.
Good luck!

krpp75

jenny, I live near JFK and there is nowhere to go in JFK airport or in the surrounding area either. If you are unable to change the first leg of your flight to arrive at JFK later, you may as well just get a meal at one of the restaurants and settle down with a book. Even if you were physically up to going into Manhattan, there wouldn't be enough time because you would have to allow for the usual heavy traffic in both directions and also you have to be at the airport 3 hours before an internation flight.

mclaurie

Jenny, I would personally find 8 hrs at JFK unmanageable. While it is true there's not much to do nearby, I have a few suggestions.

1. Take a cab to the Museum of Modern Art in Queens. MOMA is under renovation in NYC & is temporarily located in Long Island City, Queens about an hour's drive from JFK. Yes, it's almost as far as going to the city but you don't have to go through the tunnel or over a bridge which can often be the worst part of the trip depending upon the day & time. There is no big exhibit there now (Matisse/Picasso just finished) but their permanent collection is up & there is an Andy Warhol exhibit. You can check the website www.moma.org The trip back & forth would take 2-3 hrs. depending on traffic which would leave you at least 2 hrs to spend there even allowing a 3 hr check-in (I would call your transatlantic carrier & find out if you can check in & get boarding passes BEFORE you leave the airport.)

MOMA is closed on Tues & Wed I think. Any NYC cab will take you to Queens from JFK. I don't know if the flat fare of $35 from JFK to NYC would apply or if it would be on the meter (which could be less or around the same.) You'd have no additional tolls.

2. The nearest "nice" town that I know of to JFK is Cedarhurst, Long Island-about a 20-30 minute cab ride from JFK but you'd need a local cab-a NYC cab won't want to take you there (nor will they necessarily know the way). The phone number for the Cedarhurst cab I found on the web is
Cedarhurst Taxi Stand
Cedarhurst Railroad Station, Cedarhurst, NY
516-569-1628
This is a suburban village with some local shops as well as some of the national chains (I think there's a Gap, Ann Taylor etc.) Ask to be dropped off on Central Ave. in Cedarhurst somehwere in the middle maybe near the Gap. There are also some restaurants-nothing exceptional to my knowledge but better (and cheaper) than at JFK.
I don't know what the cab would charge-maybe $20-30 each way. Arrange a time & place for them to pick you up for the return. BTW, Cedarhurst has a large orthodox Jewish population so some shops might eb closed on a Sat. but not all. Not sure about Sun.

Finally, I suggest you post this question on the US board here because there are other things to do in Queens besides going to MOMA that I don't know about. Good luck & have a great trip.

Cicerone

Consider going to a day spa in the area for a massage, facial, etc. Take a look at spafinders.com. You can search by state and town. I just looked and found 119 in New York State. There is a day spa in Cederhurst, the town mentioned above. The only other town I know of is Manhasset, which is a very nice rather exclusive suburb on the north shore; would probably be about 20 minutes by taxi. There is a Georgette Klinger spa there which I am sure is great, as well as another spa.

If you stay at JFK, consider going to the Dean and Deluca in Terminal 4 for a taste of nouvelle deli....

A good website showing retail, food etc by terminal is the Port Authority's website at www.panynj.gov/aviation/jfkshopsframe.htm

jenny

Thanks for the advice and websites ! I don't think we can change the flight as we are with a group tour and going to connect with overseas flight there. I think it said NO changes possible. I did not expect such a long delay ! Surprise ! That's the "price" we pay to go with the tour. Grrrrr.

Grandma

This idea is just off the wall.. but:
will you have to eat lunch while you wait? It would be expensive.. but you could take a taxi to the River Cafe in Brooklyn. Terrific food and a view of the river traffic and lower Manhattan. (Again.. without crossing any bridges.. I think...)

AP6380

You could always go to Astoria, Queens for great Greek food. There are many restaurants to choose from, if you need recommendations let me know. The area is not very attractive, but there is a huge population of Greeks there and the food is phenomenal.

Elainee

I live in NYC (suburbs) and travel often from JFK. I think it is not worth it to try to do anything but stay at the airport and make the best of it. The traffic around JFK is terrible to horrible. Figure 1 hour to get off your flight and get thru the airport and get a cab, another 2 hours to be there for your transatlantic flight, another 2 hours going back and forth to wherever...that gives you 3 hours to enjoy yourself. Doesn't seem worth it to me unless you could find a great place nearby...and there really isn't one. I would go to Dean and Deluca in Terminal 4 and have a nice lunch. Take a cruise around looking at the shops..I can spend lots of time in bookshops. I don't know if JFK now has a nail place, Newark now does. But I would have my nails done or a facial if a place now exists. In other words..relax. Then you can spend the flight watching all the movies.

WanderingTexan

Try to find a way to get into one of the airline lounges. They are very comfortable.

jenny

I just wanted to say 'thanks' to all of you for your suggestions. Surprise, surprise, we were able to change our flight to a much shorter layover ( 4 hrs). It always pays to ASK !
Now I'm beginning to look forward to our trip !

Ann1

That's great Jenny, but just as a point of information if anyone else has that problem, Elainee is totally correct. Even though JFK is in Queens and a New York City airport, it's still not in an area where it's convenient. Taxi's are not cheap in New York and going to Astoria or Moma is on the other side of the island and quite a trip. If you hit traffic, forget it. All your travel money would be gone. It has taken us 3 hours to go 40 miles at times.

Go up to the observation deck, read, wander, eat, look in shops, but stay at the airport.

yipper

Hi,
I am glad that problem was solved, but we had long lay over a JFK for a international flight. We checked in at Boston and the luggage was sent onto Austria. After we arrived at JFK, we took the subway into NYC and had a great lunch and walked around. Then back on the subway to JFK. I think it took us about 75 minutes to get to midtown. If the traffic is not an issue I think the bus service is much faster, 40 minutes. This is just some info in case anyone else has the problem.

Ann1

Yipper: Are you sure it was JFK? Where did you get a subway? Unless it was many years ago when they had a train to the plane. Not a subway. There are no subways in that area. They are building a new train to the plane that will take you to Jamaica station then catch a LIRR to Manhattan. Right now there's nothing.

mj

Ann1,
The "A" train runs to JFK's long-term parking lot. Free-shuttle buses go from the station to the terminals. Been like that for many moons.

martytravels

Leaving and coming back is a little chancey, but dooable. Depending on traffic, it can take 45 minutes to 2 hours to get into Manhattan, and the subway-bus combination will take an hour minimum.
I can understand the need to get away from JFK tho. In a word, it sucks! It's a big confused mess with little to occupy your time.

Ann1

I thought that was gone a long time ago. Why do people complain that there is not way of getting to JFK by train?