Hi, 2 couples one of which has never been to Manhattan have an 8 hr layover at JFK. Is it doable to dash into the city and take a spin around the island on a double decker, grab a deli sandwich somewhere, pet the bull on wall street, and make it back in time for our flight? If that is not realistic is there anything we could do instead? we arrive Wed. May 27 at 6:15 AM and depart same day, 2:20 PM. I know most wouldn't dream of doing this but I like living on the edge. Thanks in advance.
Fireman Brian

From Fireman, forgot to report out bound flight is international so that should be taken into account. Thanks again. Fodor's forums are invaluable information.

If your outbound fight is international they will want you back at the airport by 11:30 (but do check your airline on this) which would mean leaving Manhattan b about 10:30. And if your plane lands at 6:15 you would likely make it into Manhattan by about 7:30 at the earliest - assuming you take Air Train to LIRR. (Subway or cab would take longer then.)

So - you have at best 3 hours. Can you take a HoHo bus for part of a circle - yes, but you'll be caught in rush hour traffic. Or you can head downtown to see the Bull. OR you could stay midtown, rush through Times Square and ascent Top of the Rock.

It's obviously too early for lunch - but I guess you could get sandwiches to go and eat them in the airport when you get there.

I assume this is all one ticket and your luggage will be automatically transferred to your ongoing flight. If not - you will have to head to the one place in the airport that checks luggage - so cut at least another 30 to 45 minutes out of your time in Manhattan. And will you be hauling your carry-ons around with you. If not - you lose the same amount of time checking and then picking up your luggage after your trip out of the airport.

If it were me I would just stay in an airport club and relax.

There are some things to do in Queens that would be closer and you could see one of a couple of museums or historic sights - but it would mean hiring a cab to take you to and fro to whatever sight you choose and you could be caught in rush hour traffic.

forgot to report out bound flight is international so that should be taken into account

Who are you flying? And to where? Is it the same airline as your flight to JFK?

Being international may increase your time, but it might not be by much. If you are flying to the Caribbean, for example, don't have to check luggage, and have your boarding pass in hand, there is no way you need to arrive at the airport 3 hours early as suggested above.

You have time to do something, but not so much time as to do everything you want. It sounds like you are coming from the West Coast on the red eye. If you will have the energy, then go for it.

You'll already be checked in, and I assume will have no heavy luggage (a couple of the terminals at JFK have a luggage check service, but not all do), so there's no need to be back 3 hours ahead, though I'd always be back at the airport 2 hours before the flight.

You can be at Penn Station by 7:30 am if you don't have to check anything at the airport if you take the Airtrain and LIRR from Jamaica. This will cost about $15 total since you are traveling during rush hour (it will be very crowded, so you might have to stand). Remember to buy tickets from the machine before you get on the LIRR; otherwise, it's almost double the cost. You'll pay the fare for the Airtrain ($5) and buy a round-trip Metrocard (same card, $5 more) so you can take a ride on the subway. You will NOT have time for the double-decker bus. No way no how ... even under the best of circumstances, so don't even try.

Pick a single activity you really want to do, and if that's pet the bull (god knows why) then take the subway down to Wall Street and do that. If you want to see the 9/11 Memorial, you have time to do that too, and it's nearby. You could have an early lunch at Blue SMoke (bbq), Shake Shack (burgers), or deli (you could trek to the Lower East Side in about 20 minutes on foot). Then head back to Penn Station on the subway and then to the airport no later than 11:15 am, arriving by noon if you make the next train.

If it were me, and I'd never been to Manhattan before, and I had 3-1/2 hours to "kill", I'd take the train into Manhattan as Doug suggested, and then I'd just walk up and down the streets - from Penn Station to Central Park, and then back down Fifth Avenue. If I had time, I'd do a quick stroll through the southern part of Central Park, and I'd walk through Grand Central, then I'd grab a pastrami sandwich to take back to the airport with me.

Thanks sf7307. Thanks Doug. Great info.. I like the no way no how. I heard that, and will heed! Aeroflot Phx to Venice is our itinerary so I don't think baggage is an issue, just carry on to lug around I can eat a pastrami sand from a NY deli any time of day or nite. Also, this is just me, the last thing I want to do after being on a plane all night is to relax in an airport lounge. Gotta go! Just me.
Fireman Brian

Well, you certainly aren't flying Aeroflot from Phoenix to JFK. Any idea who is operating that leg? Delta maybe? You should make sure to ask at check-in what will happen to any bags (if you are checking) as you will be switching terminals at JFK. If you aren't checking, lugging a full carry on around Manhattan seems like a massive pain.

Delta is indeed the airline from PHX to JFK. I'll trust during my 8 hr layover Delta and Aeroflot will work together to get my bags moved. As for lugging a full carry on around Manhattan I could probably handle it, I'm 6'4" 250 and not fat. However, I am just going to be "lugging " around a small backpack. Thanks for your concern.
Fireman

I don't agree with much of the advice given:

- If you are checked in and have your boarding pass for the Aeroflot flight, there's absolutely no need to be at JFK 3 hours early. Your requirement should be to arrive at the gate no less than 45 mins before the flight time. Allowing plenty of time for security, shooting for arrival at JFK at 12.30-12.45 gives you ample time. Especially since midday is by no means the busiest time at JFK.

- With 2 couples, why take the train instead of a taxi? Taking the train means walking to and waiting for the Airtrain, going to the LIRR station, waiting for another train to take you to Penn Sta, and then going from Pann Sta to somewhere in Manhattan. Much easier/faster to take a cab, and with 4 people the price is probably the same (or even less). Same applies to the trip back.

The reason for taking a train is that it's twice as fast as a taxi and (sorry, you are dead wrong here) still cheaper for 4 people. A taxi will cost at least $70 with tolls and tips and may be mired in early morning rush hour traffic, which can mean much more than an hour to downtown from JFK, even after taking the Battery Tunnel, which is usually the fastest way.

As for lugging a full carry on around Manhattan I could probably handle it

You probably could, but why would you want to? More importantly, if you are taking public transit, nobody else wants you to either. Nobody likes luggage-on-public-transit-during-rush-hour-guy.

The reason for taking a train is that it's twice as fast as a taxi

I agree, generally, for the trip into Manhattan. For the trip back, though, I think a cab makes more sense.

Wednesday is matinee day, and midtown is particularly crowded in the late morning and early afternoon. I'd take a taxi only if I had lots of time. It can easily take 30 minutes to get across town if traffic is bad.

Thanks Doug, for repeating what I spout so often. People tend to think that an expensive taxi is always the best option (particularly faster) when that is almost never the case. I still shudder at the memory of "splurging" for the taxi from JFK to midtown once and getting caught by an overturned tank truck and we say staring at the old World's Fair sphere for about an hour and half with no way for our taxi to get "unstuck" in traffic and he did nothing but sit and bitch and bitch about the "fixed fare" which meant how much money he was losing. About three hours after getting in the taxi we arrived at our midtown hotel. It was HELL. Every other time we've taken the trains and it is SO easy, and always faster. There are times when spending more money does not get you there faster -- not by a long shot.

"More importantly, if you are taking public transit, nobody else wants you to either. Nobody likes luggage-on-public-transit-during-rush-hour-guy."

Maybe not, but then who likes the local carrying the huge bundle of new bed pillows and comforter, or the new TV, or bags of groceries, or any of the other things that people are entitled to carry on public transport. If you are rolling two steamer trunks and a couple of carryons, then yes -- you need to find another way to get them there. But a rolling suitcase with a carryon sitting on top of it? People who object should get over themselves.

calling someone 'dead wrong" are pretty strong words coming from a staff member of the fodors family- disturbingly strong words.

Thanks for all of the advice. It is all carefully considered. As I stated before, I am only taking a small backpack, actually smaller than most women's purses. That being said if I did have a suitcase I would lug it with me. Nobody likes luggage-on-public-transit-during-rushour-guy? Tough, I'm not going there to make friends.

When someone says the taxi (at about $70) will be less than 4 train tickets then they ARE dead wrong. Why not say so? Is the editor supposed to ignore such blatant mistakes? Would you have an editor NOT tell someone who posts that the Eiffel Tower is in Rome that the comment is dead wrong?

Inakauaidavidababy, I'm curious why you support the idea of not correcting dead wrong information given in posts? Or is it only that you want editors not to correct people, but you think it's OK for other posters to do so? Or do you want them not to correct things either?

Neo, I simply think that a staff member calling someone out as 'dead wrong' is aggressive and unbecoming of a person of position on the boards.

can someone please tell me the steps to take when I walk off the plane from PHX. I understand I need to buy tickets for the air train and LIRR at the airport. What is an Air train and is the train actually the subway?