debnwade

We are renting a car at the airport (LaGuardia) and driving to a wedding in Rodchester, NY. We leave the city on 7th or 8th- the wedding is on the 9th. How long will it take us. My husband thinks around 5 hours but I have been told longer due to just getting out of the city. I worry about our return drive back to catch a plane and fly home to Ky. on the 11th and when we should drive back the night of the 9th or the 10th. Fly home at 3pm on the 11th.

Austin

My guess is about 7 hours. I used to live near Albany and went to college in Roch. The drive was about 3 hours. From my hometown to NYC (where I went to grad school) it was about 3.5 hours. (My hometown is right off the NYS Thruway) Alot depends on what time of day you will be driving, (traffic), weather, how many stops, finding your way in Rochester, etc.

ronkala

per freetrip.com, 336 miles, 5:21 hours

Austin

Perhaps 5 hours from thruway exit to thruway exit, but no way realisically. When I posted that I'd be driving from Albany to NYC, people responded that it would take me 3.5 to 4 hours. Albany is about 200 miles from Rochester and there is no way that one can get to Roch in 1.5 hours from Albany.

Deb - in case you need to search on Rochester, FYI, there is no "d" in Rochester...

IgorVodov

It is going to take you more than 5 hours. You can probably do it under 5 1/2 hours if you take 81 through NY state and then pick up NY Thruway at Syracuse.

Austin

Okay, now looking at a map... Yes, you probably can do NYC to Rochester in a little over 5 hours. I was thinking NYS Thruway all the way. That would be the long way. There is a shorter route.

LoisL

I drive several times a year from L.I. to Buffalo, and our trip is 7 hrs. [ allowing for bathroom stops and a few extra minutes of traffic problems] going just a few miles over the speed limit [ie; 70 in a 65]. OPur trip should be about an hour and a half longer than yours [at least]. I can't imagine it taking you more than 5 1/2 hrs. to go from LaGuardia to Rochester, as long as you are leaving before or after rush hour [by 6 a.m. or after 9 a.m and before 3 p.m. Hope this helps.

Owen_ONeill

It's 90 minutes from downtown Syracuse to downtown Rochester (may be 80 minutes on a good day but no less). I live in NJ just off Rte 3 about six miles west of Manhattan and the best in can do is 3 hours 45 minutes to Syracuse. I think seven hours is the safest estimate although it might be faster if one gets lucky with NYC traffic. Coming out of or into LGA by car is usually easy late at night or early in the morning (6 AM) but a crap shoot during the day.

Fastest route is to head up to the GW Bridge, head West on Rte 80 through the Delaware Water Gap and then take Rte 380 north to Scranton PA and get 81 North to Syracuse and finally Rte 90 West to Rochester. It saves the Thruway tolls but more importantly, under most conditions will cut about one hour off travel time. If the stars are aligned and you drive fast it might be done in six hours total with no rest stops.

On the aforementioned highways you can safely go up to 74 mph in 65 mph zones and 68 in the 55 zones with no fear of getgtin a speeding ticket (I have driven this route about 100 times in the past three years and am quite certain of this).

Of the possible alternate routes I prefer taking the henry Hudson north to the Saw Mill and then across the Tappan Zee to the Thruway (87 North which then leads you to 90 West at Albany). Some folks prefer Rte 17 from the Tappan Zee going west to Binghamton but it's a slow road relative to the Thruway and not a good choice in rain or snow.

MAJOR caveat: if driving back down on Sunday the 10th do NOT take 87 South from Alabany. The toll portion of the Thruway ends at hariman NY heading south. On Sunday afternoons in good weather the cars are backed up bumper to bumper almost all the way up to Albany (not an exaggeration) crawling along at 20 - 25 mph. If determined to use the Thruway from Rochester on that day..... take it through Albany and then head across the river at the first possible opportunity and drive a buit east to get the Taconic Parkway - it's a lovely drive and not congested like Rte 87 (and doesn't have all the lights and delays of Rte 9).

LoisL

Fastest route, from LaGuardia to Rochester, from years of driving it many different ways, is 80W over GW bridge, to 380 to 81N, to 81N. In Syracuse, take 690W [I think it's 690] to 90W [NY Thruway]to whatever exit you need for your destination in Rochester. There's no way, barring a major traffic jam, that's going to take you 7 hrs.

For a change, we'll take the GW bridge to the Palisades, to Rt. 6, to Rt. 17, to Rt. 81N. This trip adds a bit to the time, but is a beatiful drive.

The Hutchison to the Tappan Zee is our alternative if we want to avoid rush hour, and at the same time, won't be hitting it up by the Tappan Zee [or that can be even worse traffic!]

There's even a third alternative, instead of taking 81N from Binghamton to Syracuse, stay on 17W to 390. This allows for a pretty drive on 17 [also called the new 86] and 390 is very open and uncrowded, and heads right into Rochester. This route is also a bit longer time wise than my first choice.

IgorVodov

I agree with Lois about getting off 81N between Binghamton and Syracuse. This way you avoid the bumper-to-bumper traffic that usually accumulates on that part of 81 because of construction. You can also do the same on the way back.

jansa19

Why are you renting a car at LaGuardia to drive to Rochester?? Check into JetBlue airlines. They fly from LGA to Rochester in less than an hour. You may hit a good deal - considering what you'll pay in gas and time.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

I think jetBlue only serves JFK, not LGA, and worth considering if you live in NYC area.

Agree completely on avoiding Harriman on a Sunday night, or any holiday weekend in either direction. If you MUST drive thru there, get ez-pass, even if you have to borrow somebodys. It took us an hour last Columbus Day weekend to get thru the toll plaza (driver didn't have ezpass) and we could have zoomed thru the wide-open ezpass-only lanes had we the pass.

If you choose Taconic Parkway for your return trip, get off NYS Thruway at exit 24, follow I-90 east.