I have a 5 hour layover arriving from Europe on a Tuesday afternoon, once I go through immigration and customs and figure in time for my connecting flight I figure I have 2.5 hours to play with-so what can I realistically see, if anything, in 2.5 hours outside JFK Airport? I've never been to NYC so I'm open to any suggestions.

Morning!

Unfortunately, JFK is not to easily accesible to anything, I'd suggest you stay at the airport.
Public Transport is non-existent and traffic in that area cam be at the best of times a nightmare.
Weather might delay your arrival into JFK and that 2.5 hours might be reduced to running to make your connection !
Good luck and a safe journey!

If you have to clear customs AND change terminals at JFK, you'll likely have only 1.5 hours between flights.

Unfortunately there is literally nothing to do or see close to the airport. Bring a good book

I would check into a hotel next door to the airport and watch TV or sleep.

I have no idea, but maybe there are helicopter tours of the city from JFK? Maybe you could squeeze in a 30 minute tour before your flight out? But my guess is that there are quite a few restrictions on airspace in NYC since 2001.

The other posters are right. You better stay at the airport.
JFK is on Long Island, nowhere near NYC. Traffic in and out of Long Island is awful.

Even with 4 hours, I'd get a cheap hotel rooms on priceline very close to the airport.

I have to agree with the other posters (except JFK is not out on Long Island, it is in Queens) and the traffic on the belt parkway is always a nightmare, no matter what time of day!! I live in Brooklyn (about 25 miles from JFK) and with traffic it can take up to 1 1/2 hours to get there. It is not realistic to leave the airport.

hippirep,

Not that I want to be picky but Queens is techically on Long Island as is where you live, Brooklyn.

But in your defense, most references to Long Island are only of Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Doug - I realize that especially since I grew up on eastern Long Island and I am not trying to pick a fight. I actually find it amusing that you say that because growing up on LI it used to make me nuts when people referred to LI as a seperate entity from Brooklyn and Queens, when technically it is one big island.

hippirep,

By no means was I trying to ruffle any feathers either....just trying to be as accurate as possible for people who may not know anything about the area.

And I grew up on eastern LI as you did.

Not meaning to get in the middle of a food fight, I personally would stay at the airport. Go to the bar, have a couple glasses of wine, and do some people watching. Have a bite to eat and relax, read -- the time will go by fast.

What you could do is hire a service car to take you into the city and back. You can hire it by the hour so if the time is getting short to your flight you can just turn around.

There is public transportation into the city by bus and train, but each way is about an hour or more from JFK, so you won't get to see much.

You might think about changing your outgoing flight to stay overnight in NY so you can have a little time to see the city.

One nice thing is your trip to JFK you should get to see the city skyline as you are landing.

The other posters are right if you are late you will be running to the other terminal for your flight, so I guess you should probably plan on just relaxing at the airport if you can not change your outbound flight.

Have a great trip.

If you have to collect bags, go through customs, and change terminals (which means finding and taking a shuttle bus), then go through security again, and be at the gate 1/2 hour before your connecting flight, you're really not going to have much time to kill.

Thanks for all the responses. I am flying AA (hopefully they don't cancel these flights) on both flights so I don't think I have to change terminals. This is a FF flight and I already have an open jaw itinerary so AA won't allow me a stop-over in NYC too. The 5 hr layover is between a 9 hour flight from Europe and a 6.5 hour flight to the west coast, so you see why I'm so desperate to get out of the airport for some "fresh air".

Agree with most other posters that you should not leave the airport. Here is one thing that you can do (most easily if you do not have your luggage with you) - JFK has many terminals, some are interesting, some humdrum. There are shuttle busses that make loops around them. You can take a shuttle and get off at a building that looks interesting you you. You will also get to see the panes of a lot of airlines that you do not normally see at most airports.

I would do that and relax at one of the restaurants for a drink/snack/meal.

Even though both flights are with AA, I'm not sure if they are in the same building since one is international and one is domestic. Just a thought.

Howard is right. You will have to change terminals from domestic to International. If you are flying coach, you could call AA and see if you can pay a small fee to use the lounge.

If it's a nice day you may want to consider taking a cab to Flushing Meadow Park. It's the site where the 1964-65 World's Fair was held. The Unisphere is there, along with the Queens Museum that has a diorama of New York City. There is also The Hall of Science (a science museum), the Queens Zoo, and a carousel. Just a thought.