Thanksgiving at LaGuardia
 

I am visiting NY over Thanksgiving. I have a 5 pm flight out of LaGuardia on Sunday evening. What time should I leave midtown Manhattan to get this flight on the upcoming holiday weekend?

Traffic should be fairly light on Thanksgiving afternoon - it won't build up until later in the evening when people start returning home from a day spent with relatives or friends.

It's normally about a 30 to 40 minute drive from mid-town to LGA but one can never predict when there will be a traffic jam on NYC roads & highways so plan accordingly and don't forget to allow yourself enough time to check-in (assuming you don't do it on-line) and clearing the TSA checkpoint.

On Sun. it will be very busy on the roads and at the airport. I'd leave Manhattan by 2:30.

Sunday could be a madhouse. But it really depends on where in midtown you are and whether you are checking luggage as to when you should leave. If not checking a bag, you can arrive 90 minutes before your flight; if checking, I wouldn't arrive less than 2 hours on that day. I think that will be a particularly heavy travel day at LGA.

Getting to LGA is significantly easier from the east side, less so from the west. Traffic in Manhattan usually picks up after 3 or 4 on Sundays, but is especially busy on weekends leading up to Christmas, with people returning to the city after a weekend away and coming in and out for shopping from the suburbs. So allow 45 minutes or more to get to LGA. You're talking about leaving around 2:30 at the latest I think.

Oh, sorry, I mis-read the post - thought OP was traveling on Thanksgiving Day. Agree, Sunday traffic could be a nightmare.

If you are using a car service, ask what they recommend, they are most familiar with traffic on that Sunday (which is always heavy with all the traveling that holiday weekend).

This is one of those times when a car service is worth its weight in gold.

They tell you when they will pick you up; they absorb the cost if you have to sit in traffic.

And pray for good weather. It is one of the busiest days in the year, as you no doubt already know.