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Hi, I am thinking about booking an international flight that leaves at 11:30 p.m. this Memorial Day. I have heard multiple times that traffic in/around the city that day is horrendous, so I am trying to determine whether or not I should book this flight, and how I should get there from Newburgh if I do. Just a few questions for you!
1) Have you had to get to JFK on Memorial day afternoon/evening before? How was it?
2) Instead of taking a car or bus, would you recommend using Metro North and the subway/AirTrain to avoid getting stuck in highway traffic?
3) How early would you suggest arriving at the airport for an international flight on Memorial Day?
how about a limo service in the Newburgh area that can get you to JFK very early? unfortunately im not aware of any train service north of Spring Valley tho there may be. anyway its a hassle being on the other side of the Hudson from JFK. maybe you could take Metro North or Amtrak on the other side of the Hudson around Beacon(again im not familiar with the train service on that side that high up).
there may be airport services from Penn Station or GCT that will take you to JFK but all in all its a tiring schlep (75-80 miles) which is why a limo svce might be better.
1. Grab the Metro North Hudson Line at Beacon to GCT
2. At Grand Central enter the Subway and take a Queens Bound 7 Train to 74th Street – Broadway and Switch to Jamaica Center bound E Train to Sutphin Boulevard - Archer Avenue - JFK Airport
3. At Sutphin Boulevard - Archer Avenue - JFK Airport you'll walk upstairs through the Jamaica LIRR station and enter the Airtrain
4. You'll then take the Airtrain to the Terminal of your choice
It takes 85mins from Beacon to GCT and 45mins from GCT to JFK
Memorial Day, itself, generally does not have terrible traffic as many people leave the city for the East End of Long Island, The Vineyard, Cape Cod, Maine, Nantucket, the Jersey Shore, etc. For a morning flight, you should not have terrible traffic, at all, because it is the late afternoon/evening/night traffic that can be horrendous when people who have to return to finish school, work, etc. head back to the city.
For an international flight, you want to be there about three hours before the flight's scheduled departure to get through security and not be rushed. Even if it is a light travel day at many airports, JFK can still be very busy, so I would not recommend arriving too close to flight time.
I would take what is easier for you, Metro-North or the bus from Newburgh to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. You could take the E train to the AirTrain from either location, as suggested above, if you do not mind the subway. Both are also a short cab ride from Penn Station if you wanted to take the LIRR to Jamaica to the AirTrain. The ease of transporting your luggage would be the means through which you get to the AirTrain because the subway can be more of a hassle. Too bad your flight is so early because you could take Amtrak from Poughkeepsie to Penn, but the morning train would not work for your departure time, much less the time you need to be at the airport to get through security, get to the gate, get a snack, etc.
A Super Shuttle van would be over $300, and a connecting flight is probably going to be in the $500-$600 range RT if there was one that would work for your departing international flight. I would leave earlier in the morning, and get to the city and the airport, since you can rest again once on your international flight.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
1. Grab the Metro North Hudson Line at Beacon to GCT
2. At Grand Central enter the Subway and take a Queens Bound 7 Train to 74th Street – Broadway and Switch to Jamaica Center bound E Train to Sutphin Boulevard - Archer Avenue - JFK Airport
3. At Sutphin Boulevard - Archer Avenue - JFK Airport you'll walk upstairs through the Jamaica LIRR station and enter the Airtrain
4. You'll then take the Airtrain to the Terminal of your choice
It takes 85mins from Beacon to GCT and 45mins from GCT to JFK
I agree on Metro North from Beacon to GCT. However, after getting to GCT, depending on how much luggage and physical stamina they have, they could also opt to take the NYCAirporter shuttle bus from GCT to JFK, less lugging around of luggage! Traffic from GCT to JFK should not be too bad, as the traffic should be coming from LI not towards LI at that time.
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