NJ to JFK

Travelling to JFK from Monmouth County on Tuesday evening next week. (Dropping off passengers) The international flight leaves at midnight.

How much time should I allow? First time driving there...

Two hours? And definitely use Waze or google maps, to avoid the most traffic.

Check on the lead time required for international flights. Add 2 hours and subtract from 12 to get the time you should leave Monmouth County.

Depending on airline and terminal, check-in (passport, luggage & TSA screening) for int'l departure out of JFK at midnight can be very busy. Pre-check might or might not be open, unless flying J or F class and/or with elite/flyer status - coach pax should plan to arrive 2.5 hours to 3 hours prior to scheduled departure.

Check the status of the in-bound aircraft to see if it is landing early/on-time, as turnaround for oversea flights for jumbo aircrafts generally take 2+ hours to clear & prep for boarding/takeoff.

This drive will most likely be via one of the Staten Island crossing connecting to the VZ Bridge onto Brooklyn - Waze or Google Maps will recommend whether upper level or lower level of VZB is better (both shold remained open during the late evening, sometimes closed for overnight maintenance) ... there is ongoing zig-zag bottleneck at the SI toll plaza areas as it's being prepped for cash-less EZ-Pass crossing.

Once on the VZ Bridge (I generally prefer the lower level - no commercial/truck traffic) keep left for the Belt Parkway exit (East) as it do a big loop around for the merge with traffic from the other level - toward Coney Island for JFK ... it's typically another 30 to 45 minutes of driving to the airport, weather & road/traffic conditions being unexceptional. (Waze showing a 30 minutes drive near the VZ Bridge in SI to JFK at this moment ... stop-n-go traffic on the Belt Pkwy is common but generally will move along at or above the posted speed limit at this hour)

GPS navigation via Waze & Google Maps is very accurate with real-time traffic integration in this area, use and trust it to guide you ... the App will do a "Route Preview" which you might find helpful if driving this route for the first time.

Thanks for the replies.

We used google maps and it was an easy (but long, I'm used to EWR) journey. I allowed ~3 hours for drive and 3 hours international checkin because I've been stuck at a dead stop on the highways here too many times. We left around 6:15pm on a Tuesday evening and arrived about 8pm. There were a few slow spots due to construction but no accidents, so that was lucky. Clear day. Had EZ pass.

I also looked at traffic.com the week before and estimated times ranged from 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours 40 min.

Thanks for the replies.

 

We used google maps and it was an easy (but long, I'm used to EWR) journey. I allowed ~3 hours for drive and 3 hours international checkin because I've been stuck at a dead stop on the highways here too many times. We left around 6:15pm on a Tuesday evening and arrived about 8pm. There were a few slow spots due to construction but no accidents, so that was lucky. Clear day. Had EZ pass.

 

I also looked at traffic.com the week before and estimated times ranged from 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours 40 min.

Thanks for the feedback. Glad it worked well for you and there was no traffic drama.