I am flying into JFK this Friday the 7th and have a 9 hour wait for a transfer flight to Guyana.

Does anyone know JFK? I am wondering if there is anywhere to go and maybe get my head down for a couple or hours or to relax away from the crowds?

9 hours? Leave the airport, go hang somewhere. If your into bird watching, the Jamacia Bay Widlife Refuge is right there

Would we be able to leave the airport during an international transfer? In the UK you cant leave air-side.

Jamacia Bay sounds ideal though. I do enjoy bird watching and one of the guys I am travelling with is a respected authority on birds.

As far as I know, you can leave the airport but you may wish to get some info on how long it would take to clear customs and then get back into the terminal. It could take an hour to clear and an hour to get back in, depending on your travel day and time.

Nine hours is a long time but not an impossible timeframe to enjoy a few hours outside.

Cheers for the suggestions guys, I have family in NY but they are busy, which is a shame. A couple of hours stretching the legs and birdwatching would be a great ideal.

Yes, you can. I had a buddy fly from Europe, stopped in LA for 10 hours, went home and did his laundry, then repacked and took off to Australia later that night.

Edit: his 2 vacations were to europe and australia. he resided in La. That probably wasn't clear.

Interesting, I take it he was a US citizen though.

I am just googling whether we can enter the US for a couple of hours.

Any ideas the journey time on the tube to Manhattan from the airport?

About 40 minutes, but you can't get directly from teh Air train to manhattan - have to switch onto the subway. Check here -

I'm a NY'er and to be honest, unless you want a quick run into Manhattan for 3 - 4 hours, i don't see where there's much else to do. Bird watching sounds pretty impractical to me.

mind you, three to 4 hours in manhattan might be pretty cool to do, depending on the time of day.

http://gonyc.about.com/cs/airlinesairports/a/getto_jfk.htm

Like Izzy said, once your through customs/INS you can do what you want. Just avoid the line going to the connecting flights (which you usually have to go through security again depending on airport) and follow the line going to the taxi's.

Enjoy NYC!

Mind you (or, more to the point, I) get on the right AirTrain otherwise you (or I) squander precious time by riding in a circle. How to avoid this: when you get on, listen to what the destination is. It's harder than it sounds.

Cheers Guys. I know NY fairly well, I used to meet up with mates that were couriers and ally cat race with them, its just been years since I last went through JFK.

I might shoot into Manhattan and catch up with my sister.

He was, but it's not like he got to skirt around customs. I take it you're a UK citizen? I'm pretty sure any European citizen wouldn't be hassled too much.

If you get time, Times Square and/or Central Park are good for a little. Though you have to put up with tourists (lol!) Hopefully your layover is during daylight, or I'd avoid the park.

Cheers Mate.

If we can get out of the airport I will give my sister a ring and try to arrange to meet her in time squire. We can get a last big feed and coffee before the jungle.

Cheers for the help guys

There are no luggage lockers anymore.

With a 9 hour layover, and traffic on the Van Wyck, you had better allocate at least 1.5 hours each way (3 total) for travel. Given that they suggest you arrive 2 hours before a flight, that's 5 hours taken, leaving you with at best 4 hours, and I've got to say, that's TIGHT for NY traffic. I'd rent a car and drive to Jamaica bay - right there along the Belt Parkway - and go for a walk.

Cheers Martin, if we go anywhere we will go by train.

I was thinking that around four hours would be the max time we would have. Thats enough time to eat a US super sizer meal and XXXL coffee before entering the jungle with only the food we carry and catch.

Hopefully we will be in Time Squire tomorrow evening for dinner then.