Wed, July 1, 2026 at 6:24 PM UTC
Credit: Serious Eats
John F. Kennedy International Airport is New York City’s main airport within city limits, and the busiest international commercial airport in the US. It lies in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, about 15 miles due east of Manhattan, and is the closest airport to New York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, as well as a stone’s throw from the suburban enclaves of Long Island.
For the most stress-free and enjoyable layover experiences outside the airport, though, it’s best to stick to the Queens neighborhoods surrounding JFK, which are the most accessible by car and mass transit, rather than venturing into Manhattan, Long Island, or even Brooklyn. There’s a lot of diversity to take advantage of, including the Italian-American community of Howard Beach, the Caribbean and South American flavors of Little Guyana, and the New Yorker surfer culture that hugs the beaches of the Rockaways.
Note that the only way to access mass transit from JFK is via the AirTrain, an automated people mover that links airport terminals, parking lots, and local transit hubs outside of airport security. It’s only free between terminals, and an AirTrain fare won’t extend to subway and bus fares once you transfer to NYC’s transit system. If you’re traveling as a group, a car ride may not be much more expensive, though it will introduce the risk of hitting traffic, made worse by the fact that JFK is undergoing years of construction work.
Read the original article on Serious Eats