5+ hour layover at JFK - what to do?
 

I'll be flying Delta from MAD-JFK, and then I have a 5 hour layover until my JFK-SEA flight.

If I could find free or cheap wireless access, that would probably take care of most of my time. What is the best way to do this?

Other suggestions are welcome also.

I do not have status of any sort.

If you camp outside any of the lounges, access should be like $10 for the day. I believe it's $8 a day throughout the terminals (or some of them)

I would do a one day lounge pass, kick back, and relax.

Thanks for the price range for Internet.

It looks like the Delta one-day pass is $50. Not too unreasonable, and I presume that includes food, beverages, and Internet. Are there any other options for lounge access?

There isn't really much food in the DL lounge (think peanuts and snack mix), though there is internet and booze. You can go over to T5 and sit in the lobby of the jetBlue terminal where there is free internet and a Dunkin Donuts outside of security. Not sure if there are other free internet options at JFK.

If we knew more about your interests, we could better suggest something. ;) Are you into Thai food? The best Thai is in Woodside, Queens.

With no status, I'm not sure how an attempt at an earlier flight would turn out, but you could try.

I think that sbm12's suggestion of T5 is probably the best alternative for the OP who really just wants to be able to hang out on the internet for most of his layover. The price for transportation over there and for the access is just right (zero) and a few coffees and donuts will take care of any possible boredom factors. :)

I've got the same sitch in a couple of weeks. Arrive at JFK at 3:00pm and leave for Budapest at 8:00pm on a Sunday. I'll have access to the international lounge (it's still there, isn't it), but was wondering if it was worth it to try to get into Manhattan (or one of the other areas) for a good meal. Would I have the time? Hanging out in SC is OK, but I'd rather head out if possible. Is there a train into Manhattan? How long would the lines be returning? Having five hours may be cutting it a tad close, but I'd like to hear from members here.

Thanks

If you arrive on time, you could be in Manhattan by 4pm, but you'll need to leave Manhattan no later than 6pm (and many will advocate leaving even earlier). So you have to decide whether that's worth it; it probably isn't. That said, you do have time to grab a great meal in one of the outer burroughs.

Yeah... that's more of what I'm thinking... Any suggestions? We're going to be in Budapest, Slovakia, Prague, Munich and Vienna so any ethnic food from that area will be covered during the trip. Something Thai or Italian or even a good steak would be OK as long as it is a quick cab ride from JFK and good food... I'm not enthused over Delta's exquisite cuisine, even though they do seem to be getting a tad better...

Well, I already mentioned Thai in Woodside, Queens. It's near the intersection of 65th St. and Roosevelt Avenue. R train to 65th St. would be the easiest xfer at Jackson Heights/74th Street from the E train from JFK. Also, considering the 10-ride card for the AirTrain is $25, you might consider getting that since you have a party of at least two. Four rides come out to $20, and you could give the remaining six rides to a fellow FTer or coworker. :)

If I'm doing that sort of layover, I like to keep it simple and very close to the airport. To me that means the closest decent local restaurant that has some flavor of the place.

At JFK I frequently take my laying over friends (and I get more than a few of them) to Don Peppe's on Lefferts Boulevard near 135th Avenue. This is a very typical New York City outer borough Italian neighborhood red sauce place with quality that is substantially above the average.

It is no more than a 10 minute cab ride from any JFK terminal and on the return you can take a 5 minute cab ride (you certainly can consider doing the approx. 1 mile walk) to the Lefferts Boulevard Station of the internal AirTrain and ride for free over to your departing terminal). Or, if you are ambitious without much luggage, you can walk round trip from that Lefferts Boulevard station (where you will not find any taxicabs). As I said above, keep it simple.

Either one of the above sound good... Thanks

OK...what if it's a 6 hour layover? On a Friday in December, I'll be flying B6 BOS-JFK arriving at 10:28 and TK JFK-IST leaving at 16:45 (separate tickets and the latter is award in F, so I wanted to be safe.) Is that enough time to get into the city? Is the baggage storage at T1 reliable? If not, any suggestions on how to kill time at JFK? From the Port Authority's website, T1 doesn't look like it has all that much to offer.

If you're on time, you easily could be in Manhattan before noon, which would give you 2+ hours to do something. What do you have in mind? Lunch? Museum?

Depends on when you're there
 

I tend to use the T2 Lounge, which seems to get some mini sandwiches, crudites and other munchies at about 5 PM