Looking for places to go on Long Island

June 6, 2010 8:16 AM

What are some places on Long Island my sister and I could visit with a morning to kill before a flight out of JFK Airport?

We will be staying with our aunt on Long Island, near the Oyster Bay branch of the Long Island Railroad. She will probably drop us off at a Long Island Railroad station around 8 or 9 am on a Wednesday. The (domestic) flight leaves at 3 pm. I found this link which suggested the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Rockaway Beach.

posted by qmechanic to travel & transportation around Long Island, NY (9 answers total)

Long Island isn't big on mass transit, so yes, you'll probably want to do something that is accessible from JFK with mass transit. Really, if you've got a few hours to kill, you can take the LIRR into Manhattan (get a one way to Penn), hang around the city until 12, giving you 3 hours there, then you take the LIRR (or a subway) back to Jamaica, then from Jamaica, take the $5 airtrain to JFK.

As for LI itself, I can't think of much I'd like to see around here. There's always the nice south shore beaches, but not too mass transit accessible. Really, LI itself is pretty boring, we're a (large at almost 3 million people) suburb of NYC and that's about it.
posted by Brian Puccio at 8:45 AM on June 6, 2010

Go into Manhattan or Brooklyn (also accessible via LIRR from Jamaica).
posted by grouse at 9:49 AM on June 6, 2010

Well, if you're actually at the Oyster Bay train station, Sagamore Hill is practically right there, and it sounds like they're giving tours all week.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:07 AM on June 6, 2010

I would take the LIRR to Manhattan (Penn Station) wander around there, get some breakfast and then head back to Jamaica on the LIRR and then get the airtrain to JFK. From inside Penn station you can get on the #1 train and go one stop north to Times Square or a few stops north to Central Park (59th st).

You could take the subway to Jamaica but when you take the LIRR to Jamaica the connection to the Airtrain is literally right overhead - you just have to get on an escalator and there it is. It's super easy. Plus I think LIRR is more comfortable and faster. Jamaica is a major hub on the LIRR and I think almost all of the trains stop there (but always check to make sure).

No matter what you do, make LIRR to Jamaica your center so you don't get lost or too far away. I would not plan to do anything that sounds involved or complicated or far so as not to stress yourselves out or jeopardize your flight.
posted by amethysts at 11:11 AM on June 6, 2010

Actually, I've been to Manhattan dozens of times, and my sister and I will have a good four days in Manhattan. So I was hoping to do something different, away from the "big bad" city. I'd be happy just to hang out with my sister in some quiet area.
posted by qmechanic at 12:19 PM on June 6, 2010

In that case I would second Sagamore Hill.
posted by amethysts at 12:28 PM on June 6, 2010

If you can get there, Planting Fields Arboretum, it's kinda close. Map. Some of those backroads don't have sidewalks up there I don't think.
posted by Brian Puccio at 4:04 PM on June 6, 2010

I grew up on the oyster bay line. There are no sidewalks from oyster bay station to Planting Fields (which I love). Sagamore Hill has similar issues. You would need to take a cab unless you want to walk along shoulderless roads. Another garden in that area I would recc is the Japanese Stroll Garden. All are worth a look - but you really need a car. Other things to see would be downtown Roslyn which is sort of cute and victorian-y. You could hoof it over as well to the Nassau County Museum of Art (again - really a car would be better). Clark Garden is adjacent to the Albertson station. That's really all I can think of on the OB line worth seeing that you could attempt without a car. Then you end up at Jamaica and could reverse back out to something else - cradle of aviation museum isn't bad - take the Hempstead line to CLP and walk. Really though - kind of a hassle the LIRR is designed to take people to Manhattan not around the Island. You could also go to the Beach on the train?
posted by JPD at 6:15 PM on June 6, 2010

Thanks everyone!
posted by qmechanic at 3:59 PM on June 8, 2010