8hrs transit in LAX and JFK, what to do?

[pongie]

First time flying to the US, but its work related. On the way to Dallas I have an 8 hrs transit in LAX and then on the way back another 8 hrs transit in JFK. Both on sundays, so what should I do? Is there enough time to wander out of the airport and do some sight seeing/shopping?

 

[Walter_Plinge]

First time flying to the US, but it's work related. On the way to Dallas I have an 8 hrs transit in LAX and then on the way back another 8 hrs transit in JFK. Both on Sundays, so what should I do? Is there enough time to wander out of the airport and do some sight seeing/shopping?

Re LAX there is an extensive thread on this. There's little to see in LAX itself -- a US friend say it's the most boring airport in the US.

JFK: The facilities are better but 8 hours is a long time to fill in. You could catch the AirTrain to Jamaica then Long Island Railroad to Pennsylvania Station -- LIRR is 30 minutes to Penn vs 1 hour by subway. That would probably give you time to visit Times Square. However I haven't actually done it. Perhaps a more knowledgeable contributor can comment.

It's a 15 minute / 1km walk up 7th Avenue to Times Square from Penn.

 

[docjames]

Re LAX there is an extensive thread on this. There's little to see in LAX itself -- a US friend say it's the most boring airport in the US.

JFK: The facilities are better but 8 hours is a long time to fill in. You could catch the AirTrain to Jamaica then Long Island Railroad to Pennsylvania Station -- LIRR is 30 minutes to Penn vs 1 hour by subway. That would probably give you time to visit Times Square. However I haven't actually done it. Perhaps a more knowledgeable contributor can comment.

It's a 15 minute / 1km walk up 7th Avenue to Times Square from Penn.

re: JFK - There's a downtown shuttle bus to Grand Central Station that runs very frequently (15-30mins iirc) and would be an easy way to get on/off the island. You can catch the train around the island for a few hours before heading back to grand central or catching the train back out. Allow 1hr inbound and probably to be safe a bit more back to the airport which would leave you ~ 5 hours to muck around manhatten. Time to se a few of the major "sights" but not much more.