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Trip from Douglaston, NY to Manhattan, NY

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Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

30m

Distance

16.6 mi

27 km

Drive Score

8/10

Great drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$3

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 8 min
4 AM
0h 28m ★
6 AM
0h 31m
8 AM
0h 36m
10 AM
0h 33m
12 PM
0h 32m
3 PM
0h 33m
5 PM
0h 36m
8 PM
0h 29m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

neighborhood of Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Douglaston, NY

Wikimedia Commons

borough of New York City, New York, United States

Manhattan, NY

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

This straightforward 16.6-mile drive from Douglaston, NY, to Manhattan, NY, is easily manageable as a day trip, taking approximately 30 minutes. Primarily utilizing the Long Island Expressway, Douglaston Parkway, and the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Lower Level, this route is heavily focused on highway travel. With an estimated fuel cost of just $3, it's an economical option for getting into the heart of the city. The highway-focused profile means you'll cover ground quickly, making it ideal for a direct transit from the Northeast region of New York to its bustling urban center. There are no recommended stops, so it's designed for efficient travel.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Long Island Expressway 9.9 mi 14m
Douglaston Parkway 0.9 mi 1m
Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Lower Level 0.9 mi 2m
Queensboro Plaza 0.7 mi <1m
Madison Avenue 0.7 mi 2m
3rd Avenue 0.6 mi 1m
Hunters Point Avenue 0.4 mi 1m
Van Dam Street 0.4 mi 1m
Longest stretch: Long Island Expressway — 9.9 mi, about 14m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Douglaston, NY and Manhattan, NY.

1

Start on Poplar Street

174 ft · 14 sec · Poplar Street
2

Turn left onto Douglaston Parkway

0.9 mi · 1 min · Douglaston Parkway
3

Take the ramp

523 ft · 12 sec
Toward I 495 West: Long Island Expressway, West Manhattan Use the straight / right lanes.
4

Keep slight left at fork

0.3 mi · 40 sec
Toward I 495 West: Manhattan Use the straight lane.
5

Merge onto I 495

9.9 mi · 14 min · Long Island Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6

Take the exit

0.4 mi · 43 sec
Exit 16 Toward Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, Hunters Point Avenue, Greenpoint Avenue Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7

Turn straight onto Laurel Hill Boulevard

80 ft · 2 sec · Laurel Hill Boulevard
8

Keep slight right at fork onto Hunters Point Avenue

0.4 mi · 1 min · Hunters Point Avenue
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
9

Turn right onto Van Dam Street

0.4 mi · 1 min · Van Dam Street
10

Continue on Van Dam Street

113 ft · 8 sec · Van Dam Street
11

Turn left onto NY 25

0.4 mi · 35 sec · Queens Boulevard
12

Continue on NY 25

0.7 mi · 57 sec · Queensboro Plaza
13

Continue on NY 25

0.9 mi · 2 min · Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Lower Level
14

Keep slight right at fork onto NY 25

317 ft · 11 sec · NY 25
Toward 60th Street West Use the slight right lane.
15

Turn left onto East 60th Street

0.1 mi · 28 sec · East 60th Street
16

Turn right onto 3rd Avenue

0.6 mi · 1 min · 3rd Avenue
Use the right lane.
17

Turn left onto East 72nd Street

0.3 mi · 40 sec · East 72nd Street
Use the left lane.
18

Turn right onto Madison Avenue

0.7 mi · 2 min · Madison Avenue
19

Turn left onto East 85th Street

507 ft · 12 sec · East 85th Street
20

Continue on 86th Street Transverse

0.4 mi · 1 min · 86th Street Transverse
Toward West Side
21

Arrive at destination

86th Street Transverse

Heads-up: tricky spots

5 of 14

5 decision points cluster between mile 0.9 and 14.4 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.

7
0.9 mi into trip | ~2m in

Take the ramp toward I 495 West: Long Island Expressway, West Manhattan

Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the straight / right lanes. Toward I 495 West: Long Island Expressway, West...
8
1 mi into trip | ~2m in

Keep slight left at fork toward I 495 West: Manhattan

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight lane. Toward I 495 West: Manhattan
8
11.3 mi into trip | ~17m in

Take the exit toward Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, Hunters Point Avenue, Greenpoint Avenue

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the straight / slight right lanes. Exit 16 Toward Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, Hunters Point...
6
11.7 mi into trip | ~17m in | Hunters Point Avenue

Keep slight right at fork onto Hunters Point Avenue

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here

Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
7
14.4 mi into trip | ~23m in | NY 25

Keep slight right at fork onto NY 25 toward 60th Street West

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here

Use the slight right lane. Toward 60th Street West

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$2.73 one way

$5.46 round trip

$4.18/gal 25.4 MPG avg 6 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.52 $2.95 $5.91
premium $4.92 $3.22 $6.43
diesel $5.61 $3.67 $7.33

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$3

Estimated CO2 emission: 5.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 5 0 $1.74 $0.80
Efficient EV 4.2 0 $1.45 $0.66
EV Truck/SUV 6.6 0 $2.32 $1.06

Gas CO2

6 kg

EV CO2

2 kg (67% less)

This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.

DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.

Travel Intel

Current conditions at both ends of the drive.

Forecast as of Apr 19, 2026

Origin

Douglaston, NY

Late night in Douglaston on Tuesday

Local time

4:58 AM

EDT

Current temp

50°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Manhattan, NY

Late night in Manhattan on Tuesday

Local time

4:58 AM

EDT

Current temp

57°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Time zone

Same local time

Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.

Temperature spread

7 degrees warmer at arrival

A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.

Road read

30m on the road

Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

What kind of drive is this?

Expect a highway-centric experience for most of this 16.6-mile journey, with 65% of the drive on major roadways. The longest uninterrupted stretch you'll encounter is 9.9 miles on the Long Island Expressway, offering a consistent pace. While largely a highway-focused profile, you'll transition onto local roads like Douglaston Parkway before merging onto the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Lower Level for the final approach. This mix provides a brief taste of local driving before the expansive city views begin. The character is one of steady progress, designed for efficient transit rather than leisurely exploration.

65% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
21 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 9.9 mi on Long Island Expressway.

How Hard Is This Drive?

9/10

This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Long Island Expressway and Douglaston Parkway. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.9 miles in.

Driving Effort 9/10

Focused - lots of decisions in a short distance, but it is over quickly

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a short but busy drive. With 14 decision points packed into just 16.6 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 30m.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 0.9 miles: Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 1 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 11.3 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

Towns Mentioned on Route Signs

Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.

On the drive from Douglaston, NY to Manhattan, NY, road signs begin pointing toward 60Th Street West along the way.

60Th Street West

14.4 mi in | ~23m | via NY 25

About the Cities

Arriving in Manhattan, NY

Full guide →

Founded 1624

Wall Street. Madison Avenue. 34th Street. Broadway. Times Square. Manhattan is so well known that even the names of its streets have become iconic and understood the world over. This long, thin island is only one of New York City's five boroughs, but it's Manhattan that has the concrete canyons and the inimitable skyline; Manhattan that has the world's brightest theater district; Manhattan that has Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, and the Met; and Manhattan that includes iconic neighborhoods like Harlem, the Upper East Side, Times Square, and Greenwich Village. The rest of New York City has much to see and do, but it's Manhattan that represents the city—and sometimes the entire United States—to the world. You could spend a month on this tiny island and still not see all there is to see.

Top landmarks

  • Empire State Building — skyscraper located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA

City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 30m. Total distance: 16.6 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

30m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (65%). Some complex stretches to watch for.

Frequently Asked Questions

The longest stretch is about 9.9 miles on Long Island Expressway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.

It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at Manhattan, NY before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.

Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.

The main spots that need attention: at 0.9 miles: Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 1 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 11.3 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

Yes — General Grant National Memorial, Hamilton Grange National Memorial and Stonewall National Monument (6 total within detour distance). See the National Parks section for detour distances and tips on detours.

Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Manhattan, NY before heading back.

How this page is built

Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, EIA for fuel prices, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.

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