Origin
Plainview, NY
Morning in Plainview on Tuesday
Local time
8:11 AM
EDT
Current temp
56°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Plainview, NY to Manhattan, NY
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
51m
Distance
32.8 mi
53 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$5
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 48m
★
6 AM
0h 52m
8 AM
1h 1m
10 AM
0h 55m
12 PM
0h 54m
3 PM
0h 55m
5 PM
1h 0m
8 PM
0h 49m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Plainview, NY
Wikimedia Commons
Manhattan, NY
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
This straightforward 32.8-mile drive from Plainview, NY, to Manhattan, NY, is designed for a single day, taking approximately 51 minutes. The route is heavily highway-focused, with about 80% of the journey on major expressways, including the Long Island Expressway and the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway, before culminating on the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Lower Level. Given the short distance and duration, it's easily manageable in one go. You can expect a fuel cost of around $5 for this trip. This drive keeps you within the Northeast region of New York State, moving from suburban Long Island into the heart of New York City.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Long Island Expressway | 24.6 mi | 34m |
| Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway | 1.7 mi | 1m |
| Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Lower Level | 0.9 mi | 2m |
| Queensboro Plaza | 0.7 mi | <1m |
| Old Country Road | 0.7 mi | 1m |
| Madison Avenue | 0.7 mi | 2m |
| 3rd Avenue | 0.6 mi | 1m |
| Hunters Point Avenue | 0.4 mi | 1m |
Longest stretch:
Long Island Expressway
— 24.6 mi, about 34m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Plainview, NY and Manhattan, NY.
1
Start on this road
73 ft
·
3 sec
·
this road
2
Turn straight onto Old Country Road
0.7 mi
·
1 min
·
Old Country Road
3
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
24 sec
Toward NY 135 North: Syosset
4
Merge onto NY 135
1.7 mi
·
1 min
·
Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway
Use the straight / right lanes.
5
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
24 sec
Exit 13W
Toward I 495 West: New York
Use the right lane.
6
Continue on this road
0.1 mi
·
14 sec
·
this road
Exit 13W
Toward I 495 West: New York
7
Merge onto I 495
25 mi
·
34 min
·
Long Island Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
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.
9
Turn straight onto Laurel Hill Boulevard
80 ft
·
2 sec
·
Laurel Hill Boulevard
10
Keep slight right at fork onto Hunters Point Avenue
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
Hunters Point Avenue
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
11
Turn right onto Van Dam Street
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
Van Dam Street
12
Continue on Van Dam Street
113 ft
·
8 sec
·
Van Dam Street
13
Turn left onto NY 25
0.4 mi
·
35 sec
·
Queens Boulevard
14
Continue on NY 25
0.7 mi
·
57 sec
·
Queensboro Plaza
15
Continue on NY 25
0.9 mi
·
2 min
·
Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Lower Level
16
Keep slight right at fork onto NY 25
317 ft
·
11 sec
·
NY 25
Toward 60th Street West
Use the slight right lane.
17
Turn left onto East 60th Street
0.1 mi
·
28 sec
·
East 60th Street
18
Turn right onto 3rd Avenue
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
3rd Avenue
Use the right lane.
19
Turn left onto East 72nd Street
0.3 mi
·
40 sec
·
East 72nd Street
Use the left lane.
20
Turn right onto Madison Avenue
0.7 mi
·
2 min
·
Madison Avenue
21
Turn left onto East 85th Street
507 ft
·
12 sec
·
East 85th Street
22
Continue on 86th Street Transverse
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
86th Street Transverse
Toward West Side
23
Arrive at destination
86th Street Transverse
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
16 mi into the route
Best for: Lunch, fuel, and a longer reset
This sits close to the middle of the route, so it works well for the longest stop of the day.
Pacing Suggestions
Fuel and coffee
A short stop after about 32.8 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 16.4 miles from Plainview, NY, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.
These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 155 decision points cluster between mile 2.5 and 30.8 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
7
2.5 mi into trip
|
~3m in
Take the exit toward I 495 West: New York
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
Exit 13W
Toward I 495 West: New York
8
27.5 mi into trip
|
~38m 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
27.9 mi into trip
|
~38m 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
30.6 mi into trip
|
~45m 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
6
30.8 mi into trip
|
~45m in
|
3rd Avenue
Turn right onto 3rd Avenue
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$5.40 one way
$10.80 round trip
$4.18/gal
25.4 MPG avg
12 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.52 | $5.84 | $11.68 |
| premium | $4.92 | $6.36 | $12.71 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $7.24 | $14.48 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$5
Estimated CO2 emission: 11.5 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 64% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 9.8 | 0 | $3.44 | $1.57 |
| Efficient EV | 8.2 | 0 | $2.87 | $1.31 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 13.1 | 0 | $4.59 | $2.10 |
Gas CO2
11 kg
EV CO2
4 kg (64% 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.
Destination
Manhattan, NY
Morning in Manhattan on Tuesday
Local time
8:11 AM
EDT
Current temp
57°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
42°F
Hillside, NY
16 mi in
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
1 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
51m 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-dominated experience for most of this 32.8-mile trip, with 80% of the route utilizing expressways. The longest uninterrupted stretch you'll encounter is 24.6 miles along the Long Island Expressway. This means a good portion of your drive will involve consistent speeds and the typical flow of interstate traffic. As you approach your destination, the character shifts slightly as you transition onto the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, offering a more urban approach into Manhattan.
80% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
23 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 24.6 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 Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 2.5 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 15 decision points packed into just 32.8 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 51m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 2.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here; at 27.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 27.9 miles (Hunters Point Avenue): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
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 Plainview, NY to Manhattan, NY, road signs begin pointing toward 60Th Street West along the way.
60Th Street West
30.6 mi in
|
~45m
|
via NY 25
About the Cities
Starting in Plainview, NY
Full guide →Plainview is a hamlet in South Oyster Bay in New York.
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 51m. Total distance: 32.8 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
51m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (80%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 24.6 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 2.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here; at 27.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 27.9 miles (Hunters Point Avenue): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
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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