Origin
Plandome Heights, NY
Late night in Plandome Heights on Sunday
Local time
2:09 AM
EDT
Current temp
48°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Plandome Heights, NY to Brookhaven, NY
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 26, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
1h 5m
Distance
46.3 mi
74 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$8
one way
EV Charging
Good
8 stations
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
1h 1m
★
6 AM
1h 6m
8 AM
1h 17m
10 AM
1h 10m
12 PM
1h 9m
3 PM
1h 10m
5 PM
1h 16m
8 PM
1h 3m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Plandome Heights, NY
Renan Tagliaferro
Brookhaven, NY
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Plandome Heights to Brookhaven is 46.3 miles and takes about 1 hour 5 minutes via Long Island Expressway, with a fuel budget near $8 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This trip stays within New York, moving from the Northeast region to the Northeast region. It's a mostly highway drive, making it a straightforward option for getting across Long Island. You'll spend most of your time on the Long Island Expressway, so expect a direct transit rather than a scenic excursion. This route is ideal if you're looking for efficiency and minimal complication.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Long Island Expressway | 36.6 mi | 49m |
| Horseblock Road | 4.1 mi | 6m |
| Northern Boulevard | 1.5 mi | 2m |
| Searingtown Road | 1.3 mi | 2m |
| Montauk Highway | 0.9 mi | 1m |
| Plandome Road | 0.8 mi | 1m |
| South Country Road | 0.4 mi | <1m |
| Express Drive South | 0.2 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Long Island Expressway
— 36.6 mi, about 49m
Traffic on I-495
Hour-of-day weekday pattern from 16 FHWA count stations on your route.
Peak
2 PM
~4,880 veh/hr typical
Quietest
2 AM
~521 veh/hr
Peak-to-quiet ratio
9.4×
busier at peak than in the quiet hours
12a
6a
noon
6p
11p
Averaged across 24 weeks of 2023 FHWA Travel Monitoring Analysis System data. Weekday hours only (Mon–Fri).
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Plandome Heights, NY and Brookhaven, NY.
1
Start on Plandome Road
0.8 mi
·
1 min
·
Plandome Road
2
At end of road, turn left onto NY 25A
1.5 mi
·
2 min
·
Northern Boulevard
Use the left lane.
3
Turn right onto Searingtown Road
1.3 mi
·
2 min
·
Searingtown Road
Use the straight lane.
4
Turn left onto South Service Road
526 ft
·
10 sec
·
South Service Road
Use the left lane.
5
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
30 sec
Toward I 495 East: Riverhead
6
Merge onto I 495
37 mi
·
49 min
·
Long Island Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
27 sec
Exit 65
Toward CR 16: Horse Block Road, Centereach, Shirley
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Turn straight onto Express Drive South
0.2 mi
·
21 sec
·
Express Drive South
Toward I 495, CR 101: Yaphank, Riverhead
9
Turn slight right onto CR 16
4.1 mi
·
6 min
·
Horseblock Road
Use the right lane.
10
At end of road, turn right onto CR 80
0.9 mi
·
1 min
·
Montauk Highway
Use the right lane.
11
Turn left onto CR 36
0.4 mi
·
50 sec
·
South Country Road
Use the left lane.
12
Arrive at destination
CR 36
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
23 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 10 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 23.1 miles from Plandome Heights, 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 105 decision points cluster between mile 0.8 and 45 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
6
0.8 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
NY 25A / Northern Boulevard
At end of road, turn left onto NY 25A / Northern Boulevard
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
6
2.3 mi into trip
|
~4m in
|
Searingtown Road
Turn right onto Searingtown Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight lane.
5
3.6 mi into trip
|
~6m in
|
South Service Road
Turn left onto South Service Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
8
40.5 mi into trip
|
~56m in
Take the exit toward CR 16: Horse Block Road, Centereach, Shirley
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 65
Toward CR 16: Horse Block Road, Centereach, Shi...
6
45 mi into trip
|
~1h 3m in
|
CR 80 / Montauk Highway
At end of road, turn right onto CR 80 / Montauk Highway
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$7.52 one way
$15.05 round trip
$4.13/gal
25.4 MPG avg
16 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.47 | $8.14 | $16.29 |
| premium | $4.87 | $8.87 | $17.74 |
| diesel | $5.40 | $9.85 | $19.70 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$8
Estimated CO2 emission: 16.2 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-20.
Driving Electric?
About $5 in charging · 0 stops · 69% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 13.9 | 0 | $4.86 | $2.22 |
| Efficient EV | 11.6 | 0 | $4.05 | $1.85 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 18.5 | 0 | $6.48 | $2.96 |
Gas CO2
16 kg
EV CO2
5 kg (69% 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
Brookhaven, NY
Late night in Brookhaven on Sunday
Local time
2:09 AM
EDT
Current temp
39°F
Rain Showers
E 9 mph
97% chance
Live forecast
Flood Warning
Flood Warning issued April 25 at 8:05PM EDT until April 26 at 11:00AM EDT by NWS Buffalo NY
Flood Warning
Flood Warning issued April 25 at 1:03PM EDT by NWS Binghamton NY
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
9 degrees cooler at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
1h 5m on the road
The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
This drive is predominantly highway, with 79% of the 46.3 miles on major expressways. You'll encounter a longest stretch of 36.6 miles on the Long Island Expressway. After leaving the expressway, you'll transition to surface roads like Horseblock Road and Northern Boulevard. Expect a high volume of exits and merging traffic as you navigate the Long Island Expressway.
79% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
12 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 36.6 mi on Long Island Expressway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
5/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Long Island Expressway and Horseblock Road. You will hit about 10 points where you need to pay attention to lane position or signs. The trickiest moment comes around 0.8 miles in near NY 25A / Northern Boulevard.
Driving Effort
5/10
Moderate - straightforward overall, but long enough or busy enough to require pacing
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 46.3 miles you will encounter 10 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.8 miles (NY 25A / Northern Boulevard): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.3 miles (Searingtown Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 3.6 miles (South Service Road): 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.
Between Plandome Heights, NY and Brookhaven, NY, road signs point toward Centereach, Shirley, Cr 101: Yaphank and Riverhead.
Centereach
40.5 mi in
|
~56m
Shirley
40.5 mi in
|
~56m
Cr 101: Yaphank
40.7 mi in
|
~57m
|
via Express Drive South
Riverhead
40.7 mi in
|
~57m
|
via Express Drive South
About the Cities
Starting in Plandome Heights, NY
Full guide →Arriving in Brookhaven, NY
Full guide →Founded 1655
Brookhaven is the largest town in Suffolk County, part of Long Island, New York. With 485,000 residents (2020). It includes a patchwork of villages and other communities, and is the only town on the island to touch both the Long Island Sound and Atlantic Ocean. The villages of Belle Terre, Bellport, Lake Grove, Mastic Beach, Old Field, Patchogue, Poquott, Port Jefferson, and Shoreham are semi-autonomous, and provide their own services in addition to those provided by the town. Other prominent communities include Mount Sinai, Stony Brook, and Fire Island, a long and car-free resort island off the south coast of the town.
Top landmarks
- • Wardenclyffe Tower — early experimental wireless transmission station designed and built by Nikola Te...
- • West Meadow Beach Historic District — historic district in the United States
- • Stony Brook Grist Mill — watermill
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 1h 5m. Total distance: 46.3 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
1h 5m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (79%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 36.6 miles on Long Island Expressway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
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 0.8 miles (NY 25A / Northern Boulevard): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.3 miles (Searingtown Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 3.6 miles (South Service Road): Lane positioning matters here.
Yes — Fire Island National Seashore, Hamilton Grange National Memorial and General Grant National Memorial (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 Brookhaven, 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, NPS for national parks, and FHWA TMAS for hourly traffic volumes. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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