Origin
Ronkonkoma, NY
Evening in Ronkonkoma on Sunday
Local time
5:51 PM
EDT
Current temp
48°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Ronkonkoma, NY to Manhattan, NY
Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 19, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
1h 15m
Distance
50.4 mi
81 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 9m
★
6 AM
1h 15m
8 AM
1h 27m
10 AM
1h 19m
12 PM
1h 18m
3 PM
1h 20m
5 PM
1h 27m
8 PM
1h 12m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Ronkonkoma, NY
Wikimedia Commons
Manhattan, NY
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Traveling from Ronkonkoma to Manhattan covers 53.3 miles and typically takes about 1 hour and 18 minutes. This route is perfectly suited for a single-day trip, as it is short enough to navigate without needing an overnight stay. You should budget approximately $8 for fuel to complete the journey. Because this is a turn-heavy local drive, you will want to remain alert behind the wheel rather than settling into a long-distance cruise. It is a straightforward connection within the Northeast, moving you from the suburban feel of Long Island directly into the heart of New York City.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Long Island Expressway | 44.7 mi | 1h |
| 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 |
| 86th Street Transverse | 0.4 mi | 1m |
Longest stretch:
Long Island Expressway
— 44.7 mi, about 1h
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Ronkonkoma, NY and Manhattan, NY.
1
Start on Ronkonkoma Avenue
0.1 mi
·
21 sec
·
Ronkonkoma Avenue
2
Turn right onto Express Drive North
183 ft
·
3 sec
·
Express Drive North
Use the straight / right lanes.
3
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
27 sec
Toward I 495 west: New York
4
Merge onto I 495
45 mi
·
1 hr
·
Long Island Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
5
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.
6
Turn straight onto Laurel Hill Boulevard
80 ft
·
2 sec
·
Laurel Hill Boulevard
7
Keep slight right at fork onto Hunters Point Avenue
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
Hunters Point Avenue
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
8
Turn right onto Van Dam Street
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
Van Dam Street
9
Continue on Van Dam Street
113 ft
·
8 sec
·
Van Dam Street
10
Turn left onto NY 25
0.4 mi
·
35 sec
·
Queens Boulevard
11
Continue on NY 25
0.7 mi
·
57 sec
·
Queensboro Plaza
12
Continue on NY 25
0.9 mi
·
2 min
·
Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Lower Level
13
Keep slight right at fork onto NY 25
317 ft
·
11 sec
·
NY 25
Toward 60th Street West
Use the slight right lane.
14
Turn left onto East 60th Street
0.1 mi
·
28 sec
·
East 60th Street
15
Turn right onto 3rd Avenue
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
3rd Avenue
Use the right lane.
16
Turn left onto East 72nd Street
0.3 mi
·
40 sec
·
East 72nd Street
Use the left lane.
17
Turn right onto Madison Avenue
0.7 mi
·
2 min
·
Madison Avenue
18
Turn left onto East 85th Street
507 ft
·
12 sec
·
East 85th Street
19
Continue on 86th Street Transverse
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
86th Street Transverse
Toward West Side
20
Arrive at destination
86th Street Transverse
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
25 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 11 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 25.2 miles from Ronkonkoma, 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 135 decision points cluster between mile 0.1 and 48.4 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
7
0.1 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Express Drive North
Turn right onto Express Drive North
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
8
45.1 mi into trip
|
~1h 1m 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
45.5 mi into trip
|
~1h 2m 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
48.2 mi into trip
|
~1h 8m 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
48.4 mi into trip
|
~1h 9m in
|
3rd Avenue
Turn right onto 3rd Avenue
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$8.30 one way
$16.59 round trip
$4.18/gal
25.4 MPG avg
18 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.52 | $8.97 | $17.94 |
| premium | $4.92 | $9.77 | $19.54 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $11.13 | $22.26 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$8
Estimated CO2 emission: 17.6 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $5 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 15.1 | 0 | $5.29 | $2.42 |
| Efficient EV | 12.6 | 0 | $4.41 | $2.02 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 20.2 | 0 | $7.06 | $3.23 |
Gas CO2
18 kg
EV CO2
6 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.
Destination
Manhattan, NY
Evening in Manhattan on Sunday
Local time
5:51 PM
EDT
Current temp
88°F
Mostly Sunny
SW 3 to 9 mph
4% chance
Live forecast
Flood Warning
Flood Warning issued April 15 at 11:57PM EDT by NWS Binghamton NY
49°F
North Hills, NY
25 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
40 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
1h 15m 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?
Expect a technical and engaging experience rather than a mindless highway slog, as this route features zero highway miles. The road’s personality is defined by constant turns and local navigation, requiring your full attention as you transition between neighborhoods. Since this is a turn-heavy local drive, you will not encounter long, uninterrupted stretches of open road. Instead, your progress will be measured by frequent adjustments and navigating the transition from the suburbs into the dense urban grid of Manhattan. Be prepared for a drive that demands consistent engagement with the changing road conditions.
89% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
20 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 44.7 mi on Long Island Expressway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
8/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Long Island Expressway and Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Lower Level. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.1 miles in near Express Drive North.
Driving Effort
8/10
Demanding - plan breaks and stay ahead of the key maneuvers
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 50.4 miles you will encounter 13 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 0.1 miles (Express Drive North): Lane positioning matters here; at 45.1 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 45.5 miles (Hunters Point Avenue): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Starting in Ronkonkoma, NY
Full guide →Islip (pronounced "ICE-lip") is a town on Long Island in the state of New York. Located within Suffolk County, the Town of Islip includes the villages of Brightwaters, Islandia, Ocean Beach and Saltaire. It also includes numerous hamlets including Bay Shore and Sayville which are ferry terminals for Fire Island. Other prominent communities are Bayport, Brentwood, Central Islip, Hauppauge, Islip village (the town seat), and Ronkonkoma.
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 1h 15m. Total distance: 50.4 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
1h 15m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (89%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 44.7 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 0.1 miles (Express Drive North): Lane positioning matters here; at 45.1 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 45.5 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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