Camping capers were finally over and I was travelling onward to some city sight seeing and not just any city….the Big Apple. I just needed to get from Los Angeles on the West Coast to New York City on the East.
Often hostels offer a free breakfast and this usually includes a bowl of cereal or maybe some bread for you to toast but I feel on my feet with my Downtown LA accommodation. On my return from camping I stayed in the same hotel/hostel I booked two weeks previous before heading out on the tent adventure. Sadly, I couldn’t get the same excellent hotel room deal as before but got in a lovely hostel room and this time I wasn’t leaving as horrendously early and got the chance to take advantage of the breakfast service.
Tackling Los Angeles International Airport and Arriving in JFK, New York
With an afternoon flight, I had plenty of time to check out and headed off to catch the airport bus from Patsaouras Transit Plaza. On arrival at LAX it was pretty clear this was one of the busiest airports I’d ever been to and there’s a long wait just for the bus to get into the airport drop off. Seeing the crowds I decide to drop off my backpack and just head straight to security and I’m glad I did. LAX is definitely the most chaotic security I have ever experienced and it took forever. At the hour mark I was ready to pass out but then so was everyone else waiting in line. Security points would go in and out of service at random, security personnel seemed to argue over which passenger could go through the metal detector first and every so often large crowds of people from the back of the queue would get to skip hundreds of people and pass through with minimal checks. I had no idea what was going on!
I did eventually get through the madness and catch my flight with no further issues. I flew with Virgin America from Los Angeles to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport which is around a 6 hour flight but when you add in time zones it meant I was landing late night.
Sleeping at JFK Airport
Only thing is there wasn’t a comfy bed to crash in when I got to the other end. In fact, I had no accommodation booked at all. This trip was all on a very tight budget and so with my flight landing at midnight EST I decided not to shell out on extortionate New York priced accommodation for my first night in the city and instead opt for an airport sleepover at JFK. I saved some pennies and I avoided travelling on the subway system late night – seemed like a win?
On my arrival into a domestic terminal there were not many options for locations to sleep. While there are a few banks of chairs these are in the lower part of the airport and so it can be quite breezy. There are also many taxi drivers looking for a fare so many of those trying to catch some shut eye found themselves being constantly harassed by people offering rides to the city .
I instead headed up a few floors and found a corner not far from the escalators. As I had my sleeping bag with we this was a good option thought the floor wasn’t really the comfiest it wasn’t particularly cold and was pretty damn clean for a public space! Sleeping in JFK many not have been the best sleep but it actually wasn’t the worst I’ve had either. I found my corner, attached myself to my kit and spent my first night in New York City on a airport floor.
That’s how all big city adventure start right?