How Long Is the Flight to the Bahamas?
Quick answer: the flight to the Bahamas (Nassau) is about 2 h 58 min in the air from New York and 5 h 25 min from Los Angeles, non-stop; a connection adds its layover. Of the busiest US airports, Miami is the closest at 1 h 9 min and Seattle the farthest at 6 h 5 min. Flying home from New York JFK is about the same.
Pick two airports. See the distance, about how long a non-stop flight takes, and what time it will be when you land.
JFK → LHR · non-stop
7 h 11 minAbout 7 h 11 min gate to gate for 3,442 miles (5,540 km). Most scheduled flights of this length: 6 h 56 min to 7 h 26 min.
- Distance
- 3,442 mi
- Lands
- pick a date and time
- The flight back, westbound into the jet stream, is slower: about 7 h 48 min.
- An estimate from the scheduled times of 5,797 US routes (US DOT, 2026-06): half of them are within 7 minutes of it. Your airline’s schedule is the real answer.
Airports from OurAirports, time zones from mwgg/Airports, flight times fitted on US DOT schedules. An estimate for a non-stop: check your airline.
The calculator above opens on New York to Nassau: change either airport to yours, or add a date and a departure time for the local time you land. Below, the flight from each of the busiest US airports.
How long is the flight to the Bahamas from each US airport?
The FAA’s busiest US airports by passengers in 2024, the quickest first. Times are the estimated gate-to-gate time of a non-stop; the clock change is the Bahamas’s time minus the airport’s, in January and in July.
| From | Distance | To Nassau | Flight back | Clock change (Jan / Jul) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami (MIA) | 184 mi | 1 h 9 min | 1 h 11 min | ±0 / ±0 |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 182 mi | 1 h 9 min | 1 h 11 min | ±0 / ±0 |
| Orlando (MCO) | 333 mi | 1 h 26 min | 1 h 29 min | ±0 / ±0 |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 727 mi | 2 h 10 min | 2 h 16 min | ±0 / ±0 |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 733 mi | 2 h 12 min | 2 h 15 min | ±0 / ±0 |
| Houston (IAH) | 1,146 mi | 2 h 55 min | 3 h 8 min | +1 h / +1 h |
| Newark (EWR) | 1,098 mi | 2 h 57 min | 2 h 55 min | ±0 / ±0 |
| New York JFK (JFK) | 1,099 mi | 2 h 58 min | 2 h 55 min | ±0 / ±0 |
| Detroit (DTW) | 1,233 mi | 3 h 9 min | 3 h 14 min | ±0 / ±0 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 1,299 mi | 3 h 12 min | 3 h 27 min | +1 h / +1 h |
| Chicago O’Hare (ORD) | 1,313 mi | 3 h 17 min | 3 h 25 min | +1 h / +1 h |
| Boston (BOS) | 1,252 mi | 3 h 17 min | 3 h 12 min | ±0 / ±0 |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 1,629 mi | 3 h 51 min | 4 h 3 min | +1 h / +1 h |
| Denver (DEN) | 1,876 mi | 4 h 16 min | 4 h 35 min | +2 h / +2 h |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 2,151 mi | 4 h 45 min | 5 h 10 min | +2 h / +3 h |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 2,351 mi | 5 h 7 min | 5 h 34 min | +3 h / +3 h |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 2,520 mi | 5 h 25 min | 5 h 55 min | +3 h / +3 h |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 2,760 mi | 5 h 51 min | 6 h 24 min | +3 h / +3 h |
| Seattle (SEA) | 2,884 mi | 6 h 5 min | 6 h 36 min | +3 h / +3 h |
LaGuardia, the 19th busiest, is left out: its flights are short-haul, and New York’s long flights leave from JFK and Newark.
Why the flight home is shorter
From New York JFK the flight to Nassau is about 2 h 58 min and the flight back 2 h 55 min. The difference is the jet stream, the band of west-to-east wind at cruising height: flying east you ride it, flying west you fly into it. The estimate carries that as a single measured effect of how far east a route goes, which is why a route that runs mostly north–south, like this one, comes out about even both ways.
What the clock says when you land
The Bahamas is on the same time as New York and 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles all year. Leave New York JFK at noon on Wednesday, July 15, and a non-stop would land in Nassau at about 2:58 p.m. the same day, local time.
Is there a non-stop?
Not from every airport in the table: the times are what a non-stop would take, and a connection adds its layover. Your airline’s schedule says which airports fly to the Bahamas non-stop. For any pair of airports, the calculator above gives the distance and the time.
Plan it
- What do tourists typically do when visiting Bahamas?
- 11 Stunning Things To Do In Nassau
- When to go: the best months for the weather
FAQ
How long is the flight to the Bahamas?
About 2 h 58 min non-stop from New York and 5 h 25 min from Los Angeles. Of the busiest US airports, Miami is the closest at 1 h 9 min and Seattle the farthest at 6 h 5 min. All are estimates of a non-stop; a connection adds its layover.
How long is the flight to the Bahamas from New York?
About 2 h 58 min from JFK and 2 h 57 min from Newark, for 1,099 miles to Nassau. The flight back to New York is about the same: about 2 h 55 min.
How long is the flight to the Bahamas from Los Angeles?
About 5 h 25 min from LAX, and 5 h 51 min from San Francisco, for 2,520 miles. The flight back is 30 min longer: about 5 h 55 min.
What is the time difference between the Bahamas and the US?
The Bahamas is on the same time as New York and 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles all year.
How these times are made
Distances are great circles between the airports (OurAirports). Times come from one line fitted to the median scheduled gate-to-gate time of 5,797 US routes (US DOT, 2026-06): a fixed allowance, a time per mile, and a correction for how far east the route goes. Half of those routes are within 7 minutes of it. The busiest airports are the FAA’s 2024 passenger boardings. Your airline’s schedule is the real answer: winds, routings and the season move it by a few minutes on a short flight and by more on a long one.