Long Layovers, Planned by Length

A long layover can be dead time in a departure lounge or a bonus few hours in a new place. What is realistic depends mostly on its length, along with whether you need a visa to leave the airport, whether your bags are checked through and how far the city is. The guide below is organized by how much time you have, from a few hours to a full day.

Before you plan anything

Check entry rules. Leaving the airport means passing through immigration, so you need the right to enter the country. Many visitors can enter visa-free, but some countries require a visa or an electronic authorization even for a few hours. Several countries, including China and Singapore in various forms, offer visa-free transit arrangements for eligible travelers. Confirm on official government sites.
Check your bags. On a single ticket, checked bags are usually sent through to your final destination. On separate tickets you may need to collect and recheck them, which eats into your time.
Count back from boarding, not departure. Allow time to return to the airport, clear security and, for international flights, passport control. At large hubs, two to three hours before departure is a sensible buffer.

Three to five hours: stay airside, but make it comfortable

This usually isn't enough time to leave the airport safely. Instead, make the airport work for you.

Lounges. Many airport lounges sell day passes, and some credit cards and memberships, such as Priority Pass, include access. A lounge offers quieter seating, food, showers at many airports and better Wi-Fi.

Walk. Long terminals are good places to stretch your legs after a long flight. Some airports have walking routes, gardens or observation decks.

Explore the airport itself. Several major hubs have attractions worth seeing. Singapore Changi has the Jewel complex with its indoor waterfall, and Amsterdam Schiphol has a small branch of the Rijksmuseum. Check your airport's website for what is airside and what requires leaving security.

Six to ten hours: a short trip into the city

If you can enter the country and the city center is within about 45 minutes, a short visit is often possible. Airports with fast rail links, such as Zurich, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Hong Kong, make this easier.

Pick one area or one sight, not a list. A walk through an old town, a market or a riverside is ideal.
Store your carry-on at the airport's left-luggage service if there is one.
Have a local payment method ready, such as a card that works for contactless payment on public transport.
Set a firm time to head back and stick to it, adding extra margin for delays.

Some airlines and airports run free or low-cost transit tours for layover passengers. Istanbul Airport has offered a tour program for Turkish Airlines passengers with long connections, and Qatar Airways and Doha have offered transit tours. Programs change, so check with the airline before you fly.

Overnight: sleep properly

An overnight layover is better spent sleeping than wandering. Options include:

Airside transit hotels, which let you sleep without passing through immigration. Many major hubs have one.
Nap pods or sleeping rooms, bookable by the hour at some airports.
A nearby hotel with a shuttle, if you can enter the country.
Airline-provided hotels. Some airlines provide a hotel for long connections they scheduled, especially when no shorter connection was available. Ask when booking.

If you sleep in the terminal, choose a quiet gate area, keep valuables in a bag you are touching, set multiple alarms and bring an eye mask, earplugs and a layer of warm clothing, since terminals are often cold at night.

Twelve to twenty-four hours: a mini stopover

With most of a day, you can treat the layover as a short visit: a few sights, a proper meal and some rest. Some airlines actively promote stopover programs that let travelers break a long journey in their hub city for one or more nights, sometimes with discounted hotels, including Icelandair in Reykjavik and TAP Air Portugal in Lisbon and Porto. If your layover is this long, it is worth checking whether converting it into a formal stopover costs little or nothing extra.

Getting through the airport faster

Time spent in queues is time taken from the layover. Download the airport map to your phone, note where transit desks, lounges and left-luggage counters are, and check whether you must collect your bags. Trusted traveler programs speed things up when you return: in the US, Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck, and several other countries offer automated border gates for eligible passport holders. If you need a meal, airside restaurants near your departure gate let you eat without watching the clock.

Layovers with children

Many airports have play areas, family rooms and nursing rooms, usually listed on the airport website. Bring a change of clothes for each child, snacks they know, and a small new toy or book saved for the layover. Strollers can often be kept until the aircraft door, and some airports lend them for free in the terminal. Overnight layovers with young children are usually far easier in a transit or nearby hotel than in the terminal.

Whatever the length

Keep essentials in your carry-on: medication, chargers, a toothbrush, a change of clothes and any documents you need. Drink plenty of water, since cabin air is dry. Keep your airline's app on your phone for gate changes and delays, and sign up for alerts. Finally, if your inbound flight is delayed, recalculate before leaving the airport. A layover that started at seven hours can quietly shrink to four.