How to Spend a Long Layover

A lot of us dread a long layover, but sometimes it’s necessary or it can shave $100’s of dollars off your flight costs.  And then there are people like me, who purposely get the longest layover possible to get a chance to explore an unknown city.  I’ve made use of long layovers many times and got to visit some really cool places I haven’t had a chance to see again, so these are the best of my tips on how to spend a long layover, and in some cases how to spend an overnight layover. This post contains affiliate links.  This website earns a small commission for items purchased through these links.

How do you get a long layover in a place you want to visit?

When I search for flights, I often use google flights or kayak. I look at the cheapest flights and rather than looking at the flights with the lowest flying time, I look at those with the longest total flying time. Click on the details to see the location of the layover, the duration of the layover, and the start and stop time of the layover. Ideally, the layover starts in the morning any you’re flying out in the evening – for most people, a layover from 10 pm to 8 am isn’t good, but 10 am to 8 pm is wonderful! If it’s an overnight layover, try to find one that has a bit of time of sightseeing in the afternoon, then consider where to spend the night (see more on that below…) . A few airlines allow you to do an extended layover for a few days free of charge – research and call the airline to book.

Once you’ve picked your flight and layover, the key to making the most of a long layover is to research and prepare.  You have a short period of time, so you want to do the best things and not make any mistakes or risk missing your next flight.  The top things you must absolutely know before venturing out during a layover are:

1.  What are the visa requirements of the country?

Ideally your layover is happening at one of the many countries that don’t require a visa or provide a free visa on arrival.  The second most ideal situation is a country that allows you to purchase an inexpensive visa on arrival.  I try to avoid long layovers with very expensive visas and/or visas that need to be applied in advance.  This is just too much money and hassle for a short visit.  The travel.state.gov website provides links to all the country visa rules for American citizens.  Keep in mind that visa rules vary by nationality.

2.  What do you want to see in the city?

Usually it’s easiest to go to the center of a city, but if a layover is shorter and the city is far from the airport, there may be sites nearer to the airport to explore.  Pick your must-see attractions and continue your research.  I often search for the top attractions on TripAdvisor and then find the location on a map, pairing up sites that are close to each other.

3.  What are the transportation choices to the city?

Researching this ahead could save time and $100 or more.  Sure, the easiest way is to hop in a taxi, but that’s not always the efficient and is never the cheapest option. I always search the public transportation options before looking at other options, such as private shuttles or Uber.  For example, in Mexico City there is a blue express bus that takes you from the airport to downtown in dedicated bus lanes for a total cost of 30 pesos, or about $1.50 each way.  Since the bus costs 6 times the normal busses, the locals don’t ride so you have a fast, non-crowed way to the city.  In Taipei, the new MRT train will get you to downtown in 35 minutes for about $5 each way.  A taxi could be $40 or more and could take an hour or longer if there’s traffic.  In Hong Kong, the train to the city is a bit expensive, but if you’re returning to the airport the same day you get a round-trip ticket for the one-way price. Most cities have decent public transportation options, and a little bit of research will go a long way!

4.  If an overnight layover, is there an option to stay up all night or are you better getting a hotel room or coming back to the airport late?

Before answering this, consider what time your flight is leaving in the morning.  For example, if the flight is at 6 am but the first public transportation is at 6 am, you might better going back to the airport or an airport hotel in the night.  If your flight is at 9am or later, now you may more easily stay in the city overnight and still have time in the morning to transport to the airport.  Some people try to save money by “pulling an all-nighter”.  I have to admit to doing this before – for example staying at the bars until 3 am and then catching a cab to the airport for a 6am flight.  Don’t drink too much if you’re doing something like this.  It’s not worth saving $50-100 on a hotel room only to miss your flight.  For flights that leave in the middle of the night, say around 3 or 4 am, I just go to the airport and hang out.  For overnight layovers, I book my accommodation at booking.com.  Sometimes sleeping at the airport is the worst!  Read this story about my overnight stay at London Heathrow.

5.  Does the airport provide free or discounted tours?

The tourism authority of some cities provide free tours, so check online if this is an option and the tours coincide with your layover times.  I’ve only had one time I was able to take one of these tours, in Seoul Korea.  Make sure you make reservations ahead for free airport tours.

6.  Is your layover is a little too short to visit the city?

See if there is a lounge that will be available. I absolutely love the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card as it includes free entry into 1000 airline lounges around the world.  It’s great to get an adult beverage (or two or three) and a bite to eat, free wifi, etc between flights.

How to Spend a Long Layover – Planning & Resources

Next, you can start your planning and answer the questions above.  Internet searches will reveal a wealth of information, sometimes even a full itinerary for a long layover, examples of good internet searches are (using Taipei for example):

* Long Layover in Taipei

* What to do in long layover in Taipei

* Overnight layover in Taipei

* 10-hour layover in Taipei (or 8-hour, 7-hour, etc)

Usually these will give you all the details you need, but if you’re still looking for more info, internet search for public transportation, visitor sites and hours, and hotels either downtown or near the airport. 

Another good resource is your public library.  Check out a guidebook for your destination and use it for your planning.  I don’t usually buy or take a guidebook for the places that are just a one day stop.  It’s better to just photocopy the pages you want so you don’t have to lug an extra book around.

Before leaving home, print or download any details you need.  I usually both download and print a map of the city I’m planning to visit, along with a map of the public transportation (for example, a subway map if I’ll be using the subway to get around the city).  Maps can be found in guidebooks and online.  With your own maps, you can draw in hotels or restaurants that you want to visit.  Google maps will let you zoom into an area and find nearby hotels and other services. Also, the maps.me map can be downloaded and used while you’re offline… it’s one of my favorite free travel apps.

Also plan and research what to do with any excess luggage.  Ideally, you are checking luggage all the way to your final destination and only carrying a small bag that you can carry around your layover spot.  If you have to collect your checked luggage or are carrying excess carry on luggage, research where to store this.  Storing luggage at airports is becoming less possible due to security concerns.  In a pinch, you can take it to the city and store at a hotel.  I recommend security bags like this for touring your layover spot.

Lastly , learn a couple words of the local language.  Learning “Hello” and “Thank you” goes a long way!

How to Spend a Long Layover – Here are some examples of long layovers I’ve enjoyed:

• Mexico City
• Hong Kong
• Dubai
• Taipei
• Istanbul

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