Either by inconvenient connections or intentional planning, a long layover presents an opportunity to visit someplace outside of the transit airport.

If one visits a faraway place, chances are direct flights are rare/expensive/nonexistent which means at least one connection. The airline flight fare algorithm undoubtedly knows that long connect times are undesirable and so some of the cheapest tickets involve long layovers. Now, that could be a bonus if the transit stop is in an interesting place. So, should one leave the airport to look around?

Pros for leaving the airport:

• Chance to see another place as a “bonus” on a trip
• If in another country, in additional to any specific place, can get a taste of a different culture

Cons:

• Added hassle and expense
• Risk of missing onward flight if things go wrong

Here are the key factors: 1. entry requirements; 2. time; and 3. attractiveness of the place.

If it is a domestic flight, then there is of course no immigration/customs requirement and one is free to leave the airport. In a foreign country, one may need a visa which could hopefully be something like an on-the-spot transit visa. I’ve had immigration officers totally understand my motivation to have a look around to others who were slightly puzzled. Nonetheless, every single time I’ve tried to leave, I’ve been successful except for one time. Most airports have been very accommodating and they have even let me to reverse through the security/x-ray line to get out on a couple of occasions. That one unsuccessful attempt was in Incheon (Seoul) airport in late 2022.

I’ve been to the Incheon airport a few times and have a good impression up to that point – it had been well organized with scheduled parade of actors playing historical royalty and even offered free tours to outside of the airport (e.g. to Seoul). I did double check that a visa was not needed but when I tried to exit the airport, it turns out that I had to have an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) which needed 3 days to process. It’s my fault that I didn’t surface this requirement but, in my defense, plenty of websites gave all greens status to visit in terms visa, COVID test, COVID quarantine etc. There was no category of ETA on such checklists. If I ever create a “rant” section on this site, the poor signage, the false advertising and the bothersome inconsistent security screening are additional reasons that Incheon airport isn’t one of my favorites.

I think that’s enough about the exit aspect – now onto the time consideration. It takes time to exit the airport as there’s immigration/customs, possibly to collect and store luggage. It takes time to get to your destination be it a monument or the town center. Add in the times enjoying the place, getting back to the airport, going through immigration/customs/security checks and possibly retrieving the stored luggage (note that some luggage depots close relatively early – e.g. 7pm). While one should do specific research on the destination, taking account the time of day + day of week, my rule of thumb is 1 hour to exit and 2-3 hours to get to the departing gate from the time of arrival back at the airport. 

A potential wild card is the transit time. Many airports are far from the city center so that can take some unpredictable amount of time, especially in cities known for traffic jams like Bangkok and Istanbul. The best case is to have the airport connected by a modern rail link as those tend to run on time. Aside/fun fact: in Laos, the airports are often very close to the city center while the high-speed rail stations are far away because the rail stations were built very recently. 

Before the Taoyuan airport in Taiwan got a rail link, I negotiated at an airport counter for a car and driver to take me into town for 4 hours. It was reasonable at ~$60 USD which wasn’t that much more than a couple one-way airport taxis. I got to see the happy frantic Chinese New Year shopping street as well as the Taipei 101 skyrise which was the tallest building in the world before the rise of Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Now that the airport is served by the mass transit rail, I can pop into town for one of my favorite dishes in the world – Lin Dong Fang beef noodle soup. I would gladly go through all the hassles of getting out of the airport for just that dish but now that a branch opened in the airport itself (in the departure area after security), I have more options.

As for the destination, obviously research what one would do and the logistics involved. For example, make sure it is actually open on that day and if so, whether any needed reservation is attainable. 

Part of the attractive equation is the safety and hassle factor. I was mulling over connecting in Manila, Philippines but I remembered some time ago, someone at the airport tried to trick my dad. However, my dad alertly asked for some contact names that the person should have but didn’t actually know. After a long trans-Pacific flight, the thought of being in a chaotic airport, on guard against taxi drivers that didn’t want to use meters or pickpockets on transit system just didn’t appeal to me. I ended up choosing another itinerary. Now, I’m not picking on Manila, as this could happen at so many places. On each of my first 2 visits to Beijing, which is not known for lawlessness, an airport taxi driver tried to rip me off. The first time, it resulted in the hotel concierge helping me to get a full refund from the taxi company. The second time, I tracked down a policeman at the airport so I only paid the fair price. 

The attractiveness of the destination can be weighed against what is on offer at the airport. Many airports are dull affairs but more and more are featuring shopping and food. There are exceptional places like Singapore’s airport that boasts a free movie theater, multiple gardens and more.

I once happily spent 7 productive hours at the Turkish Airline’s lounge in Istanbul. It is the best airport lounge that I’ve been to: tasty food cooked to order, a library and roving therapists for shoulder massages are just a few of the amenities. (I spent a couple days at Istanbul the city on the way back.)

Recommendation: If one is feeling energetic and motivated to see an area not too far away, go for it and leave the airport – just make sure to get back in time!