Over the years, I’ve experienced all kinds of layovers: some very short, where our only goal was to make it to our next flight, others long enough to leave the airport and explore a city for a few hours, and even some where the airport itself became part of the experience.

Amsterdam, Paris, Bangkok, Singapore… each of these layovers taught us something.

Making the most of a layover doesn’t depend only on the number of hours shown on your ticket. You also need to consider the airport, entry and security procedures, luggage, transportation, the weather, how tired you are, and most importantly, leave yourself a comfortable safety margin.

So here are the main tips I’ve learned from our different experiences to help you enjoy a layover without turning it into a race against the clock.

First Things First: Understand Your Layover

Before planning anything, you need to understand exactly how your layover will work.

Are you traveling on a single ticket all the way to your final destination, or did you purchase two separate tickets? Will your checked luggage be transferred automatically, or will you need to pick it up and check it in again? Are you arriving and departing from the same terminal? Will you need to go through immigration or additional security checks?

All these little details can completely change how much time you need between two flights.

With separate tickets, for example, you may need to pick up your luggage, officially enter the country, make your way to the next airline’s check-in counter, check your bags again, and then go through the different security checks before heading to your gate.

On the other hand, traveling with carry-on luggage only can sometimes make the whole process much easier.

So never rely only on the total length of your layover. Two three-hour layovers can be completely different depending on the airport and how your tickets were booked.

Check the Country’s Entry Requirements

If you’re planning to leave the airport, make sure to check the country’s entry requirements before your trip.

Depending on your nationality and destination, you may need a visa, an electronic travel authorization, or other entry formalities, even if you’re only staying for a few hours.

Since these requirements can change, it’s always best to check official sources shortly before your trip rather than relying only on someone’s experience from several months or years ago.

If You’re Staying at the Airport

Staying at the airport doesn’t mean that a layover requires no preparation.

Some large airports are practically small cities. Multiple terminals, trains, shuttles, security checks, long distances to walk… two hours can go by much faster than you might think.

1. Don’t Underestimate the Time You Need Between Flights

Even if you plan to stay at the airport for your entire layover, try to avoid connections that are too short whenever possible.

Personally, when I have a choice between flights, I try to allow at least two hours between them. And in some large airports, or when the connection is more complicated, I prefer to have three hours.

Two hours may seem like plenty of time when you imagine simply getting off one plane and boarding the next. In reality, that time can disappear very quickly: you need to get off the plane, sometimes change terminals, walk long distances, take a train or shuttle, go through security again, or even complete certain immigration procedures depending on the airport and the type of connection.

So, how much time should you allow?

As a general guideline, here’s what I personally consider reasonable:

Less than 1.5 hours: I personally find the connection too risky and would avoid it if I have a choice.
Around 2 hours: a minimum I’m generally more comfortable with for a relatively simple connection, especially if the flights are on the same ticket and luggage is transferred automatically, or if I’m traveling with carry-on luggage only.
Around 3 hours: much more comfortable in a large airport, when you need to change terminals, or when the connection involves several steps.
3 hours or more: preferable if you’re traveling on separate tickets, need to pick up and recheck your luggage, or know that your connection will require you to leave the transit area.

Of course, there’s no universal rule when it comes to layover times. Some airports make it possible to connect very quickly, while others require much more time.

That’s exactly why I always check how an airport works before booking a connection at an airport I’m less familiar with.

We’ve already had a little over two hours at a large airport and, even without checked luggage, the time went by much faster than expected between getting around the airport and going through the different checkpoints. On the other hand, at a small airport with a simple connection, two hours can leave you with plenty of time.

My advice: if you have a choice between a very tight connection and another one that gives you an extra hour, that hour can be worth much more than you think. Having an extra coffee at the airport is usually much more enjoyable than sprinting to the boarding gate.

2. Research the Airport Before You Go

This is probably one of the habits that helps me the most nowadays.

When I know we’ll have a connection at an airport I’m not familiar with, I do a little research before the trip.

How many terminals are there? How do you get from one to another? Is there a train or shuttle? Are the distances long? What checkpoints might we have to go through again?

Official airport websites often provide very detailed maps and information about transfers between terminals.

I also sometimes watch videos on YouTube. Actually seeing someone make the transfer from one terminal to another can make things much easier to understand than simply looking at a map.

That doesn’t mean we’ll never make a mistake. It has happened to us before, especially at Charles de Gaulle, and we ended up with a much tighter connection than expected.

But arriving with a general idea of how the airport works helps save a lot of time and, most importantly, reduces stress.

3. Use Transportation Within the Airport

At some airports, walking from one terminal to another can take a lot of time. Trains, shuttles, moving walkways… if they’re available, use them.

At Changi, for example, several trains make it easy to travel between the different terminals. In an airport that huge, those few minutes saved can quickly become valuable.

Before your trip, check not only where your terminal is located, but also the fastest way to get there.

4. If the Airport Offers Activities, Make a Simple Plan

Not all airports are the same.

Some are mainly places you simply pass through, while others can almost become destinations in themselves. Changi Airport in Singapore is probably one of the best examples.

Gardens, attractions, restaurants, relaxation areas, Jewel and its massive waterfall… it’s very easy to spend several hours there.

But once again, a little preparation can help you make the most of your time.

Look up the things you’d like to see, which terminal they’re in, their opening hours, and most importantly, whether they’re located in the transit area or the public area.

Because leaving the transit area generally means having to go through the necessary procedures again to get back in.

If You Want to Leave the Airport

A long layover can be an amazing opportunity to get a first glimpse of a destination.

That’s how we discovered Amsterdam, saw Paris, and spent a few hours exploring Bangkok.

But for the experience to remain enjoyable, you need to be realistic about how much time you actually have.

5. Calculate How Much Time You Actually Have

An eight-hour layover definitely doesn’t mean eight hours of sightseeing. That’s probably the most important thing to understand when you’re considering leaving the airport.

To figure out how much time you actually have, you need to subtract several things from the total length of your layover:

Total layover time
– time needed to get off the plane and leave the airport
– immigration and customs, when required
– transportation into the city
– transportation back to the airport
– a safety margin before your next flight
= time actually available for sightseeing

But How Much Time Should You Allow for Each Step?

Of course, there’s no universal amount of time that works everywhere. The size of the airport, how busy it is, where you’re seated on the plane, the country’s entry procedures, and even the time you arrive can make a huge difference.

But for a first estimate, here are the timeframes I like to allow:

Getting off the plane and making your way out of the airport: around 30 to 45 minutes. At a small airport, it can sometimes be much faster. At a huge airport where you have to walk long distances or take a shuttle between terminals, it can easily take longer.
Immigration and customs: around 30 to 60 minutes. Again, this can be very quick or take much longer depending on how busy the airport is. If I’m planning to leave the airport during a layover, I prefer to allow extra time rather than build my itinerary around the best-case scenario.
Transportation between the airport and the city: this needs to be checked for each destination. This is the one thing I would never estimate using a general timeframe. Amsterdam can be reached very quickly by train, while a city like Bangkok takes much longer to get to.
Safety margin when returning to the airport: around 2.5 to 3 hours before an international flight. Personally, I prefer to aim for three hours whenever possible, especially at an airport I’m less familiar with. If our luggage is already checked through to our final destination and the process is simple, we’ve sometimes felt comfortable returning around two and a half hours before departure.

So, even before calculating transportation time, I generally subtract around 3.5 to 4.5 hours from the total layover time to account for getting off the plane, completing the necessary formalities, and leaving a comfortable safety margin before the next flight.

Then, you still need to add the time it takes to get into the city and back to the airport.

For example, with an eight-hour layover:

8-hour layover
– around 30 to 45 minutes to get out of the airport
– around 30 to 60 minutes for immigration and other formalities
– round-trip transportation
– around 2.5 to 3 hours of safety margin before the next flight

That generally leaves between 3 hours 15 minutes and 5 hours before even subtracting transportation time.

If the city center is only a 20-minute train ride away, the layover can become a great opportunity to explore. If it takes an hour each way, your actual sightseeing time quickly becomes much shorter.

That’s why an eight-hour layover can be very comfortable in one destination and much too tight in another.

In general, I find that a layover of around seven to eight hours starts to give you enough time for a worthwhile trip outside the airport when the airport is well connected to the city center. In a destination where transportation takes longer or is less predictable, ten hours or more can be much more comfortable.

Personally, I like to have at least around three hours of actual exploring time left once all the transportation time has been taken into account. Leaving the airport just to spend an hour in the city while constantly checking the time isn’t necessarily worth the stress.

6. Check Exactly How to Get into the City

Before deciding that a layover is long enough to leave the airport, check exactly how you’ll get to the places you want to visit. Train? Subway? Bus? Taxi?

Don’t just look at the distance between the airport and the city center. Look at how long the trip actually takes, how often the transportation runs, and how reliable it is.

Also think about the trip back to the airport. If your train is canceled, a line is closed, or traffic is much heavier than expected, do you have another option?

We’ve already had to change our plans because of transportation changes. Having at least some idea of a Plan B can save you a lot of stress.

7. Decide on Your Return Time Before You Even Leave

Before leaving the airport, I think it’s important to know what time we want to be back.

For an international flight, the usual recommendation is often to arrive around three hours before departure.

When our luggage is already checked through to our final destination and we’re familiar with the process, we’ve sometimes allowed ourselves a slightly shorter safety margin. But I always prefer to have too much time rather than not enough.

If you need to pick up or check in luggage, if you’re traveling on separate tickets, or if you’re not familiar with the airport, give yourself a more generous safety margin.

And most importantly, calculate what time you need to leave the city, not just what time you want to be back at the airport.

8. Accept That You Won’t See Everything

A layover isn’t a full trip. And it definitely shouldn’t try to become one.

Depending on how much time you have, choose one, two, or three places that genuinely interest you and build your little adventure around them.

In Paris, we obviously didn’t “visit Paris” in just a few hours. We simply wandered through it and got a small taste of the city.

In Amsterdam, a few hours spent walking along the canals were enough to give us a first impression of the city.

And in Bangkok, we chose a few places to explore rather than trying to cross the city in every direction.

The goal isn’t to be able to say you saw everything. It’s to leave with a few images, a few memories and feelings, and maybe the desire to come back someday.

9. Put Your Must-See First

If there’s one thing you really don’t want to miss, try to see it first. Then, consider everything else a bonus.

There are too many variables during a layover to save your must-see for the very end: weather, transportation, fatigue, unexpected closures, or simply feeling like slowing down.

By planning your itinerary in order of priority, you can easily skip the last stop if you start running out of time, without feeling like you missed what mattered most to you.

10. Take a Real Break

This is probably one of my favorite tips. 😍

When you know you only have a few hours, it’s tempting to try to make the most of every single minute. Yet some of my best layover memories are actually the moments when we stopped rushing.

A pastry in Paris. A slice of apple pie in Amsterdam. A few minutes sitting by the water in Bangkok, watching the boats pass in front of Wat Arun.

On paper, these breaks might seem like “wasted” time.

For me, it’s exactly the opposite. They give you a chance to look around, get a feel for the destination, and really hold on to the memory. Otherwise, you risk simply rushing from one place to another without actually enjoying what you came to see.

11. Check the Weather and Dress Accordingly

A few hours of walking can become much less enjoyable when you’re not dressed for the weather. We’ve learned that lesson in both cold and hot weather.

So check the forecast before you leave and think in layers whenever possible. An extra layer usually takes up very little space in your carry-on and can make a huge difference in how comfortable your layover is.

In warmer destinations, also keep in mind the dress requirements of the places you want to visit. Some temples or religious sites require you to cover your shoulders or legs. So that extra layer might still be important, even when it’s hot outside.

Basically, the goal is simply to be able to adapt easily without carrying around more than you need.

12. Don’t Forget About Fatigue

This is something I probably underestimated before some of our layovers.

On paper, ten hours can seem like a huge amount of time. But a ten-hour layover after several flights, a night with barely any sleep, and significant jet lag feels completely different from ten hours in the middle of a trip.

Fatigue, heat, and the pace of the previous days can completely change your energy level.

In Bangkok, we had enough time to stay in the city longer, but we ultimately decided to head back to the airport earlier than planned. And it was the right decision.

An itinerary is a guide, not an obligation.

13. Always Leave Room for Flexibility

Even the best plan can change.

A train line might be closed. An attraction might be fully booked. The weather might take a turn for the worse. You might be more tired than expected. The line at immigration might take twice as long as you planned.

So prepare for your layover, but don’t plan every minute of it.

Have your must-sees, know what time you absolutely need to head back, and keep the rest flexible. If everything goes perfectly, great – you might even be able to add something. If things don’t go as planned, simply skip one of your stops.

The goal isn’t to check everything off a list. The goal is to enjoy your layover without spending the last few hours wondering if you’re going to miss your flight.

In Conclusion: A Layover Is Part of the Journey Too

Over time, I’ve completely changed the way I see layovers. I no longer necessarily think of them as hours wasted between two destinations.

Some have allowed us to discover a city for a few hours. Others simply gave us a taste of a place we’d love to return to someday. And some gave us the opportunity to slow down, grab something to eat, explore a different airport, or simply rest before continuing our journey.

But if there’s one thing all of our experiences have taught me, it’s that a good layover is all about finding the right balance between preparation and flexibility.

Prepare enough to know where you’re going, how much time you need, and when you need to head back. Then accept that once you’re there, things might change.

A layover doesn’t need to be packed with activities every minute to be worthwhile.

Sometimes, a few hours, a walk, a meal, or just one memorable place is enough to turn what was supposed to be a simple wait between two flights into a real travel memory.

Making the Most of a Layover: My Practical Tips for Using Your Time Wisely