Two destinations for one: a guide to the best cities for long layovers
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Question: What’s better than finally getting to see a city you’ve always dreamed of?
Answer: Seeing two awesome cities in the same trip.
You see, depending on the airline you choose to fly with and what kind of layover you’re looking at, you may be able to spend a good chunk of time discovering another city while you wait for the next leg of your journey.
Airlines have home-bases, which are typically the country that the airline has originated from and because of this, these airlines usually have layovers at their ‘home’ before they send you to your final destination. This is a blessing. I have managed to see at least 5 different destinations by building in enough time for a quick tour of the city.
By a quick tour, I really mean a layover of at least 12 hours. The only things that you really must check other than the length of the layover itself is the entry requirements of the country your layover is in, how efficient is the transportation to and from the airport to the city center, and the hours your layover is during (overnight or during the day). In some cases, I’ve had layovers that go for 18 hours, which is enough to see the city, check into a hotel, grab breakfast at a local restaurant and head back to the airport to catch my next flight.
Here are some examples of cities you can see with a long layover:
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Amsterdam - KLM
KLM is a dutch-based carrier and considers Schipol International Airport to be its home. It is part of the SkyTeam airline alliance so you may have a partner carrier ferry you to Schipol for you to then take a KLM flight elsewhere. Nonetheless, Schipol airport in itself is very nice. The train station is directly connected to the airport and is easy to find. You can take the train (15 minutes) to Amsterdam Centraal which will drop you off right in the city center (train times here). Trains run between these two destinations 24 hours a day, however times are less frequent between midnight and 6am. This is by far the cheapest, quickest, and most efficient method to get to the city.
If you’re looking for some cool things to do in the city once you’re here, don’t miss my blog post on Amsterdam.
Tower Bridge, London, England
London - British Airways
With five airports to its name, London may be one of the most connected cities in the world by air traffic. Flying British Airwaves (OneWorld Alliance) will almost guarantee you a stop at London Heathrow Airport. There are a few options to get you from Heathrow to the city center:
Heathrow Express - non-stop trains to Paddington station, takes 15 minutes, expensive
London Underground (Tube Map here)- take the Piccadilly Line towards Cockfosters, takes 1 hour, about £6,
Taxi - will cost from £50-70, depending on the time of day and location of origin
Coach - National express makes several trips a day, and takes between 40-80 minutes
A summary of these options can be seen here.
Also, Piccadilly Line is part of the night tube, which allows you to get to and from Heathrow 24 hours a day. Be advised that during the night, the portion of the track that accesses terminal 4 is closed, so you will have to get off at any of the other terminals and take a taxi to terminal 4.
If you’re looking for some cool things to do in the city once you’re here, check out my blog post about London.
Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul - Turkish Airlines
When booking tickets with Turkish Airlines, I have found it to be quite easy to book in an extended layover (more than 4 hours) in Istanbul. Before the new airport was built, transport could be taken directly from Ataturk airport to Sultanahmet, in teh city center by Istanbul metro. With the completion of the new airport to the north of the city, there are currently no metro lines that run to the facility as of yet. A taxi to Sultanahmet or Taksim square will depend largely on traffic conditions and will run you AT LEAST 100 Turkish Lira. The most cost effective way of getting to the city is with the Havaist Airport Shuttle for 18 Lira (timetables here). This journey takes about 100 minutes on average, but during non-peak times, closer to 1 hour. These shuttles are parked right outside of the arrivals exit (Sultanahmet - Bay 16, Taksim - Bay 14). The driver accepted credit cards upon entry. There is also the new M11 Metro line that takes you direct from the airport to Istanbul city center.
Here is more information on the Turkish Airlines website about booking a layover.
Be sure to read my blog post about cool things to do and see in Istanbul.
Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dubai - Emirates
Everyone has heard of Emirates, either as the sponsor of many european football teams, or as an airline. Since Emirates operates out of Dubai, you can build in a few hours layover into your flight ticket and see the city of superlatives. You can take a range of different transport options which are excellently summarized here.
Airport Bus - Runs frequently (every 7 mins by day, every 20 mins by night), about $1
Dubai Metro - Take the red line train to city center, about $2, frequent trains.
Taxi - most expensive, most convenient, at least $40, mercy to dubai traffic
More info can be found here about planning your Dubai stopover with Emirates.
If you’re looking for some cool things to do in the city once you’re here, check out my blog post about Dubai.
Sun Voyager Statue, Reykjavik, Iceland