Airport layovers can be an inconvenience to some but it can also be a very rewarding experience to others.
Whether it’s a 3-hour long stay at the airport or 18 hours of lounging around, there are tons of things to do to make waiting for your much-anticipated flight fun and worth the quick stay.
This is why we put together some layover tips and tricks you need to know before booking your next holiday.
Airport layover guide: How to have the best airport layover yet.
1. Go for Multi-Stop Searches
More often than not, layovers are unplanned. But to have a layover worth your time, why not plan it?
To find the best layovers, you’ll often have to use multi-stop or multi-city flight searches. This is a feature that’s common to many flight search engines but not often used.
Start by doing a regular flight search on a site like Skyscanner, Trip or Kiwi.
Enter your starting and final destination, as this will give you some important information on where certain airlines make stopovers. It really helps to do a regular search first before adding in an extra waypoint, as without this it can be difficult to know what kind of layovers are actually easy or affordable to book.
When you find a route you like, you can then enter the details for it in a multi-stop search, where you can then have both legs of the journey separated by a day (or even more).
Pro tip: Doing this on a 3rd party booking site, might cost you a little more since you may be issued separate single flights. A quick solution is to go to the airline’s own website and do a multi-city search there.
The total price you’ll be quoted will usually be similar to a normal return ticket, but with a longer gap for your transfer. If you cannot book all flights with the same airline, they will match you with a ticket from one of their partner airlines.
Photo from The Blue Swan Daily
2. Consider Stopover Destinations
It sure is tempting to go out on a whim and opt for the first layover destination you see. To make your time worth it, go for a destination that you’ve been wanting to visit.
Another factor to consider is choosing a destination that is located strategically between continents or regions. This makes for a much more enjoyable experience – even with only a few hours to spare.
For example, Qatar is a country that not many travelers will go to just for a holiday, but it makes for an interesting place to see for a day or two on your way to somewhere else.
Singapore also makes for a good stop in Southeast Asia, as its airport is incredibly well-connected globally and you can travel onwards to neighboring countries on regional budget airlines.
Pro tip: If you’re planning a trip somewhere far away, be sure to take a good look at the map to see what might already lay on your path…
Photo from Escape
3. Be on the lookout for special deals
Some destinations promote themselves as a layover place, offering cool freebies to anyone who decides to stay for a while. These freebies usually come from airlines that operate from major (up-and-coming) hubs, though sometimes these offers come from the local tourism board.
Some destinations also offer free tours or excursions if you decide to make a stopover.
Photo from Skyscanner.com
Got some ideas for your next airport stopover? At the end of the day, wherever you’re planning to go, don’t forget to get creative and to keep an open mind for new and exciting experiences. Happy traveling!
