鈥泪 love long layovers,鈥 says Patricia Serrano, who writes the blog . 鈥泪 mean layovers that are 11 hours long or even longer. I want it to be long enough to get out of the airport and explore, even if you are laying over in a big city.鈥
Many international airlines are trying to reframe the inconvenient pause in air travel by offering extended layovers as perks to travelers. Iceland Air is the most famous example, with layovers for up to seven days for travelers from the U.S. who are passing through Iceland on their way to other destinations. Finnair, Royal Jordanian, TAP Portugal, and Turkish Airlines聽have similar programs for passengers touching down in their hub airports. Some airlines, like Emirates, depending on the length of your layover to entice passengers to spend more time in their home cities.
Turkish Airlines offers free tours of Istanbul to passengers with long layovers. You鈥檒l see the city鈥檚 Blue Mosque and聽Grand Bazaar. And several airports now offer free layover tours designed to get travelers into their cities. At Singapore鈥檚 Changi Airport, hop on a free that shows off the city-state鈥檚聽stunning architecture in a 2.5-hour guided bus ride. From Qatar's Hamad International Airport, get into the capital聽of Doha with Qatar Airways' tour and see the Museum of Islamic Art, among other sites. If you鈥檙e flying through Amsterdam, take a four-hour walking and canal tour of the city with 聽that includes a stop at the Rembrandt windmill. It鈥檚 not free鈥攊t costs about $175鈥攂ut it鈥檚 still cool. depart from LAX airport and hit a handful of iconic Southern California landmarks in just a few hours for less than $100.
Even if you don鈥檛 want to take a guided tour, you can make the most of your touch-and-go time if you have more than a few hours in a layover city. 鈥淟ayovers aren鈥檛 long enough to just peruse a city aimlessly, but they can give you plenty of time to accomplish a single mission,鈥 Serrano says. 鈥淒o some research and have a single museum exhibit or restaurant you want to hit during your layover. You absolutely should trek out of the airport for an amazing meal or piece of art.鈥