To Explore or Stay Put during a LAYOVER

Travel can be very exhilarating and frustrating at times. But while traveling we should make the most of our experiences. Many times when we book a flight we have a layover in a different city or county. Now, what do we do with that time depends on many factors. If you want to leave the airport to explore you should consider the following factors considering there’s no visa requirements needed to enter that country. If there is any visa requirements, you should plan ahead.

How long is your LAYOVER?
This is the most important factor because if its a short layover there’s no point in leaving the airport and missing your connecting flight. The best way to approach this is to calculate the time needed to get out of the airport and/or immigration, the time needed to get to and return from the city to explore and the time needed ahead of your connecting flight. Once you have added the time, subtract it from your layover time and that will tell you how much time you have to explore.
For example, my husband and I had a recent layover in Panama and decided to explore Panama City. It took us approximately 15 minutes to get through immigration after we deplaned. It took about 30 minutes to get from the airport to Panama City and we wanted to get back to the airport 2 hours before our next flight. Our total time needed was approximately 3 hours and our layover was 5 hours so that left us with 2 hours to explore. Since we figured that going through immigration in Panama was hassle free, we decided to explore for an additional hour and get to the airport 1 hour prior to departure time and it worked out perfectly.

What time of the day is your LAYOVER?
If you layover is during the daytime, you may have plenty of daylight hours to explore but do not underestimate the thrill of experiencing local nightlife in certain cities. Safety should always be foremost whether day or night. Also make sure there are reliable transportation options available during nighttime.
On one of our recent layover in Trinidad, we were able to explore the famous Avenue in Port of Spain which comes alive at night. I was able to enjoy eating my favorite meal, roti and hanging out at a local bar with a DJ.
What to do during your LAYOVER?
This depends on your interests. You may use your time to sight see, take a boat ride, eat ice-cream, meet up with friends or do a tour. Tours are an excellent way to see a city in a short amount of time.
On our recent trip to Panama, we had a tour by our taxi driver who took us to must see locations. Thankfully, he was very knowledgeable on history which is one of my interests and he also gave us time to explore on our own.

And last but not least.

3. What to do with your luggage?

I am definitely team carry on when it comes to traveling unless I am going between my two homes in the Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic. For me, it also depends on what leg of the trip is the layover. If its on my return trip home, I prefer to check my luggage to its final destination. If the layover is one my way to my vacation destination, then I am very skeptical of giving up my carry on. You can consider storing your luggage. Storage services such as BagtoGo.net and Stasher will store your bags for a fee. A few airports still have lockers which is a good option if available. If your layover is overnight and you are checking into a hotel that’s a winner! Definitely do your research prior to traveling to make your traveling as hassle free and enjoyable as possible.

HAPPY TRAVELING