The airport stopover is generally dismissed as an inconvenience – but with a little planning, it can add significantly to the travel experience. Especially if you deliberately interrupt your trip to enjoy an extended spell – a day, even two – in a city where you will be changing planes. There are few downsides to this idea.
You can ease yourself into the fog of jetlag with a lesser time difference than you will face at your final port of call; a comfort blanket that will be especially warm if you are flying with older family members or children. You get to explore a second destination, probably on another continent. And sometimes, a two-leg flight can effectively be cheaper.
Where to stop? There are plenty of old favourites – Far East havens that, in earlier eras of less mighty aircraft, established themselves as welcoming options for globetrotters needing rest. Then there are the “newcomers” – cities in the Middle East which, as planes have become more advanced and flight paths have shifted, have become key parts of the travel conversation. Below we pick out 10, in Asia and in North America, and explain why you should swap the terminal for the taxi or train – and head into town to find your feet.
Our guide to flight stopovers Stopovers in Dubai Stopovers in Abu Dhabi Stopovers in Doha Stopovers in Singapore Stopovers in Kuala Lumpa Stopovers in Bangkok Stopovers in Mumbai Stopovers in Atlanta Stopovers in Los Angeles How to book a stopover Insider tips Dubai Time difference GMT +4 Where might I be flying? Just about anywhere. The glitziest of the seven United Arab Emirates has announced itself as a global hub in the last 20 years, and has become one of the key halfway houses en route to Australia. But you might as easily be going to the Far East.
Its national airline, Emirates (0344 800 2777; emirates.com ), flies to six continents. Transfer into town Half an hour – the airport is on the Dubai Metro ( rta.
ae ). Key sights Suggestions that Dubai is little more than a series of hotels in the desert are ill-founded. The Burj Khalifa ( burjkhalifa.
ae ) rears dramatically as the world’s tallest building (2,722ft/830m); the spice and gold souks give a glimpse of the city of yesteryear. Where to eat If you are going to visit the Burj Khalifa, you could dine at Amal - a fine-dining Indian restaurant in the skyscraper’s Armani hotel ( armanihotels.com ).
Where to stay Newer hotels have appeared since it opened in 1999, but the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab ( jumeirah.com ) remains a Dubai icon. Expensive, mind.
Doubles for £894. Plan the perfect trip with our travel guide to Dubai. Back to index.
Abu Dhabi Time difference GMT +4 Where might I be flying? For Dubai, read Abu Dhabi. The two emirates are next-door neighbours. Dubai’s flag-carrier has been proactive in making itself a major air-industry player – but its rival, Etihad (0345 608 1225; etihad.
com ), has matched it wing for wing. Transfer into town About 40 minutes by taxi – from 75 Dirham (£17). Key sights A confection of pale domes and soaring minarets, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque ( szgmc.
gov.ae ) is as epic as any cathedral; the Louvre Abu Dhabi is a superb off-shoot of the Paris art museum ( louvreabudhabi.ae ).
Far noisier, Ferrari World salutes the feted car brand in rollercoasters and driving experiences ( ferrariworldabudhabi.com ). Where to eat Larte ( larte.
ae ) does Mediterranean fare a quick taxi ride from the Louvre. Where to stay Convenient for the airport and Ferrari World, the glass-fronted W Abu Dhabi ( marriott.com ) is one of the city’s most eye-catching hotels.
Continuing the motor-sports theme, it sits at the heart of the emirate’s Formula 1 track. Doubles for £182. Read the full hotel review here .
Back to index. Doha Time difference GMT +3 Where might I be flying? As above. Just 300 miles west of Dubai, but a separate nation, Qatar has largely kept pace with the UAE in the aviation race.
Its main carrier ( qatarairways.com ) also lands at airports over the world – including four cities in the UK. Transfer into town Twenty minutes – via the Red Line of the Doha Metro ( qr.
com.qa ). Key sights Set on Doha’s Corniche, the Museum of Islamic Art ( mia.
org.qa ) has 1,400 years of relics and artefacts in a striking building crafted by the architect I.M.
Pei. Just over the road, Souk Waqif is a blur of stalls selling clothes, trinkets and spices. Where to eat Iris ( irisdoha.
com ), a waterside restaurant which runs from steak to sushi. Where to stay Also on the Corniche, the Four Seasons ( fourseasons.com/doha ) is as chic as you’d expect, but only a six-mile transfer ride from the airport.
Doubles for £246. Back to index. Singapore Time difference GMT +8 Where might I be flying? Prior to the rise of the Gulf airlines, the city-state at the foot of the Malaysian mainland was the obvious option for a stopover en route to Australia or New Zealand.
It still can be – Singapore Airlines (020 7660 8988; singaporeairlines.com ) will fly you on to places as varied as Auckland, Cairns, Darwin, Brisbane and Melbourne. Transfer into town An hour – via the East-West Line of the Singapore MRT ( lta.
gov.sg ). Key sights For the futuristic Singapore which shines on social media, make time to see the enormous artificial “Super Trees” of Gardens by the Bay ( gardensbythebay.
com.sg ). For a dash of Southeast Asian culture, enjoy the many paintings of the National Gallery ( nationalgallery.
sg ). And for retail therapy (space in your bags permitting), the numerous shops of Orchard Road are worth a visit. Where to eat Chatterbox ( chatterbox.
com.sg ), an Orchard Road chicken-and-rice icon. Where to stay Sukhumvit is the accommodation heartland.
Options include the four-star Grand Swiss Hotel ( grandswissbangkokhotel.com ), with its rooftop pool. Doubles from £67.
Back to index. Kuala Lumpur Time difference GMT +8 Where might I be flying? For Singapore, see KL, 220 miles north-west. Kuala Lumpur International is one of Asia’s largest airports – and, as home to Malaysian Airlines (0330 365 0080; malaysiaairlines.
com ), will funnel you across the Far East or on to Australasia. Transfer into town Half an hour to KL Sentral via the KLIA rail link ( kliaekspres.com ).
Key sights The 1,483ft (492m) Petronas Towers were once the planet’s tallest building(s), and come with views to match ( petronastwintowers.com.my ).
The nearby Forest Eco Park is a leafy contrast to all that steel and glass ( forestry.gov.my ).
Petaling Street Flea Market offers local bargains galore, particularly if you are prepared to haggle. Where to eat Dewakan – with its modern Malay cuisine ( dewakan.my ) – features regularly in lists of Asia’s foremost restaurants.
Tasting menus from £108. Where to stay Accommodation costs in Kuala Lumpur can be surprisingly modest. Double rooms at the five-star Shangri-La ( shangri-la.
com/kualalumpur ) cost from £88. Back to index. Bangkok Time difference GMT +7 Where might I be flying? You might argue that the Thai capital is a destination in its own right.
And you’d be correct. All the more reason, then, to step into its maelstrom before heading on to the beaches of Phuket or Krabi – especially if you are flying in with Suvarnabhumi Airport’s central tenant, Thai Airways (020 7907 9532; thaiairways.com ).
Transfer into town Eighteen minutes, via the Airport Rail Link ( srtet.co.th ).
Key sights Admire the traditional Bangkok at the Grand Palace (home to Thai royalty since 1782) and its neighbour, the Wat Pho temple complex, with its vast reclining buddha. Find a more 21st century take on the city in the Siam Square district, in gleaming malls such as the MBK Center ( mbk-center.co.
th ) and Siam Paragon ( siamparagon.co.th ).
Where to eat Ruen Mallika ( ruenmallika.com ) – a solid Thai-food choice in Sukhumvit. Where to stay Sukhumvit is the accommodation heartland.
Options include the four-star Grand Swiss Hotel ( grandswissbangkok.com ), with its rooftop pool. Doubles from £67.
Plan the perfect trip with our travel guide to Bangkok. Back to index. Mumbai Time difference GMT +5.
30 Where might I be flying? Elsewhere on the sub-continent. While India’s second biggest city isn’t an air-travel hub per se, its airport is a key arrival point for journeys further into the country. From here, Air India (0800 048 9254; airindia.
in ) will carry you to the likes of Amritsar (Punjab), Kochi (Kerala), Udaipur (Rajasthan), and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh). Transfer into town You can get a train, but a taxi (90 minutes; 700 Rupees/£7) is easier. Key sights Mumbai is alive with landmarks, from the Victorian rail relic of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Mahatma Gandhi’s former home ( gandhi-manibhavan.
org ). You can shop for clothing and bags along Shahid Bhagat Singh Road in Colaba, at the southern tip of the city’s peninsula, and stroll with the locals on the broad curve of Chowpatty Beach. Where to eat Golden Dragon – which specialises in contemporary Chinese dishes at the Taj Mahal Palace, the five-star delight which has adorned the Colaba waterfront since 1903.
Where to stay Double rooms at the Taj Palace ( tajhotels.com ) cost from £232 per night. Back to index.
Miami Time difference GMT -5 Where might I be flying? As well as being the main gateway to Florida, Miami is a vital junction for air travel to Latin America. If you are heading to, for example, Columbia, Peru or Brazil with the likes of American Airlines (020 7660 2300; aa.com ) or Latam (0800 026 0728; latam.
com ), there is a fair chance that you’ll cool your heels here. Transfer into town The Metrorail ( miamidade.gov ) serves Downtown (20 minutes).
You need a taxi for South Beach (20 minutes; $35/£29). Key sights Miami is much more than sun and sand. Its Perez Art Museum ( pamm.
org ) has a wealth of modern art, by the likes of Olafur Eliasson and Diego Rivera; its Little Havana district thrills to the sounds and flavours of Cuba. The key seafront avenue, Ocean Drive, revels in Art Deco architecture – and boasts a museum to match ( mdpl.org ).
Where to eat El Cristo ( elcristorestaurant.com ), a Little Havana bastion of Cuban food. Where to stay It makes no sense to avoid the seafront for accommodation.
The four-star Hotel Breakwater South Beach ( breakwatersouthbeach.com ) does double rooms for £111. For places to stay really near the airport, check out our guide to the best hotels near Miami airport .
Plan the perfect trip with our travel guide to Miami. Back to index. Atlanta Time difference GMT -5 Where might I be flying? It is a statistic that tends to elicit surprise, but Atlanta Airport has been the world’s busiest since 1998 (Covid years aside) – a location from which you can fly to almost every big US city.
It is also a key base for Delta (020 7660 0767; delta.com ). Transfer into town About 25 minutes to Midtown, on the Marta system ( itsmarta.
com ). Key sights Atlanta hosted the Olympics in 1996 – a summer in the sporting sun which revitalised its Downtown. Three very different attractions sit on the edge of Centennial Olympic Park – Georgia Aquarium (the world’s biggest; georgiaaquarium.
org ), the World of Coca-Cola ( worldofcoca-cola.com ; the ubiquitous drink having originated in the city in 1886), and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights ( civilandhumanrights.org ).
Where to eat The Sun Dial ( sundialrestaurant.com ), which offers spectacular views as well as pan-seared seabass, 723ft (220m) up, at the top of Atlanta’s tallest hotel building. Where to stay Said hotel, the Westin Peachtree Plaza ( marriott.
com ). Doubles for £165. Back to index.
Los Angeles Time difference GMT -8 Where might I be flying? Like Bangkok, America’s biggest west-coast city is definitely a destination in its own right. But it can also be a stopover option if you are going really far afield – out to the islands of Hawaii, or choosing the Pacific route down to Australasia. Transfer into town Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will finally join the city’s Metro Rail system (metro.
net) by the end of this year, when LAX/Metro Transit Center station becomes a fixture on the C and K lines. Taxis in (up to an hour) start at $70 (£58). Key sights Myriad.
You will probably need more than a day in town if you want to dash down to Disneyland ( disneyland.disney.go.
com ). But the obvious stuff – the Hollywood Sign, the Walk of Fame, Sunset Boulevard – can be seen in an afternoon, and if you are feeling cultured, the Institute of Contemporary Art ( theicala.org ) will light up a morning.
Where to eat The Eveleigh ( theeveleigh.com ), which brings grown-up dishes and an outdoor dining terrace to Sunset Boulevard, just up from the notorious Whisky-A-Go-Go. Where to stay Venice on the Beach Hotel ( veniceonthebeachhotel.
com ), which wears its location in its name, and offers three-star comfort in sight of the ocean. Doubles for £225. Plan the perfect trip with our travel guide to Los Angeles.
Back to index. How to book a stopover Back to index. Insider tips This article was first published in October 2022, and has been revised and updated.
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