The Joys of a Long Layover

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This wasn’t quite the Dubai that I’d pictured. A famously salubrious destination set between desert and sea, this Persian Gulf city is renowned for its luxury. Michelin-starred chefs cooking up sumptuous gourmet meals in top-shelf restaurants. Streets filled with Range Rovers and Bentleys. And we’ve all heard about that “seven-star” hotel.

But today I was rumbling down Sheikh Zayed Road on a big, red, double-decker bus. We wheezed through heavy traffic. Around us, the famous skyline rose into a crystal-clear desert sky. To the left, the Burj Khalifa cut a steely, unmistakable figure, the world’s tallest building, its summit more than 2,700 feet in the air.

A bit later, on the right, the aforementioned Burj Al Arab, right on the beach, was built to look like a sail perpetually filled with wind. “You’re literally seeing history in the making,” a voice crackled through the cheap headphones I had plugged into the on-board sound system, noting the many changes here in the last century. Eventually, the hop-on, hop-off tour bus reached Palm Jumeirah. “This is island living at its best,” the voice said.

The Burj Al Arab in Dubai cuts an imposing silhouette. Darcey Beau/Unsplash

We chugged down the spine of the artificial island in the shape of a spreading palm, navigating what would be the trunk of the tree, surrounded by 17 frond-shaped peninsulas. Arriving at Atlantis, my disembodied narrator told me that “this is not just a hotel, it’s a mini city,” and detailed the big-time celebrities who have stayed in the Royal Bridge Suite. In that 3,000-foot space, a night can cost upwards of $30,000, and the soap is made of 14-karat gold. I certainly couldn’t afford a rate that high, but I was nonetheless tempted to stop and have a little look around. But it would have to wait for another day, because I had a flight to catch.

This was my first visit to Dubai, a truly global metropolis that I’d somehow missed in the course of visiting more than 100 countries. While it’s well known that this shimmering city on the sand offers endless diversions—among them, indoor skiing and scuba diving with sharks in a mall—I only had a few hours. Why? Because I was only there on a long layover.

It’s always a debate. Your flight is connecting in an unfamiliar city. You have a few hours in between. Do you go into town, or just play it safe and stay at the airport? Unless I’m completely exhausted or the process of getting into the city is unduly complicated, I always opt for a new experience, even if it’s necessarily brief.

For example: London. While I’ve had several multi-day stays in the British capital, many of my experiences here have been between an early morning arrival and a short evening departure flight to somewhere in continental Europe. A familiar and frequent memory: dozing on The Tube on the ride in from Heathrow, before letting the adrenaline kick up, to fuel some touring.

I can look back at many great times there, the recollections shrouded by the necessary jet lag that accompanied those visits. To the Churchill War Rooms and the Crime Museum at New Scotland Yard. Just walking the Thames, keeping the blood pumping in order to keep my eyes open. Grabbing a quick, unpretentious rotisserie chicken lunch at Harrods food hall.

But it’s not always celebrated cities like Dubai and London (and Singapore and Hong Kong). Once, I had a layover in Riga. And if I’d opted to just stay at the airport, I would’ve missed my only opportunity, so far, to visit Latvia.

Flying Air Baltic, I had about six hours between an early morning hop from Tallinn and a longer leg down to Tel Aviv. Tired, I nonetheless boarded a familiar form of transportation—a city bus. Standing and clinging to a pole, I held on tight as we churned through rush-hour traffic. It was late November, and outside, the gray, portentous clouds broke into a light drizzle. I wasn’t optimistic.

But soon the sun broke through, and it turned out to be just a beautiful day. Founded in 1201, the Old Town, in a city of a little more than 600,000, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. It was a key port for the rich seafaring traders of the Hanseatic League up until the 15th century. Much later, in the 1900s, Art Nouveau flourished here.

All of that early wealth and architectural heritage were still evident everywhere I walked. I touched both walls at the same time on Rozena Street, the thinnest in town, and went up to the top of the spire at St. Peter’s church, taking in sweeping views of the surrounding cobblestone streets, girded by the Daugava River. I visited the 14th-century castle, as well as all of the Three Brothers. For lunch, I tried a little frikadelu zupa (a meatball soup), dipping into the steaming bowl of wonderful with traditional rupjmaize, a crusty, traditional rye bread.

Staying a little longer, just a night or two, certainly crossed my mind. But of course, there was no time. After all, this was just a layover, and I had a flight to catch.

Tips for Enjoying a Long Layover

1. Be honest about how much time you really have. While experiencing a new place—even for a few hours—is one of the great pleasures of travel, it’s not worth the expensive mistake of missing your flight, or a narrow miss that has you arriving back at the airport sweaty and stressed.
2. The minimum amount of time depends entirely on a number of factors. Most importantly, consider (and estimate your time to) the city center or attractions you want to visit, as well as the size and busyness of the airport you’re connecting through.
3. Finding luggage storage (which is called “left luggage” in some places) for heavy carryon bags is essential—don’t try and drag these around town while you tour. These storage places are usually located in the least attractive part of the airport, typically on a windowless lower level.
4. At the very least, allow an hour (or two) to clear passport control, store your luggage, get your bearings, and purchase transit tickets into town. Plus a couple hours upon your return to the airport to retrieve your left luggage and proceed through security to your boarding gate.
5. If possible, take at least a small amount of cash in the local currency—credit cards don’t always work, and in a pinch, this could be the difference between a taxi ride back to the airport and being left on the side of the road.
6. Be aware that some destinations require a visa, even for visits lasting just a few hours. If you are unsure whether you need one, research this in advance.
7. If you’re on the fence and you have enough time, just do it. Especially if you may never return to a given city. Exploring on your layover is worth a little fatigue (and an extra trip through airport security) to see and experience a brand-new place.