Can I leave the airport on my layover?
Your passport, your connecting airport, your hours. We check the official entry rule and count the queue, the ride into town and the way back.
Airports
- AMS Amsterdam
- ATL Atlanta
- BKK Bangkok
- PEK Beijing
- ORD Chicago
- DFW Dallas
- DOH Doha
- DXB Dubai
- FRA Frankfurt
- HEL Helsinki
- HKG Hong Kong
- IST Istanbul
- LIS Lisbon
- LHR London
- LAX Los Angeles
- MAD Madrid
- MEX Mexico City
- MIA Miami
- MUC Munich
- JFK New York
- PTY Panama City
- CDG Paris
- SFO San Francisco
- ICN Seoul
- PVG Shanghai
- SIN Singapore
- HND Tokyo
- NRT Tokyo
- YYZ Toronto
- ZRH Zurich
Three questions decide your layover
- May you stay airside? Most hubs let you change planes without any document. Some ask certain passports for an airport transit visa, and the United States and Canada have no airside transit at all.
- May you enter the country? Leaving the airport means passing immigration. You need what any visitor with your passport needs: nothing, an online authorisation such as the UK ETA, or a visa. China, Singapore and Korea have special visa-free transit rules for some passports.
- Is there enough time? Airline connection times only cover walking to the next gate. Going into town adds immigration, the train both ways and security again. Our planner shows each step on a timeline, with cautious defaults you can change.
Why not just ask a chatbot?
Transit rules depend on your exact passport, the airport and sometimes the visas you already hold, and they change several times a year: the UK started requiring ETAs in 2025, Thailand shortened its visa exemption in 2026, and China keeps adding countries to its visa-free transit list. Every rule on this site links to the government page it comes from, with the date we checked it.
Questions
Can I leave the airport during a layover?
Usually yes, if your passport lets you enter the country you connect in and the layover is long enough. Passing immigration is the same as entering the country: you need whatever a normal visitor with your passport needs, such as a visa, an ETA or nothing at all. Some countries also have special visa-free transit rules.
What does airside transit mean?
Airside means you stay behind passport control and walk from one gate to the next. Most hubs allow it without any document, but some ask certain nationalities for an airport transit visa, and the United States and Canada have no airside transit at all: every connecting passenger needs an ESTA, eTA or visa.
How long a layover do I need to leave the airport?
It depends on the airport. We count 45 minutes to get out, the trip into town and back with 20% margin, and 2 hours back before departure. If less than 90 minutes are left in the city, stay in the airport. At a hub with a fast train that means roughly 6 hours or more.
What happens to my checked bags?
On one ticket, bags are normally checked through to your final destination and you can leave the airport without them. On separate tickets, or when you enter the first country of a multi-stop trip (for example the United States), you collect them and check them in again, which costs extra time.
Rules last checked 2026-11-01.