Spice up Your Trip with a Layover Tour

Wouldn’t it be great to hop on a plane and magically arrive at your destination a few short hours later, refreshed and ready to hit the town? This may be how we envision our well-planned and hard-earned vacations, but the reality of air travel isn’t quite so glamorous. If your destination is far from home, you could be faced with the dreaded layover — and no one looks forward to spending a huge chunk of time in an airport squandering precious moments of your family time.

While a layover may not be avoidable, wasting those valuable hours may be. To make the most of every minute of your vacation, ditch the airport lounges and hit the road with one of these layover tours.

Beijing, China

Lengthy layovers in Beijing are common. Beijing Layover Tours not only help the time pass quickly but let you experience some of the best attractions in China without having to extend your vacation. Tours are available for the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, just to name a few. Private tours are available or you can take a budget tour by joining a group. A guide picks you up at the airport and takes you to your chosen destinations, returning you to the airport in plenty of time to make your connection. Tours range 4–72 hours. They are available 24 hours a day (certain tours are not available on Mondays) and are customizable to meet your travel needs. All tours require a visa-free permit that can easily be acquired at the airport upon arrival.

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London, England

Should you find yourself in Gatwick or Heathrow airports for hours on end, simply book your family on a layover tour with Erin London Tours. Tours can accommodate up six people, 24 hours a day, and are completely customizable to your layover time and the attractions you wish to see. Some of the sites available are Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and Stratford-upon-Avon. Your tour guide will pick you up at the airport for your private tour and return you in time to catch your connecting flight.

İstanbul, Turkey

While Istanbul is a fabulous destination in itself, sometimes it is only a stopping point along your journey. If you’ve got more than four hours to kill in between flights use Istanbul Layover Tours to pass the time by exploring one of the most intriguing cities in the world. Starting at $90 per person, tour options include a Night Tour of the city with a visit to famous sites like the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Taksim Square or the Old City Classic Tour which visits these sites as well as the Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar.

Layover tours allow travelers to maximize and customize their time en route to their final destination. While these tours are usually private and highly accommodating to your travel schedule — cancellation is usually free should your flight be delayed — it is important to discuss the details ahead of time with your layover travel company. Make sure you know where to meet your driver and how to reach them. Entrance fees to sites and tips for your driver are usually not covered in your tour package.