The adventures are beginning again! I just clicked a button on the internet that bought my summer study trip to Amman, Jordan. I received a full scholarship with my school to study Arabic in Qasid Arabic Institute for about 3 months. Pressing the button of course includes some fees and many travel site comparisons, but it’s only when I buy the ticket is when I realize it’s the trip is real! I love the feeling of searching for tickets, selecting the route and pressing confirm. It’s an exciting feeling that I cherish with every travel ticket I buy. The moment when you are debating if the $100 will cause a dent, which airline will give you mile points, or which departure time will get you traveling to your destination the fastest is all very enjoyable.
Layovers
For this purchase, I chose the route with a 10-hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany.
When I purchase tickets, they are usually the cheapest and with the most layovers. I don’t mind layovers and long journeys now because I’m scarce on money and I still have lots of energy to travel for long periods of time. However, I hope to one day have a direct flight to my destinations, but for now, I’m taking advantage of my layovers. What do I mean? I usually pick the tickets with the longest layover possible. Since I’m having a layover anyway and my choices of layovers are 3-4 hours or 10-12 hours, I’d rather pick the longer ones, e.g. 10-12 hours.
How do I take advantage of the layover you ask?…
TRAVEL WITHIN TRAVELS!
In this case, traveling within my travels means that I use the 10 hours efficiently and carefully. If it is manageable (e.g. visas, weather, time, available public transport, etc.) and depending on the time of the day, I choose to go out of the airport and explore the closest and most popular attraction (usually the city center). In one of my past experiences of a 10-hour layover in London, I left my bags with the airport for a few bucks, went straight to the Underground from Heathrow to Piccadilly Circus, went to grab some of my favorite to-go food from Marks and Spencers, went to see the Westminster Abbey, walked in front of the London Eye, and managed to sit in front of the fountain in Piccadilly Circus, eat my sandwich and people watch all in a matter of 3 hours. Within this time frame, I experienced riding the tube with the locals, heard a different accent e.g. “Please mind the gap”, explored a British grocery store (I love grocery markets of a city), did the usual tourist sightseeing, and captured the essence of the busy people and big city.
How to Plan Accordingly
If you are planning to go out and explore on your layover, you got to make sure you plan everything out accordingly before you depart your home base. Now with the internet, you can check almost anything. Usually the airport’s websites will give you more than enough information about public transportation and destinations. With London, a European city, I researched how long it would take to ride the Underground from Heathrow to Piccadilly Circus and back and added 30 minutes on top of what I had calculated. (If you are nervous and clumsy give yourself a little more time). The extra you give to yourself will help if somehow you get lost, get off the wrong station, a metro line is closed off, or anything that can go wrong. I usually get really nervous and give myself 1 hour added on with the 2 hours required for customs and check in at the airport, so be at the airport three hours before departure.
For more information and guide on a London Layover, this Layover site is incredible. It has a variety of destinations with itineraries.
Example of an Itinerary: 10-hour layover in London
Arrival time: 10:00AM
Departure Time: 8PM
10:00 AM Arrive at Heathrow Airport
11:00 AM Baggage is stored, cash is exchanged, tickets for the Tube are bought, and everything is set to go on the Tube.
12:00 PM Arrive at Piccadilly Circus
12:00 PM-4:00 PM Explore the city, if you are taking the Tube to other places, calculate how much time it will take you to go back to the station that will bring you back to the airport.
4:00PM Start to head back to your Tube Station
4:30 PM- 4:45PM Depart to Heathrow Airport
5:45 PM Arrive at Heathrow, grab your bags, go through customs (the lines for customs in Heathrow are usually really intimidating and nerve-racking, so the more time you give yourself, the better for the sake of your brain exploding in fear of missing your flight), go to your flight gate, and sit down and relax.
8:00 PM Depart to your Destination
Under Murphy’s Law, if something can go wrong, it could and it will, so be sure to have some back up plans. If you get stuck somewhere in the city and can’t get back on time to your train station, take a taxi right away. Other than that, you will be fine. 10 hours is more than enough time and it’s really exciting and you get a mini vacation.
Are there experienced travelers out there who take advantage of their layovers in a similar or different way? Did you have a good or bad experience? Your experience would benefit us all.
With much love and excitement,
Dandelion Traveler
dandeliontraveler 