The four gates
Every "can I leave?" question, at every airport on Earth, reduces to the same four gates. All four must open; any single closed gate means airside is the better layover.
Gate 1 — Hours
Exiting costs a fixed overhead before you see anything: immigration out, transit each way, and security back in with a 90-minute buffer before boarding. At most major hubs that overhead means exiting isn't worth it under roughly 4–6 hours — each guide below states the realistic minimum for that specific airport, based on its immigration speed and city distance.
Gate 2 — Passport
The same layover can be a free stroll for one passport and impossible for another. Some hubs wave most Western passports through in minutes; others require e-visas arranged days in advance, and a growing list of countries also require a digital arrival card filed online before you fly — meaning the decision to leave the airport increasingly has to be made before departure, not on arrival. Airside transit, by contrast, usually needs no visa at all.
Gate 3 — Bags
On one booking with bags checked through, you walk out carrying only hand luggage. On separate tickets you'll collect and recheck bags — which both eats your window and chains you to check-in opening times. If your bags aren't checked through, treat your usable city time as roughly half what the clock says.
Gate 4 — Timing
Six daytime hours and six overnight hours are different currencies. Late arrivals lose public transport (trains stop, surcharges start), lose the sights themselves, and buy hotel nights measured in hours. Overnight layovers are usually better spent at the airport — the guides below say plainly which hubs are comfortable overnight and which are not.
The maths, honestly
Take your layover length, subtract 90 minutes for the return security buffer, subtract the round-trip transit time, subtract 30–60 minutes for immigration both ways — what remains is your real city time. If that number is under about two hours, the excursion is mostly transit. This is exactly the calculation the layover checker runs for your specific hours, ticket type and passport.
Quick answers by airport
Every guide is dated with its last verification pass. Exit thresholds assume bags checked through and a daytime layover.
Asia
Middle East
Africa
Europe
North America
South America
Oceania
Leaving the airport FAQ
Can I leave the airport during a layover?
Usually yes, if four gates all open: you have enough hours (each hub has a realistic minimum, typically 4–6), your passport can enter that country (or you hold the right visa arranged in advance), your bags are checked through so you're not anchored to a carousel, and the timing works — late-night arrivals lose public transport and gain taxi surcharges. Fail any one gate and airside is the better layover.
What happens to my checked bags if I leave the airport?
On a single booking with bags checked through to your final destination, they stay in the system — you walk out with hand luggage only. On separate tickets you must collect and recheck them, which usually burns the time you'd have spent in the city and anchors you to check-in opening hours.
How early should I be back at the airport?
Back through security 90 minutes before boarding — not departure, boarding. That buffer absorbs an immigration queue, a security line and the walk to a far gate. Every LayoverStamp exit calculation builds this 90-minute buffer in.
Do I need a visa to leave the airport on a layover?
It depends entirely on your passport and the country — the same layover can be a free stroll for one traveller and impossible for the seat-mate. Many passports enter major hubs visa-free; others need e-visas arranged days in advance, and several countries now require online arrival cards filed before you fly. Check the airport's guide below, then confirm with official government sources.
Is it worth leaving the airport on an overnight layover?
Usually no. Arrive late and public transport is often finished, taxi surcharges apply, nothing is open, and you'll pay for a hotel night measured in hours. Most major hubs are more comfortable airside overnight than a rushed midnight excursion — the exceptions are hubs with a real transit-hotel or nearby-hotel play, noted on each guide.
Visa and entry notes are simplified general guidance, not immigration advice — always confirm with official government sources and your airline. This page regenerates from the same verified data as the airport guides.