A layover is the gap between two flights. The right plan depends on how many hours you really have, and that is fewer than the gap on your ticket. Take away the time to get through the airport at both ends, and what is left is what you can use.
Work out your real hours first
- Start with the gap between landing and your next boarding time.
- Take away about an hour to reach the connections area, more if you land at Terminal 2.
- Take away security and the walk to your gate at the other end.
- What is left is the time you can sleep or go out.
Stay airside
Staying airside means you never clear immigration, so there is no entry question. Terminals 1 and 3 are joined inside the secure area, so you can move between them. For up to about six hours, a quiet seat or a lounge is usually enough.
From about six to ten hours, a bed is worth paying for. Sleepover has pods in Terminal 3 Concourse C, sold in blocks of 6, 8 or 10 hours for one adult. They are about AUD 135 to 207 a block on the dates we sampled. A couple needs two pods, which brings the cost close to a landside hotel for two.
Go out
Entry rules depend on your passport and your onward ticket, so check them before you plan anything. If you can enter and you have ten hours or more, a landside hotel costs less than two pods, and you can see something of the city. Most of the hotels we list run a free shuttle to Terminals 1 and 3. Immigration queues and collecting your bags can take an hour or more, so count them in.
Before you plan it, check three things:
- Can you leave the airport? It depends on your passport and where you are going next.
- Where are your bags? If they are checked through, you cannot reach them. If you must collect them, or you are on separate tickets, you have to carry them.
- The return trip. Count back from the time you must be at security, not from take-off, and leave a margin.
Which terminal matters
If you change terminal during your layover, add the transfer. Terminals 1 and 3 are joined airside. Terminal 2 is separate and slower. The guide to getting between terminals says how long to allow.
The short version
| Time you can really use | What we would do |
|---|---|
| Under 4 hours | Stay airside. Eat, charge, sit somewhere quiet. |
| 4 to 6 hours | Stay airside, or a lounge with a shower. |
| 6 to 10 hours | An airside pod in Terminal 3, or a landside hotel with a late shuttle if you may enter. |
| 10 hours or more | A landside hotel, or a few hours in Dubai if you may leave. |