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Layover Guide
Most US connections are something to endure. These ones are somewhere to go.
Not all US hub airports are created equal. The difference between a great US layover and a miserable one comes down to four variables: airport quality and lounge access, ease of transit to the city center, the actual appeal of the city within a short window, and visa rules for international connections. On domestic routes, the visa variable disappears. US citizens can move freely between any two US cities. What remains is the gap between airports where the city is genuinely close and interesting, and airports where you are essentially trapped in a terminal suburb with nothing worth visiting nearby. That gap is larger than most travelers realize. ATL to midtown Atlanta is 25 minutes and $30 by MARTA. ORD to the Chicago Loop is 45 minutes and $5 on the Blue Line. SFO to the Ferry Building is 30 minutes on BART but requires patience with Bay Area traffic on a bad day. LAX to anywhere is a calculation you should think hard about before committing. The US hub you choose as your connection point affects not just whether you miss your next flight. It affects whether the stop is memorable or forgettable. LayoverScore™ applies the same four-pillar model, transit, visa, discover, stress, to US domestic hubs just as it does to international cities. The scores diverge sharply between the top tier and the bottom. Knowing the ranking before you book is the move.
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson is the busiest airport in the world by passenger volume, which leads most travelers to assume it is just a machine for moving people. That assumption undersells the city. From the domestic terminal, the MARTA Gold Line runs directly to Five Points station in downtown Atlanta. The fare is $2.50. The ride is 25 to 30 minutes depending on the time of day. From Five Points, you are within walking distance of Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Aquarium, and the World of Coca-Cola. But more importantly, you are within Uber range of the Beltline, Atlanta's most impressive urban infrastructure project. The Atlanta Beltline is a 33-mile loop of repurposed rail corridor converted to walking and cycling path, flanked by restaurants, galleries, and some of the most compelling street art in the American South. The Old Fourth Ward section, where the trail connects to Krog Street Market, is the right destination for a 5 to 6 hour Atlanta layover. Krog Street Market is a converted warehouse with excellent food vendors that is genuinely specific to Atlanta: local chefs, regional ingredients, an atmosphere that does not exist in any other American airport zone. The transit equation: 25 minutes on MARTA, $2.50 each way. MARTA runs 24 hours on weekends and until 1 a.m. on weekdays. That makes ATL one of the most accessible US hubs for a layover exit. For international travelers with a US connection, Atlanta's customs processing is generally faster than ORD or JFK, adding another point in its favor.
Miami International Airport has a complicated reputation. The terminal is older than it should be for one of the US's major international gateways. Security lines can be long. But the city it serves is exceptional for layovers, and the transit equation is better than most travelers expect. The Miami Beach Link, a combination of the Miami Metrorail and the Miami Beach Connector bus, runs from MIA to South Beach in about 45 to 55 minutes. The fare is under $5. By taxi or rideshare, the trip to South Beach runs 25 to 40 minutes depending on traffic, costing $25 to $45. That is not Panama City's 25 minutes, but it is fast enough for a 6-hour layover. Miami's specific advantage for layovers is density of experience per neighborhood. South Beach's Art Deco Historic District packs more visual interest into a 12-block stretch than most cities offer in an entire afternoon. The color palette, pastel pinks, mint greens, ocean blues, on the buildings along Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue is genuinely distinct. The Cuban food in nearby Calle Ocho (Little Havana) is the best in North America outside of Miami itself. For international travelers, Miami is particularly strong because it handles a large number of US-to-Latin-America and US-to-Caribbean routes. The visa situation for most of these travelers, arriving from South America or the Caribbean, is a US visa question, not a Miami-specific one. For US passport holders or those already holding a valid US visa, Miami offers one of the most rewarding layover options of any domestic hub.
Dallas/Fort Worth is one of the most misunderstood airports in the US. Travelers experience it as large, spread out, and confusing. Five terminals, an AirTrain connecting them, a sense that the airport is itself a small city. That perception is accurate about the airport. It is less accurate about what the airport connects to. Dallas has gotten significantly better as a food and culture city over the past decade. Deep Ellum, the neighborhood east of downtown, is one of the most genuine cultural districts in Texas: live music venues, excellent taco stands, a street art scene that predates its Instagram documentation, and bars that attract a local crowd rather than a tourist one. The AirTrain to the DART light rail at Terminal A takes about 10 minutes. From there, the Green or Orange Line reaches downtown Dallas in 35 to 40 minutes at a fare of $2.50. Deep Ellum is a 15-minute Uber from downtown Dallas, or a 25-minute walk if you enjoy walking through an interesting neighborhood. The total transit time from terminal to Deep Ellum: 55 to 75 minutes depending on the connection. That is on the long side for a short layover, but for anything over 7 hours, DFW delivers a genuine experience. Fort Worth is also accessible from DFW. The Trinity Railway Express runs from Terminal A directly to Fort Worth's downtown, 30 minutes, $2.50. Fort Worth's Sundance Square and the Kimbell Art Museum are underrated specifically because they are attached to a city that most travelers dismiss as Dallas's less interesting neighbor. The Kimbell, in particular, is one of the finest small art museums in the US.
Chicago O'Hare has all the reputation problems of a major hub. Notorious for weather delays, a terminal layout that requires significant walking, and a history of congestion that gave the airport its central place in American aviation mythology. But the city it connects to is one of the best in the world for a layover. The Blue Line from O'Hare to downtown Chicago (the Loop or Millennium Park) runs 45 minutes and costs $5. It runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That reliability matters for layovers with variable arrival times. From the Blue Line's Clark/Lake station, you are a 10-minute walk from Millennium Park, the Chicago Riverwalk, and the architectural landmarks that make Chicago the most architecturally significant city in North America after New York. The Chicago River architecture tour. A 90-minute boat ride that explains how Chicago rebuilt itself from scratch after the 1871 fire and in doing so essentially invented the modern American city. Is the single best layover activity in any US city. It leaves every 30 minutes from the Riverwalk in summer, costs $48, and gives you more information per minute than almost any other urban experience on the continent. For shorter layovers, the Riverwalk itself is free, the view of the skyline from the river is iconic, and Millennium Park's Cloud Gate sculpture is one of those experiences that is somehow better in person than in photographs. ORD's stress score is higher than other hubs due to weather risk, but for summer and fall travelers, it is the strongest hub for a genuine US city layover.
San Francisco International Airport has earned its reputation as one of the most frustrating US hubs for connections. The specific problem is traffic. The distance from SFO to the Ferry Building in downtown San Francisco is 14 miles. By BART, the Bay Area's rail transit, it is 30 minutes and $10.65. By car or rideshare during peak hours, it is 45 to 75 minutes and $30 to $60. The BART option is the right answer, and it runs every 15 to 20 minutes from the International Terminal. The recommendation: take BART, skip the cab, give yourself 8 hours minimum. The Ferry Building is the destination. It is a farmers' market, a food hall, and a public space that happens to sit on one of the most beautiful stretches of waterfront in any American city. The vendors inside are mostly San Francisco institutions: Acme Bread, Blue Bottle Coffee (at its original location), Cowgirl Creamery, Hog Island Oyster Co. A meal at Hog Island, a dozen oysters, a glass of white wine, the Bay Bridge in the background, is one of the better layover meals available at any US hub. The Embarcadero itself extends north along the waterfront to the Ferry Building and south toward AT&T Park, offering a 2-mile walk through some of the best urban waterfront in the country. The caveat is clear: do not attempt this on a 5-hour layover during a Thursday afternoon when Bay Bridge traffic backs up. SFO rewards patience and repays a long layover generously. For short connections, the BART ride to the terminal and back is the right ceiling.
Not every US hub is worth leaving the terminal for. Los Angeles International (LAX) has the worst transit connectivity of any major US airport. The metro light rail link opened in 2023 and connects LAX to the Metro C Line at a station called Aviation/96th Street. From there, reaching downtown Los Angeles or Santa Monica takes another 30 to 45 minutes. The total trip is 60 to 90 minutes. By rideshare from LAX, surge pricing at LAX is endemic and fares to West Hollywood or Santa Monica regularly run $40 to $80 with unpredictable traffic. Unless your layover is 9 hours or more and you have a specific plan for the time, LAX is an airport lounge decision. John F. Kennedy International (JFK) in New York has the specific problem of being a disconnected collection of terminals with inconsistent transit. The AirTrain links to the LIRR and the A and J subway lines, but the connection is confusing, the trains are slow, and the ride to Manhattan from JFK is 60 to 80 minutes depending on the option you choose. That is not impossible for a 7-hour layover to Brooklyn or lower Manhattan, but it requires planning and an accurate mental model of the transfer. Charlotte Douglas (CLT) is the most straightforward case: there is essentially nothing worth leaving the terminal for within a reasonable transit window. The city center is 7 miles away and accessible by bus or taxi, but CLT scores low on discover. The neighborhoods near the airport are not interesting, and the destinations that are interesting (NoDa, Plaza Midwood) are 30 to 40 minutes away. For short and medium layovers at CLT, stay in the terminal.
LayoverScore™ was designed primarily for international layover cities. Places where the question of whether to leave the airport involves visa checks, unfamiliar transit systems, and genuine uncertainty. But the same model applies to US domestic hubs, and the scores are instructive. The transit pillar measures the actual time from terminal exit to city center using the fastest reliable method. ATL scores high here: 25 minutes on MARTA. ORD scores well: 45 minutes on the Blue Line. LAX scores low: 60 to 90 minutes on any available option. The discover pillar measures the density and quality of experiences accessible within the transit window. Chicago scores at the top of any domestic ranking due to the combination of architectural interest, food quality, and walkability from the Blue Line stations. Atlanta scores well due to the Beltline and the food market district. Miami scores well for beach and Art Deco density. The stress pillar captures airport efficiency, connection risk, and the cognitive load of the transit. Here, ORD takes a hit for weather risk, and LAX takes a hit for traffic unpredictability. The visa pillar is neutral for US domestic travelers. The resulting scores give you a ranked list of US hubs for layover exits that matches what experienced travelers report: Chicago and Atlanta at the top, Miami and Dallas strong in the middle, San Francisco exceptional for long layovers, LAX and JFK challenging for any layover that involves leaving the terminal.
FAQ
Atlanta (ATL) and Chicago O'Hare (ORD) consistently rank highest among US hub airports for layover exits. ATL offers direct MARTA access to the Beltline and Krog Street Market in 25 to 30 minutes for $2.50. ORD connects to the Chicago Loop and Millennium Park in 45 minutes on the Blue Line for $5. Both cities deliver genuine experiences, specific to their place and not replicated in every American airport zone, within a 6 to 8 hour window.
ATL is the closest major hub to its city center by transit, at 25 to 30 minutes on MARTA. ORD is 45 minutes on the Blue Line. MIA is 45 to 55 minutes to South Beach by transit or 25 to 40 minutes by rideshare. SFO is 30 minutes to the Ferry Building on BART. DFW is 45 to 60 minutes to Deep Ellum by light rail and Uber. LAX is the longest: 60 to 90 minutes to any destination worth visiting.
No. Three hours at ATL does not give you enough time to leave the terminal and return safely. After accounting for transit to the city (25 minutes each way), a 90-minute buffer before your gate, and immigration if you are arriving internationally, you have essentially zero time in Atlanta. Use a 3-hour ATL layover to eat in the terminal and use a lounge if you have access. For a city exit, you need at least 5 hours at ATL minimum, 6 hours to be comfortable.
Miami's best layover options: South Beach's Art Deco district (Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, 45 minutes from MIA by transit), Little Havana's Calle Ocho for Cuban food (35 minutes by Uber), and Wynwood for street art and food (40 minutes by Uber). For an 8-hour layover, the most rewarding combination is a morning walk through the Art Deco district followed by lunch at a Cuban restaurant in Little Havana. Two neighborhoods that are genuinely specific to Miami.
Yes, it is one of the best US city layovers available. The Blue Line from O'Hare to downtown runs 45 minutes, costs $5, and runs 24 hours. The Chicago River architecture tour (90 minutes, $48) is the single best layover activity at any US airport. Millennium Park's Cloud Gate, the Riverwalk, and the deep-dish pizza debate are all within easy reach of the Blue Line's central stations. For a 7 to 8 hour layover, Chicago delivers more per hour than any other US hub city.
Miami Beach is approximately 8 miles from MIA. By transit (Metrorail to Miami Beach Connector bus), the ride takes 45 to 55 minutes and costs under $5. By taxi or rideshare, it is 25 to 40 minutes depending on traffic and costs $25 to $45. Traffic on the MacArthur Causeway can add 15 to 20 minutes during peak hours (weekday evenings, summer weekends).
For layover quality (the combination of transit ease, city appeal, and airport efficiency), ATL and ORD lead the ranking. ATL for speed of city access and Beltline culture. ORD for depth of city experience in Chicago. MIA is the strongest choice for travelers routing through Florida. DFW is strong for long layovers where the 60-minute transit to Deep Ellum is worth the investment. SFO excels for travelers with 8 or more hours who want the Ferry Building and San Francisco waterfront.
SFO is a good layover airport for travelers with 8 or more hours. BART from the International Terminal to the Ferry Building takes 30 minutes and costs $10.65. The Ferry Building and Embarcadero waterfront are genuinely worth the trip. For layovers under 7 hours, traffic unpredictability and the BART transfer time make it marginal. The airport itself has adequate lounges but the terminal facilities are not exceptional. The city is what makes SFO worth the stop. And only when your window is long enough.
LAX has the worst transit options of any major US airport. The new Metro C Line connection requires a transfer at Aviation/96th Street and takes 60 to 90 minutes to reach most destinations worth visiting. Rideshare from LAX is expensive and subject to significant traffic variability. JFK is the second most challenging, with a confusing AirTrain-to-subway transfer that takes 60 to 80 minutes to reach Manhattan. CLT (Charlotte) has minimal transit options and limited city destinations within a reasonable layover window.
The minimum is 5 to 6 hours at airports with fast transit connections like ATL (MARTA, 25 minutes). For airports with longer transit times (ORD at 45 minutes, MIA at 45 minutes, DFW at 60 minutes), 7 hours is the practical floor. For LAX, where transit to any interesting neighborhood takes 60 to 90 minutes, 9 hours is the minimum for a worthwhile city exit. The 90-minute airport buffer rule applies regardless of location: be back at the airport at least 90 minutes before departure.