International Layovers
and Day Trip Guide
When I first started flying I kept getting to layovers and wondering what the heck I was going to do. What started as a list of nearby restaurants and activities turned into the Domestic Layover Cheat Sheet with the purpose of helping each of us make the most of our layovers. As the site has grown, I’ve added this international page for trips outside of the continuous 48 states.
Help Us Build The Layover Guide
Leave comments in the form below. I’ll keep this guide updated with your list of layover or day trip suggestions. If you are willing to do a guest post or review on a restaurant, activity, or city please contact me as well.
Tampa, Florida
Seffner area
McCormicks Wakeboard Cable Park – awesome way to spend a Tampa Bay layover! 25 minutes from the hotel, and inexpensive!
Ottawa, Ontario
Byward Market Area
Canada’s capital and home to the NHL’s Senators, Ottawa is just upstream of the Ottawa River from Montreal.
Suggestions for Food: The Byward Market Area is full of restaurants and shopping. Check out Smoke’s Poutinerie for some, you guessed it, Poutine. Also worth going to are Shwarma Palace, and Beaver Tails for some sweets.
Layover Ideas: In the winter, you can rent ice skates on the Rideau Canal for about $50CAD. In summer there are bike, canoe, and kayak rentals and the marketplace gets very busy. You could also visit one of the many museums, Parliment Hill, or the RCMP training facility.
Montreal, Quebec
Airport Area
There really isn’t much to do around the hotel. But the hotel has a nice pool, offers massages, and has decent food in the lobby. If you want to go out, you need to walk back to the airport and buy a ticket on the 747 shuttle. For $10 you can get downtown or to the Old Town and back. It’s about :30 to :45 minutes drive each way. Both downtown and the Old Town are absolutely fantastic to visit and both have a very European feel.
Suggestions for Food: Montreal Poutine in Old Town for a classic Canadian poutine. Also, Schwartz’s Deli in the Milton Park neighborhood (by Mount Royal) has great smoked meats. Honestly, there are hundreds of boutique restaurants and eateries downtown and in Old Town. These are very easy to find and walk through.
Layover Ideas: There is a gorgeous riverside park that runs through the Old Town riverfront. It’s a great park on a nice day. If you want a spa day, go to Bota Bota Spa at the park and then walk the cobblestone streets through the rest of town.
You can also go to the very metropolitan downtown area with its huge underground mall, catch a hockey game, and enjoy great shopping and street walking.