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Layover or Stay Overnight?

Posted by (Columbus, Ohio, United States) on

Hello! My husband and I travel on points and I found a great deal flying from the US to Madrid. Our ultimate goal is Prague. Our flight will arrive in Madrid at 10:30 AM. Which do you think would be better:

  1. Just stay in the airport and take the next flight to Prague. I know this will involve getting our luggage and re-checking it along with going through immigration. The next flight to Prague isn’t until 2, so we should have time to do all of that.
  2. Get a hotel near the Madrid airport and enjoy an afternoon/evening in Madrid and then fly to Prague the following day.

We’ve never been to Madrid. It’s honestly not high on our “must see” list, but 10 or so hours of walking around and exploring doesn’t sound bad either! Can we get a taste of the city in that time or logistically does it make more sense to just go straight to Prague? Thanks!

Posted by
1551 posts

If it were me, I would choose option 1 and continue on to Prague at 2pm. I always try to avoid one night stays because for the most part, they are time and money wasters.

Posted by
3011 posts

Ten hours of walking around a big city after a trans-Atlantic flight sounds very bad to me. If you can sleep on planes and arrive at your destination ready to go, maybe it would work for you. But I think most people would find it exhausting. I would prefer to get to my final destination the same day so I could hit the ground running the next morning.

Posted by
724 posts

Madrid is a nice place to visit. Not my most favorite place in Spain, but one where a few days are worthwhile. Spanish culture will contrast with the rest of your trip. I might be tempted to spend several days there before going to Prague.
I would not consider option 2 since it's such a short time. I spent a career doing single nights in places and I try to avoid those now. Keep in mind (at least for me) day three of any trip is the long one when things start to catch up a bit.

Posted by
2851 posts

Option 1 is the best one, IMO, for all the reasons stated above.

Posted by
223 posts

The airport is far from the core part of Madrid, the areas you would want to wander and explore. It's a 45-minute train ride if memory serves. So you probably wouldn't want to stay near the airport and train back and forth for just 1 night. Another vote for option 1!

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