Originally Posted by
DeltaboundRedux
Domestically?
Small towns (quick van rides): Downtown layovers are AOK.
Major cities (long van rides): No thanks. Life is too short to spend 1-3 hours of a layover sitting in traffic in a van.
All American cities increasingly look the same anyway. Downtown safety is becoming a thing again. (aka "Murder-apolis". So much for Minnesota Nice.)
Internationally?
Yeah, better go downtown. Why fly international if you're not going to see some of the sights?
Your experience may differ.
Some international airports have adjacent or easily available metro systems.. When we still did SVO I always wanted to try to beat the crew van downtown by taking the metro. I can GUARANTEE you that there are closer hotels to CDG than the downtown layovers and your access is just as good to all the sights. I'm not necessarily an advocate of this, but 3 hours on a bus after an all nighter sucks.