What to do on a Delhi layover

Every plan below starts and ends at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). Each allows about an hour from landing to the Airport Express or a cab, the ride into town and back, and being back at the airport 90 minutes before departure. Only the Airport Express’s 25 minutes is a published time: the cab rides (about 50 minutes in and an hour back), the wait for a train, the walks and the time at each sight are our own allowances.

First make sure you can leave the airport. Almost every passport needs an Indian visa, arranged days before you fly: visa and transit rules.

Then check the day and the light. The Lotus Temple and Akshardham are closed on Mondays; the Red Fort is open every day. Humayun’s Tomb and the Red Fort are open from sunrise to sunset, which is about 7am to 5:30pm in winter and longer in summer, so an afternoon landing in winter suits India Gate, open into the night, or Qutub Minar, open to 8pm. On a day of very poor air, a rest at the airport may be the better plan.

6 to 7 hours: India Gate, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar or the Red Fort

At 6 hours you’ll have about an hour and a half in town by cab, or 2 hours on the Airport Express; at 7 hours, about 2.5 by cab or 3 by train. That’s time for one sight.

India Gate and Kartavya Path

The war memorial arch at the end of Kartavya Path, New Delhi’s ceremonial avenue. It’s free and open from morning to night every day, so it’s the plan for the shortest layover and for a late landing.

1. Take a prepaid taxi or an Uber from Level 0 of the car park at Terminal 3.
2. Ride about 50 minutes to India Gate (longer at rush hour).
3. Walk round the arch and along Kartavya Path for about an hour.
4. Take a cab back 2.5 hours before your flight.

Pick your day. Any day, except around Republic Day on 26 January, when the parade on Kartavya Path and its rehearsals can close the area: check before you go.

Bags. Nothing to store: keep a small bag with you, and leave anything bigger at the cloakroom in the metro building at Terminal 3.

Humayun’s Tomb

The tomb of the Mughal emperor Humayun, in a walled garden of paths and water channels. It’s open every day, and the plan to choose if you’d like one building to look at properly.

1. Take a cab from Level 0 of the car park at Terminal 3, about 50 minutes.
2. Walk in from the gate, about 15 minutes, and spend about 75 minutes at Humayun’s Tomb and its garden.
3. Take a cab back 2.5 hours before your flight.

Opening hours. Sunrise to sunset, every day. In winter, when the sun sets at about 5:30pm, land by about 2pm to have the time there; in summer you can land later.

Tickets. ₹600 for foreign visitors. Photography is free.

Qutub Minar

A 12th-century victory tower of red sandstone in south Delhi, with ruined mosques and tombs around it. It’s open later than the other monuments, so it suits an afternoon landing.

1. Take a cab from Level 0 of the car park at Terminal 3, about 50 minutes; the south of the city may be quicker.
2. Spend about 90 minutes at the Qutub Minar complex.
3. Take a cab back 2.5 hours before your flight.

Opening hours. Sunrise to 8pm, every day. To have 90 minutes there, land by about 4:30pm.

Tickets. ₹600 in cash or ₹550 online for foreign visitors; children under 15 go free.

The Red Fort and Chandni Chowk by metro

The Mughal emperors’ red sandstone fort in Old Delhi, then a walk back through Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi’s main market street. It’s the one plan that keeps clear of Delhi’s traffic both ways, and it needs about 6.5 hours.

1. Take the Airport Express from Terminal 3 to New Delhi, about 25 minutes, plus the wait for a train.
2. Change to the Yellow Line for one stop to Chandni Chowk, and walk to the fort: about 25 minutes in all.
3. Spend about an hour at the Red Fort.
4. Walk back through Chandni Chowk, stop for a snack, and take the Yellow Line back to New Delhi.
5. Leave New Delhi station 2 hours 15 minutes before your flight.

Pick your day. Any day: the Red Fort has been open on Mondays too since 16 February 2026. Around Independence Day on 15 August, when the national ceremony is held at the fort, check before you go.

Opening hours. Sunrise to sunset. In winter, land by about 2pm to have an hour inside.

Tickets. ₹600 in cash or ₹550 online for foreign visitors; under-15s go free.

Bags. Carry a small bag only, and leave anything bigger at the cloakroom at Terminal 3.

7.5 to 9 hours: Humayun’s Tomb and the Lotus Temple

At 7.5 hours you’ll have about 3 hours in town by cab, and at 9 hours about 4.5: time for two sights in south Delhi.

Humayun’s Tomb and the Lotus Temple

Humayun’s Tomb, then a 20-minute cab ride to the Lotus Temple, the white, petal-shaped Bahá’í House of Worship. One is Mughal, the other modern, and both are in the same part of the city.

1. Take a cab from Level 0 of the car park at Terminal 3 to Humayun’s Tomb, about 50 minutes, and spend about 75 minutes there.
2. Take a cab about 20 minutes to the Lotus Temple, and spend about an hour.
3. Take a cab back 2.5 hours before your flight.

Pick your day. Tuesday to Sunday: the Lotus Temple is closed on Mondays. On a Monday, take Humayun’s Tomb on its own, or the Red Fort.

Opening hours. The Lotus Temple is open 9am to 5pm, so land by about 12:30pm to see both. Humayun’s Tomb is open from sunrise to sunset.

Tickets. ₹600 for Humayun’s Tomb; the Lotus Temple is free.

Bags. Large bags aren’t allowed at the Lotus Temple: leave them at the cloakroom at Terminal 3.

9.5 to 12 hours: Old and New Delhi

At 9.5 hours you’ll have about 5 hours in town by cab, and at 12 hours about 7.5: enough to join Old Delhi and New Delhi in one day.

Old and New Delhi in a day

The Red Fort and lunch in Chandni Chowk, then Humayun’s Tomb, then India Gate as the light goes. A cab for the day is simplest; the private layover tours below do much the same with a guide.

1. Take a cab from Level 0 of the car park at Terminal 3 to the Red Fort, about 50 minutes, and spend about an hour there.
2. Have lunch in Chandni Chowk.
3. Take a cab about 30 minutes to Humayun’s Tomb, and spend about 75 minutes there.
4. Take a cab to India Gate and walk along Kartavya Path.
5. Take a cab back 2.5 hours before your flight.

Pick your time. The Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb close at sunset, about 5:30pm in winter, so land by about noon; India Gate is open into the night, so it comes last.

Tickets. ₹600 each for the Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb (₹550 online for the Red Fort); India Gate is free.

With a guide. See the tours below: they include the driving, and some pick you up at the airport.

Tours from the airport

No airline or tourist board runs a transit tour from Delhi airport, but private guides do. GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab) and Viator (opens in a new tab) list private layover tours that pick you up at Terminal 3, drive you round Old and New Delhi and bring you back for your flight.

Tour	Length	Layover you need	Price
Private Old and New Delhi layover tour, airport pickup (Viator)	4 to 8 hours, you choose	About 6.5 to 10.5 hours	From about US$35 (seen November 2026), depending on the size of your group

The layover you need is the tour’s length plus about an hour from landing to meeting your guide after immigration, and 90 minutes at the airport at the end. The tours have no fixed start times: you choose the length and the pickup time when you book. You still need an Indian visa, arranged before you fly.

Overnight: rest at the airport, then Humayun’s Tomb at opening

Landing at night with a visa, rest after immigration, then see Humayun’s Tomb at sunrise before a late-morning flight.

Rest at the airport, then Humayun’s Tomb at opening

1. Clear immigration and rest landside: at Nap and Shower in Terminal 3 arrivals (3 or 6 hours, from ₹5,000), or at a hotel at Aerocity, a short cab ride away.
2. Take a cab about 50 minutes to Humayun’s Tomb, to be there when it opens at sunrise, about 7am in winter.
3. Spend about 75 minutes at the tomb and its garden.
4. Take a cab back 2.5 hours before your flight.

With the tomb opening at sunrise, this suits a flight from about 11am, so a layover of about 10 hours, landing by about 1am.

Why not the transit hotel? Once you’ve checked in to the Holiday Inn Express inside Terminal 3, you can’t leave the airport, so it suits a night without a trip into town.

Earlier or later. India Gate is open from morning, and Qutub Minar from sunrise; the Lotus Temple opens at 9am and Akshardham at 10am.

24 hours

With a whole day, join the plans above: the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk in the morning, Humayun’s Tomb and the Lotus Temple in the afternoon, India Gate in the evening. For a night in between, the transit hotel takes stays of up to 24 hours but you can’t leave the airport from it, so a day in town means a hotel at Aerocity or in the city. Neither Air India nor the airport offers a free stopover hotel.

Longer than 24 hours, treat it as a short stay on the 30-day e-Tourist visa. Akshardham, the large temple complex in east Delhi, suits a second day: it’s open Tuesday to Sunday, first entry 10am and last 6:30pm, entry to the temple is free, and phones, cameras and luggage go in its free cloakroom, though a wallet, a small handbag and your passport can come in with you. The Taj Mahal, in Agra, is a full day trip from Delhi, beyond what this guide plans.

Rest at the airport

Where to rest at Delhi airport, best first. The planner shows the first one that’s open. All of them are at Terminal 3, which every international flight uses.

Holiday Inn Express transit hotel, Terminal 3

Private cabins inside Terminal 3, for 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 or 24 hours, booked on the airport’s website. Its international wing is for passengers changing between international flights and needs no Indian visa: bring your onward boarding pass and passport, and have your bags checked through to your final destination. If you book through another site, check the booking is for the international wing. Once you’ve checked in you can’t leave the airport, and the longest stay is 24 hours. Its prices aren’t published.

Encalm Privé lounge, Terminal 3 departures

A lounge past security in international departures, on level 3, with showers, sleeping pods and nap rooms: ₹5,150 for 2 hours, walk-in (seen November 2026). Encalm’s main international lounge costs ₹4,150 for 2 hours, without the sleeping pods.

Nap and Shower, Terminal 3 Arrivals

Cabins in the Meet and Greet area of Terminal 3 arrivals, after immigration, so only with a visa: ₹5,000 single or ₹6,000 double for 3 hours, ₹8,500 or ₹9,500 for 6, and a 30-minute shower for ₹1,050 (seen November 2026). Good for a rest before or after a trip into town.

Hotels at Aerocity, landside

Novotel, Pullman, Andaz Delhi and Roseate House are at Aerocity, the hotel district 3 to 4.5 km from Terminal 3. They’re landside, so you need an Indian visa. Take a short cab ride, or the Airport Express one stop to Delhi Aerocity (₹21) while the trains run.

Tips that make a Delhi layover easier

• Sort the visa first. Apply for the e-Visa at least 4 days before you fly, and fill in the free e-Arrival card in the 72 hours before landing.
• Check the air. Look up Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) on the day. Above 300 counts as “Very poor” and above 400 as “Severe” on India’s own scale; on those days keep time outdoors short, or rest at the airport.
• Use the official cabs. Take taxis from the prepaid booth or the app pickup on Level 0 of the car park, and agree nothing with drivers who approach you in the hall.
• Carry some rupees. Small notes help at the metro ticket machines and for snacks; the monuments also take online payment, ₹50 cheaper for foreign visitors.
• Leave big bags at the airport. The cloakroom in the metro building at Terminal 3 is open 24 hours, from ₹150 for 2 hours.
• Keep your papers on you. You need your boarding pass or e-ticket and your passport to get back into the terminal, which lets you in from about 6 hours before your flight.