Advice Re Layover At Dfw

[Marive]

Hi everyone, I will be travelling to Germany with a 10-hour layover at DFW airport (6am till 4pm), and since I´ve never been to Dallas, I was hoping to take the opportunity to do a little sightseeing.

From what I´ve found so far, the airport is pretty much far away from everything, and some people suggest going to the mall nearby, but I´d prefer to walk around the city, so I was thinking that I´d take the train uptown and get on the free tram to see a little bit of the city, although it is a one hour ride on the train to get there.

For those of you who are familiar with DFW airport, does this sound feasible within a 10-hour window? I´ve read that the airport is very busy and with long lines everywhere, so maybe getting out of the airport could be a little risky?

Can anyone suggest any other options near the airport? (I will be using public transport, not renting a car).

Appreciate your help!!

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Hi everyone, I will be travelling to Germany with a 10-hour layover at DFW airport (6am till 4pm), and since I´ve never been to Dallas, I was hoping to take the opportunity to do a little sightseeing.

From what I´ve found so far, the airport is pretty much far away from everything, and some people suggest going to the mall nearby, but I´d prefer to walk around the city, so I was thinking that I´d take the train uptown and get on the free tram to see a little bit of the city, although it is a one hour ride on the train to get there.

For those of you who are familiar with DFW airport, does this sound feasible within a 10-hour window? I´ve read that the airport is very busy and with long lines everywhere, so maybe getting out of the airport could be a little risky?

Can anyone suggest any other options near the airport? (I will be using public transport, not renting a car).

Appreciate your help!!

Just getting around the giant airport itself can be pretty time-consuming.

 

[Joe]

That's good to know there is a train to downtown there: http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2014/08/18/dallasfort-worth-airport-celebrates-downtown-rail-link/14248799/

Don't forget to check out the schoolbook depository and the grassy knoll.

 

[ElQueso]

I've always found Dallas to be quite a boring city...

I was going to suggest maybe Six Flags Over Texas amusement park in Arlington, just south of the airport and closer than downtown Dallas, but Google has a big "CLOSED" notation over it. Although their website doesn't mention being closed.

 

[sleslie23]

I think you can do it, no problem.

You will have two hours of travel time between downtown and the airport.

The train arrives at Terminal A and most international flights leave from Terminal D, so you should plan around 30 minutes to change terminals. The trains run every 20 minutes, so worst case, you should add 40 minutes for waiting (round up to 60 for delays).

Also, you should expect around 1 hour to get through security (assuming you don't have to checkin for your flight to Germany)

That's a total of less than 5 hours to get there and back. That leaves you with 5 hours in downtown Big D. Which IMHO is more than enough.

https://www.dfwairport.com/terminals/
http://www.dart.org/maps/printrailmap.asp
http://www.dart.org/schedules/w603no.htm

 

[sleslie23]

Also, if you aren't a US citizen, I'm not sure how long it will take you to get *out* of DFW. Or even if it's possible to enter the US for just a few hours. I'd plan at least another hour or more just for that.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I've always found Dallas to be quite a boring city...

I was going to suggest maybe Six Flags Over Texas amusement park in Arlington, just south of the airport and closer than downtown Dallas, but Google has a big "CLOSED" notation over it. Although their website doesn't mention being closed.

You could always go to "Elem" Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovk0cY7dgOU

 

[sleslie23]

I've always found Dallas to be quite a boring city...

I was going to suggest maybe Six Flags Over Texas amusement park in Arlington, just south of the airport and closer than downtown Dallas, but Google has a big "CLOSED" notation over it. Although their website doesn't mention being closed.

No argument that Dallas is pretty boring. But it's good for a few hours. Six Flags, IMHO, is not worth it and would probably take a long time to get into and out of. It was open when I went to the airport at the end of June. Can't imagine it being closed now.

 

[sleslie23]

You could always go to "Elem" Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovk0cY7dgOU

Deep Ellum is probably the most interesting part of Dallas, but there probably isn't much to see/do during the day.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Deep Ellum is probably the most interesting part of Dallas, but there probably isn't much to see/do during the day.

Great song, though.