Arrivals
A Delhi layover is worth leaving the airport for from about 6 hours, but only if you have an Indian visa before you fly.
Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) is on the southwest edge of Delhi, about 25 minutes from New Delhi station on the Airport Express metro. Every international flight uses Terminal 3, and the metro station is in a building beside it.
- Bags. When you check in for your first flight, ask whether your bags can stay checked through to your final destination if you leave the airport at Delhi. If they can’t, or you’re on separate tickets, collect them at the belt and leave them at the cloakroom in the metro building at Terminal 3: open 24 hours, from ₹150 for 2 hours.
- Tickets. For the Airport Express, buy a QR ticket at the machines in the station: ₹64 to New Delhi. Change a little money at an exchange counter in Terminal 3 first, in case the machine won’t take your card.
- Phone. The airport’s Wi-Fi is free, but without an Indian number you sign in by showing your passport at an information desk or kiosk. An eSIM set up before you fly keeps maps and Uber working in town.
Left luggage, showers and rooms: at the airport.
eSIM
Data before you land
The airport's Wi-Fi is free, but without an Indian number you sign in with your passport at a desk, and it ends at the door. An India eSIM set up before you fly keeps maps and Uber working in town.
Get an eSIM from Airalo (opens in a new tab)Get a Saily eSIM (opens in a new tab)
Border
Almost nobody can leave Delhi airport without a visa arranged in advance, but changing between international flights needs none.
Not needed when you stay airside.
- US, UK, EU, Canadian and Australian passports. All need a visa: India has no visa-free entry for them. Apply for the e-Visa on the Indian government’s site, indianvisaonline.gov.in, at least 4 days before you land, and a week ahead if you can: you can’t get one at the airport. The 30-day e-Tourist visa costs US$25 for most passports (US$10 from April to June), plus a 3% bank charge.
- Japanese and South Korean passports can get a visa on arrival at Delhi for ₹2,000.
- Indian passports need nothing: you’re entering your own country. OCI cardholders travel on their OCI card, with no visa.
- The e-Arrival card. Every foreign passport holder, OCI cardholders included, fills in India’s free e-Arrival card online in the 72 hours before landing, on indianvisaonline.gov.in or the Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app. It isn’t a visa.
- Staying airside. Changing between international flights, you stay inside Terminal 3: follow the orange transfer signs, go through security again, and you need no Indian visa and no arrival card.
- Time. Delhi publishes no arrival queue times, so allow about an hour from landing to the Airport Express. A slow queue costs you time in town, not your flight: the time you must head back stays the same.
Who needs which visa: visa and transit rules.
Into Delhi
The Airport Express is the way in for the Red Fort, about 25 minutes to New Delhi station for ₹64; for the other sights, take a cab.
Not needed when you stay airside.
| Ride | Into town | Fare |
|---|---|---|
| Airport Express, for Old Delhi | About 25 minutes to New Delhi station, then one metro stop to Chandni Chowk | ₹64 |
| Prepaid taxi | About 50 minutes to the centre, longer at rush hour (our estimate) | Fixed at the booth before you ride |
| Uber or Ola | As a taxi | Shown in the app |
After customs, follow the signs to the metro. Trains into town start at about 5am (the first leaves Dwarka Sector 21, one stop before the airport, at 4:45am), and the last train back leaves New Delhi at 11:30pm. Taxis and app cabs pick up on Level 0 of the multi-level car park at Terminal 3, not at the kerb, and run all night.
Every way in, compared: getting into the city.
What to do
The Airport Express and one metro stop reach the Red Fort in Old Delhi; Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar and India Gate are simplest by cab.
Not needed when you stay airside.
The fastest plan for a short layover
- Take a prepaid taxi or an Uber from Level 0 of the car park at Terminal 3.
- Ride about 50 minutes to India Gate, the war memorial arch at the end of Kartavya Path (our estimate; longer at rush hour).
- Walk round India Gate and along Kartavya Path for about an hour. It’s free, and open morning to night every day.
- Take a cab back 2.5 hours before your flight.
It needs about 6 hours, which gives you about an hour and a half in town. With the same time, Humayun’s Tomb (₹600) works too, by daylight.
Would you rather have a guide? No airline or tourist board runs a transit tour from Delhi, but GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab) and Viator (opens in a new tab) list private layover tours that pick you up at the airport. Viator’s start from about US$35 (seen November 2026). You still need an Indian visa for a tour.
Watch the calendar
- Mondays. The Lotus Temple and Akshardham are closed. The Red Fort is now open on Mondays too, since 16 February 2026.
- Daylight. Humayun’s Tomb and the Red Fort are open from sunrise to sunset, which is as early as about 5:30pm in winter. For a late-afternoon landing, India Gate, open into the night, and Qutub Minar, open to 8pm, are the plans that still work.
- Republic Day and Independence Day. The Republic Day parade on 26 January runs along Kartavya Path to India Gate, and the Independence Day ceremony on 15 August is at the Red Fort. Security is tight around both, and the sights can be closed: check before you go.
- Air quality. Delhi’s air is often hazy, usually worst from late autumn into winter. Check the air quality index (AQI) on the day: on India’s scale, 301 to 400 is “Very poor” and above 400 “Severe”. On a severe day, resting at the airport may be the better plan.
Timed plans from 6 to 24 hours, including Humayun’s Tomb with the Lotus Temple, Old and New Delhi in a day, and a plan for night arrivals: itineraries.
Transit tour
Private layover tours from Delhi
Private tours that meet you at the airport, show you Old and New Delhi and bring you back for your flight. You still need an Indian visa, and allow 2.5 hours on top of the tour for immigration and being back before departure.
See tours on GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab)See tours on Viator (opens in a new tab)
Head back
Be back at Delhi airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass and your passport.
Not needed when you stay airside.
- Time. Leave New Delhi station 2 hours 15 minutes before your flight, or a sight by cab 2.5 hours before: that covers the wait for a train or the traffic, the ride, and 90 minutes at the airport. That makes 6 hours the realistic minimum, with about 2 hours in town (1.5 by cab); 8 hours gives about 4.
- The terminal door. Guards at the door let in only passengers with a ticket, from about 6 hours before an international flight. Show your boarding pass or e-ticket, on paper or on your phone, with your passport and visa, so keep them on you, not in a bag.
- Why 90 minutes is enough. With your boarding pass already issued and no bag to drop, you only need departure immigration and security. The airport’s website shows live queue times for both, so check them on the way back. Its advice to arrive 3 hours early is for check-in. If you still need to check in or drop a bag, come back earlier: Air India’s international counters close 75 minutes before departure.
- Late at night. The last Airport Express leaves New Delhi at 11:30pm, and it only matters for a flight after about 1:45am. After that, a prepaid taxi or an app cab takes about 45 minutes at night (our estimate).
Time in town at each layover length: how much time you’ll have.
Departures
Best for your layoverStaying at the airport instead: without a visa, you can rest inside Terminal 3, in a transit hotel or a lounge.
- Holiday Inn Express transit hotel. Cabins inside Terminal 3 for 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 or 24 hours, for passengers flying on from Terminal 3. Its international wing needs no Indian visa, only your onward boarding pass and bags checked through, and once you’ve checked in you can’t leave the airport. It doesn’t publish its prices.
- Encalm Privé. A lounge 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.
- Nap and Shower. Cabins in Terminal 3 arrivals, after immigration, so only with a visa: ₹5,000 for 3 hours or ₹8,500 for 6, or a 30-minute shower for ₹1,050 (seen November 2026).
- No free hotel. Neither Air India nor the airport offers a free transit hotel or stopover for Delhi.
Rooms, lounges and showers: at the airport.
Hotel
Holiday Inn Express transit hotel
Cabins inside Terminal 3 by the hour, from 1 to 24 hours, with no Indian visa needed. Bring your onward boarding pass and have your bags checked through to your final destination.