We have the option of either a 90 minute or a seven hour layover at Pearson in mid-October while flying from Denver to Munich. I am inclined to go with the longer layover just to be sure that we make our connection. Does anyone have an opinion of the pros and cons of this? Would it be possible for someone unfamiliar with Pearson to navigate the airport to make the connection withing 90 minutes (I believe that the inbound flight from Denver arrives at a different terminal than the outbound Munich flight). What if the flight from Denver is 30 minutes late? On the other hand, is it possible to spend seven hours at Pearson without going stir-crazy?

Re&gt; On the other hand, is it possible to spend seven hours at Pearson without going stir-crazy? &lt; <BR>No, unless you go to the Sheraton hotel at the airport and go to sleep for five hours. <BR>But you don't have to stay at the airport. You could go downtown,and depending on the time of day, take a guided bus tour, visit a museum or art gallery (tune-up for Germany's culture), visit the CN Tower or the Hockey Hall of Fame or (I noticed this for the first time this week) the Museum of Textiles. <BR>As for the 90 minute layover; what does your travel agent think? <BR>Check the terminal situation, and do not trust any guidebooks. Airlines have been shuffled from terminal to terminal in the past little while, and anything in print is probably out of date. Shuttle buses link the terminals efficiently, but you are right to be concerned about the Denver plane being late. <BR>Remember to consider clearing Canadian Customs, too. If you stay in one terminal, you may be able to skip Customs, by remaining inside a transit lounge, but if you change terminals, you probably need to go through the Customs routine. And if you change airlines, you may have to get your baggage off the Denver plane and carry it to the Munich terminal. <BR>So??? If you do not change airlines, 90 minutes is fine. If you change airlines, it's a pretty big gamble. <BR>Toronto's worth a visit, even for only four hours or so, with the other three spent getting off one plane and getting ready to get on the second one. Toronto airport lines are usually long, so allow lots of time, especially if the flight does not stop elsewhere in Canada and needs to get completely full in Toronto. <BR>BAK

Brian, <BR> <BR>Thanks for the advice. I think that we'll go with the seven hour layover. Even if it turned out that I made the 90-minute connection, I would still worry about it for the next two months.

If I were you, I would take the 90 min connection...people make connections in 30 min. I think you will go crazy for 7 hours. Ya you could go downtown -wanna sit in traffic for half of your time??? By the time you actually get to the city (1/2 hr)--give more for traffic. What about if there is accidents--that happens a lot around here. <BR> <BR>I wouldnt risk seeing toronto for 2-3 hrs to miss your flight to munich. And there is not much to keep you busy in Pearson for 7 hrs!!! <BR> <BR>Happy flying!

I live in Canada and make connection in and out of Pearson for Europe and other destinations on a tregular basis. You won't have ANY problem with a 90 minute stopover. Pearson is a very navigable airport.

I'm with Brian on this one. With all the changes at the airport (airlines moving terminals and construction), I don't think I'd want to take the chance of missing my flight. But that's just me - I would be worried. I live in Toronto - I don't think it's a big deal to come downtown from the airport (1/2 hour trip) and you could do some sightseeing or at least go out for a nice meal.

Some alternative "sites" closer to the airport. 1. McMichael Canadian Art Collection - wonderful collection; 2. Woodbine Racetrack which has horse racing as well as 1700 slot machines. Check hours.

I greatly appreciate all of the advice. We've decided to play it conservatively and go with the seven hour layover. If everyone would have said "no problem" with 90 minutes, we probably would have considered it. Since there is some disagreement, we'll opt for playing it safe with our vacation that we have been planning for a year. Also, as my wife reminded me, flights out of DIA are delayed more frequently once you get into the more unpredictable weather patterns of fall and winter. I am a little reluctant to go all the way into the city, even with seven hours, but some of the nearer attractions sound intriguing.