Houston · United States · Stopover · Central America
George Bush Intercontinental Airport IAH
Houston puts Roatán, Belize and Costa Rica within reach. Once you have cleared immigration, two free trains do the moving but the airport’s only shower is chargeable.
For subtitles in English: start the video firstthen click the gearat the top right of the video, select “Subtitles/CC”, then “Auto-translate” and choose “English”.
How long is your layover?
2 hrs
Straightforward between terminals but not after an international arrival.
- Terminals B, C, D and E are linked by airside walkways. Terminal A is not reachable on foot: use the free elevated train, which runs airside every two minutes.
- A second free train runs landside every three minutes and also serves the airport hotel. It does not run throughout the night.
- ⚠️ The airport publishes no minimum connection time. After an international arrival, you must also allow for immigration, baggage reclaim, customs, re-checking and security again.
- ⚠️ Les postes de sûreté n’ouvrent pas tous aux mêmes heures : selon le terminal, ils ouvrent entre 3 h 30 et 4 h et ferment entre 19 h 30 et 0 h 30. Un vol très tôt ou très tard peut donc vous obliger à passer par le poste d’un autre terminal comptez le trajet en plus.
2–5 hrs
Unlimited Wi-Fi, and that is broadly where the free comforts end.
- Airport Wi-Fi is free and UNLIMITED in every terminal. A modest blessing, but not a universal one.
- ⚠️ There are NO free public showers. The airport’s only shower is in the private-cabin area in Terminal C, near gate C14, and carries an additional charge.
- ⚠️ There is no official baggage storage in the terminals. Do not make lockers part of your plan.
- There is plenty of seating, but no designated rest area.
5–10 hrs
As anywhere in the United States, authorisation decides whether you can board.
- VISA REQUIRED there is no sterile transit in the United States. Even when changing aircraft for Roatán or San José, you need permission to enter: an electronic travel authorisation requested ONLINE before departure, or a visa.
- ⚠️ Some travel history removes your eligibility for the visa waiver programme. Check when booking, not the night before.
- Houston is a long way from its airport and the city does not suit a stopover visit. Spend the saved time in a lounge or cabin rather than in traffic.
- The airport runs no city tours.
10 hrs +
Sleep. The airport hotel is served by the free airport train.
- ⚠️ There is no airside hotel. You will already have passed through immigration.
- VISA REQUIRED the airport hotel is served by the free landside train, so you avoid waiting for a shuttle with dive kit. That matters on an overnight stop.
- ⚠️ This train does not run throughout the night: check the timetable if your next flight leaves very early.
- The area also has many hotels with shuttles, often better rated.
What catches travellers out
There is no international transit in the United States
Even from one international flight to another, you enter the country: immigration, baggage reclaim, customs, re-checking and security. No sterile corridor, no exception.
Terminal A cannot be reached on foot
Terminals B, C, D and E are linked by airside walkways, but A is not. You need the elevated train free and frequent, but another journey to allow for.
No minimum connection time is published
The airport gives none. You therefore have no official benchmark if the connection goes wrong, and the only sensible course is to arrive with plenty of time.
Why not wait it out in peace?
For subtitles in English: start the video firstthen click the gearat the top right of the video, select “Subtitles/CC”, then “Auto-translate” and choose “English”.
Terminal D handles international flights, and two European airline lounges there sell individual access unusual in the United States.
This is the American wrinkle: most lounges belong to an airline or card issuer and do not sell access at the door. Terminal D is the exception, with two European airline lounges available individually.
⚠️ They are in Terminal D. Terminals B, C, D and E link on foot airside, while a free train also serves Terminal A, so you can reach them but allow for the journey.
Houston is an odd case for showers: there are NO public showers, and the only one is in the private-cabin area in Terminal C, where it carries an additional charge. Worth knowing after a transatlantic flight.
For a diver, the usual case still applies: a socket for torches and camera housing, plus somewhere to put your hand baggage before the island flight.
For three hours of peace, allow the equivalent of a sit-down airport meal.
See the lounge →Where to sleep during the layover?
At the airport and served by the free train: no shuttle to wait for.
- It is the only hotel linked to the terminal by airport transport, which matters when you are hauling a dive bag at two in the morning.
- ⚠️ The train does not run throughout the night check its timetable before relying on it at dawn.
For subtitles in English: start the video firstthen click the gearat the top right of the video, select “Subtitles/CC”, then “Auto-translate” and choose “English”.
Better rated, a few minutes away by shuttle for a proper night’s sleep.
- Choose this when the stopover warrants real sleep and your next flight leaves enough time for a shuttle.
- There are many others at a similar distance.
The diver’s reflex
Your bag comes back onto the belt, and customs will see it
As anywhere in the United States, there is no international transfer: you collect your dive bag, take it through customs, then re-check it for Roatán, Belize City or San José. A bag full of wet kit and technical equipment invites inspection, so secure it with a lock that US security can open without cutting it.
Houston’s only shower is chargeable and it is in Terminal C
There are no public showers here, unlike Taipei, Hong Kong or Brisbane. The only one is in the private-cabin area in Terminal C, near gate C14, and costs extra on top of the cabin. If arriving on the island washed matters to you, that is where you need to go best known before landing rather than while hunting for it.
⭐ An electronic device that will not switch on does not fly
This catches divers out because it punishes an otherwise sensible habit. US security can ask you to SWITCH ON any electronic device, and a device that will not start is not allowed on board. Many travellers deliberately run down cameras, dive computers and flashes out of lithium caution. Here, a flat battery is not caution; it is a device that cannot be checked. Arrive with everything charged, or at least able to show a screen. If you spearfish, your speargun goes in the hold, never in the cabin: the final decision belongs to the officer, and the security lane is not the place for a debate.
The airport at a glance
- Terminals
- Five B, C, D and E linked on foot airside · Terminal A by train only
- Trains
- Free elevated train airside, every 2 min · free underground train landside, every 3 min, also serving the airport hotel does not run throughout the night
- International transit
- ⚠️ NO sterile corridor immigration, baggage reclaim, customs, re-checking and security again
- Minimum connection
- No figure published by the airport
- Entry
- ⚠️ Electronic travel authorisation REQUIRED before departure, even without leaving the airport · otherwise, a visa
- Wi-Fi
- Free and UNLIMITED in every terminal
- Showers
- ⚠️ No public shower the only one is in the private-cabin area in Terminal C, near gate C14, and is chargeable
- Baggage storage
- No official facility do not make it part of your plan
- Pay-per-use lounge
- Two European airline lounges in Terminal D, sold individually
- Private cabins
- Terminal C, near gate C14 shower at an additional charge
- Hotel
- No airside hotel · the airport hotel is served by the free landside train
- Postes de sûreté
- ⚠️ Horaires variables selon le terminal ouverture entre 3 h 30 et 4 h, fermeture entre 19 h 30 et 0 h 30
- Arrivée internationale
- Passage obligé par le hall des arrivées du terminal E, même pour une correspondance intérieure
- Travaux
- ⚠️ Le terminal B est en transformation depuis janvier 2025, chantier annoncé jusqu’à l’automne 2026
- Comptoirs d’information
- 8 h à 18 h passé cette heure, plus personne à qui demander
- Official website
- fly2houston.com ↗
