Caching on a layover.

[+rustywa]

On a business trip this month I find myself with a 6 hour layover in Salt Lake City. I haven't cached here so it would be cool to ad this state to my stats. Six hours should be enough to get a couple of caches and make it back to the plane in time. But there are many uncertainties. Will I be allowed off the airport? As I'm not an American citizen, does that matter? What to do with the luggage? Caching by cab, short term rental or walking? How much time should I take for getting back (I.e. what is the realistic time left to do caching?

 

Does anybody have experience with this at either this or other airports? Possible tips?

[+Viajero Perdido]

Hi rustywa. Like it or not, anybody landing at an American airport from outside the US has to go through the whole customs & immigration ritual, meaning you've officially "entered" the country and are free to walk out the front door. In fact, they assume that's what you're going to do, and probably bomb something. But since you're coming from Canada, you do that ritual in the Canadian airport, so it doesn't deduct from the time you have in Salt Lake.

 

But to catch the next flight, you'll have to go through security again - rubber gloves, strange radiation machines, the works. Enjoy. So leave the usual amounts of time for that fun process.

 

As for a left-luggage counter or lockers, I think those are a thing of the past. Check your bag and leave it in the safe custody of the luggage handlers (heh), and go for a walk with the carry-on.

Edited August 9, 2012 by Viajero Perdido

[+Lieblweb]

Yup....

 

If you leave the airport, you'll have to go thru security checks all over again.

 

But - look at it this way....Do you really want to spend 6 hours inside an airport?? UGH!!

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

If you plan on going for it, drop a post in the regional forum for suggestions for nearby caches. Maybe there's a neat little park a couple of minute by taxi from the airport.

[+kwcahart]

Run a PQ of caches 5 miles from the airport. You could probably walk to several with your carry-on with you. I would think within 5 miles of that airport would be plenty of caches to keep you busy for a couple of hours. Good luck. Let us know how this works out for you.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

If you have arrived from an international flight, all passengers will through immigration first, then customs. Those going through immigration will require a passport and once you go through immigration, then you'll have to collect your checked luggage and go through customs, then you'll find yourself outside the security checkpoint.

 

After leaving customs, there will be a luggage drop-off point where you can check luggage (it would already have been tagged as checked luggage) to your final destination. At that point you can re-enter the airport or leave an come back later. You'll have to show your passport and boarding pass to get back into the secured area of the airport (where you'll catch your connecting flight). I'm afraid that you'll probably have to bring any carry on luggage with you.

 

I'm not familiar with what caches are available near Salt Lake City airport but you might look to see if there are any close to nearby hotels, long term parking, or rental car areas. All of those places typically have free shuttles and I've never been asked by a shuttle driver to provide any proof that I was actually staying at that hotel, or have actually rented a car. Six hours of layover time should have you a few options, even using a transit bus to get away from the airport a bit.

 

A couple of years ago I had trip from NY to Johannesburg, South Africa (and eventually to Tanzania) and had a seven hour layover in Paris. Clearing customs and immigration was pretty quick then I was able to hop on a train for about a 25 minute ride into the city. I spend about 3 hours caching, just looking at the sites, and had lunch before getting on a train back to the airport, about 2.5 hours before my departure. A couple of months ago I went back to Tanzania and this time scheduled a 22 hour layover in Zurich where I attended two geocaching events and found a handful of caches. I travel a fair amount and always consider a longer layover and at interesting location when planning my trip.

[+Viajero Perdido]

As I mentioned above, the procedure for arrivals from Canada is different. You clear US immigration and customs in the Canadian airport ("preclearance"; get there early), and once in the US airport, you're treated as just another domestic passenger.

 

As an aside, Canadians going to places like Mexico should really avoid connecting through US airports. On the trip back north, you'll have to clear customs & immigration in the US airport, and the queues for foreigners can move at a glacier's pace. It's very easy to miss a connection if you have less than 3 hours between flights. As I keep saying, this doesn't apply to the OP's trip south, because of the preclearance.

[+rustywa]

Actually, the layover in SLC is on my way back from France to Canada. I will not be able to pre-clear the customs and immigration on that trip. I'll leave plenty of time for the glacier pace. As I'm not a Canadian but a Dutch citizen, the US immigration always seems to have special interest in my foreign passport.

 

I like the suggestion of taking a shuttle or even public transit to a downtown location a lot. I didn't think of that before. I'll have to do a little more homework to see what area might be best suitable.

And indeed, I'm not looking forward to being stuck in an airport for 6 hours, that's why I'm trying to get some caching in.

 

Thanks all for providing suggestions. My trip is from August 18 to August 26 so I'll report back on how I did.

[+webscouter.]

If you are heading to Salt Lake the Mormon church has a shuttle that goes from the airport to Temple Square. Neat area and lots of opportunities for caching nearby. I have never done the tour so I don't know if they expect you to take an actual tour but I am sure you could tell them you just want to wander around. http://www.utah.com/cities/slc_free_tour.htm for information and the caches near the square are at http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?lat=40.771300&lng=-111.892600

[+Michaelcycle]

We had a long layover in Miami earlier this year on a trip to Ecuador. Used the long term parking shuttle to get me within walking distance of two caches. Worked like a charm because of their fairly frequent schedule.

[+hzoi]

Customs and passport control might take some time, Salt Lake City is a Delta hub. But in six hours, it's certainly doable.

 

Unfortunately, though I try to keep my layover list current, there don't seem to be any caches within walking distance of SLC. I would second the advice of others, look for caches near a hotel or rental car agency, then take their free shuttle. Or, take a cab, if you want guaranteed transport.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Actually, the layover in SLC is on my way back from France to Canada. I will not be able to pre-clear the customs and immigration on that trip. I'll leave plenty of time for the glacier pace. As I'm not a Canadian but a Dutch citizen, the US immigration always seems to have special interest in my foreign passport.

 

I like the suggestion of taking a shuttle or even public transit to a downtown location a lot. I didn't think of that before. I'll have to do a little more homework to see what area might be best suitable.

And indeed, I'm not looking forward to being stuck in an airport for 6 hours, that's why I'm trying to get some caching in.

 

Thanks all for providing suggestions. My trip is from August 18 to August 26 so I'll report back on how I did.

 

It looks like this cache would be doable even if you have a short layover: GCPG89. The cache page indicates that someone did it with only a one hour layover. It looks like it's located at a hotel close to the airport, which might have a free shuttle and there are several other caches nearby. Personally, I'd check the local bus routes (http://www.rideuta.com/ridinguta/routes/routefinder.aspx). It looks like there are a few that go to the airport. Note that except in the largest cities in the U.S. buses don't typically run as frequently as they do in Europe.

 

I'd also suggest calling the airline to see if you can check luggage all the way through from France to Canada. Even if it *is* checked all the way through you'll have to pick it up in SLC after clearing immigration (and before going through customs) but you can just drop it off at a special luggage drop so that it gets transferred to your final destination.

 

As I mentioned above, the procedure for arrivals from Canada is different. You clear US immigration and customs in the Canadian airport ("preclearance"; get there early), and once in the US airport, you're treated as just another domestic passenger.

 

It's been a long time since I've flown into the U.S. from Canada and I don't remember a "pre-clearance" procedure. I just checked though, and it looks like a Canada to U.S. flight is treated as a domestic flight. If someone is flying from France (or any other country) through a Canadian airport, then to the U.S., you'll have to clear immigration into Canada, the "pre-clear" to board the plane into the U.S. That's essentially what it's like when flying into Europe. Last year when I flew from NY to Rome via Brussels I had to clear immigration in Brussels, then flew "domestic" (within the EU) to Rome.

[+Glenn]

What to do with the luggage?

 

Typically on International flights you have to pick up all your checked luggage and check it in to the domestic (US) leg of your trip.

 

• Some airports have pay lockers where you can store your luggage but you'll have to research that my going to the website and/or calling the airport. A quick search of Salt Lake City Airport doesn't bring anything up. I'd call the airport just to make sure.
  
• You could try checking in your luggage early. Check the website of the airlines you will be flying and the website of the airport to see what their policies are.
  
• If the airport has a skycap service (curbside check-in) you can have them take care of your luggage. There is normally a small fee for the service and the employees work for tips so please tip well.
  
• Instead of bringing your checked luggage with you, you could mail it to the hotel you'll be staying at. Most hotels will hold mail (including packages) for people staying at the hotel. It's always a good idea to call first and give them a heads up so that don't accidentally reject your package. I don't know what the international mail rates are but inside the US it is sometimes cheaper to mail your luggage than it is to pay the airline luggage fees.
  

[+redsox_mark]

This won't apply to SLC I expect, but an interesting experience I had recently.

 

I was flying from England (Bristol) to the US (Chicago) via Dublin. On the way out I had a 4 hour layover. Not really long enough to go into the city, but there were a couple of caches a short walk from the airport I thought I'd try and find.

 

When we landed in Dublin, we were instructed that anyone going to the US should get on bus 1 - while others on bus 2. I didn't think and followed instructions. The bus took me to the international departures area - and apart from an emergency exit there was no way to exit from there. So no caching.

 

On the return trip I had a longer layover (nearly 8 hours), and this time correctly went to the exit, caught a bus to the city and spent a fun day caching in Dublin. My luggage was checked through so no issues there.

[+wsbucker]

Oh lucky you, Salt lake is an awesome city... I spent about 4 months doing some stuff for work in the area and fell in love. I know every sqaure inch of that city from walking it day in and day out, lol. I wish I had been caching at the time.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

This won't apply to SLC I expect, but an interesting experience I had recently.

 

I was flying from England (Bristol) to the US (Chicago) via Dublin. On the way out I had a 4 hour layover. Not really long enough to go into the city, but there were a couple of caches a short walk from the airport I thought I'd try and find.

 

When we landed in Dublin, we were instructed that anyone going to the US should get on bus 1 - while others on bus 2. I didn't think and followed instructions. The bus took me to the international departures area - and apart from an emergency exit there was no way to exit from there. So no caching.

 

For larger airports a separate international departures/arrival terminal is probably pretty common. In Beijing, for example, there is a shuttle train which connects the the international and main terminal, and a VISA is required to get on that train.

 

I think that general guideline here is always check with the airlines/airport to see what the procedures are when traveling through a foreign airport. For U.S. citizens check the travel.state.gov site to see what the immigration/customs requirements are for any country where you might be landing.

 

It looks like I'll be able to get that cache in the butterfly garden in Singapore as I just booked my flights to Malaysia this morning. On my return trip I've got an 8 hour layover at Narita (Tokyo). Have you, or anyone else tried to grab a cache or two during a layover? It looks like there are several fairly close to the airport.

[+redsox_mark]

It looks like I'll be able to get that cache in the butterfly garden in Singapore as I just booked my flights to Malaysia this morning. On my return trip I've got an 8 hour layover at Narita (Tokyo). Have you, or anyone else tried to grab a cache or two during a layover? It looks like there are several fairly close to the airport.

 

Not Tokyo, but I have found the one in the butterfly garden in Singapore. Actually it was missing and I replaced it (with the owner's permission). It seems to go missing often (my container later went missing). Depending on which terminal you land in you may need to take a monorail shuttle thing; but it is all in the departures area so no problem.

[+rustywa]

The best laid plans...

 

I had planned a glorious 6 hour layover in SLC. I would land at SLC at 2pm and taking the free temple shuttle (thanks for the tip) probably around 3. Then I would have a couple of hours caching before taking the last shuttle back at 5:30pm.

 

Alas. As I was sitting in the plane at Paris CDG airport, waiting for our imminent departure, the time went by. After an hour of waiting where the captain was saying they were "straightening out the last details", people in the plane got a little restless. After 1.5 hour the message came that we were just about ready but they wanted to take on more fuel to fly faster. Thus we had to wait for the fuel truck. Finally, after just short of 3 hours at the gate, we took off for the 10.5 hour flight.

 

Needless to say we never made up for the delay and I arrived in SLC at 4pm local time. With getting through security and getting my boarding pass for the last leg to Calgary, I was out of the airport at 5pm. The last shuttle had left and with a boarding time for the next flight at 7pm, I wasn't going to risk getting downtown and doing a cache.

 

So I settled for some food and "Pirates of the Caribbean" instead. I'll have to return to SLC another time.

 

Thanks everybody for the tips and advice!

[+NYPaddleCacher]

The best laid plans...

 

I had planned a glorious 6 hour layover in SLC. I would land at SLC at 2pm and taking the free temple shuttle (thanks for the tip) probably around 3. Then I would have a couple of hours caching before taking the last shuttle back at 5:30pm.

 

Alas. As I was sitting in the plane at Paris CDG airport, waiting for our imminent departure, the time went by. After an hour of waiting where the captain was saying they were "straightening out the last details", people in the plane got a little restless. After 1.5 hour the message came that we were just about ready but they wanted to take on more fuel to fly faster. Thus we had to wait for the fuel truck. Finally, after just short of 3 hours at the gate, we took off for the 10.5 hour flight.

 

Needless to say we never made up for the delay and I arrived in SLC at 4pm local time. With getting through security and getting my boarding pass for the last leg to Calgary, I was out of the airport at 5pm. The last shuttle had left and with a boarding time for the next flight at 7pm, I wasn't going to risk getting downtown and doing a cache.

 

So I settled for some food and "Pirates of the Caribbean" instead. I'll have to return to SLC another time.

 

Thanks everybody for the tips and advice!

 

I feel your pain. A few years ago I pretty much missed my only chance to find a cache in Ethiopia due to a delay (in this case involving immigration and a colleague) at an airport.

 

I also just check on the cache at Singapore airport that Redsox fan mentioned. According to a log posted yesterday it sounds like there was a recent problem with it but it is, in fact, still there. I'll (hopefully) be arriving there around midnight on Saturday. As a contingency plan (sort of) I arranged my return flight so that I'll be in Singapore for a day and a half on the way home so will have plenty of opportunities to do some caching.

[+hzoi]

8 hours in Narita? There are a few caches not terribly far from the airport, but I'd take the JR train into Tokyo instead. (I would not necessarily recommend a cab or shuttle bus -- Tokyo traffic can be absolute hell.)

[+NYPaddleCacher]

8 hours in Narita? There are a few caches not terribly far from the airport, but I'd take the JR train into Tokyo instead. (I would not necessarily recommend a cab or shuttle bus -- Tokyo traffic can be absolute hell.)

 

Thanks. I've actually got a 7 hour layover. It looks like the express train into Tokyo takes about an hour each way. Making sure that I get back to airport two hours in advance for an international flight and exiting the airport through immigration/custom would probably give me about 2.5 hours in the city. I'm looking at other train stop that might be closer. The Sakura station looks like it has a lot of caches nearby. Chiba is just a bit further and is where my brother and sister-n-law lived for two years.

[+hzoi]

Either way, have fun. We had a great time in December, ran a course west of Tokyo and then took some vacation time after the work part was done. Even managed to hitch a ride down to Iwoto (Iwo Jima) for a day.

[+New Market Mallers]

Going to be flying to Rome later this year with a layover in Madrid. Thought it would be interesting to grab a cache or two since I don't know if/when I would be in Spain again and actually found some caches that seem to have logs where cachers did just this. Does anyone know how realistic it is to be able to look for a cache and still get back for your connecting flight? I didn't really think this was possible with security or leaving the airport. Wouldn't I have to go through security again when coming back for my flight? If anyone has actually done this in Madrid I would really love to hear about it! Thanks!

[+redsox_mark]

I have found caches in Madrid but not on a lay-over. I have found caches in other cities on a lay-over.

 

But yes you would need to pass through security, customs and immigration. So you would need enough time. There are some caches near the airport.

 

There are a some airports (e.g. Singapore) which have caches in the transit area so you don't need to leave security, but these are rare and there is no cache like that in Madrid.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Going to be flying to Rome later this year with a layover in Madrid. Thought it would be interesting to grab a cache or two since I don't know if/when I would be in Spain again and actually found some caches that seem to have logs where cachers did just this. Does anyone know how realistic it is to be able to look for a cache and still get back for your connecting flight? I didn't really think this was possible with security or leaving the airport. Wouldn't I have to go through security again when coming back for my flight? If anyone has actually done this in Madrid I would really love to hear about it! Thanks!

 

I haven't cached during a layover in Madrid (and haven't actually been to Madrid) but I've found caches during a layover in several other locations.

 

If you're flying from the U.S. to Madrid, then on to Rome you *probably* will have to go through immigration/customs in Madrid then fly "domestic" to Rome (that's what I did when flying to Rome via Brussels last year). However, depending on where you're coming from, where your layover is occurring, where you're flying to, and your citizenship may all impact how much time you might have in a layover city. I'd check the Madrid airport site and read about immigration procedures you'll be encountering. At some airports it just takes longer than in others to get out, then back to your departure gate. In almost every country that I've been in other than the U.S. you'll not only need to go through airport security, but also go through passport control to "exit" the country. The lines at both of those locations can sometimes be quite long. I flew out of Rome a few years ago and the security checkpoint to get into the secured area took a long time, but the subsequent passport control was fairly quick. At Singapore airport, you actually go through passport control first (where you also need to show a boarding pass), then there is a security checkpoint at each gate which is very quick as well.

 

If you've got 4 or more hours at "most" airports you'll probably have enough time to get out and find a cache. Here's how I do it. First go to Google maps and enter "airports near [city name]" get the location of the airport. If you "right click" on the map, then select "What's here" you'll get a set of lat/long coordinates in the search box (in decimal degrees format). You can cut-n-paste those coordinates into the "Large Map" page on the geocaching site (if you're a premium member). Otherwise, you can enter those coordinates into the Hide and Seek a cache page to get a list of nearby caches. Then start reading the cache listings. Sometimes the closest caches to the terminal might not be the quickest to get. If you go back to the Google maps page you can get look for nearby airport hotels and long term parking areas. A cache near one of those places *might* have a free shuttle. You can also local at the "local transportation" page on the airport website. If there is a light rail that goes to the airport you might find one or more caches close to the nearest couple of stops. That's what I did when I flew through Tokyo airport. From the airport terminal it was only about a 10 minute trip to the closest station on the light rail. From there I was able to spend a few hours exploring (I had a 7 hour layover) and found a couple of caches (and DNFd one). There were a few caches closer to the airport but would have taken longer to reach.

 

Enjoy Rome. It's a wonderful city and a great city in which to go geocaching.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

There are a some airports (e.g. Singapore) which have caches in the transit area so you don't need to leave security, but these are rare and there is no cache like that in Madrid.

 

On the other hand, Singapore airport is *huge* with 3 different terminals. I was able to find that cache in the butterfly garden at the airport but I had to go between terminals a couple of times to get there and then to my departure gate. I gave myself lots of time to do it though and Singapore airport is not a bad place to hang out for a few hours (I'd rank it probably the best airport in the world).

Edited October 2, 2012 by NYPaddleCacher

[+redsox_mark]

If you're flying from the U.S. to Madrid, then on to Rome you *probably* will have to go through immigration/customs in Madrid then fly "domestic" to Rome (that's what I did when flying to Rome via Brussels last year). However, depending on where you're coming from, where your layover is occurring, where you're flying to, and your citizenship may all impact how much time you might have in a layover city.

 

Yes, I think you will need to clear immigration/customs in Madrid anyway. This is because Spain and Italy are both in the Schengen area. Which means that the flight from Madrid to Rome would be treated like an internal flight; there will be no immigration/customs when you land in Rome.

 

So it then just becomes a question of time.

[+zephyrsailor]

If you're flying from the U.S. to Madrid, then on to Rome you *probably* will have to go through immigration/customs in Madrid then fly "domestic" to Rome (that's what I did when flying to Rome via Brussels last year). However, depending on where you're coming from, where your layover is occurring, where you're flying to, and your citizenship may all impact how much time you might have in a layover city.

 

Yes, I think you will need to clear immigration/customs in Madrid anyway. This is because Spain and Italy are both in the Schengen area. Which means that the flight from Madrid to Rome would be treated like an internal flight; there will be no immigration/customs when you land in Rome.

 

So it then just becomes a question of time.

 

"domestic" in europe differs a little to domestic flights in the US, they will still want to see your passport on arrival especially if you are a non EU national, so expect a small delay.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

If you're flying from the U.S. to Madrid, then on to Rome you *probably* will have to go through immigration/customs in Madrid then fly "domestic" to Rome (that's what I did when flying to Rome via Brussels last year). However, depending on where you're coming from, where your layover is occurring, where you're flying to, and your citizenship may all impact how much time you might have in a layover city.

 

Yes, I think you will need to clear immigration/customs in Madrid anyway. This is because Spain and Italy are both in the Schengen area. Which means that the flight from Madrid to Rome would be treated like an internal flight; there will be no immigration/customs when you land in Rome.

 

So it then just becomes a question of time.

 

"domestic" in europe differs a little to domestic flights in the US, they will still want to see your passport on arrival especially if you are a non EU national, so expect a small delay.

 

There's no way to tell if a passenger is a EU national or not unless they route *everyone* coming in on a flight through passport control. Granted, there are separate lines for EU and non EU passengers but either everyone goes through passport control or nobody does.

 

When I flew from the US via Brussels to Rome I walked directly from the arrival gate to collect my luggage and did the same when I flew from Rome to Brussels. I'm pretty sure that's changed somewhat recently as I also recall flying to/from Frankfurt and Rome a few years ago and remember going through passport control in both countries.

 

As I suggested earlier, the best bet is to check the airport web site to see what the immigration/customs procedures are for that specific airport and if you're questions are not answered there's usually a "contact us" page that can be used to obtain more information. I got all my questions answered that way on a recent trip to Malaysia via Singapore. At least a week before I was going to leave I knew that I would be arriving in Singapore at Terminal 3 at around 1:00AM and departing for Malaysia out of Terminal 1 at 11:00AM or so and would be staying at a transit hotel (which did not require going through immigration) for a few hours. The problem was because I had booked the flights from the U.S. to Singapore and the flight from Singapore to Malaysia separately, the airlines wouldn't transfer my luggage *and* I couldn't get a boarding pass for the flight to Malaysia until a few hours before the flight. That meant that if I went out through immigration to collect my checked back I wouldn't be able to get back into the terminal until 8:00AM or so in the morning. After sending an email message to someone I was told just to go directly to the transit hotel and my checked bag would be kept in a "holding area" until I went out to pick it up, then check in and get a boarding pass for my flight to Malaysia. Everything went smoothly because I took to time to find out what the procedures were before I left home.

 

The OPs situation is likely going to be pretty simple. It's just a matter of how much layover time they'll have in Madrid which will determine whether or not they'll have time to go find a cache in Spain.

[+Andromeda321]

The golden standard these days when entering Europe is you go through customs and immigration at your first point of entry in the Schengen area- trust me I've done it enough times to know! Depending on the origins of the flight you often have to do rescreening as well (I've never had to flying from the US, but had to when I arrived from India for example), but it's a much more quick affair in Europe than in Spain too!

 

You didn't say how long your layover was, but IRC the airport to the city center is like a half hour. I'm sure you can nab a few caches while at it if you have enough time...

[+NYPaddleCacher]

The golden standard these days when entering Europe is you go through customs and immigration at your first point of entry in the Schengen area- trust me I've done it enough times to know! Depending on the origins of the flight you often have to do rescreening as well (I've never had to flying from the US, but had to when I arrived from India for example), but it's a much more quick affair in Europe than in Spain too!

 

Uh, Spain is *in* Europe.

 

 

You didn't say how long your layover was, but IRC the airport to the city center is like a half hour. I'm sure you can nab a few caches while at it if you have enough time...

 

It wouldn't even be necessary to go the city center. The first metro stop outside the airport is very close to Parque do Juan Carlos. It looks like that there about 15 caches in the park and several others nearby. That includes quite a few unknown caches and a multis but it's probably only 5 minutes or so from the Terminals by underground metro.

[+redsox_mark]

"domestic" in europe differs a little to domestic flights in the US, they will still want to see your passport on arrival especially if you are a non EU national, so expect a small delay.

 

There is generally no passport control when crossing borders within the Schengen area.

[+zephyrsailor]

"domestic" in europe differs a little to domestic flights in the US, they will still want to see your passport on arrival especially if you are a non EU national, so expect a small delay.

 

There is generally no passport control when crossing borders within the Schengen area.

 

if you drive no (except UK). if you fly, usually they will want to see your ID or passport.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

"domestic" in europe differs a little to domestic flights in the US, they will still want to see your passport on arrival especially if you are a non EU national, so expect a small delay.

 

There is generally no passport control when crossing borders within the Schengen area.

 

if you drive no (except UK). if you fly, usually they will want to see your ID or passport.

 

In the context of what "New Market Mallers" is trying to do (fly from the U.S. to Madrid, leave the airport to do some caching, re-enter the airport in Madrid, and fly to Rome) they will have to show a passport and boarding pass to get to their departing gate in the U.S., go through passport control upon arrival in Madrid to leave the airport (enter the Schengen area), the show passport and a boarding pass to Rome before going through security (not a passport control checkpoint), but will not be required to show a passport to anyone upon arrival in Rome. The longest delay will likely be going through passport control upon arrival in Madrid. Since they'll have to do that anyway, the can determine once they get through whether or not they'll have time to leave the airport to do some geocaching. If it were me, to play it safe, I probably wouldn't try to go find any caches unless my departure time was less than three hours from the time I got through passport control.

[+redsox_mark]

Correct.

There will be a need to show ID (not necessarily a passport) to board any flight for security reasons. But when flying from Madrid to Rome there will be no passport control or customs when arriving in Rome.