Courtesy Flughafen Zürich AG
Zurich's Kloten International Airport is both modern and green. It takes 10th place in the best airport overall category in the Guide to Sleeping in Airports annual awards. Click through the gallery to see the rest of the top 10.
RAIGO PAJULA/AFP/Getty Images
Tallinn Airport -- the largest in Estonia -- has cracked the top 10 this year, bumping better-known counterparts such as Hong Kong's airport off the list.
Juho Suoperä/Vantaa Innovation Institute
Helsinki International Airport has a resting area that offers free sleeping pods.
Courtesy Larry Goldstein
Vancouver's airport is North America's sole representative on this list.
Courtesy Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Kansai International Airport is located on an artificial island in the middle of Japan's Osaka Bay.
Courtesy Munich Airport
The first European airport on this Asia-dominated list, Munich's inventively designed terminal has an annual Christmas market, sleep pods, a beer garden, mini-golf course, ice rink and a surfing pool.
Taoyuan-airport.com
"The airport has waiting rooms of different themes, and most of them showed various Taiwanese cultures," one voter said of Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport.
TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images
Tokyo's Haneda Airport is one of two Japanese airports to claim a spot on this year's ranking.
courtesy Incheon Airport
Passengers can ice-skate, visit a spa and learn to make traditional pencil cases in Seoul's Incheon Airport. They can also hit an oversized reclining seat for a snooze.
Courtesy Changi airport group
Due to open in 2018, a new development called the "jewel" at Singapore's Changi International Airport will showcase a 40-meter "rain vortex" in what will be Singapore's largest indoor garden. Changi has repeatedly topped the list of the world's best airports.

Story highlights

Sleeping in Airports produces an annual survey of the best and worst aviation terminals

Asia's air hubs dominate the list, followed by European destinations

CNN  — 

“Oh great, a 10-hour airport layover,” said no one. Ever. Or, maybe they did.

With more airports trying to reinvent themselves as places to visit and relax in rather than just endure, “transit” is becoming less of a dirty word.

But how pleasant can an airport actually be?

That’s where The Guide to Sleeping in Airports comes in, offering its annual scrutiny of the best and worst places to wander around in a jetlagged stupor.

The best in 2016?

Once again it’s Singapore, scooping three titles – best airport for sleeping, best airport for layovers and best airport for overall experience.

“I had almost an eight-hour layover on my second trip and still felt like it ended too soon to see everything I was hoping to see,” gushed one of the guide’s respondents about the city-state’s Changi Airport.

Free and comfy reclining loungers and massage chairs are just the basics here.

This airport already has a butterfly garden, swimming pool and cinema.

A new Changi development containing an indoor forest with hiking trails and a 40-meter rain vortex falling from the roof is due to open in 2018.

‘Basically a hole in the ground’

Travelers passing through Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz International Airport will need to lower their expectations.

This year, the Jeddah terminal earned the unfortunate distinction of being the worst for all three categories: sleeping, layovers and overall experience.

Lines through immigration are said to be “unfathomable,” seats in short supply, hygiene lacking and amenities largely absent.

“Fourteen hours on metal chairs, delayed flight, no power, one washroom area – basically a hole in the ground with three inches of water everywhere,” one voter was quoted as saying.

No response yet from the airport.

KAIA does have free Wi-Fi, if that’s any consolation – and a glitzy new airport that’s expected to open in 2017 could mean its days on the list will be numbered.

The Sleeping in Airports awards are based on the number of votes and average scores.

Asia dominates this year’s best-of lists, followed by Europe.

The first four Asian hubs – Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo and Taipei – haven’t budged from last year’s results.

Hong Kong, however, didn’t make the top 10 after scoring fifth place last year.

Kuala Lumpur has also slipped off the leader board.

Newcomers to this list are Kansai International Airport – located on an artificial island in Japan’s Osaka Bay – and Estonia’s Tallinn International Airport, which one voter described as “cozy” and “like a boutique business lounge.”

Here are the guide’s best and worst:

Best airports for overall experience

1. Changi International Airport (Singapore)

2. Incheon International Airport (Seoul, South Korea)

3. Haneda International Airport (Tokyo, Japan)

4. Taoyuan International Airport (Taipei, Taiwan)

5. Munich International Airport (Germany)

6. Kansai International Airport (Osaka, Japan)

7. Vancouver International Airport (Vancouver, Canada)

8. Helsinki International Airport (Vantaa, Finland)

9. Tallinn International Airport (Tallinn, Estonia)

10. Kloten International Airport (Zurich, Switzerland)

Worst airports for overall experience

1. King Abdulaziz International Airport (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)

2. Juba International Airport (Juba, South Sudan)

3. Port Harcourt International Airport (Port Harcourt, Nigeria)

4. Tashkent International Airport (Tashkent, Uzbekistan)

5. Santorini National Airport (Santorini, Greece)

6. Chania International Airport (Crete, Greece)

7. Heraklion International Airport (Crete, Greece)

8. Simón Bolivar International Airport (Caracas, Venezuela)

9. London Luton International Airport (Luton, England)

10. Tribhuvan International Airport (Kathmandu, Nepal)