How to survive an airport layover
My parents were travelers dealing with an airport layover since before I was born. Even in the womb, I was able to travel all over the place! Boy, did things NOT change as I grew older! Knowing there’s more to the world than the bubble I live in made me want to travel even further.
Traveling is my drug and I’m addicted. (Please, no intervention!)
We are delighted to bring you this guest post courtesy of Jess Signut from Tripelio. We had a terribly long airport layover in Doha a few years back that we’ll never forget so when Jess approached us and offered to write a guest post on How to Survive an Airport Layover we jumped at the chance for her to combine her passion for travel and creative thinking with us. Thanks Jess
Let’s face it: an airport layover is the worst. Hopefully with these tips and tricks, you’ll be able to make the hours go by faster! There’s always something to do in a venue and city as big as your next stop. Keep your sanity and have a little fun while waiting for that big gas-guzzler to arrive and bring you to your next destination.
Sleep or Visit A Lounge
This one seems a bit too obvious, but taking a nap and watching something on Netflix in an airport lounge is something to take advantage of. Some airports have lounges where you only have to pay a daily fee instead of paying for an annual membership. If your layover is 8+ hours, lounges can be your best friend. There are often bars in there as well as showers.
In lounges, the types of alcohol they serve are usually domestic beers, house wine and liquor as well as premium beverages. If you’re just getting there in the morning, they offer breakfast items, pastries, fruit and more awesome things to snack on before your next flight up.
Workout!
Not many people have ever considered working out in an airport, but if you don’t want to miss a workout on your vacation but seem to have a few airport stays, you may want to consider. Since there are many miles of square footage, there are plenty of airport works you can do such as:
- Power walking
- Pushups
- Yoga
Many people like peace and quiet at airports despite the hustle and bustle, so it’s easy to find somewhere quiet to meditate or workout. Even in lounges, you can find areas to work out in and then shower in!
Visit a local restaurant
If you’re in the area, hit up a local Uber driver via the app or simply call a cab to visit a unique restaurant in the area. Who knows, you may be back to visit the area on another vacation due to your quick taste at a local eatery. Try a cuisine that’s completely new to your palette and see how daily life for the local residents are. Become cultured within a few hours during your airport layover and let the spontaneity take you over!
Pay It Forward
This may not be common, but when you reach your layover destination, head to a gift card kiosk and buy $5 gift cards to universal restaurants (Dunkin Donuts/Starbucks, McDonalds, VISA) and hand them out to others waiting for ones that may seem tired in the airport. After all, many people are probably broke from buying their plane tickets! You never know what something small can do for someone.
You might as well bring a little joy to others while waiting to arrive at your next destination.
Scavenger Hunts
Even adults like scavenger hunts. Make a list on your phone and separate into two teams. When you’ve found something from your list in the airport, take a photo of it. First team to get back gets the window seat(s)! Maybe the winning team can win one of the gift cards you bought to pay it forward.
Conclusion
There are plenty of things to do to have fun and survive an airport layover. Some are more obvious while others may trigger other ideas on ways to have fun at the airport. Stay in shape, learn more about the local culture and pay it forward during your next vacation or travel days. You never know what adventures may arise!
What do you do to pass your time during an airport layover? Would you consider some of these tips?
Since you’re already here we have a small favour to ask and that is to please share this post or leave a comment below. If you like this post and want to read more like it why not subscribe to our Newsletter? We won’t spam you or share your personal details. If you’re not doing so already, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or click the Mix, Flipboard or other social media buttons below to share this post with others who might enjoy reading it. What are you waiting for?
Airport layovers can be a good time to catch up on email or sleep – but sometimes it gets a little boring! I am working on an airport bingo for next time 🙂
Airport bingo sounds like fun Jess. We had a stopover in Changi and did a survey for them which passed some time and we got a complimentary pen as a thank you. I might add that was well after midnight so a strange time to be conducting surveys.
Some airports offer a lot of entertainment opportunities. Amsterdam’s Schiphol has a museum courtesy of Rijksmuseum, and Singapore’s Changi offers a swimming pool and a butterfly garden. Thailand had leather recliners that gave us a chance to grab some much-needed sleep. Depending on the time of day, we’ve also spent long layovers touring cities and sleeping in hotels in the terminal.
But that’s in the better airports. We’ve also experienced sleeping on airport floors and trying to nap with a growling hunger because no food was available after midnight. Not fun.
Our best layover experience, however, was in Istanbul. Turkish Airlines paid for our overnight stay at a hotel and even shuttled us there and back … and we had a chance to grab dinner at a local eatery where we didn’t know each other’s language. The food and the experience were priceless!
Linda Bibb recently posted…Amsterdam Canal Cruise: Views from the Water
Thank you so much for all your suggestions Linda, some great ideas there. Your layover in Istanbul sounds amazing. I had a similar experience in Bali many years ago and got put up in a 5 star hotel with our own chef to cook a meal for us on arrival at the resort.
Hahah, that’s more funny than realistic I believe 😉 I just imagined using a moving walkway as a treadmill 😉
People do many strange things at the airport. Some time ago I met a woman cooking dinner in a ladies restroom…
Isabella recently posted…Pics take you places: Verona, the City of Lovers
Isabella that visual of using the walkway as a treadmill is stuck in my mind now! Strangest thing we ever had was a survey at 2.00am and for answering they gave us both a pen for completing. Thank you for your comment.
I have to confess that it never crossed my mind to work out in an airport. Sleeping and eating (my two favorite activities) I would have thought about right away, though. When we had an 9 hour lay over in Paris we took the train and visited some areas. Great ideas in your post. Thanks for sharing.
Anda recently posted…The Weekly Postcard: Bodie, the Eastern Sierra Ghost Town
Anda I must admit working out in an airport is not something I have ever thought of either. Worst layover we ever had was in Doha… and we had a delay.
These are such brilliant tips that I shared them on Twitter, who would have thought to do a scavenger hunt or pay if forward! Must admit I tried to keep fit once in an airport by walking up and down repeatedly
Suze the Luxury Columnist recently posted…Does Guiltless Afternoon Tea Exist – Yes, at the Intercontinental!
Thank for sharing Suze, Jess sure has some creative ideas of how to pass time on a layover.