When you have to experience a long layover or stopover, it can be a pain to pass the time. You might find yourself at the airport for hours before your next departure. This can lead to anxiety, boredom, frustration, feelings of claustrophobia, and being trapped. But it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Here are 25 creative ideas for you to pass that time and make your wait more bearable.
Long Airport Layover Tips
Table of Contents
1. Figure out the next departure terminal
Get comfortable near the gateway of the departure terminal of the next flight. This is one of the most crucial things to do, as in some airports you have to walk a few distances or even go out of an exit and pass through a different terminal.
2. Take a free day tour
Long layovers can be frustrating if you don’t know how to make a mini-vacation of the circumstances. Once you have a clear timeline, leave the airport and go sightseeing. Get in touch with the airport helpdesk as they might offer attractive day tours that might fit your time and budget.
3. Transit hotels
Transit hotels are great places where travelers can enjoy uninterrupted sleep devoid of any distractions. They are often situated near the airports and offer shuttle services as well.
4. Make use of the lounge services
Sometimes you just need to recuperate from the jetlag. Lounge access provides so many benefits with excellent customer support. You can relax your travel-weary body at the gym, taking hot showers, or getting massages. You can also make use of the excellent facilities of comfy seats, free meals, and numerous power outlets.
5. Charge your electronics
You are more likely to be running out of battery after taking countless pics to memorialize your escapades, or just by binging on Netflix and music. So use the layover to charge your electronics in the designated power outlets during your layovers to ensure they accompany you to your destination.
Tip: Have your universal adapter handy.
6. Change your clothes
No matter the deodorant stinky clothes are an inescapable factor of long-haul travel. If you don’t have the luxury to take a shower, at least change your clothes. This helps you feel cleaner and refreshed and you don’t have to be all that self-conscious around others.
Note: Reminder to bring your toiletries in your checked-in baggage.
7. Find a restaurant and eat
Traveling or not, it is important to fill your tummy at proper intervals at all times. Some airlines do not provide in-flight meals. Other times, when they do provide abysmal in-flight meals, you wonder why. So, layovers are a great time to eat. Restaurants inside the airport are open round the clock, however, keep in mind that they are not wallet-friendly. Find a restaurant that fits your budget and stock some if you want to. Or, you could shop for snacks at duty-free stores.
8. Clean your digital library
Sometimes travel just knocks the wind out of you. You wish to sit and barely move. The best way to kill time then is to get rid of those imperfect images and videos stranded on your gadgets and save storage space on your devices.
9. Organize your folders
Digital footage tends to accumulate over time and needs tuning often. Categorize your files and sort them out.
10. Trash unwanted emails
Declutter useless emails unsubscribe to the promotional email list and effectively stop receiving irrelevant emails. This not only frees up your precious drive space but also reduces your computer’s carbon footprint on the environment.
11. Make backups
Backing up your digital library is an essential thing to do. Instead of spending separate time and effort on doing these trivial but necessary things after you reach your destination, you can effectively use your layover time to complete them and just enjoy your destination.
12. Complete the pending tasks
There’s no ignoring that traveling consumes time. You are forced to push aside and procrastinate a lot of your priority tasks to ensure you are in the moment. Some of these things can be done without the use of the internet like video/ photo editing or drafting content for your blog. Creating Canva templates or Lightroom presets, or any other task can be done during this time.
13. Schedule social media posts
Scheduling posts for up to a week across your social media platforms can be done for free. Utilize your layover time to do tasks such as this, that need minimal effort.
14. Take a nap at the terminal
Recharge yourself for the remainder of your journey with a power nap. This will help you to minimize the jetlag or save your time for the next day for other priority activities.
15. Gather news/ do research
Rummage Google to know more about the destination location. Get the latest NEWS, weather, and safety precautions so that nothing hinders your travel plans. Moreover, be prepared to handle any circumstances and consider it as a part of travel.
16. Meet your friends
If you have friends at the layover destination, plan for a meetup. What better way to pass the time than a reunion in person? Layovers can be the ideal spot for dishing on random things and chilling out.
17. Tour the airport
Some airports express their culture and traditions by welcoming passengers. Get airport guides from the helpdesk that provide information about attractions inside the airport. For instance, the Singapore Airport offers attractions like the Sunflower Garden, Koi Pond, and Butterfly Garden. Info on these attractions is placed at the entertainment desk at the airport.
18. Do an Instagram Q&A
If you wish to do something interactive, you can connect with your followers through a Q&A session. Ask questions to your followers or community before boarding so that you can answer in the course of the layover. Some conversations can enlighten your mood altogether and make your day.
19. Read a book
Indulge yourself through the pages of an interesting book and don’t let the layover anchor you. Transport yourself to another world. In our opinion, this is a great way to ensure you get some me-time between your busy traveling schedule.
20. Listen to podcasts
In a short while, podcasts have cemented themselves in the audio hemisphere. There are a lot of thought-provoking, relaxing, or just great content podcasts that are available for free. Listen to fascinating conversations.
21. Phone a friend
Who better to drive away boredom and kill time than a friend? This pretty much doesn’t need any further explanation.
22. Binge-watch your favorite show or series
Download your favorites before boarding, to ensure you have enough offline entertainment that you never get bored. During stopovers or while flying, you can watch them for hours, without Ads.
23. Go shopping
Buy things that you forgot to bring along or souvenirs for remembrance. This is also a great time to stock up on toiletries. Duty-free shops offer attractive discounts that are worth considering.
24. Communicate
Interacting is a part of travel. Chitchat with locals/ flight attendants and make new friends. Some people are too kind that they might help you in the most unexpected ways.
25. Pen down your thoughts
Journal your thoughts and feelings that flow through your mind. Keep a record of your monumental moments, loneliness, gratitude, or everything in between.
Most of all – Hydrate! The most important thing is to drink as much water as you can even though you don’t feel like drinking.
Every traveler at one point or another has been forced to endure the dreaded layover. But it doesn’t have to be that bad! We hope these tips help to get through a boring layover. If you have any more interesting tips please comment. Share it with your friend who is going to take a long-distance flight!
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