Hey there, fellow travelers! Today, we’re talking about what to do during a layover. The more you travel, the more time you spend in airports. Unless you live in a major airline hub city, layovers are an inevitable part of travel for most of us. As you know, here at Wolters World, we like to share both the positives and the negatives of travel. So these are the five things you’ll love, and the five things you’ll hate about having a long layover.
Hate #1: Boredom
No matter what airport you are in, you’re going to get bored on a long layover. You’re constantly checking your watch or your phone to see if it’s moved at all since the last time you checked. Besides shopping and eating, there isn’t much to do at the airport, so it’s easy to get bored. Make sure you have something to read or work to work on so you can pass the time more quickly.
Love #1: Quick City Tours
Can you leave the airport during a layover? If your layover is long enough, you just might get to leave the airport and see a bit of the city. Some cities and airports will even organize layover tours for you, or you might just catch the train and head downtown for a couple of hours. I usually recommend doing this with layovers of six hours or more. Don’t forget to leave time to go back through security again, so you really need a decent amount of time to explore. Heck, you might even research how to book a flight with a multi-day layover. This is really popular in Iceland, especially. Some cities we have done layover day stop overs, Reykjavik, Lisbon, London, Helsinki,
Five Things You’ll Love & Hate About Reykjavik, Iceland
Hate #2: Airport Prices
Everything at the airport is expensive. If you want to grab a bite to eat or a snack, the prices at the airport are super inflated. Plan to pay about $4 for a bottle of water at the airport if you are lucky. Therefore, if you are going to be stuck you may want to bring a refillable water bottle, some snacks that will travel well, and entertainment so you don’t have to overpay for books or such at the airport.
Love #2: Standby Options
Sometimes there’s an earlier flight available, but they won’t book it for you because the layover is too short. If your first flight arrives early, you then have a chance to get bumped up to that earlier flight. Not only does this shorten your layover, but you get home earlier. So, head to the gate of the earlier flight and speak with the gate agent. They may be able to help you, or they may not. It is a case by case basis.
Hate #3: Dealing with Baggage
If you have luggage with you, it gets cumbersome to move it around with you on your layover. If you just have a backpack, it’s not too bad, but if you’ve accumulated some shopping bags, or you have kids and their bags, it’s a lot to lug around during your layover. That is one reason we will actually check our carry-on size travel bags, just so we don’t have to deal with lugging our carry-on with us all over the airport for five hours.
Love #3: Duty-Free Shopping
Sometimes you can find some good deals in the duty-free shop, and it’s fun to browse while you have some time to kill. If you can get free WiFi in the airport, it’s easy to pull up “regular” prices to see if you’re really getting a good deal by purchasing stuff at the Duty-Free shop. Also, duty free can be a nice gift for your house sitter of babysitter.
Hate #4: Gate Assignments
Gates are usually assigned anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours before your flight, so if you have a longer layover, you won’t even know which gate you’re supposed to be at. Gate assignments can also change frequently, so you have to pay attention and be prepared to move to a new gate before boarding. A lot of airports in Europe won’t even announce the gate changes, you will only see them on the board. So make sure you are checking the boards often to see if your gate has changed.
Tips for Not Missing Your Flight
Love #4: Airport Lounges
If you have airline status, you will probably get access to the airline lounges at the airport. Other travel credit cards will give you a couple of passes each year that you can use to access the lounge. You can also buy a day pass to the lounge, and sometimes it’s worth it if you have a really long layover and don’t want to leave the airport. They have drinks, snacks, and WiFi that are all included in the pass. Many also have showers you can use. It’s a nice way to treat yourself while traveling. For us our cut off is 4 hours, if our layover is 4 hours or longer we will go to the lounge and pay for access just to give ourselves space, food, and a bit of sanity (and did we mention the complimentary drinks).
Hate #5: Lack of Connectivity
Some airports or terminals are better than others, but with so many devices that we all travel with, it can be really hard to find power outlets. Free WiFi is becoming more common in airports, but you still have to pay for it in some places. I always carry a backup power bank just in case I can’t find an outlet to charge my phone.
Love #5: The End of the Layover
Honestly, the best part of any layover is boarding your next flight and getting on with your travel day. Eventually, every layover must come to an end. Thank goodness!
Ok, so I struggled to come up with anything good about a long layover, except that you have a better chance of not missing your flight. Want more of our travel tips? Check out these blog posts: