TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

If you have a long layover at an airport, you can check out a directory of the shops, restaurants, wi-fi access, etc that the airport has to offer online before you leave. This can help you get situated and know what to expect during a long layover.

For instance, if there appears to be a good restaurant at the airport, you can plan to eat a meal while you're waiting for your next flight.

When you're buying a plane ticket and the flight path requires a layover, double check that the ticket allows enough time for you to disembark the plane, navigate through the airport, and reach your next gate with plenty of time before boarding.

This is important, because sometimes when you book tickets, the airline will only leave you a small window of time for changing planes. It's up to you to gauge whether you feel you have enough time or not. Most of the time it will work out, but occasionally you may not have enough time to make your next plane if the layover is too tight.

This is especially true if the first plane winds up late for whatever reason. This happened to me on a flight to Europe, with a layover in New York. I had to run through the airport with a heavy pack and the airline almost didn't let me on the plane because I was late!

Also, take into account whether you might want to eat a meal during your layover. If you're really on a long-haul trek, spending a few hours in an airport might be good for you to get some exercise, eat a decent meal, and get to your flight gate in a leisurely fashion.

If you are searching for plane tickets and you happen to find some that involve really long layovers (6 hours or more), consider whether you might actually be interested in quickly checking out that city during your layover. This might make that ticket more appealing than tickets with shorter layovers.

For instance, I once flew from the US to India, with a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam. You can bet that we made the most of that layover by going out and seeing Amsterdam! It was great.

If you can get a ticket with a long layover in an interesting place, it's like getting a little bonus "trip within a trip".

Just make sure that you can an eye on the clock, and get back to the airport in plenty of time to go through security and make your next flight.

If you are traveling alone, have a long layover and you need a nap, you can often seek shelter in the airport's chapel. Most people don't realize that airports even have chapels, but many of them do.

If the chapel is empty, you can try to catch a few winks.