Monday’s Money Saving Tips – Sleeping in airports is a great tip!
Don’t avoid the obvious when it comes to saving money on accommodation. You’ve already paid a lot for your flight so try to incorporate a free night’s accommodation into that, either before or after your flight. Today’s Monday’s Money Saving Tips is all about sleeping in airports.
If you’re flying early morning, why not get to the airport the night before, this has a few benefits:
1. You won’t miss your flight
2. No early morning rush
3. You save money on a night’s accommodation
4. You save money on transport (some airports won’t have early morning buses or trains, meaning you save money by not getting the dreaded taxi)
5. It is an ideal place to update your travel blog
6. Airports become ghost towns at night and are a great quiet place to catch up on some sleep
Airports are ghost towns and become an easy place to sleep at night!
If you’re flying into an airport late at night, why not stay there once you arrive to save money. I did this most recently in Hangzhou in China, arriving late at night. We landed just after midnight. No point in heading to the city so late so sleep at the airport, here are the benefits:
1. You won’t spend time looking for accommodation (which let’s be honest is a lot easier in daylight)
2. You won’t waste money on a night’s accommodation when you would only have been using it for a few hours anyway
3. You can take advantage of free settees and seats at the airport
4. It is an ideal place to update your travel blog
5. It’s safer to stay at the airport than head late into a new city at night
Getting a moment to update my travel blog on yet another airport stop over. Remember sleeping and spending time in airports isn’t restricted to only night time!
So that’s my take on sleeping in airports – I do it, my girlfriend does it and you will be surprised how many other travellers do it. It’s a great money saving tip. However there is one thing to note and that is that NOT every airport stays open at night so the negative aspect could mean you’re stuck at the airport’s front door, as has happened to me on a few occasions. Please note the below short list of airports I’ve slept at and airports I’ve been locked out at. These are the ones I remembered from my travels but there are lots more, I’ve merely listed the ones that stuck in my memory…
View from my bed in Jakarta Airport in 2012. Loving the free bed 😉
Plus don’t forget that you have already paid for your flight, so staying at the airport, spending time at the airport and sleeping at the airport isn’t restricted to night time – I’ve spend the day time in many airports too…
Some of the Airports I’ve slept at:
– Toronto International Airport, Canada
– Auckland International Airport, New Zealand
– Denpasar International Airport, Bali, Indonesia
– Hangzhou International Airport, China
– Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan
– Aeropuerto Mariscal Sucre, Quito, Ecuador
– Pisa International Airport, Italy
– Heathrow International Airport, London, England
– Jakarta International Airport, Indonesia
– Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
My view from a coffee and a laptop at Aeropuerto Mariscal Sucre in Quito, ECUADOR in 2010.
Airports that DON’T open at night:
– Sydney International Airport, Australia (yes, I was locked out and surprised they close at night)
– Southampton International Airport, England
– Bournemouth International Airport, England
– George Best Belfast City Airport, Northern Ireland
– Aldergrove International Airport, Belfast, Northern Ireland
– Ljiang Airport, China
The George Best City Airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland is nice, but you can’t stay overnight there unfortunately.
When sleeping in airports here are a few pointers:
– Bring warm clothes (it can get cold)
– Bring soft clothes or something to use as a pillow
– Safeguard your belongings at all times
There is absolutely no irony whatsoever in the fact that I am writing this live from an airport having just spent the night sleeping on the seats here, but it’s not a Monday so I’ve scheduled the post in advance 😉 Oh the life of a travel blogger…
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Here are a few of my hundreds of airport videos from YouTube:
Link to all my airport videos!
Belem Airport, BRAZIL:
Pisa Airport, ITALY:
Doha Airport, QATAR:
Aeropuerto Mariscal Sucre, Quito, ECUADOR:
Taouyan Airport, TAIWAN:
You’re keen! I’ve slept on bus station floors as well. It would be fair to say I didn’t sleep very well! A couple of beers help though!
Thanks for your comment Anthony – all about saving a bit of money as I jaunt round the globe!! Jonny
You can also sleep at the Athens International Airport in Greece. I did that on my last night there a few years ago so I would not miss my flight home the next morning. Flew back from the island of Ios and landed in Athens around 11pm local time. Flight was at 7am the next morning, so it made no sense to get a hotel whatsoever. It also has free Internet, too, for any of your readers that end up going to Greece for holiday or long term travel. There were at least another 10 – 15 people spending the night at my departure gate. 🙂
Absolutely fantastic tip Ray – thanks!! I have never been to Athens airport before. That’s cool to know. Safe travels. Jonny