Photo by: mindgutter

Written by Maak 

In a series of articles, I am looking at different aspects of airport boredom, and more importantly, ways to survive that long layover, or cancelled or delayed flight.

In my previous article 7 airports to get stuck in I highlighted seven airports that were worth being stuck in. Airports where you can take a round of gold, a dip in the pool, walk around museums, see art, go the cinema or even take flying lessons – in a simulator. Unfortunately, we are not always lucky enough to be stuck in an airport with plenty of things to do, but to kill the wait.

In this article I will highlight seven activities you can occupy yourself at almost any airport around the world.

1. Work or browse

Photo by: silverturtle

More and more people I see around airports nowadays have laptops with them, and not only business people. My husband would never dream of going anywhere without his notebook, and to be honest it has served us well, enabling us to kill time seeing a film, or, if luck would have it and you can find an internet connection, browsing, catching up or just answering mail.

Luckily, more and more airports are offering free internet connections. You can check out whether your airport offers free internet at http://www.wififreespot.com/airport.html

2. Educate yourself


Photo by: coba

Although flights aren’t usually delayed long enough to master a new language, an unexpected airport delay could be just the time to get started on that language you always wanted to learn. Most, if not all, airports have bookstores, which are usually packed with language courses, either in the form of book or, even better, mp3 language courses.

So why settle down with your headphones on and start practicing – don’t repeat the sentences too loudly, or you may not be popular with fellow travellers.

3. Exercise


Photo by: aiisuki

If you are about to embark on a longer trip, or just got off a plane, and are waiting for your connection, exercise is great preparation. Take a brisk walk along the concourse or a few “touch your toes”.

Even better, a number of airports actually have gyms that give you the chance to shred a few kilograms and kill time. In addition, it’s a great alternative to raiding the magazine store or snoozing.

At www.airportgyms.com you can find a list of airport with gyms. If your gym clothes are checked in with the luggage, or at home in the drawer, most airport gyms can even rent you sanitized clothes and shoes as well. With prices as low as 10USD per day, there’s no excuse not to work out during a lengthy layover. 

Still predominantly in the US, this is bound to catch on in Europe and Asia as well.

4. Wine and Dine


Photo by: Julie, Dave & Family

Airports aren’t just junk food and high prices. More and more restaurant chains are realizing that there is a captive audience at airports and many have the time to enjoy a good meal.

Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food at London Heathrow’s new terminal 5 is a great example of this. Enjoy a meal inspired by the renowned TV celebrity chef. Brioche French toast with treacle-cured bacon and fried oysters for breakfast; braised pork cheeks with honey and cloves for later, and even special picnics to go.

Celebrity chef, author, TV personality and more, Todd English’s South American inspired restaurant, Bonfire, at Boston’s Logan Airport is another great example. Grilled chicharrones (crispy pork in chimichurri sauce) and skirt steak topped with chipotle aioli and avocado crema are standouts.

5. Shop


Photo by: NewbieRunner

There are plenty of shops at most airports – and not just convenience stores, duty-free and book and magazine stores. A lay-over is a good time to window shop (and get some exercise at the same time). My husband always takes in the CD and electronic shops, whilst I browse the perfumes and clothes – where else are you encouraged to try any number of different perfumes. Most airports guarantee that prices aren’t more expensive than the equivalent prices in the city – so now that you have the time, you may just find that blouse or gadget you never knew you wanted.

6. Read


Photo by: prettywar-stl

A no-brainer, but now’s the time to buy the latest Grisham book, lifestyle magazine or travel book and get in some quality reading – if you aren’t doing one of the other things in this list, what else is there left to do?

7. Sleep


Photo by: guan_wang 

Travelling is tiring, waiting even more so. So now’s your chance to catch up on some of the sleep you’ve missed, not least if you’re connecting from an overnight flight or have been up early to catch the first flight out of the airport. Find a comfortable chair, somewhere quiet and take a nap. Be sure to set the alarm on your mobile phone and sleep close to the departure gate – if you don’t wake up and you are the only guy sitting in the departure area, the flight attendants may put two and two together and check whether you are the guy they are waiting for. 

If you are really stuck at an airport  www.sleepinginairports.net is a great site with plenty of information about sleeping at airports.

Photo by Angela Sabas /CC

Written by Maak

I hear more and more stories of people making potentially very expensive mistakes when booking flights online. With complicated rules and regulations associated to air travel, mistakes, even simple mistakes, can be very costly or, worst case, will stop you from travelling at all.

Read on, and make sure you don’t repeat any of these errors when booking your next trip.

Putting the wrong name on the ticket

There was a time when airline travellers were valued customers and any name the vaguely related to the name in your passport would have been OK. Unfortunately, those days are long gone and today even the smallest variation between the name on your ticket and the name on your passport or identity paper can have you stuck at the airport.

Part of this is of course security considerations. The authorities want to make sure you are the person you say you are before boarding the plane. However, this is only part of the explanation. The airlines have also realised that there is additional revenue potential, being able to charge you a premium to change a name on your ticket – or even worse, force you to buy a new ticket.

Bottom-line, check, double check .... even triple check that all names match the names in your passports before hitting the reservation button.

Flying to the 'wrong' airport

Photo by Griffs0000 /CC

This is not as uncommon as you may think. We’ve all heard the stories of similar to the German couple expecting to fly to Sydney in Australia, but ending up in Sydney in Canada.

However, many cities have several airports, and there can be long distances between airports – even in the same city. Many years ago when my husband lived in England and I was travelling from Denmark to meet him, I landed in Gatwick, whilst he waited in Luton.

Then there are all the airports, typically used by the low cost carriers, that are named after the closest big city, but are miles and miles away.

Booking the wrong dates

Photo by Pazit Polak /CC

Let’s face it, not all booking sites are extremely user friendly, and picking the wrong date only needs a moment of inattention. I am a day person, in other words when I’ve selected a date to travel I like to see the day in the search display, so I can double check that the 11th I selected was a Wednesday!

I also see more and more web sites showing cheaper alternatives the day before or after the dates you have selected, and again, if you are not on top of things, it’s easy not to notice that the flight wasn’t on the day you’d searched.

If you do make this mistake, and you haven’t paid for a flexible ticket, it will be expensive to change the ticket. 

Buying restricted tickets when you need flexibility

Photo by aja /CC

Many business travellers need a degree of flexibility. The meeting may drag on and you need to rebook your return flight, or is cancelled and you need a refund on your ticket. However many of the online sites don’t make it particularly easy to find flexible fares. Many sites just show a fares (sorted cheapest first), without displaying the rules associated to the fare (and most airlines don’t publish rules in a very user-friendly fashion). Added to that, flexible fares are almost always more expensive than restricted fares, so often you have to dig deep and page through the site to find the flexible fares.

Unknowingly you could easily end up with a fare you thought was flexible, but when you try to change your travel dates, you find out it isn't flexible. I can’t think of any sites that allow you to search based on the degree of flexibility you need, instead of displaying results based on price.

Forgetting to factor in 'additional fees'

Photo by JamesB /CC

As the airlines, not least the low cost carriers, become more and more creative, the actual fare is quickly becoming the cheapest part of an air ticket. Baggage fees, online check-in fees, priority seating fees and more, all push up the actual cost of the ticket. Then there is the fact that many airlines use airports well off the beaten track (as mentioned earlier) which means that we incur additional costs to get into the city.

In addition, if you are travelling with smaller children, some of the traditional airlines still offer cheaper children’s fares, if they are under 12 years old, whilst most of the low cost carriers charge full fare for under 12’s.

So before you jump at the 'free' ticket from Ryanair, make sure you are aware of what the total cost of taking a particular flight will be.

Booking too tight connections

Photo by Michał Sacharewicz /CC

Most frequent travellers have experienced having to rush through the airport to make a connection – usually this is due to the incoming flight arriving late. Imagine you had to rush like that just to make a connection when the incoming flight is on time – imagine the stress with a short connection and you are stuck on the runway.

I often see flights with connections down to an hour at major international airports, even though my experience tells me that there isn’t a chance to make such a connection in many airports. Recently I flew to New York over Heathrow – I had the choice of a one and a three-hour connection. I took the three hour connection and almost missed it! The initial flight was delayed from Copenhagen, then we waited on the runway, I had to change terminals at Heathrow, which involved a new security check. Finally, at the terminal I had to check-in again with Virgin, as I couldn’t be checked all the way in Copenhagen. I made the gate with 10 minutes to spare.

And then, there’s US immigration – there’s little chance of making a tight connection if you have to go through US immigration when landing in e.g. New York.

To sum up, give yourself plenty of time at airports when making connections, an hour is an absolute minimum at most airports, longer if you know it’s a large airport and you’ll need to change terminals to make a connection.

Photo by sludgegulper

Written by Maak

The last time I flew to Oslo I landed at a place called Torp – I thought I was landing in Oslo, but ended up over 100km outside Oslo – and even worse, my meeting was on the opposite side of town. Perhaps it’s a minor gripe, given the flexibility and cheap fares that low cost travel has brought us. However, I’m sure there are quite a few people that do not realize that when travelling to Vienna, they land in Bratislava (in a totally different country), that Luton is roughly 60km outside London and Gerona and Reus are both well well outside Barcelona.

Here is quick guide covering 11 European airports used primarily by the low cost carriers, and all of them more than 50km from the city they are promoted to serve! I’ll also give you some tips as to the cheapest (and often only) way to get into the city you probably wanted to visit, as well a rough idea of cost and the time it takes.

It’s hardly worth saving money on the flight, only to spend it on a bus or taxi instead!

Munich-Allgau – 112km from Munich

Used by Ryanair, Air Berlin and Wizzair, Allgau Airport, is located 112km west of Munich, close to the town of Memmingen. The cheapest way to get to Munich is by using the Allgäu-Airport-Express. The bus service has ca. 8 daily departures, takes 1 hour and 35 minutes and costs €18 for an adult one-way.

Read more about the transport possibilities from Allgau here.

Oslo-Torp – 110km from Oslo

Photo by Steve Rhode 

Primarily used by Ryanair and Wizzair, Sandefjord Airport, as it is officially called, is now Norway’s second largest airport and is located 110 km south-west of Oslo (and 10 km from Sandefjord). The cheapest way to get to Oslo is by using the Torp Express Bus Service that departs in conjunction with Ryanair and Wizzair arrivals. The bus takes you to downtown Oslo, takes ca. 2 hours and tickets cost 180 NOK (€22,40) for an adult one way.

Read more about Torp here.

Frankfurt-Hahn – 110 km from Frankfurt

Photo by paralelan

Situated near the German town of Kirchberg, Frankfurt Hahn is in fact closer to both the French and Luxembourg borders than it is to Frankfurt. Ryanair, Wizzair, Iceland Express and TUI are amongst the airlines that use Hahn. With 18 daily departures, the Airport Express bus is the cheapest way to get into Frankfurt, and stops at Mainz (early and late departures only), Frankfurt International Airport and ends at the main railway station. The trip takes 1 hour 45 minutes and costs €12 for an adult one-way.

There are additional buses to many of the surrounding towns including Heidelberg and Luxembourg. Read more here.

Stockholm-Skavsta – 106 km from Stockholm

Photo by blue_quartz

Situated south of Stockholm, Skavsta is used by Ryanair, Wizzair and Gotlandsflyg, and is Stockholm’s second airport after Arlanda (which itself is 37km from Stockholm). The best way to get into town is to use Flygbussarne that depart every 20 minutes and cost only €10 for a single, adult fare.

Read more about Skavsta airport here. 

Barcelona-Girona – 94 km from Barcelona

Situated to the north of Barcelona, Girona airport serves both Costa Brava and Barcelona and is used by Transavia and Ryanair – as well as a number of traditional airlines. The easiest way to get into Barcelona is by bus operated by Sagales, and with the timetable coordinated with Ryanair arrivals and departures – roughly 20 per day. The fare is €12 for a one-way, adult ticket. The trip takes 1hour and 15 minutes – but is also known to take much longer during rush hours. See details here.

Paris-Beauvais – 85 km from Paris

Photo by scalleja

The third airport of Paris situated to the north of the capital and served primarily by Ryanair and Wizzair. The airport shuttle operates to Paris Porte Maillot and costs €14 for a single, adult ticket. The trip takes 1 hour 15 minutes, but depends largely on the Paris traffic.

Read more about Paris Beauvais here.

Dusseldorf-Weeze – 79 km from Dusseldorf

Photo by hagengraf

Dusseldorf Weeze airport is situated close to the Dutch border; north of Dusseldorf and east of Eindhoven, which is only 85km away. The airport is served by Ryanair and Wizzair, as well as a large number of charter airlines.

There are airport buses from most of the major towns in the area, including Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Dusseldorf and Dortmund. The 1 hour and 30 minute trip to Dusseldorf’s main station costs €14 for a one-way adult ticket.

Read about all the destinations you reach from Weeze here.

Barcelona- Reus – 78 km to Barcelona

The gateway to Spain’s scenic Costa Daurada, Reus is used by some of the package tour airlines as well as Ryanair and Jetairfly. The airport is situated 78km to the south of Barcelona, which can be reached by bus from the airport. The two hour trip costs €12,50 for a one-way, adult fare. Buses depart from outside the terminal and are coordinated with flight arrivals.

You can also take a local bus to Reus and the train onward to Barcelona. Read more here.

London - Stansted – 64 km from London

Photo by alexdrennan 

Used by a large number of low cost airlines, including EasyJet and Ryanair, it is reputedly the largest low-cost airport in Europe. Trains depart every 15 minutes arriving at Liverpool Street Station 46 minutes later. A one-way, adult ticket costs £18 (€20).

An alternative, albeit somewhat slower, is to take the bus. There are a number of different bus companies operating between Stansted Airport and central London, with fares at about 50% of the train fare, but travel time roughly double.

Read about all the transport possibilities from Stansted here.

Verona - Brescia – 60 km from Verona

Served by Ryanair, the airport lies 60km west of Verona. Buses operate in conjunction with Ryanair flights. The trip costs €11 and takes 45 minutes. There is also a local bus that takes you the Brescia train station from where it is fairly easy to catch trains to Verona, Lake Garda and Milan. Read more here.

Milan - Bergamo – 51 km from Milan

Bergamo, north of Milan and close to the Swiss border, serves as the main low cost airport for northern Italy and the lakes, as well as the Italian part of Switzerland. Ryanair, Wizzairand Maridianna are amongst the carriers that fly to and from Oria al Serio (the official name).

Frequent bus services run from the airport to Milan and to Bergamo. A company called Autostradale operate a half-hourly coach service to Milan's main railway station, Stazione Centrale. Travel from Bergamo Airport to Milan costs €10 one-way. The journey takes around an hour and you can read more here.

You could of course choose your destination based on how close the airport is to the center of town. Amongst the closesto downtown are:

Tallinn Airport - 5km from Tallinn
Belfast (George Best) - 5km from Belfast
Lisbon Airport - 7km froml Lisbon
Bucharest Otopeni  Airport - 7km from Bucharest
London City Airport - 10km from London
Warsaw Airport  - 10km from Warsaw
Edinburgh Airport- 13km from Edinburgh

Photo by Nimages DR /CC

Written by Maak

I don’t know how many times I’ve packed running gear as I head off on vacation or a business trip, only to leave it in the suitcase for the entire trip as meetings and other activities got priority. As I unpack my gear, I have a guilty conscience because I hadn’t taken the opportunity to go for a run. However with a little planning, running doesn’t have to take a back seat during your next trip and you can even plan a jogging trip before you leave home.

Check the weather


Photo by marylkayoe /CC

Check out the weather at the destination you will be travelling to. Use e.g. wunderground to see if the weather prognosis fits with the kind of weather you will run in. If it’s going to be cold and wet, and you know you won’t venture out, you could just as well leave your running gear at home.

Check Whether The Hotel Has Gym Facilities

If you will be staying at a hotel, check out whether it has gym facilities that you can use. A treadmill doesn’t enable you to see the local scenery, but it’s still exercise and it certainly won’t be wet and cold.

Map Out a Route

You may not know the area you are staying, and worried about venturing out. Many hotels have pre-planned running routes for their guests and some even hand out maps with local routes of varied length and difficulty.

You don’t have to wait until you get to the hotel, there are great resources available on the web. MapMyRun is a website where runners map out running routes in different towns and cities around the world. Currently over 6 million routes are mapped out in more than 150 countries ready to be printed out – they’re even integrated into Google Earth so you can actually get a good idea of the area you will be running through as well.

If you have an idea where you could imagine running, Gmaps Pedometer  is a great ways to plan a few routes, and you can download it to your GPS – if you are taking it with you!


Photo by superfem /CC

Leave Your Running Watch At Home

This is a tip I hear from lots of experienced on the road runners. If you are travelling, a short run is better than no run at all, and if you only focus on how long you normally run, you may not get out because there isn’t time available.

Take a GPS With You

If you travel a lot, a GPS is a handy accessory to have with you – you can download routes, but perhaps most importantly use it so you can find your way back to the hotel.

Run With The Locals


Photo by terren in Virginia /CC

Running with the locals, just for pleasure or entering a race, is a great way to make new acquaintances and see some of the local sites. Before you leave, check out the local running clubs at your destination. Usually they are happy to be contacted and can tell you whether there are any local races or training/pleasure runs whilst you are visiting your destination. If you are travelling to the US, check out Road Runners Club of America. Alternatively check out the local running shop, they are usually able to give you information about running events and routes.

Take a Jog During Airport Layovers

A long layover at an airport can used to take a jog, e.g. around the parking lot – if there’s somewhere you can take a shower afterwards. Many airports have gyms, where you can workout during a long layover.

Written by Maak

Travelling with teens can be difficult, to say the least. Teens are often enthusiastic travellers, but their schedule and interests aren’t always aligned with their parents or younger siblings. Visiting your 4th cathedral or getting up early to be first in line at some archaeological site may work for you, it probably won’t for them – they’d probably rather lie in or shop.

Travelling with teenagers is a tricky, but far from impossible, challenge. Getting it right can make a good holiday into a great holiday – something the family will be able to look back on with the passing of time.

During our numerous travels, our teenage son has travelled with us on car trips to France and Italy, and father afield to Canada, the US (on several occasions) and China. In our experience, the foundation for a successful holiday lies well in advance of departure – in setting expectations and planning. We apply the following seven rules when we travelling with teens, that we believe give the basis for a fun holiday for everybody.

1. Let your teen decide whether they want to go or not

Of course this isn’t always possible for younger teens, but our experience is that if they get a choice of whether to travel or nor, and decide to travel, they are a lot more likely to make an effort whilst on holiday. Most teens enjoy travelling and new experiences, so when given the option of staying with family or home alone, most jump at the chance to travel.

2. Get input from your teen and plan accordingly

Photo by: Kevin H.

A couple of years back my husband and I had planned a trip to California. and we were lucky to get tickets to a U2 concert. We had planned to travel with our two youngest children, but they were too young to see U2. Our teenage son agreed to travel (and babysit) and we built in a number of his wishes for the trip – amongst others a Lakers game, a day at sea world and a day shopping at a specific outlet with tons of sports outlets.

When travelling with teens make sure that you get them to list what their expectations are and help plan the itinerary. Agree on what you are going to see and what to miss; and make sure there is something for everybody.

3. Let your teen pack

photo by: Heliotrop3

You know it’s going to be 30C on that Greek island you’ll be visiting, but as long as you have told your teen that that is the case, let them pack what they want and feel most comfortable with. Talk to them, advice them, but the final decision must be their own.

Also, make sure they have their own suitcase/roller and make sure they are aware that they will be lugging it around. Help them pack lightly, but again if they want that extra pair of jeans with them (or in my sons case, that extra pair of basketball shoes) then let them take them - they'll be carrying them around.

Finally, if they are travelling somewhere where you know they’ll shop, make sure they have enough room for whatever they buy, and advise them to pack accordingly.

4. Set a budget

Especially with older teens, make sure that they take responsibility for how much they spend (of your money) and what they spend it on! We make sure that our son draws up a list of what things he would like to buy, before leaving on the trip. It helps him prioritise and stops him from blowing all the money on the first  day.

5. Give your teen space

Whilst on holiday be flexible and give your teens room to be themselves. If possible, book adjacent rooms for them, but even if they are sharing your room, let them sleep. If you are travelling around there will be days they have to get up, so on other days tell your teen what you plan for the next day, and if they want to sleep in, let them.

Give them freedom to do there own things – it may be an afternoon at the mall or an evening watching one of the final four basketball games (as it was for our son).

6. Remember, this is a holiday

Photo: Steven Bloom

Don’t forget that you are ALL on holiday. This may mean that to keep the peace you may need to give up on some things that you’d normally enforce at home – but if it keeps everybody happy, it’s OK, everybody knows that normal rules apply once you are back home.

Remember that you are on holiday as well, make sure you get time to relax by the pool, see that museum you always wanted and eat a romantic dinner with your better half whilst the teens (and younger siblings) are at McDonalds.

If meltdowns happen – and they probably will - don’t dwell, move on as quickly as possible. Finally make sure you enlist your teenager to play with younger siblings – it’s amazing how our 24 year old and two pre-teenage children can spend hours together in a pool.

7. Make sure your teens can stay in touch with friends

Photo by: escapedtowisconsin

Make sure there is time for your teens to stay in touch with their friends – bring along a laptop or make time for them to visit the local internet café. No matter how bored they were visiting the Louvre in Paris, I guarantee you, they’ll be bragging about it to their friends at the first opportunity.

You could also consider taking one of your teenager's friends with you.

Do you have experience travelling with teenagers, share your tips with us.