We might be doing some budget travel this year, so sleepinginairports.com might have some useful tips for us:
For travellers who are REALLY on a budget and are looking for a way to skim a few bucks off their travel expenses, why not consider sleeping in an airport? Many airports are actually better than local lodging. And to top it off – IT’S FREE! Your friends and family may look at you funny when you return with your airport stories, but that’s only part of the fun. So now, sit back….get out your travel itinerary and plan which airports you’re going to sleep in (or avoid altogether) during your next trip.
Link via BoingBoing
Having been a __big__ budget traveller at one time (as opposed to a __big budget__
traveller), my advice for airport (and really, any transit location), is LOCATION
LOCATION LOCATION! Its well worth an extra half-hours exploration to scout out a good
location, rather than camping out near your departure lounge or some such. Also,
don’t be afraid to make yourself comfortable. I had a 12-hour layover at Charles
DeGaulle airport in winter. Its got to be one of the most un-waiting friendly
airports I’ve ever been to, with bare concrete floors and hard plastic and metal chairs,
all with arm-rests, so no chance of stretching out. I did a bit of searching, and
found a spot behind a bench, right against the window (so unwalked upon), and
right next to a heating vent – pulled out my trusty feather-down sleeping bag,
tucked my pack under my head, put on my sleeping mask, and got a solid 8-hours
sleep in.
When I used to make regular Ferry trips between France and England, I would always
get on the boat, and make a run for the cinema – Which had a clean, open carpet
area right by the screen, and was always nice and dark.
The Japanese make airport ‘sleepovers’ easy. While they discourage it, you can lock yourself away in cinema vending machines for hours upon end.