How To Keep Yourself Entertained During Long Layovers or Wait Times During Your Travels

Traveling is arguably one of the most exciting pastimes. Getting to experience new cultures, seeing new cities, spending time in spaces that you wouldn't have at home – all these factors contribute to what makes traveling special. However, there is also another side of travel that is not spoken about as often, the side that includes super early wake-up times to catch the cheaper flights, long- layovers or simply needing to check out from your accommodation in the morning but only having your next activity in the evening. There are loads of times in between when you have little to do.

This article aims to take the waiting times of travel just as seriously as the travel itself. There are loads of articles dedicated to what you can do where but few mention what you can do when you're bored or waiting around, which is also a big part of travel.

Play Some Online Games

One of the best ways to keep yourself entertained during long layovers or waiting times is by playing games online. You can easily do this by downloading games that you're interested in before leaving your last Wi-Fi spot so that you can still access them even if you're off the Wi-Fi. 

There are loads of different games that you can play. You can up the ante and go for casino games if you are really looking for a thrill. This might be a good option if you know that other games bore you and you need a bit of risk associated with the game to really get your mind off the long layover ahead of you. If you're new to gambling, you can always only play on the top rated iDebit online gambling sites so that you never run the risk of playing on a site that isn't registered and licensed. Furthermore, these also allow for easy payment methods, which is something you want when you're traveling because you don't want to have to dig around your suitcase or backpack to find all your cards. You can also think about playing other games, such as memory games, to keep you focussed. There are also language games that you could engage with, so why not learn Spanish when you're waiting for the train to take you to Barcelona? Duolingo is one of the most famous language learning sites and it's free and easy to download. 

The world is really your oyster when it comes to online games because there are just so many out there. 

Send Your Friends Personal Items From The Place You're In

In this digital and technical world, sometimes you forget that you can send your friends more than a WhatsApp or picture from your phone. If you are traveling somewhere unique, why not take the time to actually send your friends something small that is special to the place? If it's small, it won't cost much to send from the post office, which is a good thing and it will make the person you're sending it to so happy.

You could use the hours you have in transit by looking around for postcards that feature some of the prettiest places within the city you're in. Perhaps you could find a postcard that features the beach you spent most of your time at and share some personal anecdotes of things that happened to you at that beach. Or you could also go and look for snowglobes or fridge magnets that feature some special building that you always walked by or something famous from the area where you stayed. 

These tasks will make the hours you're spending waiting for your bus go by much faster and it will make your friends so happy to receive them. 

Mozy Around the Train Station or Aiport

If you're waiting at a train station or an airport and you can't really walk around too much or discover more of the city in that time, then make the most of the places around you. At airports and train stations, there are usually a few stores where you can go and visit. Find a bookstore that's close by and look through the pages of the ones that interest you most. Perhaps there is a cookbook that has always caught your eye but you never have the time to look into it. Also, use the time to get some breakfast or lunch. These areas always have little restaurants and bakeries that you can spend some time at. Why not order yourself a lovely croissant and a hot chocolate and just people-watch for a while? You could also use the time to get your steps in, if you know you're about to spend hours on a long-haul flight, use the time to walk around and get as many steps in as you can and use the open spaces to do some stretches. 

Well, there you have it. Travel is not just about the high-light reel where everything goes really well and it's just activity upon activity that you engage with. It's also about the moments in between and those are actually just as special. Don't waste a single moment waiting, make the most of even the longest layover you have ever had. This is how you will truly make your travel unique and your own.