A long flight in sight, you are already feeling the annoyance and you still do not get on the plane. You should not get carried away by pessimism as we are going to give you some tips on things to do on a long, or even medium, flight. To be able to pass the hours and even enjoy them.
Enjoy the journey in all its stages
After the pandemic, the travel trend called conscious travel has become even more fashionable. This trend speaks of enjoying the trip in absolutely all its stages, in case of flying by plane it must be done in a way that we enjoy it, since the trip is a whole and not just the time at the destination. In fact, one of our favorite travel phrases is “What matters is the journey, not the destination“. The idea is to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.
What is considered a long flight?
This depends on each one. In fact, between Vincent and I we asked ourselves the question and I answered 8 hours or more, and he considers that beyond 6 hours, the flight is long.
Delayed or canceled flight?
The airline could owe you up to €600 for the cancellation or delay of your flight, claim your compensation here.
Why is it important to think about what to do?
We may plan to do one thing during the flight, but end up doing another. For example, you take your books, expecting to devour them for the duration of the flight and instead you fall asleep as soon as the plane takes off and won’t wake up until landing. I mean, it’s something that can happen. But, it is best to have an idea in advance of what you want to do to bring what is necessary. Then if you end up doing something else, no problem.
Going prepared for a flight takes away a source of stress, and if possible, take on the task of choosing your plane seats so that you get as few surprises as possible, which there always are, but hopefully they are good ones.
Now let’s see: which are the best things to do on a long flight?
Now yes, let’s get down to business, if you decide in advance what you want to do during the flight, you can go well prepared.
Here are some options on things to do on a long flight:
Read
The star activity of transport can even be seen in short-term transport such as urban bus or metro journeys. On an 8-hour flight, perhaps, you can even finish that book that you haven’t had time to read. But you have to bring it with you, otherwise everything will remain in wishes. For this, you have the option of taking the paper book or if you have an electronic reader, make sure you bring it and that the book is well loaded there.
Sleep
Sometimes I would like to close my eyes when I get on the plane to open them when I land. But only sometimes, and it has happened to me once but on a short flight, less than two hours, so it doesn’t count for this article 🙂
Even if you can’t sleep every hour, since you will surely want to eat food, for example, you have to be prepared depending on how sensitive you are at bedtime. Some objects that will help you sleep better are: an eye mask, in case you need total darkness to sleep, earplugs, which will help against the noise of the plane.
Listen to music
If what relaxes and distracts you is listening to music, instead of reading, or it can also be combined with reading, don’t forget your favorite songs. Thanks to smartphones, today you just have you load them there and voila, bring your headphones.
Although if you don’t want to carry your headphones, you can use the ones provided on the plane, although beware that they are not always compatible.
And if you have forgotten your songs, not all is lost, look at the entertainment system in your seat, many times they have music and maybe you will be lucky and your favorite artists will be there.
Watch movies
Another star activity on long flights: movies, although there are also series on many entertainment systems. Depending on the airline, it could happen that you know which movies will appear on the flight you will take. But this has happened to us a few times, perhaps it is that we have not looked for it much. The last time we were able to see the list of movies in advance was when traveling with Emirates.
A tip: when you take possession of your seat, scroll around the movies and add them to the favorites’ list, so you can choose from there and when you are already annoyed that the seat is uncomfortable or that you did not like the food at least you will have your list of movies ready and you will only have to choose one.
As an anecdote, I’ll tell you that it was on a long flight that I discovered my taste for Bollywood movies. Almost by chance I started to see a movie of this genre, it happened out of pure curiosity that I saw it on the screen of a neighbor from another row. And I liked it a lot, so I kept watching more until I had my pick of favorite Indian movies.
Calmly read your travel guide
I put this point apart from the activity of reading a book, here perhaps you can start reading the cultural sections, uses and customs of the country you will visit. Sections that are there but that in the rush we do not have time to read. Or you can maybe refine the list of places you are going to visit, the possibilities are endless.
Take photos
It may sound like a strange activity, and maybe you’ll tell me what a joke, well if you take photos it’s because you work in Charcotrip but no, it’s not just because of that, since before doing Charcotrip I was already one of those people who takes photos of everything XD and since we have so many hours, that gives time to let the imagination run wild. And if you are located in a window for example, you can photograph the clouds (yes, if your flight is during the day). If you are in the corridor take creative photos of the rows. Take photos of your food and even take funny selfies in the bathroom. All so that at the end you have your photographic diary of the plane.
Take your video games
If you have games that help distract you, bring them. Of course, if the game in question is played online, unfortunately you should put it aside. Whether you play it on your phone, tablet, or laptop, throw it in your backpack. Or if you have a device like the Nintendo Switch, which you can bring everywhere, take it too, with its games of course.
But don’t worry if you don’t have any fancy game, it can be as simple as solitaire. I don’t play it, but Vicente does, and he can spend a lot of time playing it without getting bored.
Shopping on the plane
Okay, I admit it, it is not the cheapest activity, nor the one that will make you spend many hours of distraction. In fact, you may not even buy anything, start by looking at the onboard shopping catalogue, go slowly and see if there is something that catches your eye. If it’s something you really need, even better. Check the prices, although unfortunately at that time you cannot compare on the internet.
Whenever I can I buy the miniature of the plane on board, since I like to collect the planes of the airlines with which I have traveled. Although I am missing some. Once I even bought a purse, but I already had it in mind before I got on board, so I was able to compare prices and it was even cheaper on board, since they had a discount at that time. In short, take your time and if in the end you don’t buy anything, no problem.
Write your travel log
I have done this a few times, but they have been memorable, in fact that is how Charcotrip started. On the first flight to cross the pond, when I went to Italy to study. I was alone and I felt an enormous desire to share what I was experiencing but there was no one to tell at that time. Afraid to forget the details and feelings later, I took what I found and started writing it all down. I then transcribed it to this site and what followed is history.
If you plan to make a diary in real time, take a nice notebook to write with 🙂
Make TripReport videos
If you are not good at writing, but still want to keep a diary of your travel experience, you can make a video diary. Or a TripReport video, grab your phone and start recording how the flight is looking to you, your impressions, your feelings. Show what you would teach someone who is not traveling with you but you would like them to be there.
On our YouTube channel, we already have several videos of this type published, in some I speak, in others I do not. Here I leave you one of our published TripReports:
Now yes, ready to spend a happy long flight
I hope that some of these tips fit your hobbies and give you ideas on how to make the most of your time on a long flight. Ideally, you should get to the point where the experience will be enjoyable. Tell me how your flights went, if you apply any of these things to do on that long, but not boring, flight or if you have any other tricks to make the hours go by faster.
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