Have A More Relaxing Time At The Airport By Booking Your Flight For This Time Of Day

Air travel is considerably more of a hassle nowadays than it used to be. Long gone are the days when people dressed up for flights and had plenty of legroom. Now, we have to remove our shoes, juggle each item that has to be separately screened by the TSA, deal with tiny seats, confusing ticket pricing tiers, parking nightmares, overpriced food and drink past the security checkpoint, and so much more. 

It's one of the main reasons people claim that they need a vacation from their vacation. There isn't much we can do about security or legroom, but there is a really great hack if you want to at least make your time waiting for your flight a little bit less stressful and a little bit more relaxing. Simply put, there's a time of day you should book your flight if you want to keep your stress levels down at the airport. 

This flight-booking hack comes from Roamilicious, who suggests that you schedule yourself for a late-night flight to reduce airport stress. The idea is that later in the evening there are fewer flights going in and out (some airports even have a voluntary curfew, like Burbank Airport in California). Many stores and restaurants will be closed, which means fewer people milling around purchasing snacks or shopping for souvenirs. Fewer people fly in the evening, leaving you with less noise, smaller crowds, and more peace of mind. 

There are some things to note here, of course. First, this means you're going to have less access to snacks for purchase. You might want to look into bringing your own food, as well as a portable (and empty) water bottle to fill up using a water fountain. On the positive side, most flights will lower the lighting after the meal service (if there is one) or beverage cart, meaning you can probably get a quick nap in on your flight.

Just keep in mind that you should always have your seatbelt buckled over any blankets or clothing so that the flight attendant doesn't have to disturb you. That's doubly true if you take medication for sleep, making it harder to wake you. You might want to budget a little bit of time on the landing side to pick up some more coffee when you arrive with the entire day ahead of you, too. 

That's not the only way a late-night flight can keep you calm and relaxed while you travel either. A less crowded airport gives you the opportunity to take that rolling bag and get in your 10,000 steps or have a good, long stretching session without bumping into other people. After all, you're going to be sitting still for a long time on the plane. One of the biggest advantages of a relatively empty airport is more space. 

If you decide to make your stay even more chill with a quick nap in the boarding area, remember to set an alarm on your phone so you don't miss your boarding call. That's especially true if you are off your normal sleep schedule for a red-eye flight. Keep your luggage zippers facing your body, and it couldn't hurt to put a twist tie through the zipper pulls to make it harder for pick-pockets or even a TSA-approved lock.