On a recent trip to Vietnam I found myself facing a 10 hour overnight layover in Singapore. I arrived at 11pm and was set to depart at 9am so was dreading the prospect of filling up all those hours. Luckily I was at one of the best airports in the world, Singapore Changi International Airport. So plese read this article for all my tips and advice on how to survive a long airport layover.

Fly via an Amazing Airport

It will come as no shock that some airports are far, far better than others. Skytrax airport rankings are the most well known and possibly well regarded rating organisation however, I find they definitely make some questionable decisions. It is also clearly not a fair playing field where airlines and airports can allegedly buy good ratings, as explained in this article from Godsavethepoints. I don’t want to get into that here though, so here are my personal favourite airports in no particular order:

Since I’m using Singapore Airport I’ll briefly go through all of its unitque attractions which can at least waste away a few hours:

• The Jewel – This massive entertainment and shopping complex is the jewel in the crown of Singapore Airport. With the world’s largest indoor waterfall, a rainforest, hundreds of shops, restaurants and more it’s hard to believe this is an airport. Even if you’re not flying it’s still worth visiting just to spend a few hours here.
• Cinema – One of the best features of any airport I’ve been to is the two 24 hour free cinemas in Terminal 2 & 3. They don’t play the newest films but generally they have a pretty good selection of movies showing. Though when I visited they were showing Morbius so I gave that one a miss.
• Butterfly Garden – If you want to experience some nature in the urban airport landscape look no further than the butterfly garden in Terminal 3. This small tropical space if filled with over 40 species of butterfly. But since it is open to the outside you won’t be able to hear anything over the roar of jet engines from nearby planes.
• Food street – this food court is designed to resemble 1960s hawker stalls that Singapore is famous for. With a wide selection of global food at a surprisingly affordable price, I think this is one best bang-for-your-buck food options at any major airport.
• Rock Climbing – believe it or not Changi’s newest attraction is a rock climbing gym in the basement of Terminal 3. You do have to pass back security and step outside but if you have the time and fancy some extreme sports this could be for you.

Lounges

Skytrax rankings can make a good starting point when looking up the best airport lounges to visit. I personally get most of my lounge access for free though Priority Pass, which is a free perk of my American Express Platinum Card. This gives unlimited access to over 1,300 lounges around the world for me and one guest and I use it a lot.

Best lounges (link to Madrid). It’s also worth mentioning my favourite lounge I’ve visited, Cathay Pacific’s The Wing Business Lounge at Hong Kong Airport. Featuring showers, personal relaxation rooms and a brilliant restaurant featuring food from all over the world. I especially liked their dim sum and bao buns. For relatively short layovers (less than 6 hours) I think staying in a lounge is all you need.

Transit Hotels

If your long airport layover is overnight… Singapore

Run a marathon (no, really)

This section focuses on staying active and getting some exercise through various different means. From somewhat ridiculous methods to very easy, any form of exercise will help boost your spirits and be good for you.

Starting with an extreme example, Youtubers Josh & Archie set up a marathon in Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5. So if you bring along the right kit you could too! Of course, you’ll probably want to visit a lounge with a shower afterwards to clean off the sweat.

If you don’t quite fancy running a marathon then there are a lot more sedate options available. Firstly, you can just walk around any airport. It can be interesting to explore the airport and do some plane spotting. It also goes without saying that it’s good to keep active, especially if you’ve just spent 10 hours sat in a plane.

Another unique option for those travelling Turkish Airlines is to practice your golf swing in the CIP Lounge at Istanbul Airport. In this massive lounge they have a full-sized virtual golf simulator, pool tables and even a model car race track. To enter though you’ll have to be flying Turkish Airlines Business, or pay a hefty 75 EURO entry fee.

And lastly, quite a few airports have gyms available to use for a small fee. You’ll find these either inside the terminal itself, or sometimes in surrounding airport hotels. This top 10 list from financebuzz shows some of the major airports, but many more do exist.

Final Thoughts

The best way to survive a long airport layover is to come prepared. Research what the airport has to offer beforehand. For instance at Singapore Changi, half of the features like the cinema and butterfly garden are hidden away. So unless you knew about them ahead of time it would be very easy to miss out on these cool experiences.

It’s also worth heading to a lounge for a more comfortable place to rest and to top up on free food. I generally don’t think it’s worth paying for lounge access unless you plan on staying for many hours. However, if you have free access through either status, flying business or having Priority Pass like me then going to lounges is a must.

More from me…

Please feel free to check out other related posts I’ve written:

• Singapore Airlines Economy from London to Singapore – As Good as People Say?
• British Airways Club Europe London to Geneva – Another “business class” short haul flight
• Norse Atlantic Airways Premium from London to Oslo – Another unique widebody flight within Europe

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• The Platinum Card – You Receive 65,000 Membership Reward points and a £200 travel credit after spending £6,000 in the first 6 months (for a limited time until June 2023):  https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/fREDEGgRA5?CPID=100493012
• British Airways Card: You Receive 8,000 Avios after spending £1,000 in the first 3 months: https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/fREDEG42lN?CPID=100503089