You read. You posted. You conquered, Cheapos.

Recently, we regaled you with the story of our lackluster plane trip home from Paris. In short, we had a really crummy seat on an American Airlines flight and were forced to come up with ways to “overcome” the seats. We then asked you for your tips on overcoming such transatlantic trials.

In witty emails, funny blog comments, and some in-person chats, we heard it all. (Including, to our relief, that we aren’t the only ones who’ve posed strategically for photos in order to snap documentation of intoxicated passengers… Thanks Henrietta!).

We also learned some innovative ways to avoid seat discomfort and annoyance, including pretending to be pregnant, tuning out with an iPod, and playing trivia with other passengers.  One reader recommended the pharma-approach: pop a couple sleeping pills and say goodnight.  Others distract themselves with in-flight movies, no matter how inane (Mouse Hunt, anyone?).

But, alas, there can only be on winner for our Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget giveaway.
 

“Poetloverrebelspy,” aka Hilary, is our winner. A true Cheapo, PLRS offered countless tips in her post—stuff worth checking out before your next overseas trip. We especially loved her shout-out to SeatGuru, a EuroCheapo favorite for mapping out the right seat before you book your flight.

In her own words:

“I’m an ethnographer at heart, so I pretty much enjoy talking with my seatmates if they’re game. I think people’s lives are fascinating, and anyone traveling across the world generally has a good story to tell. Any flight attendant who’s willing also has a lot of funny experiences and insider insights to share.

One flight I sat next to a man who chewed tobacco and spit into a bottle every five seconds for the entire nine hours.

Another flight I was seated next to a Ukrainian woman who didn’t speak a word of English. Wasn’t she lucky I spoke Russian so I could help her fill out all her immigration forms! Couldn’t I order a vodka from the flight attendant to calm her nerves (it was her first time flying)? Couldn’t I order another to settle her upset stomach? (Thankfully, this story ends here.)

Any flight these days that has a personal video screen, I have no problem finding three movies to entertain myself. I usually have magazines I’m trying to finish, a guidebook I’m scrambling to read or mind puzzles for those long waits on the runway. And there’s always the iPod to drown out the sound of your neighbor’s . . . spit.

As for not getting shafted in the seat lottery, it pays to put the day when seats for your flight open up on your calendar (usually 90 days out) and go pick yours immediately! Use Time and Date’s Date Calculator to quickly figure out which day that is. If you don’t fly often enough to know what’s what on the plane you’ll be flying on, use SeatGuru as your guide.”

Thanks, Hilary. And thanks to all the readers who submitted their tips. Check out the blog for more contests in the near future!

In the spring of 2006, I was able to score some super-cheap tickets on Ryanair for a last-minute getaway to Barcelona from London, where I was living. It had been a great weekend, made possible by my low-cost flight. I booked a 6 PM flight in order to extend my holiday as long as possible, pushing off the reality of the next morning’s workday. As long as I was in Barcelona, I was on vacation! 

The tickets were basically free—I only had to pay the airport tax. The catch? I had to fly into and out of two less-than-central airports, London’s Stansted and Barcelona’s Girona airport. It was worth it, right?

What follows is a diary of my flight experience en route from Barcelona to London.

4:30 PM: I arrive early at the airport for a 6 PM flight. We all know you have to get to the gate before the other passengers in order to snag the best seat.

5:00 PM: Shortly after check-in, an announcement is made. The flight has been delayed an hour.

Ok, some extra time to score a panini at Girona’s atmospheric café. (In the above photo, do I look like I’m ready for take-off?)

Tip: Stock up on food, just in case. Girona’s airport café closed at 9 p.m. I’m glad I grabbed a sandwich when I did. Others would not be so lucky.

7 PM: A second announcement. The flight has been delayed for another hour. All assembled groan and pull out iPods, books and approved electronic devices. One nearby traveler starts clipping his nails over a waste basket, violating all manner of social codes (are clippers even allowed on airplanes?).

8:15 PM: A third announcement. Drum roll, please: The flight has been delayed for another two hours. The announcer says, with a tinge of exhaustion in her voice, “We hope to leave by 11. Thank you for your patience.” The thought of work the next morning was beginning to make me vaguely nauseous. 

Around 10 PM: Boredom sets in. All other flights have taken off. The airport feels empty, save the other poor souls flying to Stansted. With hardly anyone around, I attempt to fit myself, horizontally, into a row of seats in any way that could lead to sleep. I am not successful.

Above: Nothing happening under flourescent lights.

Tip: Bring back-up diversions. That could mean catching up on your trip journal, watching all the TV shows you earlier loaded up on your iPod, making progress on that novel, or even flipping through some celeb mags. In short, have something to do. I had packed ”Madame Bovary,” which only helped put me to sleep.

11:30 PM: All other flights have left the Girona airport, and there’s still no sign of our airplane.  The 20 Stansted-bound passengers are told we will not take off until after midnight. No excuse is given.

Tip: Make friends…if there are any out there. At some point after midnight, I found myself chatting with a couple from Los Angeles. A bottle of vodka became open. (Glad they took advantage of Duty Free when it was open…hours ago.) I pass up a shot (work seems ludicrously close), but others around happily partake. The mood lifts… and distorts.

1:30 PM: We take off, nine hours after my arrival at the airport.

Tip: Know when to go! Turns out there’s more than one good reason not to check any luggage on a budget flight. If you’re delayed, you could risk missing the last bus out of the arrival airport.

2:30 AM: We arrive at Stansted and immediately there’s a mad dash for the bus to London. And for good reason: The last one leaves the airport at 3 am (and sometimes earlier, depending on reasons I couldn’t quite understand). If you miss the last bus, you have to get a taxi, which can cost upwards of £60, or wait until 7 am when the buses start up again. I make the bus.

3:30 AM: I’m dropped off at Marble Arch on Oxford Street. What’s my name? Who am I? And how do I get a taxi? Work the next morning was, well, another story…

In the end, this experience didn’t deter me from flying on budget airlines. Over the next year, I’d often take cheap flights, including easyJet and Aer Lingus, for quick getaways. But I learned something about flexibility that long night in Girona.

Read another Cheapo’s tale of a long night in Stansted. Got a good airport story? Leave a comment or send us a note.

Most Cheapos we know have at some point faced a budget travel rite of passage: sleeping in an airport. This is commonly due to a canceled flight or a super-early flight, although the occasional ”super-Cheapo” chooses a night at the airport over a hotel on the last night to save some cash before returning home (completely respectable!).

While airport overnights can begin rather interestingly (Who knew there was so much activity at the Relay newsstand at 1:35 am? Where’s my journal?), usually sometime around the second americano, fourth Guiness, or third attempt at reading that old Corriere della Sera it becomes necessary to find a place to curl up for some real shut-eye.

This is when SleepingInAirports.net comes in handy.

About The Site

SleepingInAirports provides listings of the best and worst airports for sleeping overnight world-wide. Site members post reviews of airports and upload photos of their own nocturnal experience (such as the image above of London’s Stansted Airport).

The site also provides practical summaries of what to expect if you’re thinking of pulling an overnighter.

For example, SleepingInAirports has the following assessment of Stansted’s sleeping conditions: The airport has limited seating, is cold and crowded, requires getting there early, and provides uncomfy benches and too frequent announcements. (Ahhhh, good times!) Well, at least that Ryanair ticket only cost four euros…

Why We Like It

There are more than 5,000 user reviews on SleepingInAirports.net, making it a surprisingly thorough resource covering not only the best (Helsinki and Amsterdam) and worst (Paris Charles de Gaulle) airports in Europe, but many less-famous airports as well. The site has been around since 1996 and sports a no-nonsense design to reinforce its authenticity.

We love the war stories from travelers and the helpful tips posted for the first-time overnight airport sleeper. For example, one traveler advises, ”Act innocent… do not act like a professional sleeper.” (”Professional sleeper” has just enterred our travel lexicon.)

Finally (and perhaps most impressively), the site has also been mentioned on “Hollywood Squares,” giving it instant street cred as far as we’re concerned.