Last Updated on October 10, 2024 by Alice Benny
Staying entertained on long flights is possible with a bit of planning. Whether you are traveling for pleasure or business, alone or with others, there are lots of things you can do to make the time go faster. Instead of squirming in your seat, take advantage of this time to recharge.
Recline back, and enjoy your flight with these 7 ways to keep yourself entertained on long plane rides.
Things to Do on a Long Plane Ride
Plan for the Future
You’re up in the clouds… what a better time than to start dreaming and planning. Start a mega list on your phone or bring a notebook along. This is a time to get creative. What would you love to accomplish this year? What about next year? Lay out some steps that you need to take in order to make each one a reality.
Study a Language
It doesn’t matter whether or not you are traveling to a country that doesn’t speak your language. Practice learning a new language anyway. It will help get you in the travel mode. You can download an app on your phone, study on an eReader or Kindle tablet, or use a small language dictionary.
Sleep
This may seem like an obvious choice. However, this may require some preplanning if you are someone who doesn’t fall asleep easily. Having a window seat is ideal but even if you are in the middle seat or aisle, you can get still some shut eye.
Bring a travel pillow even if you have a window seat. You will love using a travel pillow more than you ever dreamed. Also pack an eye mask. Even if you are flying in the evening, an eye mask will help keep out the distractions and can help you relax.
You may need to play some soothing music or mediations with your AirPods or earbuds. If you pack all of these in your carry-on bag, you will be ready should you feel mentally ready to try to catch some Zzzz’s.
Read
A great multitude of travelers opt to read during their long travels. With easy availability of e-readers like Kindle, and smartphones also serving as excellent reading mediums (with a dedicated reading mode), it’s very easy to carry one’s own library in one’s pocket or handbag these days!
Other than your favorite books, you can also explore options like blogs, e-newspapers, e-magazines etc. that can also be downloaded onto your device and read off-line. Check your library for ebooks as well as Hoopla titles you can read on your device.
Avoid bringing hardback books and limit paperbacks if possible. (Though, we enjoy donating books when we travel.) You wouldn’t want to be travelling to one of the most popular cities of the world and lugging a bag full of paper books with you!
Play Games
Something unelectronic?! Yes, real life still exists. And with a tray table and a friend or family member next to you, you can enjoy playing cards, hangman, dots, or any other small travel game. If you are flying solo, you can play solitaire, suduko, do word searches, crosswords, and more.
Podcasts and Music
Long travels are excellent to discover new music! Although you can create your own playlist before such journeys, how about listening to some popular channels or other people’s playlists to unravel new music genres or artists that might surprise you?!
AirPods and travel headphones make it easier than ever to sync, sit back in your seat, and listen.
Listening to interesting and informative podcasts can also be an excellent way to kill time. In fact, it’s a great option if you don’t want to stare at some screen for long time periods. To get you started, here are 10 podcasts that promise to change your life!
In-Flight Entertainment
As also emphasized earlier, long flights can be very boring and dull if you don’t prepare for them in advance. Indulging in various in-flight entertainment activities is considered the ideal pastime during such journeys. Majority of the well-known bus providers, train companies and airlines offer a good selection of TV shows and movies which can serve as healthy distractions on such travels. All you need is a nice pair of noise- cancelling headphones and you’re good to go!
Alternatively, you can also opt to carry your own favorite TV series or movies on a USB drive, or simply stream them from well-known OTT portals like Amazon Prime, Apple Tv, Netflix, Mubi etc. All the new age smart phones and tablets are capable of playing such media.
What to Do on Long Plane Rides
Before you go ahead and book that early morning long flight, it’s important that you weigh all possible options and use certain handy tips to ensure a smooth journey for yourself! To give you some insight, the cheapest of the flights depart at the most odd hours and have weird connections.
Opting for such ungodly timings can also wreak havoc to your body clock and meal timings. Therefore it’s recommended to carry some of your own snacks. There’s no way one can feel entertained on an empty stomach. Eating will also use some time on the plane as well. Learn how to beat jet lag when you arrive at your destination.
While staying entertained during long flights, you can come up with multiple entertainment options by just planning ahead and being a bit resourceful. Use some of these best ways to kill time during such long travels be it by plane, train, or bus.
