Women Travelers - How do you find things to do during a layover?

Is there a good resource that you use? My wife plans to start travelling a lot for her job... sometimes nationally, sometimes internationally. Any tips or planning resources that would be useful for her?

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Welcome to Flyertalk, Prasanna

There are scores of threads on this topic, usually found in the specific destination sub forums in this Travel & Dining section.

Here's one example, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/los-angeles/554820-consolidated-what-do-layover-lax-thread-merged-threads.html

Speaking of LAX , one of the most popular layover activities is doing the In-N-Out run, so much so that it rates its own thread

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/los-angeles/545412-how-do-you-do-n-out-run-lax-other-la-area-airports-merged-threads.html

Give her the gift of lounge access for her primary airline. A quieter place to relax, free Internet, more comfortable chairs, and free snacks are worth it for the layovers. And during irregular opps, the customer service reps in the lounge will be priceless.

suggest she ask if her company will pay for lounge access
Many do for frequent business travelers but only for those who ask

I go to the lounge and drink.

Depends on how long the layover is. If it's only a couple of hours, then usually going to the airline lounge & getting through emails takes up some time & also opens up time later.

If it's longer, then some will check out if there are any health clubs in the airport or airport hotels (such as the ORD Hilton which has a day pass).

If it's really long, some will go into the city (such as taking the blue line from ORD to downtown or catch the Ocean Express shuttle to Manhattan Beach from LAX area), or find out if there's a mall or a movie theater or museum nearby & go to that, either via public transport or getting a cheap car rental. Travel & dining region specific subforums can be quite helpful.

As others have mentioned, having an airline lounge membership is really important if she's going to be a road warrior. Besides the free internet, drinks, etc, it really comes in handy during irrops.

For during flights, etc, having a Kindle or ipad etc comes in handy. I load up books on my kindle to read during flights, when at destinations, when jetlagged, etc. I made the mistake of bringing a 'real' book that weighed a ton (it was a 1,000 page novel) on a recent trip. Kindle much lighter!

Also, if your wife wants to meet fellow FTers, then have her check out CommunityBuzz where people will often post they're in a city & do people want to meet up, or something might be planned for an area she'll be in for her trips.

And this forum is helpful because a # of folk have started traveling for business for the first time & have asked for ideas ranging from things to do to how to pack, so peruse the threads in this forum.

Also, it helps if your wife (corporate policy allowing) sticks w/ one airline or alliance for the most part, in order to more quickly earn elite status, upgrades, etc. Since you're ORD-based that might be UA & StarAlliance or AA/One World. StarAlliance has 27 airlines in its alliance, for example.

Cheers.

I agree with all who have posted about lounge access. It gives her a more-controlled (think a bit safer, due to less people there) place to relax a bit.

If she's into reading books, buy her several that are paperback, lightweight, and that you know she'd like to read. Or, buy her a kindle or an iPad.

If she sticks with hard-copy books, suggest that as she finishes a book, she either leave it at the hotel (in the room, at the front desk, in the lobby) with a note for others to enjoy, or that she offer it to flight attendants or her seatmate if she finishes it while on the plane. Some hotels have book nooks/borrowing libraries, where they encourage guests to borrow a book, take it with them if they aren't finished by the end of their stay, or leave one if they've finished their own while there.

If she's into crafting: cross-stitch, knitting, etc., invest in travel-approved materials for her, along with a nice little case in which to carry everything.

I wrote an article on things to do with a flight delay. All tips will work with a layover as well.

See http://www.smartwomentravelers.com/2011/03/top-ways-to-make-the-best-of-a-flight-delay

I have no lounge access, so I buy candy and trashy magazines, even better if they're both foreign.

Is there a good resource that you use? My wife plans to start travelling a lot for her job... sometimes nationally, sometimes internationally. Any tips or planning resources that would be useful for her?Is there a one-size-fits-all answer?

How long is the layover?
Where is the layover?
How much are you carrying with you?

The first thing I think of is going to a bar near the gate and having a drink or something to eat while reading the kindle. That's pretty generic. :D

I like to walk walk walk. Being on an airplane for hours makes me really stir crazy. While the lounges are nice calm quiet places to relax, I really enjoy the exercise. Some airports are great for shopping. Minneapolis comes to mind and Detriot to a lesser extent.

At IAH I like to do two "laps" (where a lap is A terminal to E terminal, I like to get on the trains), then eat at one of the second floor restuarants in E. The D gates are a great place to chill when you need some space and some cool air as no one is every there.

At ATL, I like to walk the connector (I seem to recall it's over a mile from T-gates to E-gates). I'll walk that 2 or three times. Then head up the E-gates since they've got often got interesting exhibits. A few years ago my alma mater had a cool astronomy exhibit along the train corridor.

ORD is worth buying a lounge pass for. It's too crowded for an enjoyable walk and freakish hot ALL the time. I hate that airport.

Philedelpia is decent to walk. Once we had a four hour layover plus a two hour flight delay. After a few laps and a cheese steak, we went up to the Envoy lounge and had some snacks and quiet time. We ended up closing the lounge but we were so much more refreshed than everyone else on that flight.

I use long layovers as a rare chance to get a pedicure -- there's a decent spa chain (XPress Spa?) at many big airports. How often do I get to sit idle for an hour or two? (bring your Kindle)

I wrote an article on things to do with a flight delay. All tips will work with a layover as well.

See http://www.smartwomentravelers.com/2011/03/top-ways-to-make-the-best-of-a-flight-delay

Just read this - great tips (even if you're a road warrior it's always nice to be "reminded" of the good things to do!).

I use long layovers as a rare chance to get a pedicure -- there's a decent spa chain (XPress Spa?) at many big airports. How often do I get to sit idle for an hour or two? (bring your Kindle)

I just saw the XPress Spa at LAS when I was leaving. Hadn't seen it before, but I'd certainly use it - and they seemed to be quite busy when I walked by.

Cheers.