Would You Sleep In An Airport?
We are finally settling back into life on the road. I plan to post some of the fun things we have done in London soon, but I wanted to start with a little observation I have made. Tonight as I type this we are sleeping in London’s Stansted airport while waiting for our 6:15am flight tomorrow. My question to you is, “Would you do this?”
Over the past few weeks I have gladly shared our general trip plans with friends and family. Since I believe in leaving as much as possible up to chance, the first few days in London and our upcoming cruise are really the only things planned out at this point. (I have a rough itinerary in mind, but nothing is yet set in stone.) It was interesting to see people’s reactions as I passionately spoke of our plans. Their faces often lit up when hearing about our two days in London and the cruise. When I mentioned the plan to sleep in Stansted Airport, the smile usually disappeared only to be replaced with a confused look.
For me opting out of the hotel experience and saving well over $100 is a no brainer. With a 6:15am flight and a long day in 
the city, we would have had only a few hours to sleep in a fancy bed anyway. To be honest most of the time it makes sense to sleep in hotels before flights, and this is usually how we go. However, this is not the first time we have slept in a terminal and I suspect it won’t be our last. I should mention though that all three of us are pretty seasoned travelers so perhaps that has something to do with it.
This blog is titled Family ‘Round the World so I am sure everyone is asking if this is safe or right to do with a child. To answer the first question, we are safe. I did plenty of research ahead of time and it turns out that sleeping in Stansted Airport is the strategy of many travelers. In fact, there are no less than two-hundred other people here doing the exact same thing as us including several other families with children. We are inside a secured terminal with heat and electricity. Shawn Reece is sleeping right now on the same bench as in the picture. He has plenty of space and a new story to tell his friends when he returns home. In my opinion and based observations, even smaller children would not find it a hard place to adjust to.
Tell me, would you ever consider sleeping in an airport or did reading about this “strategy” erase that smile off of your face?
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In my younger days I always did. I tended to be too excited to sleep though and was always sad to note most of the shops and food areas actually closed for the night. How dare they ! Nowadays I an happy to shell out for a real bed and get some sleep, I;m sure it would add to Sean Reece’s adventure experience in a good way, I would have loved to do that as a kid but probably still would not have slept. Have fun all
Yeah, I’d definitely sleep in the airport. Wouldn’t even blink at the thought. I’ve slept in my car, at rest areas on the turnpike, many times, driving back and forth, between MA and MN.
Yes, Yes, and Yes, Makes perfect sense both financially and emotionally. No stress having to get up at 4am, find transportation to the airport and hope you make it through security and in time. As long as you are safe, warm and fed, brush up in the bathroom and you are set to go. My family and I are planning a world trip soon and love your blog and website. Keep the info coming
I admire your strategy and understand your conservation of time and money. However-I know I would have done the hotel stay but that would have been because of a lack of research and truth of “standardization” or norm. Your strategy and/or concepts of money wasting is giving me a new outlook.Looking forward to many more post and updates.God Bless you and family on this wonderful journey!
I always try to save money when I can. When traveling there are always unaccountable expenses. At least I know when these things occur that I did my best to save money elsewhere. Thanks for your opinion everyone!
I would consider it, but my husband has a bad back & I’m pretty sure there’s no way he could sleep in an airport terminal without paying dearly in the morning! However, I definitely think it’s a great money saving strategy, as well as a time saver.