We previously mentioned that the average family spent around $240 on food and drinks at the airport for a single trip in 2022. That is a lot of money—an entire plane ticket to many destinations—to spend on food that is not typically the dining highlight of a vacation.
That was for a typical summer vacation, where folks are on average flying fewer than 12 hours to a destination. Extrapolating for more time, this amount can easily increase on longer journeys, particularly if you show up to the airport unprepared.
Tomorrow, we will spend about 22 hours in airports or on airplanes. I may give in and buy a venti peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks in San Francisco if I am feeling tired when we arrive there just before 6:30 a.m. local time, but that will be the only purchase I make on the 22-hour trip. Just over $5 for 22 hours of travel is well below the average, but it takes some planning to accomplish.
Plan When You Want to Sleep and Eat
To start, check what comes with your trip if all goes according to plan. Log into your airline’s website and see how many meals and snacks are provided on each leg of your journey. If you are not in first class, the meals have become pretty skimpy in my opinion: Two weeks ago, we were on a 15-hour flight that only had dinner as an actual meal (plus some snacks), and the nearly six-hour flight from Washington, DC to San Francisco only offered snacks for free. Our 12+ hour flight tomorrow will similarly offer only one true meal plus some snacks, although we may luck out and get some extras since we have business class tickets instead of economy class tickets.
If you have economy class tickets, you will need more food than the airline provides you to survive long plane rides. Do not set yourself up for hangry feelings. Instead, determine how much of your flight you intend to sleep, or try to sleep, and then work out how much more you will need to eat beyond the basic food provided.
Pack Enough Food
Once you figure out how much extra food you will need, pack it! If you are packing all of the food from home, this likely will not be your favorite gourmet meal, but the food should keep you comfortable for the entire trip and prevent you from needing to purchase fast food or sit down at an overpriced airport restaurant for a meal. This saves a lot of money.
But do not just pack enough extra food. Pack a little extra. I usually pack some extra snacks that I would enjoy if any part of my trip is delayed but that I would also enjoy as a snack or dessert while traveling once I arrive. This ensures that the food will not go to waste if the trip goes smoothly—I will just enjoy my popcorn on the beach rather than watching a movie on a long flight that was delayed on the runway. Non-perishables are great choices for this. I usually like to have a savory snack (usually popcorn, if you had not guessed) and a sweet one (like some cookies) to adapt to different potential moods and delays.
For More Luxurious Travel, Enjoy Free Food at the Airport
We are fans of the airport lounge life, and having access to lounges makes long travel days much easier. You do not have to bring all the contingency snacks if you have lounge access, but this does not mean you should not plan ahead. I bring fewer snacks when I know I will be able to stop at lounges during a trip, but I still look up the lounges at airports before the trip begins to determine which lounges I will reasonably be able to visit based on their location and the likely terminal(s) of my flights.
Why put in this work? It is how you do not end up hangry. Some airports will have lounges, but none of them will be located in your terminal. Sometimes, you can connect to another terminal without going through security. Sometimes, you cannot. This is worth knowing before you land in an airport.
I look to see if lounges are located in the terminal where my flight will likely land or depart. If no lounges are located in the terminal, I investigate adjacent terminals that require no extra security screenings. If I can only access a lounge by leaving security, I probably will not do it and will instead just bring extra contingency snacks.
Beyond looking up the locations of lounges, I also see what type of food options the lounge offers. Some lounges only offer hot food, some only have to-go options, and some offer a great selection of both options. I love when I can get some hot food at the lounge and take a snack with me, but this is not always feasible. There are plenty of online reviews to get a sense of what each lounge offers so you are not surprised when you arrive.
Finally, on long trips where I travel through multiple airports, I list out lounge contingencies in my calendar so when I arrive at a location in the middle tired and hungry, I can easily look up my plan without thinking or worrying about how to access the airport’s public WiFi. (Lounges also have better WiFi.) I typically list a few options and include information like the terminal in which each lounge is located, the lounge’s hours, and any specific directions if it sounds like I may not immediately recognize the lounge location.
Stay Hydrated
Airplanes do not offer enough water to avoid jet lag. I have been to about 33 countries (if I counted correctly, and depending on what you qualify as a country because boundaries constantly change in response to geopolitical events) across four continents, and I have never experienced the debilitating jet lag many of my friends recount just flying between U.S. coasts. There are two tricks to avoiding severe jet lag. The first is getting outside in the sunshine wherever you land to adjust your circadian rhythm as quickly as possible, and the second is drinking as much water as possible.
I always book an aisle seat and unapologetically get up to use the bathroom more than most folks on the plane because I inhale water while crossing time zones. Increasing your water intake will improve how you feel when you land immensely. But the tiny water cups offered on a long flight are far from sufficient to stay hydrated.
To stay hydrated, I usually bring two empty water bottles that I fill after passing through airport security. I also accept water every single time it comes around the plane. When long flights experience a sleep time, you may find that the amount of water is insufficient even with your two water bottles. In this case, most flights will leave a tray with large plastic water bottles and cups in the back of the plane for passengers who wake up thirsty. You may top off your water bottle with this water, and you should. Having the water bottle allows you to acquire more water than you would in a typical plastic cup, and you eliminate the extra waste. In the event that the airline does not do this, you can always ask a flight attendant for some additional water.
Have More Contingency Plans than You Need
The trick to surviving long travel days is planning as if they are even longer than they actually are. The more contingencies you have planned for whatever weird situation arises, the more enjoyable your travel day will be. Contingencies make a delayed flight in Athens a fun additional meal with family rather than a hangry travel situation. Having travel days pre-planned and filled with lounge visits also makes the travel itself feel a bit more like the vacation rather than a necessary nuisance to get to your beautiful destination.
If you pack the food and water you need for long trips, you do not need to spend any money. The only money you spend is when you pick out a fun luxury, like a Starbucks hot chocolate, because you choose to rather than because your ravenousness requires food from the nearest food establishment. Save your money for your vacation, and enjoy your travel day without the stress of finding affordable food options.
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