How to Pass Time During Long Travel

Even though we all love traveling, the travel itself isn’t always our favorite part. And let’s face it, sitting on a bus, or a plane or a train or in a car for more than 2-3 hours can be quite boring. Here are some universal tips that will help you avoid travel boredom.

This is probably the biggest no-brainer of them all. Simply close your eyes and rest a little bit. After all, even though it is a fun experience, traveling is pretty stressful and you should take any available moment to catch your breath. However, falling asleep isn’t recommended in 100 percent of cases. For example, it is quite tricky to fall asleep on certain (read: unsafe) train or bus routes, especially if you are traveling alone. Not only could you miss your stop, but you could also get robbed easily, so be careful.

Even though there are some magnificent sceneries or situations you are sure you will remember forever, let me tell you right now – you won’t. The best way to preserve all the important and funny memories is to, of course, either make videos and photographs of them or write them down. But why would you videotape yourself sitting in a car or a plane, when you can simply put all the important things on paper?

This refers only to those who don’t get motion sickness. And you don’t even need to carry all those heavy books with you – thank God for e-books. This is a great option since the speed of modern life doesn’t give us much time to read, and being stuck in one place (bus, car, plane, etc.) is the perfect time to entertain your brain with a good novel. 

Again, traveling can be quite stressful, and between those hours you will spend getting from point A to point B, all you can do to remain calm is to breathe – meditative. This form of breathing has been proven to help you feel more confident and help you fall asleep much more easily. All this peace will later help you make more rational decisions under pressure – which is quite a lifesaver for holidays. On the other hand, you can also harness your inner dreamer while breathing meditatively. Let your dream wonder and maybe even think about some new ideas. Whatever you do, make sure you write them down in your journal (wink).

One of the best ways to pass the time is definitely listening to music. Pull out all those favorite albums of yours and jump into your own world where you are the coolest person in the universe. On planes, trains and buses, headphones are your only option, but if you are lucky enough to travel by car, you should definitely consider getting that Pioneer car audio with USB and smartphone support and make the ride 10 times more fun for everybody. However, make sure you don’t argue about the AUX cord.

Most international flights usually come equipped with entertainment systems and WiFi. This is a great way to catch up on the latest movie hits you haven’t seen. Alternatively, if you have time beforehand, download a couple of movies onto your tablet or laptop and watch those at your own leisure. This is also a good way to pass time at airports.

If you are traveling with friends or family members, note that you already have a built-in entertainment system. And is there anything more fun to do with a group when you are stuck in one place than playing cards? This is why having a deck of cards on you is always a great idea. You can even ask other travelers if they want to join you and make some new friends on the way. And the more people are around you, the less of a chance you have to get bored.