Rainy Days & Delayed Flights: 11 Ways to Pass the Time While Travelling

Have you ever unexpectedly found yourself needing to pass the time whilst travelling? Perhaps you’re reading this from a bus station or airport departures right now. Let us help you pass the time while travelling with 11 of these smart ideas.

At Travelista, we love to travel. It’s great. See new things. Expand your horizons. Discover experiences that you didn’t even know existed. Return home a changed person. It’s a big world with so many things to see. And yet even during truly great adventures, there is inevitable downtime. Long drives. Flight delays. Rainy days that keep you inside when you want to be out adventuring. It’s a natural part of the travel experience that is often the least anticipated.

So embrace the down time and let us show you how to use this extra time to your advantage.

Rainy Days & Delayed Flights: 11 Ways to Pass the Time While Travelling

1. Catch Up on Your Reading

One of the best ways to use downtime during travel is to read a good book. Not only does reading captivate and entertain but it quite literally calms your brain down. If you are feeling stressed because of lengthy flight delays, or weather conditions that have thrown a wrench in your plans, you can sit down and read. If you don’t have a book to hand, there are plenty of reading apps available and book shops are very common place within airports and travel terminals. Your time spent with a book won’t be wasted. Reading releases serotonin in your brain—very literally reducing stress levels in the process.

2. Get Your Steps in

Stuck in the airport waiting for your next plane? You can sulk in your seat or you can get out and explore a little. Most airports are big places. And while no one would compare exploring your terminal to a hike in Yellowstone National Park, it can be a good way to clear your mind and stay active in the process. Plus, it’s another way to reduce stress with serotonin and dopamine responses in your brain.

3. Do Extra Research On Where You Are Going

Why not use the time productively? Sit down and do a deeper dive into whatever location you are traveling to. It is literally impossible to do too much research when it comes to preparing for a trip. Now is a good time to look for local perspectives on the place you are traveling to. What are the best restaurants there? What are the must-see attractions? If you’ve not sorted your accommodation, why not book your hotel. You might be losing time thanks to a flight delay but you can make it back up by enhancing your trip through research and finessing your itinerary.

On Travelista, we have tonnes of travel guides and travel itineraries to help travellers like you design the perfect trip. Type your destination into our search bar to see if we’ve covered your onward destination. Alternatively, you could book a guided tour in your destination for when you arrive.

4. Exercise Your Mind

Crossword puzzles and other brainteasers can improve both your memory and your overall mental health. Some doctors recommend doing them every day. Kind of like exercise for your brain. These activities can actually be really enjoyable but you often need to build the habit first. What better time than the present?

There are lots of multiplayer brain teasers out there—like Wordle—perfect for tapping into your competitive side.

5. Learn Something New

Think about how much time you have to pass and challenge yourself to master something new within that time frame. Whether you choose to learn a new TikTok dance, brush up on language basics for your travel destination or take a deep dive into a curious conspiracy theory, learning something new promises to bring a little dopamine hit into your delay (we love using the Duolingo app for learning languages and there is FREE version that is very easy to use). Reading and research are both activities that improve your brain’s function and improve mental health.

6. Play some Virtual Games

Video games are as portable as ever. Maybe more so with the advent of premium handheld gaming devices like the Switch, which allow you to play premium video games on the go. But even if you don’t have a dedicated games console, your tablet or mobile device acts as a portal into the world of gaming, if you so need it. Flight delays and travel days are the perfect time to get lost in virtual gaming world. Bonus? Video gaming, like many of the other activities on our list, will produce a dopamine response in your brain.

7. Head to an Airport Lounge

Most major airlines have lounge areas where you can go to wait in comfort for your connecting flight. These spaces are often reserved for business and first class travellers, but are sometimes also made available to people who are experiencing delays. It’s definitely worth asking your airline representatives on whether this is an option. If it’s not, you also have the option to purchase access to most lounges for a one-off price. Once in the lounge, you’ll have access to inclusive food and drinks so it could save you money overall, depending on how long your delay is.

8. Organise Your Photos

If you’re travelling home from a trip, there’s a high chance you’ve just taken lots of photos. After reading this article, straight into your camera roll and start to organise your photos – getting rid of the duplicates and keeping all the best ones. You could go one step further and order photo prints, create a collage or a edit video sequence of your videos as a memory of your trip.

9. Write a Poem

When is the last time you wrote a poem? Wherever you are delayed and trying to pass the time, it’s probably somewhere you don’t find yourself in every day. Look at the world around you and the people rushing by. Take in your surroundings and pay attention to detail, then challenge yourself to write a poem about your current thoughts and experience. It could be funny, pensive or serious. Either way, it’s likely you’ll look back on it one day with a smile.

Creative experiences release serotonin in your brain and also just allow you to see things in a different way. If you don’t have a notepad and pen, you could even just use the Notes app in your phone.

10. Stream Your Favourite TV Programme or Film

If you’re looking at quite a hefty delay, why not lock into your favourite film or one of your comfort tv shows? It’s always a good idea to have something downloaded onto your devices before a long journey. This way you can access the content without needing to be in the origin country or needing Wi-Fi. You can also stream your downloaded content from the sky if you’re taking a flight. Try to pick something that is going to make you feel uplifted and calm as opposed to scared and stressed.

11. Gaming On Your Phone

It’s easier than ever to find travel-friendly online pokies  (also known as virtual slot games) these days. Most virtual casinos are fully capable of accommodating players on the go with Wi-FI or 4G connectivity. Many providers offer free bets or welcome bonuses for new users, so you may be able to have a win something for nothing.

To Conclude

Flight delays are obviously frustrating, but for the sake of your own mental health, it’s best to look at this pause as an opportunity. Your travel delay may not be what you wanted, but it is giving you a rare break in life’s constant action. Use this time to reflect and to your advantage. You may not be in the comfort of your own home or the nice hotel room waiting for you on the other side, but try to enjoy this time to do something you usually never get time to do.