How to actually enjoy your time at the airport, according to a travel host who flies 100,000 miles a year

12.06.2024 - 12:01 / insider.com / Samantha Brown

Enduring the airport is an essential part of air travel, and I think I speak for most when I say it's typically not a great experience.

From navigating busy terminals and security checkpoints to waiting for your plane to board at a packed gate, going to the airport is possibly the least enjoyable part of any trip.

But it doesn't have to be that way, travel expert Samantha Brown told Business Insider. 

Brown has hosted several travel shows worldwide over the past 25 years, including Travel Channel's "Great Vacation Homes" and her Emmy-award-winning PBS show, "Samantha Brown's Places to Love." She recently partnered with Klarna on a summer travel trends report with packing essentials and a trip itinerary based on hot destinations. 

Brown estimates she's been to more than 90 countries and flies 100,000 miles a year on average. Unlike most, she said she loves airports and has four tips for making the most of your time in terminals. 

Being stuck in an airport is inevitable for air travelers, so you might as well enjoy it.

Although she loves airports, Brown expressed that, like most of us, she dislikes the pre-terminal check-in and TSA experience. But she said this is mostly due to stress, which can be avoided by arriving early.

"If you do not allow enough time, you will be stressed out," she said. "However, that stress goes away when you actually plan."

For example, during peak travel seasons like summer, she arrives at the airport three hours before boarding time.

Once she gets through security, Brown said she walks to her gate to ensure it's correct. Then, she can relax until her boarding time.

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"I have never regretted how much time I've spent in the airport," she added.

"Airports are my teenage mall," Brown said. "Some feel like cities in themselves, like the Denver airport is bigger than Manhattan."

With miles of stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and gates to explore, Brown said she likes to put on AirPods and take long walks through terminals before a flight. After years of doing this, she said she feels "at home" inside an airport.

On her long terminal walks, Brown said she loves to people-watch.

"I love to check out the different gates, and I will play a guessing game of who's waiting and where they look like they're going?" she said.

In airports, you tend to see other travelers keeping to themselves, only worrying about getting where they're going.

"So many people are traveling, and they forget how hard it is for other people to be in these massively overwhelming terminals with thousands of people," she said.

Brown shifts the tone by helping other travelers — especially when flying solo.

"When I am solo traveling, I'll look around and see if there's a mom who's busy with kids, or