Navigating Airport Arrivals
Whether it’s a short domestic flight or a long trip with connections, I generally want to get from the airport to the comfort of a quiet hotel room ASAP. After doing this more times than I can count domestically and internationally – often in some remote places – I’ve got a pretty good rhythm in place. Here are my tips and tricks for getting in and out efficiently with as little stress as possible:
Customs and Immigration
Food: inevitably, getting through both Customs and Immigration will take the longest time for international arrivals. Chances are you will be tired and hungry at this point and just want to get through these lines as quickly as possible. However, there is often NO FOOD between where you depart your plane and Customs and Immigration. The area is often strictly controlled, understandably so. If you can bring snacks with you before you get onto your flight, consider saving some of them for this time. You can also ask the flight attendants for an extra snack before landing.
Connections: if you are connecting and need to go through Customs and Immigration first (this is often the case if your first flight is to a new country and your second flight is to another location in that same country), you should always schedule enough time between flights! There is no perfect way to estimate how much time you will need but ask yourself how much of a hassle it will be to miss your connection. If the answer is even a small amount of hassle, book plenty of time, always carry on your bags, and travel in the morning so you can potentially get on another connecting flight if you did miss your first one. This is also a great reminder to have travel insurance in case something like this happens and, worst case, you must stay overnight.
Line Efficiency: there are often options to either complete electronic arrival documentation online in advance or to apply for a type of fast-track pass. Check each country’s arrival procedure in advance to complete the documentation online so you don’t have to fumble about with paperwork when you arrive (for some countries, it’s required to fill this out online beforehand so always check before booking a flight). For US citizens, Global Entry truly is a gamechanger and I find it to be well worth the time and money.
Pro tip – always carry a pen with you so you don’t have to find one to fill out any paperwork in person.
Phones and $cash$
eSIMs: gone are the days of paying absurd daily fees to use your phone outside your home country and having to wait in line for a tangible SIM card. You can still do these things, but why would you when you can easily get an affordable eSIM? You can buy an eSIM with Airalo (my preference for most countries) or Ubigi (my preference for Japan), set it up before departure, and activate it once you land. These are cheap and the definition of efficient. As soon as I land in a new airport, I briefly connect to the WIFI to activate my eSIM and then immediately disconnect from the WIFI.
Cash: it’s generally advisable to have some local currency on you in a new country. Do your research to figure out how much and don’t overdo it by withdrawing too much from the airport as you can get more later. You will often find a few ATMs after you leave Customs and can withdraw money there. For more info about ATMs, see my other article. You will find ATMs at almost every airport, even in remote destinations. There are very few cases where you need to go to a currency exchange beforehand or at the airport.
Note – some developing countries accept, or even prefer, small bills in USD. I once had to pay for a Visa-on-Arrival in SE Asia in USD while going through immigration and had to carry cash for this in advance. Keeping some small ($1, $5, $10), new, very crisp, USD bills when traveling is often helpful. If the bills aren’t new and crisp without folded edges, they sometimes won’t accept them.
Transportation from the airport to hotel
Rideshare: depending on what country you are in, rideshare services (Uber, Lyft, Grab, etc.) are readily available. I always research this in advance to see what services are offered in each country, how safe they are rated by locals and tourists, and how much the trip may cost. Whenever I’m tired, I generally prefer a rideshare instead of navigating public transit or haggling with a taxi about price. The added peace of mind that there is a record my trip also helps when I’m traveling solo.
Private car pick-up: growing up, I thought this was something reserved for the rich and couldn’t imagine a driver waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. It truly felt like a pipe dream until I decided to investigate the price for certain countries. Turns out, you can sometimes get an affordable ride for a bit more than an Uber. If I book a hotel with Booking.com and if there aren’t many rideshare options in that country, I sometimes book a private car pick-up on the platform. I’ve since done this in Europe and Asia, and it reduced a lot of stress upon arrival.
Taxis: nowadays, I don’t know many experienced travelers who choose to take a taxi over a rideshare in major cities. However, there are lots of developing countries and smaller cities where the only option is still a taxi. For many introverts, or those who just want to have a calm experience getting to the hotel, haggling with a driver (or multiple drivers vying for your business) can induce a lot of stress. Additionally, there are some parts of the world where you will be physically approached by multiple drivers as soon as you step outside of the airport. As a solo female traveler who has had multiple drivers get so close they start reading the details on my phone screen, I can say that this is a very uncomfortable experience (this happened to me in Bali and Cambodia). Personally, after those experiences, that’s when I decided to research the price of a private car pick-up and have been using it if it seems to be the best option.
Public Transport: this will vary depending on where in the world you are. Generally, I’m a big advocate for public transport and try to use it once I’ve settled into my destination. However, if I’m arriving after a long flight, I sometimes choose to spend the extra money to get to the hotel sooner. I always research the public transport options first and then decide if it’s worth it or not. Also, by using a rideshare or private pick-up, I reduce my mental load of figuring out a new transport system.
Food (again): by the time I finally get onto my mode of transport, I’m extremely hungry. If I have time before, I try to eat at the airport or grab something easy to eat on the ride, like a sandwich. If I can’t do that, I will immediately look into two different options: check if the hotel I’m going to has room service that I can order now by calling the front desk, or order from a regional food delivery service to have food delivered to my destination at a set time. And, yes, I of course research those options in advance and download any necessary apps ahead of time.