Trifter

In 1994, Donna McSherry travelled to Ireland and Switzerland to see something of the world. The now thirty-something Canadian faced one major difficulty, however: she was unemployed at the time and her budget was extremely tight. To make ends meet she hitchhiked (accepting lifts only from women drivers) and spent the last night of her stay in each country… at the airport! Seeing how well this worked, she decided to set up a website , www.sleepinginairports.net, which now has more than 5500 postings with comments and tips from travellers on their sleeping experiences in airports around the world. There is a list of the best (Singapore rates highest) and worst (Paris Beauvais) airports from the sleeper’s point of view, useful advice on what to have with you (from wet wipes to clean the seat you bunk down on to ear-plugs and eye-shades, not forgetting to post-its to stick to your-self saying “please wake me at 05:00 for my flight”) and suggestions as what to say to security guards who want to know what you are doing. Donna recommends picking a spot in the arrivals rather than the departure lounge: they are usually quiter and less busy, she says, and so more comfortable for sleeping! In the current economic crisis, Donna’s website could prove really useful!