Rule #1: Always have a backup plan.

This photograph is from the Athens International Airport, where I ended my first monthlong backpacking trip around Europe.

I’d just ended my first year of college, so taking a backpack around the continent of my mother’s birth (on ~$45 a day) made a lot of sense. Instead of spending that last night in the hostel, I spent it on the floor of the airport.

Fortunately, I had enough padding to make it nearly as comfortable as a few of the hostel bunkbeds I’d slept on during my journey.

I wish I’d known about the online Guide to Sleeping at Airports. It’s a fabulous resource with a vibrant community of fellow airport-campers and more than 7000 reviews!

We’ve all been there — willing to do whatever it takes to get a bit of sleep. Well, there are some rather amusing photos, too.

Why spend money on a night in a hotel when an inflatable raft on the airport floor is free? Sure, it may sound a little cheap and degrading at first, but read-on and you’ll soon discover a travel community that (for almost 15 years) has been sharing their airport sleeping experiences and travel advice with fellow airport sleepers around the world. Airport sleeping is no longer just for the cheap young backpacker. Nowadays, you’ll find travellers of all ages and incomes stretched out on airport floors around the world.

So now, get out your travel itinerary and read the latest airport reviews. You are about to discover which airports you can sleep in and those which you should avoid altogether on your next trip. Your friends and family may look at you funny when you return with your airport stories, but that’s only part of the adventure.

And yes, here’s the review of my aforementioned airport. Sweet dreams, hipmunks!