Travel pros share their tips for passing the time on long flights

Whether it's a two-hour flight or a 20-hour flight, being cramped in coach for hours on end is never fun. Or maybe it can be? We asked eight savvy travel bloggers how they pass the time and make the most of long flights.

1. Dmitriy Dudarenko of Miles for Trips:

"If you travel in coach keep an eye on an empty row of seats during boarding – [in the] back of the plane usually – and as soon you hear "boarding complete" rush to occupy it. Do not hesitate! Also, don't rely on in-flight entertainment, but pre-load your tablet, they have more extended battery life compared to laptops, with your true favorite music, movies and shows. Lastly, earplugs and noise-canceling headphones create ambient and silent atmosphere, so your brain can relax and you can easily dive into the Kingdom of Morpheus."

2. Phil Derner of NYCAviation:

"Passing time is much easier these days with so much access to in-flight Wi-Fi and other entertainment options. Making the flight feel faster by doing the same social media procrastinating you do all day anyway is a solid way to make time fly by."

"Sleep is, of course, the most obvious way to travel through time. Prepping for sleep with eye shades, ear plugs, wearing comfortable clothing and a good air travel pillow is the way to go."

"Personally, I am the most relaxed in the sky. The engines provide a white noise that lets me read and write and get work done, unlike on the ground. Or even just putting on some music and looking at the world below me puts me in an amazing mood."

3. Matt Long of LandLopers:

"It’s human nature to look at the clock and freak out when we see that we have ten hours of flying time left, so that’s why I like to think of flights in segments. I assign times for different things, like eating, watching movies, working or just sleeping. By thinking of the flight in two-to-three increments I get through the experience with some of my sanity intact."

4. Lee Abbamonte of Lee Abbamonte:

"I pass the time on long flights by sleeping, watching movies, doing some work or [...] my unique ability to simply space out and essentially exist in a world where I live awake but half asleep. You have to be born with that – you can't teach it!"

5.Jeanne Marie Hoffman of Le Chic Geek:

"I've played more iPad games than I care to admit when in flight. I've been especially obsessed with two: Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies."

"When I'm with other people, we try to guess where we are flying over every 30 minutes. We pull up the flight path on the Gogo internet screen to see who is the closest. I've had friends correctly guess lakes and rivers even!"

"I download crossword puzzles before the flight and give myself arbitrary goals during it. I try to finish a puzzle before we finish taking off. Then I try to finish a puzzle before the flight attendant begins in-flight service. Since I'm constantly racing against the clock, time goes much faster."

6. Sherry Ott of Ottsworld:

"Strangely, I love it when I'm stuck on a flight without internet – now that's a vacation!  I normally read the airline magazines to see if there are any stories in there by anyone I know.  Then I settle into answering my emails that I've been neglecting via Gmail offline, and work on writing.  As a reward for getting a little work done, I then settle in to watch a trashy dance reality show that I've saved on my laptop. I normally don't talk to people on the plane, it's my time to be antisocial for once. Bliss!"

7. Rease Kirchner of Indecisive Traveler:

"I get motion sick, so books and writing are out of the question. I listen to podcasts and audio books. I also save up drink vouchers and get drunk while playing cards. Nothing makes time go by like several glasses of wine."

8. Caroline Eubanks of Caroline in the City:

"I pack a coloring book for adults with a packet of colored pencils to pass the time on flights. Not only does it keep my hands busy and keep anxiety at bay, but it also helps that you don’t need to plug it in. On a recent flight, we had to sit on the tarmac for nearly two hours and, after my laptop and Kindle died, I still had something I could do to keep myself entertained."

Jessica Festa is the founder on the solo and offbeat travel blog, Jessie on a Journey, and the online responsible tourism and culture magazine, Epicure & Culture. She's constantly searching for local experiences beyond the guidebook. You can follow her travels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.