The art of the travel day: making long transit days less miserable and less expensive.

The transit day opportunity: you're moving from A to B and have a 6-10 hour block of time. This is an opportunity to catch up on reading, writing, podcasts, or simply resting — not time that needs to be filled with activities.

The airport transit option: a flight with a long layover in an interesting hub city can be structured as a free day trip. A 10+ hour layover in Istanbul, Singapore, Seoul, or Hong Kong can include a Bosphorus walk, Gardens by the Bay, a temple visit, or a market excursion. Most nationalities can transit without a visa for the day. Bag storage at the airport ($5-10) makes you mobile.

The overnight bus/train transit: ideally you're sleeping and the miles are passing. The tricks: dress in layers (air conditioning runs cold), bring your own snacks (transport food is overpriced everywhere), have offline entertainment downloaded, and a lightweight neck pillow if you're a side-sleeper.

The border crossing transit day: budget an entire day for any land border crossing. You will almost always have time to spare, but once you've wasted a day because you didn't allow enough time for an unexpected queue, you'll never underestimate border crossings again.

The transit day food budget: stations and airports have the worst food at the worst prices. Pack a proper meal for any journey over 4 hours. The $2 worth of bread, cheese, and fruit you pack at a supermarket is better than the $12 airport sandwich.