Whether you are an experienced airport sleeper or new to the game, this sleep guide will give you the essential information to better prepare you for sleeping in Boston Airport.
Our guide is updated with the help of various airport sleepers who tell us about their experiences at Boston Airport. If you have a tip or photos to share, please take a moment to write a review to help us keep this sleep guide up-to-date!
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Sleeping in Boston Airport Overnight
Boston Airport technically stays open 24-hours, but the Security checkpoints for each terminal close nightly. Travellers staying the night at the airport are required to stay in the pre-Security, public area. If you are already inside of the Secure areas, be prepared to be asked to leave and spend the rest of the night in the public area until security checkpoints begin opening around 4:00 AM.
Locations & Seating
The pre-Security areas are not the most sleep-conducive, especially thanks to quite limited seating, cold temps, and tiled floors. What seating does exist is likely equipped with armrests. You’ll likely end up trying to sleep on the floor, in which case your best scenario is finding a spot that’s away from most foot traffic.
Here are good sleep spots that travellers have reported:
- Terminal A, Floor 3, just before the people-mover heading to the Hilton hotel is a small, dark nook, perhaps with an art display in it. It does have a tile floor, so bring an extra layer for cushion.
- Terminal C’s baggage claim area has a few benches without armrests.
- Terminal E has a couple armrest-free benches, particularly at the far end near the 9/11 banners.
Rest Zones
Boston Airport has casual rest zones with rocking chairs located throughout the terminals. Unfortunately, there are no recliners.
Temperature
The airport is cold at night, and even more so if you’re relegated to sleeping on the floors. Arrive prepared with a blanket, sleep mat, or even a sleeping bag to cushion against the hard floors. A hoodie provides extra warmth if the terminal gets even colder.
Lighting
Most of the pre-Security areas remain brightly lit throughout the night. Come prepared with eyeshades or something else to cover your eyes, such as a shirt or towel.
Noise
You’d think that the noise would decrease as flights stop for the night, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Travellers report airport announcements run fairly frequently through the evening. An early-morning cleaning crew may make some noise, but it may serve as a more polite wake-up call than security staff waking you up. Plus, there’s a lot of ambient noise, so do come prepared with earplugs, noise-cancelling headphones, or even a white noise app on your phone.
Pro-tip: If you chose a spot near any eateries, keep in mind that the staff arrive early and they can get pretty loud in the kitchen.
Weather Delays
Boston Airport sees more than its fair share of flight cancellations due to bad weather, particularly in the winter, but this means they are more prepared than other airports. When mass cancellations happen at Boston Airport, cots are available for stranded passengers who opt against getting a hotel room, but they can be tricky to locate. Ask an airline or airport employee or use a courtesy phone to reach someone who has access to this information. (Note: Cots cannot be reserved in advance or used for people who choose to stay in the airport outside of weather-related delays and cancellations.)
Showers
Unfortunately, there are no showers available to freshen up.
Food & Drink
When you get the midnight munchies or give up trying to sleep and need a coffee to stay awake, there is one 24-hour Dunkin Donuts available landside in Terminal B.
Hotels
Prefer some privacy and comfort? If you would like a good solid sleep between flights without straying far from the airport, the Hilton Boston Logan Airport Hotel is located on airport property. You can access the hotel by climate-controlled sky bridge from Terminals A and E or calling the hotel for free shuttle pick-up. This hotel is located outside of Security, so you will need to process back through Security before your flight. Depending what country you’re a national of, you may also need a visa. See the hotel section in our Airport Guide for locations or visit Tripadvisor to find hotels deals at Boston Airport.
Lounges
While Boston Airport has several lounges, none have designated sleep rooms or rest areas. If you just want to relax in a comfortable seat, check out this list of lounges in our Boston Airport Guide that you can pay to access.
Security & Safety
Airport staff seem to tolerate airport sleepers, as long as you’re in the right spot. Security guards will relocate any travellers in the Secure zone to to the pre-Security, public areas for the night.
At the time of this update, we have no reports from travellers commenting on safety issues at Boston Airport. As a precaution, here are a few tips to ensure you have a safe airport sleeping experience:
- Know Where Security is Located. Whether you are sleeping in the airport by yourself or with friends, it is good to know where security is. Know where their office is located and look for video cameras in the spot you decide to stay the night. Ask security where it is safe to spend the night. They’ve probably seen many airport sleepers before you and they will direct you to a safe spot.
- Don’t Seclude Yourself. If you are travelling alone we recommend that you sleep near other travellers or close to security.
- Hide Your Valuables. Don’t leave all your mobile devices out in plain view. We have received reports from people who woke up with earphones and no ipod and a laptop bag strap and no laptop bag (or laptop). Same goes with important documents and money. Keep these secure on your body, so that no one can get them without waking you up.
- Secure Your Bags. If you are a deep sleeper, you may want to padlock your bag to something. If your bags have zippers turn the bag upside down (zippers to the floor) or sleep with your bag up against the wall, so that it would be hard for someone to access.
- Choose to Stay Alert. If you don’t feel safe, drink coffee and stay awake and be alert. You can always sleep on the plane!
Pro-tip: If you are sleeping in the public zone, don’t be surprised if you receive an early morning wake-up call. Security is known to make the rounds waking people up as travellers begin to arrive for morning flights.
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