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.