The Most Important Airport Amenities Rick Steves Suggests Utilizing While You Travel

Whether you love airports or they make you want to pull your hair out, you may not be taking advantage of all they have to offer. Beyond your favorite restaurants or coffee places, there are actually a whole lot of services at most major hubs that can really help you out on your vacation or work trip. 

Travel pro Rick Steves, an authority on European travel, says on his website that we're missing out on a lot when we just land, grab our bags, and make a beeline for the hotel. Before starting your adventure, Steves recommends checking out the tourist information centers in the airport, which are usually less packed than those in the city center. Here, you can ask experts any questions you have, find helpful maps, or buy entry tickets to a museum. He also says, "If you need an international phone card or SIM card for your mobile phone, you should be able to find one in an airport convenience store." In addition to tourist offices and convenience stores, many airports also have free wifi available outside lounges or throughout the building. Instead of scrambling to find these airport amenities, Steves suggests downloading the airport terminal map before you land. 

European airports are not short on amenities. London's Heathrow has ATMs, showers, charging stations, and a post office. You can purchase an Oyster Card for the London subway at the airport and get a London Pass for museums and tourist sites at the Heathrow Express Ticket Offices in Terminals 3 and 5. Although Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport may be the world's worst, it has ATMs, a post office, a health center, and luggage storage. You can also find a number of tourist information centers where you can get tickets, maps, advice for activities, and museum passes. Rome's Fiumicino airport has a business center, ATMs, and a tourist office with tips on what to see in Italy, as well as several lounges. 

The Istanbul Airport has a tourist info desk and city information center near the exit on the arrivals floor at Gate 12. This airport even has sleeping pods, so you can get some rest if you have a stopover with carry-on storage. The pods feature a charging point, a changing room, and a blanket for around $11 an hour during the day or $17 an hour at night. You can add another blanket, pillow, and pillowcase for an extra fee.

Apart from the amenities Steves recommends, he also cautions about money exchanges with high rates. He says, "At airport exchange booths such as Forex or Travelex, you lose around 15% when you change dollars to euros or other currency." Luckily, European airports have many ATMs where you can easily pull out cash for a better rate. Steves also recommends you avoid using your debit card while traveling abroad and opt for a credit card or cash instead.