Before a night flight out of Schiphol: an afternoon massage and a long shower

Flights toward Asia, Africa and South America often leave Schiphol in the evening, timed to reach their destination in the morning. A traveller connecting onto one of them may land late in the morning or around midday with the whole afternoon free. A Schiphol airport massage in that afternoon is less about recovery than preparation: the aim is to board relaxed, fed and showered, and to sleep through as much of the night as possible.

Timing the session for sleep on board

Place the session in the middle of the afternoon rather than just before you leave. You want to finish with time for a shower, a proper meal and an unhurried walk back, so that by boarding time the relaxed feeling has settled into ordinary tiredness. A session that ends too close to departure leaves you rushing through security, which undoes most of what the afternoon gave you.

A room for the afternoon

A room let for a block of hours near the terminal suits this kind of gap, and some hotels sell day stays that run from late morning into the early evening. The short-stay room guide explains how to plan inside them. With a long enough gap, central Amsterdam works too, where she arrives forty to sixty minutes after the hour is confirmed, though the train back adds time at the end of the day. Ask the hotel for the latest checkout it allows, since every half hour of room after the session is half an hour you do not spend at the gate.

The exit desk in the evening

Evening long-haul departures come in clusters, and the exit passport desks can be at their busiest just when you want them quiet. Check in online before the session, so that only a bag drop stands between the room and security. Leave the room early. A slow queue followed by a calm hour at the gate is a better start to a night flight than a quick queue followed by a sprint along the pier.

What to wear and pack

Change into the clothes you will sleep in on board before she arrives, or lay them out ready. Put a toothbrush, an eye mask and a bottle of water at the top of the cabin bag. The note on jet lag and breakfast has advice on eating at the right time for the clock you are flying toward, and the roster shows which therapists keep afternoon hours.