updated on May 9th, 2019
We’re suckers for new tech. We’re also suckers for video games. We made a rash decision to buy a Nintendo Switch just before a long-haul flight and we couldn’t be happier with that decision.
Is it Worth Traveling With the Nintendo Switch?
Not only the Switch great for playing at home on the TV, it’s really awesome for mobile gaming. All the games work seamlessly and look really, really good.
The Switch is super portable. We picked up this case that has a hard shell and pockets for cartridges and charging cables. I would happily give it five stars. We travel with carry-ons only, and it fit into our bags.
Flying with the Nintendo Switch
We haven’t used the Switch during flights as much as we expected, but it has helped us survive long-haul flights. We often sleep or watch movies more than we play the Switch, but we use it at least an hour or two during long flights.
Can you fly with a Nintendo Switch? Absolutely, yes. We’ve had no problems taking it through security. It’s treated much like they’d treat a tablet- stow during takeoff and landing, but the rest of the flight is fine!
Recently, on a seven hour journey from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur, a guy sitting next to us actually played his Switch the entire time. That’s more than we can handle, but it was really nice to know we had it available.
Nintendo Switch Travel Battery Life
We didn’t have a problem with our battery life. It lasted long enough for us to play plenty of games. If you planned on playing for a very long-haul flight, without stopping, it won’t make it. Nintendo states the Switch should last about 6 hours of play before needing a charge. Flights this long typically have charging ports on your seat, however. This leads us to one of our only gripes with the Switch: The charging port is on the bottom of the screen, so you can’t prop it up on the tray table to play while charging.
Think your flight might not have a charging port? Just bring a portable charger!
Have we use the Switch once we reached our destinations? Not at all, except during other means of travel such as waiting at train stations. We max out our days by enjoying our destination and watching local TV in different languages at bedtime, so the Switch isn’t needed.
The Best Nintendo Switch Games for Travel
Mario Kart was our favorite Switch game for travel. It’s fun and mindless enough that we didn’t get upset if a flight attendant interrupted us. The game allows two players, it’s easy to set the screen up on an airplane tray table, and we’re suckers for anything Mario.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a lovely, engrossing game. It’s single-player only but will kill hours of time. Anyone who has loved the previous Zelda games will love this one.
Overcooked is one of the biggest surprises we’ve played together. It’s an extremely challenging game that requires a lot of teamwork! It has been great to play and get our minds off the boredom of a long flight. We give it a big thumbs-up for a great multi-player game!
In the end, was it worth it to take get the Nintendo Switch only for travel? Probably not, but with how portable the system is, it’s been helpful in helping keep our sanity on long-haul flights. If you’ve got the room in your carry-on, and you’re a gamer, we’d recommend taking your Switch with you on your next trip.
