Early start on touring days?
 

When you are touring Europe, do you try to get up early to start seeing the sights? It seems to take awhile for my husband & me to get going in the a.m. Part of the reason may be that we must share a bathroom when traveling, but we each have our own at home.

Nope :-)

I'm on vacation, I take my time in the morning. What's the rush?

YES! But that's my travel style. Some people consider it as a vacation, so they take their time getting up and getting ready at a relaxed pace.

For me, I figure I can always sleep late at home, but I don't always get to wake up in ______ (insert European city). I'm the sort of person who is usually up early, and you can find me waiting at the entrance of _____ (insert tourist site) before it opens.

My husband is easygoing, so he'll get up whenever I tell him to. I just factor in the amount of time it'll take both of us to get ready, and set our alarm clock accordingly.

Again, to me, I didn't spend several thousand dollars on an European trip just to sleep in. I like to maximize my sightseeing time. Of course, we stop at cafes for breaks, or stroll in parks or gardens during the day for our "downtime".

I am up at the crack of dawn...can't bear to waste a single second. When I was married, my exH used to like to stay in bed half the morning, and I just left him - came back to the hotel mid-morning to see if he was interested in getting going - if not, I went out again on my own.

I can't stand folks who go on expensive overseas trips and want to spend them in bed. You can do that at home.

That said, I'm a total fireball when it comes to traveling - I don't want to miss a second of overseas travel and will adjust my schedule to make sure I don't.

I don't see it as a value judgement, rather knowing your own style. And hopefully being suited (or making adjustments as mentioned above) with your travel partner.

Believe me, I don't sleep half the day away or anything(!) but I've never been a morning person and will be in a MUCH better mood the rest of the day if I don't get up at the crack of dawn. On the other hand, staying up late at night to do something special, is great.

Just to elaborate a little, I don't get up super early every day. I do schedule days on my trip that I can sleep in a bit, esp after several long-touring days.

The benefit of getting going early, is you can beat the crowds at some sights. If you're going to a popular city during peak season, it really pays to get up early and get to a site early to avoid lines and crowds. We did that last Sept when we went to Versailles. We arrived there 10 minutes before opening, we were the first people to enter the State Apartments and pretty much have the whole place to ourselves for the first half an hour or so.

I have heard so many stories from friends (and read trip reports here) that Versailles was packed elbow-to-elbow during their visits. Well, only if they had gotten up earlier...

I'm one of those up at the crack of dawn. I do not want to waste one minute. And besides, you have to eat breakfast early or else you will not be hungry at lunchtime! I never want to miss a meal in Italy, Spain or France.

If I am traveling with friends we share rooms and so have to allow time to get ready separately, allowing for a little privacy. We do generally get up by 7, down for breakfast by 8, out of the hotel by 8:30 or so.
Some people don't care for having breakfast included in the price of the hotel, but we find it convenient. I always want to go back to the room to brush my teeth. To me, this is much faster that wandering around searching for some place to eat, though if you are very familiar with the area that might not be so much of a problem.
I'm one of those who doesn't like to waste time when traveling to some places, so much to do and see and so little time. Some vacations are not sightseeing trips, those are definitely more laid back. When DH and I travel for a relaxing vacation we're not in a rush at all, even come back for a good afternoon nap, then head out again.
I think it is personal preference, but I wouldn't want to spend half the day in my room in most of the amazing places we visit.

Depends on the holiday really.
I am not a city person so beating the crowds to a museum or whatever is not something I need to worry about. I like getting up before dawn if I am going to be doing some photography, and will leave the OH in bed while I go off and take my photos.
Otherwise we like a slow and steady start to the day, with no great rush. We still get to see all we want to see at a pace which suits us.
The OH spends the rest of the year getting up early to get to work, and enjoys being able to take his time when on holiday. We may not see every last thing there is to see because of this, but it suits us. Others like to get up and get on, that's their way of enjoying their holiday. Everyone is different. It's one reason we would never go on holiday with others.

Since we share a bathroom anyway so that is never a problem for us. I go through first then he follows and takes longer in there too.

It depends on objectives of the day.

I would wake up early to see Jungfrau or take a day trip to Versailles or Giverny from Paris.

In each city I visit, I wake up early at least one day to take pictures before streets get filled with people and cars.

<i> I have heard so many stories from friends (and read trip reports here) that Versailles was packed elbow-to-elbow during their visits. Well, only if they had gotten up earlier...</i>

Or bought a museum pass (which allows you to bypass the line)! I'd rather spend the money on the pass and sleep in a little LOL.

In answer to the original question, no, we are NEVER up at the crack of dawn (here or anywhere else), and we have NEVER been first in line at any tourist destination. Last summer in Egypt, we opted to take the sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan, rather than having to get up at 4 a.m. for the flight! We get there when we get there, we see what we see (and believe me we see a lot). Generally, I rise earlier than the rest of my family, so I get up and get ready and go out for coffee and to read the paper (something I love to do in every new city, hopefully at a local, non-chain cafe) while they waken. I hope (but it's not always so) that at least one of them will have gotten up and showered while I was out!

We are just not morning people! When there's breakfast included at the hotel, we usually miss it!

We don't get up early because we have probably been out late the night before :)

In many destinations in Europe the best time to experience them is before 10:00 and after 16:00 to avoid too many people. It is also the best time for light for the best photos. The middle 6 hours are for the hordes, but not me.

while I don't get up by 7am, I also don't spend &quot;half the day in my room&quot;!! Sheez louise ;-)

We're up and out early, but we often come back to the apartment for a little nap in the late afternoon, then back out for dinner and the evening activities (or not).

We travel off-season, usually late October through mid-November and late winter, so it's pretty important to get out early if you want to see outdoor things during the short daylight hours.

I'm with StCirq ... no matter how long the vacation is going to be, it's still too short. We can sleep when we get home, and I usually am exhausted by that time.

But while in Europe, I seem to have a never-ending supply of energy and adrenalin. My wife, as well as a couple who has traveled extensively with us, affectionately refer to me as the &quot;Tour Nazi&quot; ... hope nobody is offended by that.

<i>Or bought a museum pass (which allows you to bypass the line)! I'd rather spend the money on the pass and sleep in a little LOL.</i>

It's not a matter of standing in line to get into Versailles or skipping the line with museum pass... It is what happens AFTER going thru the entrance: the State Apartments are completely packed with tourists and multiple tour groups by mid-morning. Our friends told us that they were could barely see the decorations and furniture in each room because they were so crowded, and literally were pushed along from one room to the next by the crowds.

Whereas since we got there so early, we could leisurely tour each room at our own pace, listen to the audio guide, take pictures etc without other tourists crowding our space.

<i>&quot;Tour Nazi&quot; ... hope nobody is offended by that.</i>

Actually, it's quite amusing :-)

<i>It's not a matter of standing in line to get into Versailles or skipping the line with museum pass... It is what happens AFTER going thru the entrance</i>


Oh. Well, I'm still not getting up early for it :-)

How can I get up at 6 or 7 when I go to sleep at 4 or 5?

Cities have more to offer than brick and mortar buildings... :-)