bellac

Well 5days and counting. We leave N.J. 10:00pm and arrive London 11:00am. I strongly feel we will be walking zombies after a 7hr.flight even with some sleep. A friend said push yourself to stay up until evening, so, what do 4 zombies do for the afternoon on Saturday? We only have 5 days so every minute counts. What should we do.
We are booked the the St. James Hotel near St.James Park. We probably will not be able to get into our rooms until 3:00. I am desperate, I need a plan.

ira

Hi bell,

>I am desperate, I need a plan. <

My first suggestion is to open a bottle of lager, sit back take two long draughts, sip slowly.

You do not need a plan for your first day.

Go to your hotel, leave your luggage and keep walking until dinner. Stay up until normal bedtime (after dinner walk).

You will be on London time the next day.

prue

If you do a Search at the top of the page on this subject you will find lots of discussion - many people choose to take one of the Hop On Hop Off buses, which as well as an orientation of London is also a good way of spending the afternoon.

elaine

I don't care for bus rides that much, and on the first day it might be too passive an activity. I push myself to keep going on foot if I can. With an 11am arrival at the airport, you won't be at your hotel before 12:30 or 1pm.
Drop off your bags, find a good place for lunch, go explore your neighborhood, or go look atBuckingham Palace and get it off the list.

SandyBrit

bellac

I have made this trip numerous times and here's what works for me.

When you get on the plane IMMEDIATELY set your watch to British time. Do not keep saying what the time is back home in N.J. Drink plenty of water.

Agree with other posters, once you arrive, check your bags, stay up, walk outside. Day light helps your body adjust to the time difference. After dinner take another short walk. If you can stay up until 9:00 pm you'll be o.k. and ready to go the next morning.

Enjoy London and come back and tell us all about it.

Sandy

KathrynT

I would suggest trying to visit something on your list that you'd like to do which is not one of your top attractions. That way you'll have made good use of your time but won't feel bad if your memories of it are a bit of a blur. For example, we visited the Pompidou Center in Paris once in a jet-lagged state. One of those interesting places we kind of wanted to see, but definitely not a "must see" for us.

Nikki

I will be the dissenting voice about staying awake until bedtime. This must work for some people, but it certainly does not work for me. Everybody adjusts differently, and there is no one right way to get over jet lag. If you attempt to stay on your feet all day and start feeling miserable, you should not feel as though you are breaking the rules if you want to take a nap. You are not failing Travel to Europe 101 if you can't make it all the way through the day after a sleepless night.

My usual activity for arrival day includes some walking around, some sleeping and some late evening activities while I still haven't adjusted to the time zone. It's easier for me to participate in night life when I still think it's the middle of the afternoon.

Kayb95

Taking a London Walk (www.walks.com) is a great way to get acquainted with an area of London and keeps you moving for a couple of hours. We've taken many of them on our first day there. Don't plan anything too sedentary - like the theatre, concert or evensong service - or you'll be nodding off.

If we can get into our room right away, we spend some time unpacking and even take a very short nap. We allow ourselves about a 45 - 60 minute power nap and it's enough to get us through the rest of the day. It's not really jet-lag that first day as it is missing a nights sleep (if you don't get any sleep on the plane.)

I usually have more trouble with jet-lag on the second night. When it's 11 PM in London, my body clock is still saying "Hey, it's only 6 PM - too early for bed." That's when an Excedrin PM comes in handy.

janis

Nikki's plan does work for some people. But -- >>It's easier for me to participate in night life when I still think it's the middle of the afternoon<< -- for most people the longer you postpone getting on local the longer you body clock will think it is the middle of the afternoon at odd hours of the night.

Don't be such a wuss - those of us arriving from the West Coast have it even worse. 10 to 15 hour flights depending on any stops enroute.

If you can get away with just a VERY short cat nap it might be OK - but many times that 20 minute nap turns into a 6 hour coma and then you will be wide awake at 3 a.m.

bettyk

As Janis said, some of us have flights much longer than you do, depending on departure city and the number of connections you have to make. Just keep telling yourself you're in LONDON! You'll be so excited that you won't think about how tired you are.

If you arrive at 11 AM, it will take at least an hour (or longer if you have to wait for your checked luggage) before you reach your hotel. You may even be able to check in early but if not leave your bags and head over to St. James Park. It's one of my favorites in London. Walking will make you feel better. Have a light dinner and turn in early. Have a great trip!

Scarlett

We used to take that flight .
I rarely do more than nap on those flights.
When you get to your room, freshen up, put your things away and go have a nice breakfast/lunch.
Walk! the fresh air does wonders! Just walk and look, sit in a park, don't make it complicated, but the exercise will wake you up.
I always need a nap in the late afternoon, I just sort of shut down and become the zombie you mention
But after a couple of hours napping, I am ready for dinner and more walking. The next day you will wake up ready to go!
5 more days, how great! Have a wonderful time. We stayed at the St James years and years ago, and loved it. You will be in a great neighborhood, close to so much.
Have dinner or drinks up the street at the Albert Pub!
Catch the number 11 bus up at the corner and just ride on top and see the city that way.
And do come back and tell us all about it

LoveItaly

I am smiling to myself because like some of you I live on the west coast of the US and how I wish I could be in Italy with just a 7 hour flight. That would be paradise. When I fly to Venice I arrive 24 hours after I depart from SFO less the 9 hour time difference. But counting the time I leave my house, get to SFO, check in, go through security and wait to board the plane etc. it is almost 24 hours as I have to leave the house 4 to 5 hours before the plane departs.

The joys of travelling!!

prue

I won't even try to describe what you feel like after a flight from Australia!
I think the plan with a bus ride is to sit on the top deck in the open air - not inside.

LoveItaly

Hi Prue, have to get to bed but saw your post and just want to say I don't think I could make one long flight from Australia to Europe. It boggles my mind. But you Australian's are awesome. Even flying US/Australia or visaversa seems such a long flight. Best wishes.

delaney

I agree with staying up until evening. For the past three trips to London my usual first day is just taking it easy walking around Covent Garden, Westminster Bridge and sitting at Trafalgar Square watching people. Go to bed early and you'll be acclimated to local time the next day. We rented a flat on Pall Mall last year. St. James Park is beautiful. Enjoy.
Marcy

KidsToLondon

BELLAC--

Once more for the "stay active, stay awake" advice:

• Bus tours--OK, parks--pretty good, walking--almost invigorating.

• Art galleries--yawn, museums--fading, dark churches--zzzzzzzz.


DELANEY--

At the risk of getting off topic (which NEVER happens on Fodor's!), care to post details/comments on the rental apartment on Pall Mall?

GreenDragon

Here's another vote for going on -- I usually can catnap on the flight, perhaps about 2-4 hours worth, so I'm refreshed. However, liberal doses of caffeine once I get there (since I never drink caffeine at home!) works wonders.

I would suggest what others have -- do a walk in the park or a hop-on, hop-off tour. The advantage of the bus tour is that you can get a great overview of the city, where things are, and perhaps some things you want to stop and explore either right away or later in the trip, things you hadn't planned for.

If you're totally exhausted, hang out in the lounge for a couple of hours, take a one hour power nap (set that alarm!) and then go out.

We made the mistake of napping our first trip over there, and slept from 2pm to 8pm... (we were a village outside Nottingham) -- and found that none of the local pubs served food after 8!! We were starved, and ended up driving two towns down to find a place to eat at. Of course, this won't be an issue in London!!!

Daisy54

bellac,
If you think a 7 hour flight to London is long, try the 11 hour fligth from L.A.! I can't sleep on the airplane much at all either, between the small space and the excitement of going to Great Britain.

After 4 such voyages, I heartily agree with those who advocate setting your watch to local time before landing and do NOT waste any of your time there saying, back home it is such and such time (unless you plan to phone home). On my first days in London, I've done things that were free so I waste money if I was too jet lagged to appreciate it, and I could come back later if time and interest were there. What's free and iteresting in London? If the weather is nice, walk through one of the gorgeous parks - you'll be near St. James park and that one is fablulous. If the weather is not great, all the big museums are free (V&A, British, National Portait Gallery etc.) so if you zombie-walk through them, you won't have wasted any money and you can easily come back another day. Have a great trip, I'm sure you'll love London!

suze

Count me in the napping camp. I fly from west coast USA so even longer overnight flight than yours.

With your situation I would stop by the hotel directly from the airport, drop off luggage, and ask if possibly your room is available early.

When you find out it is not ready yet then I would walk around your new neighborhood, go out to lunch, get supplies for the hotel room (I always stock a few snacks, bottle of wine, water), etc.

At check-in I would take a shower and a nap and maybe another shower and then go out for dinner, also nearby. Go to bed at a normal time on local time. Use a sleep med if you need to, to stay asleep thru the night.

This works different for everyone and it takes several trips to Europe trying the different methods to see what works best for you.

I never sleep at all on my 11 hour flight, and without napping I can feel nauseous with jet lag and time change for several days.

cmcfong

You will be very close to the InthePark restaurant in St. James Park. Drop your luggage at your hotel, trot back over to the park, invest in a picnic lunch and stay outside in the sun as long as you can. Stay up till at least seven and by the morning you will be on London time and ready to do it all!