I have been a long time lurker here and would like to thank everyone for the valuable information. Hopefully I can contribute something worthwhile in the future. My question is this. We will be traveling to Hawaii for our first time in December, our plane leaves ATL around 3pm EST and we arrive at HNL around 11:30pm. It's going to feel like 6am to us before we finally get checked in and settled down. Do you find that you are so exhausted on your first day there that all you want to do is recover, or do you find that when 6am Hawaiian time comes around, your body thinks it's really 12 noon and you're ready to go. I'm wondering if planning on going to the Arizona at 7am on the first day there is a great idea since we'll still be in the EST frame of mind, or if it's an incredibly stupid idea because of the travel. Any advice or insight is greatly appreciated.

There is some theory that flying west is less taxing in terms of jet lag, can't explain why, but I have found it to be so.

I would say do all you can on your first day. In the first place, you will be charged up as it is vacation and you are in Hawaii. In the second, it is much better in my experience to try to stay up the whole day until at least 9 pm so you can start adjusting. The worst thing to do, IMO, is to lay around or take a nap in the afternoon of your arrival, that will mess up your adjustment and make it hard for you to fall asleep that night.

I would say shower, change and go out to the Arizona.

I find that the time difference works in your favor going from east coast to Hawaii on the trip there, but against you on the return trip from hawaii back to the east coast. I think you will be fine at Pearl Harbor the first day because it is alot of standing around requiring little effort. I would argue against climbing Diamond Head on your first day, for example. Enjoy your trip!

I would suggest you just go for it early the next day then turn in early that night, the next morning you'll be well adjusted! Your eyes may start getting red in the afternoon, so try to keep active!

I flew from NY to HNL. It took a few days for me to get adjusted. There was a lot of getting up at 5am the first few days even when I was able to stay up to 9, 10, or 11 at night.

WIth an arrival of 11:30 p.m., I don't think you will have much of a problem. You'll have been up for 5 or 6 hours past your regular bedtime, so you will sleep, but wake up early - perhaps 5 a.m. Adjust for the shortage by taking a nap on the plane or the first afternoon. Pearl Harbor will take about 2-3 hours, so it's ideal for the first morning. Just don't plan on much for the first afternoon!

I think you'll be fine for morning activities. Try for a couple hours of sleep on the plane and a couple hours of sleep after arriving.

Don't plan any shows or evening activities your first night though. You'll be ready for an early bedtime by late-afternoon on your first day.

we worked the time change to our advantage.

we arrived (from boston) at 4PM, checked into our hotel, and crashed. the next morning we woke at 4AM. we enjoyed a lovely private stroll on the beach and watched the sun rise, then started taking advantage of the day. during the first few days that you are there (and are getting up really early), get to pearl harbor and do hanauma bay. both of these are 1000x better with fewer people.

enjoy!
fiasco

We're also travelling from the east coast (D.C. area) and will arrive in Maui at 3 pm (their time). I was planning to have a light bite at the Hula Grill that night (around 5 pm) and then crash and get up for the sunrise - never thought of getting in line for the Arizona (but that's an idea). So fiasco, did you crash that 2nd night too, or did you start to adjust?

Now just to be clear, dolciani, the Arizona Memorial is on Oahu.

duh! I guess I was just too excited about my trip to register all the information (We are also visiting Oahu, but not on the same day as Maui, haha). Thanks for the gentle reminder!

Yeah, I figured you knew. Going to Hawaii can make anyone excited. Lucky you!!!

I seem to have an easier time changing time zones when headed east rather than west. We arrived in London early morning and raring to go. The excitement of being there kept us wide awake the entire day despite having slept practically none at all on the plane. That night we were exhausted and slept through until the alarm awoke us the next next morning and from then on all was well. I was on their time zone.

Even going from FL to AZ though, I wake up at what would be 7 AM FL time, but is 4 AM in AZ during DLS, 5 AM during standard time, despite staying up late the previous night.

Going to HI from Dallas, I was up at 3 AM every night for several nights. DH slept like a baby however and there was little I could do without waking him. I ended up reading in the bathroom. Fun..not...most uncomfortable "chair"!

Under non-travel circumstances, he is the one who is more likely to sleep late in the morning, but I'm awake at 7 no matter what. It's my type of sleep pattern that presents difficulty going west, IMHO, whereas those who are capable of sleeping in anyway, aren't quite as bothered. Conversely could this explain the ease with which I adapt to heading east...that I normally tend to arise early anyway? Seems logical.

You'll arrive in Hawaii for bedtime, so go to sleep. You might be up early the next morning, but the day/sunlight will reset your body clock and you should be fine.

There will be a few nightime (dark) hours while flying west and you might want to try to get some sleep, but honestly that might really mess up your sleeptime once at the hotel.

I've found that traveling west, I've managed to be awake 24+ hours and am fine the next day (excluding a few hrs sleep on plane). Going east more often "kicks my butt", but it also depends on where you're traveling when going east. Actually managed NY to So.Africa (loosing more than a day flying) and was fine until 5-days later when the jetlag hit - 3-hrs of sleep was all I needed, and I was back to myself.

Sleep when it's nightime and play in the daylight, you'll be fine.

I agree with OliveOyl. I had a harder time adjusting traveling West to Hawaii than when I travel East. I was awake at 5:00 a.m. every morning for the week we were there. Didn't need any adjusting when I got home!

Mclaught: give me a break! Stop worrying 6 months in advance. You will lose much needed sleep.

A few times a year I fly from NYC to Sydney, Australia. Now that is a flight! The trip is Hawaii is a hop, skip and a jump. My secret to avoid jetlag is to stay up as late as possible the first night (I arrive in Sydney in the morning hours) and get immediately on to the local time. Don't lie down for an hour nap, you will never get up again.

Enjoy Hawaii. A great state with beautiful, friendly locals. Remember: NEVER PUT U.S.A. ON ANY POSTCARDS YOU ARE MAILING TO THE MAINLAND. HAWAIIANS ARE VERY PROUD TO BE AMERICANS ! ! ! ! !

Mclaught, Just do it ! You'll be tired etc but for sure you'll be awake & OK for the tour in the morning. The next morning might be different ! I've not had much problem with jet-lag to Hawaii (maybe the destination itself zaps most of it O ) but for other long haul trips, for me, I'm a firm believer in melatonin.

I come from the East Coast each year so I know what you are talking about with jet lag. Not much to that tour, getting out of Waikiki will probably be your biggest hassle.

After that you just sit through lectures and then walk around the memorial. I think you will be fine. You will really feel the exhaustion around 4 or 5 (much later than your tour)but you need to stay up so what are you going to do.

Find a place for breakfast near the arizona so you can drive out and come back when you get your tour time. If you have a choice don't go on a Saturday.

dolciani-
we pushed our bedtime later and later, but i dont think we stayed up later than 11PM the entire time we were there. we both really enjoyed getting up so early. i remember the day we went to hanauma bay... we got there at 6ish and there was nobody there- literally, we looked over the cliff and there were like two other couples on the entire beach. we did our snorkeling and when we got out, there were hundreds there (around 8, i think). the parking lot was packed and people were running into each other in the water. we went back to our hotel and had breakfast, and hit the pool by 10AM. it was great to feel like we had already had so much fun that day and it was still morning.
we had the whole rest of the day ahead of us.

fiasco

Thanks for all the replies, all the posts have helped us reach a decision. We'll definitely schedule the memorial for our first morning there. I was leaning that way, my girlfriend thought it was a terrible idea. And Luv2fly, unlike your screen name, I hate to fly and really don't look forward to this flight. Although frequent flier 1st class seats may help take the edge off. Thanks for the tip about not taking a nap, that's definitely going to be the hardest part.