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The last time I went to Europe (Paris) I took a non stop flight from the east coast of the US and arrived at about 7 AM. After making it through customs and immigration we took a bus to our hotel in central Paris. Both of us were sick tired. So tired we could hardly stand it. Neither my wife or I were able to sleep on the plane. (We dozed off a few times but always woke when someone would start talking or rammed into us as they walked down the aisle.)
Arriving at our hotel about 9 AM we wanted to go to bed in the worst way but they told us that our room was not available until about 4 PM. We asked to check into a room and we would pay for the previous night. The man at the desk acted like we were crazy and said that would be impossible because we would have to check out of our room at 11 AM (in two hours and check in again at 4 PM) We thought that was the craziest thing I had ever heard. But we got no where with him.
PLEASE... don't tell us that experts say we should just stay up until 10 PM Paris time because that will reset our body clock and if we nap or go to be when we arrive that will kill the rest of the trip. Sounds good in theory but you don't know how tired we were. (We just wanted to sleep maybe 4 hours that morning and then we could start our day.)
So we checked our bags and walked the streets of an empty Paris on a Sunday Morning in the cold rain. Nothing was open. By 4 PM we were almost suicidal from cold, wet and from being SO TIRED. Finally we got into our room and found it very uncomfortable with lots of traffic noise and sounds from the neighbors through the thin walls. The bed was harder than a rock.
How do you survive when you first get to Europe at 7AM and have to walk the street for 8 hours before you can get into your hotel room?
Is it all worth it?
Last edited by I'm Retired Now; 05-09-2014 at 03:20 PM..
Check and see if the airport has hotels inside the terminal or nearby that offer day rooms or rooms that rent for a few hour blocks. Here's London Heathrow's Yotel:
Don't sleep so much at home the night before. We bring along a few Ambien or have a couple of drinks and doze on the plane. Being tired when we board along with the self medication makes a huge difference.
We also advise the hotel of our early arrival. Rarely have they been unable to accommodate us for a noon to 1PM check in. (This applies to many trips to London, and several trips to other European cities. Maybe the Parisians are being difficult?)
Dump the luggage at the hotel, and go to breakfast. Then check in, get a few hours sleep, and up and out for dinner.
No, we're not kids anymore - both senior citizens, and DH is a grumpy traveler. And we fly coach. But getting a little nap time on a plane IS POSSIBLE if you do a little advance planning.
If I know I'm going to be arriving late or perhaps early, I just book the extra day in the hotel and pay in advance. That way, the room is waiting for me when I arrive. This costs a little bit more, but if you want to go to bed when you get there and not wait all day for your room to be ready, I think it's worth it.
(1) plan my flight to arrive around 11:00 or 12:00.
(2) never book a hotel that does not allow you to check in around 1 or so.
But, if I somehow got stuck in your predicament I would probably sleep on the floor of the lobby. They would no doubt think I was a crass American but they would probably also feel motivated to get me out of their lobby.
always a treat to see tourists dragging their luggage near the eiffel tower before 3 pm lol. When i boarded the eurostar i told my cousin not to bring a rolling bag (was in Paris for the weekend and we were arriving early) needlessly to say she paid the price for not listening.
Most hotels will let you check your baggage until the room is ready. No need to haul it all over Paris with you.
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