Can we sleep off our jet lag the day we arrive?

[Buttercup Roberts]

Air France has a nonstop from Philadelphia that leaves at 6:30 p.m. our time and gets to Paris CDG around 8:30 a.m. local time.

We are two adults and one child, age 9 at the time.

Would it be possible to find an airport hotel to check into that would give us a room that early in the morning to crash in?

I ran up things at or near CDG on Expedia, and just about every room said they can't accomodate three people. What's up with that? Is that just Expedia not functioning for us properly, or does no one in Europe stay in hotels with kids???

 

[bavaria]

here are my comments for you

• have you ever flown to Western Europe before? jet lag is not that bad from the east coast of the US to Western Europe; I fly 14 hours and it is much worse. Plus my corner of Bavaria is still a 2+ hour drive from the Munich airport
• if you plan to sleep right away on the plane, you can somewhat combat jet lag. Don't even wake for the meal service, except for the coffee before you land
• eat light foods 3 days before your flight; limit caffeine and drink lots of water
• test out sleeping pills before you fly to see if it's an option
• on your arrival day, do NOT sleep right away. Plan to be awake as late as possible to your normal bedtime. Go outside and get fresh air as much as you can
• realize that you will wake very early or in the wee hours of the morning your first few mornings
• I usually land around noon depending on connections into Munich or Paris; and stay awake until about 8pm or later if I can
• if you are a member of a frequent flyer program, consider if you can shower. I use the Lufthansa lounges for a shower and it makes a world of difference
• I would recommend taking the train from CDG (10 minutes) to DLRP; walking around there for the afternoon/early evening, and going to bed around 8-9pm
• many many hotels in Europe have one single bed, or two twin not double beds. many will only take up to two people
• if you DO decide to not take the advice and do want to sleep at an airport hotel, consider an American chain like the Courtyard CDG, or a German or French chain which MAY have enough space for three. Pay very close attention to the website as it will list what can be accommodated; the hotel won't make extra space for you if you don't abide by the booking rules

I hope that helps! Also, when you land, take the time to freshen up in the airport and have a good breakfast. There are lots of decent places in CDG where you can grab a quick coffee, including in the train station if you are taking the train to DLRP.

My routine is to shower when I land in Frankfurt, change planes for Munich (or Paris) and then have a decent meal when I land there.

 

[bavaria]

looks like the flight is 7h 25 mn - which gives you enough time for a good sleep. Take eye shades and noise cancelling headphones if you can too.

If you can do a later flight, I would recommend it (on the random dates I chose, there were 830pm flights on US Airways as well as Air France) That would mean that you would sleep and wake closer to your 'normal' schedule.

And don't worry about the child - they are very resilient and can usually sleep anywhere.

Combined my family has probably flown back and forth hundreds of times; I can't recall one time that a family member took a hotel room at the airport to sleep off jet lag (although I do remember many times waking up in hotel rooms in rural Holland at 4am!)

 

[Buttercup Roberts]

We don't sleep on airplanes, period. My husband stays up until 2 am nightly here at home, so he will just be at his bedtime about when we're heading down to land.

We will be able to adjust fine once we're there, but the fact that the only flights to Paris from D.C. or Philadelphia leave at night is making it a bit of a situation.

 

[RJAYL]

We don't sleep on airplanes, period. My husband stays up until 2 am nightly here at home, so he will just be at his bedtime about when we're heading down to land.

We will be able to adjust fine once we're there, but the fact that the only flights to Paris from D.C. or Philadelphia leave at night is making it a bit of a situation.

Hey guys were flying Air France Non-Stop from Boston to Paris in June as well! There are 6 of us!

We will get in early in the AM Paris time & go right to DLP with 4 Kids!

I cannot sleep on planes either but will try! Hopefully the kids will snooze!

The Plan is to hit the ground running & try and stay up as late as possible and then go to sleep!

Thoughts, maybe some sleed aids on the plane & then lots & lots of coffee in the AM!

 

[Kaitysmom]

We did the trip from Boston to Barcelona last year and had no real issues with jet lag. None of us slept on the plane though we tried to rest. When we arrived at our hotel, we spent the rest of the day exploring the city and made it a relatively early evening - 8:00 pm or so. We plan to do the same thing this July when we go to DLP - I'm hoping that the excitement of seeing Disney will help us keep going the first day.

 

[Cyrano]

I'm hoping that the excitement of seeing Disney will help us keep going the first day.

I'm sure it will

 

[woody73]

• on your arrival day, do NOT sleep right away. Plan to be awake as late as possible to your normal bedtime. Go outside and get fresh air as much as you can

Good advice. If you sleep right away, it will prolong the jetlag effect.

Woody