Jet lag and travel tips?

[couture1]

Hello, Does anyone have any travel tips for a family traveling to Italy in August?
We have three children ages 9, 8, and 6.
We'd love to hear tips about jet lag or dealing with heat/crowds...but any advice would be most appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[CinderellaMouse]

The main tip is to hope that everyone can sleep on the plane. This is the best way to start off your trip and will allow you to stay up through all of arrival day. If you can sleep for a couple hours on your overnight flight, don't nap when you arrive - wait until bedtime.

That said, not everyone can sleep sitting up in an uncomfortable plane seat. I've crossed the Atlantic 10 times and the Pacific twice and have NEVER been able to catch so much as a 10-minute catnap on any of these flights. (I even took a sleeping pill before a flight to London several years ago hoping it would make me sleep. All it did was make me even more exhausted. )

If you or your kids don't sleep on the plane, take a nap that afternoon when you get checked in. Otherwise, it will be miserable - no one's up to trekking around a foreign city when they've been up all night. Just 2 hours will make you feel so much more human, and then you'll be ready to go out to dinner and do some exploring in the late afternoon and evening.

 

[GenevieveRaqs]

The best way to beat jet lag is to get yourself onto the local schedule as soon as you arrive. Don't go back to the hotel for a "quick nap"...hold out until a normal bed time if you can! Being outside in the sun will also help your body figure out the local time and adjust. Unfortunately, other than that, there's really very little you can do to avoid jet lag. Just try to maintain a normal schedule once you arrive--eat regularly, sleep at bedtime, stay hydrated, opt for reasonably healthy foods, don't hype yourself up on caffeine toward the end of the day.

Of course, all that advice is for adults dealing with jet lag...I have never travelled internationally with kids. It might not be a bad idea to check in with your pediatrician about the best way to handle things with the little ones.

Other things to keep in mind: Make sure to drink lots of water on the plane--the recirculated air can really dry you out before you even realize it. Always take water from the flight attendants when they come by, even if you don't feel thirsty. And don't be afraid to go to the galley to ask for water in between beverage services. If you bring an (empty) refillable water bottle, they will usually fill it for you. Also, make sure you're up walking around the plane about once per hour. Don't just sit in your seat for the whole flight.

 

[tufbuf]

Another suggestion which a few have done before, about a couple of weeks before departure you can start waking up earlier to coincide with Italy time. This is most useful if you live in the East coast since its only a 6-hour time difference. I live all the way on the west and hope to help that by getting up earlier and earlier until the day we leave, will help with jet lag. I am not a good sleeper but I can sleep on and off on the plane which really helps.

August is also a very hot and humid month in Italy. Are you going with ABD? They provide water for you and it's important to stay hydrated. If not, water bottle vendors ate everywhere in the tourist sites and Rome is studded with potable water fountains.

Hope that helps.

 

[CinderellaMouse]

Another suggestion which a few have done before, about a couple of weeks before departure you can start waking up earlier to coincide with Italy time. This is most useful if you live in the East coast since its only a 6-hour time difference.

This is very true. It's easier to adjust if you are used to getting up at 6am (noon in Italy) than if you are used to sleeping until 10am (4pm in Italy.)

Most importantly, keep in mind that everyone is different. I've seen people spend their first day thoroughly miserable because they're determined that they "shouldn't" take a nap, and I've seen people who are doing perfectly fine mess their sleep schedules up by taking a nap because they're determined that they "must." So do whatever feels right to you when you arrive. Some people can't live without their first day sleep, some people can't imagine why you would sleep the first day. Just trust your body.

 

[disneyphx]

Jet lag tips - In general kids have an easier time with it. One thing to remember is that your stomach takes time to adjust - so you may be hungry at unexpected times and not want to eat at meal times.
Plane tips - bring snacks and maybe water bottles (refill them after security); check the inflight entertainment in advance - seat back on demand TVs are awesome!
Travel tips - travelling with our now 7 year old, we have learned to plan less rather than more, look for all kinds of things that are different not just big tourist sites (like the menu at McDonald's even!) and take time for things like an afternoon break at the hotel, zoning out and watching TV
Have a great time!

 

[darthtatty]

.

That said, not everyone can sleep sitting up in an uncomfortable plane seat. I've crossed the Atlantic 10 times and the Pacific twice and have NEVER been able to catch so much as a 10-minute catnap on any of these flights. (I even took a sleeping pill before a flight to London several years ago hoping it would make me sleep. All it did was make me even more exhausted. )

Im the same, I can just not sleep on the plane. Ive tried everytime but nothing seems to work. I have considered a sleeping pill for my next flight (from UK to Australia) however I know thats not really the answer.
Im hoping I can sleep on the long flight,this time.

Im going to try the usual tips.
Dont drink caffine or alcohol
eat light
keep hydrated
wear loose clothing

 

[carpenta]

Im the same, I can just not sleep on the plane. Ive tried everytime but nothing seems to work. I have considered a sleeping pill for my next flight (from UK to Australia) however I know thats not really the answer.
Im hoping I can sleep on the long flight,this time.

Im going to try the usual tips.
Dont drink caffine or alcohol
eat light
keep hydrated
wear loose clothing

I agree 100%. I tried one flight to take a sleeping pill but I did not sleep but felt groggy and listless. Stay hydrated and eat light. Our daughter had a far easier time adjusting ans she was 7 yrs. old on her first trans-atlantic flight. Now she is a pro.

 

[Danibelle]

Another suggestion which a few have done before, about a couple of weeks before departure you can start waking up earlier to coincide with Italy time. This is most useful if you live in the East coast since its only a 6-hour time difference. I live all the way on the west and hope to help that by getting up earlier and earlier until the day we leave, will help with jet lag. I am not a good sleeper but I can sleep on and off on the plane which really helps.

August is also a very hot and humid month in Italy. Are you going with ABD? They provide water for you and it's important to stay hydrated. If not, water bottle vendors ate everywhere in the tourist sites and Rome is studded with potable water fountains.

Hope that helps.

This is great advice! I have never been able to sleep much on an overnight flight but I would try to get on Italy time as soon as possible. Try not to nap, if you can help it. Hydrating is very important particularly in the southern Italy heat. I lived over there and the heat/humidity is fierce! The last time I flew to Europe I lived on the west coast and the time change (jet lag) really hit me. I had a few days that I was in a fog but I just hung on and it got better. I hope you have a wonderful trip! Italy is the best!

 

[At World's End]

I've never had a problem going with jetlag going from the US to Europe, probably because I'm so excited to be there! Stay awake until at least 8 pm local time on your arrival day. Hopefully you will sleep well and be ok the next day. Make time for a gelato break every day, maybe twice a day - seriously. Add it to your budget. There's a place in Rome called Blue Ice. It's amazing. Also, in the Piazza Navona in Rome there is a very fancy gelateria called Tre Scalini that serves Tartuffo. It is out of this world.

Coming home the jet lag is aweful. I live on the west coast, and for days I wake up at 1 or 2 am, wide awake, and it's so hard to get back on schedule. Be prepared for some tiring days when you get home.

 

[abbyjt]

We've travelled with our kids to different time zones several times, and like previously stated, kids seem to have an easier time of it. We always stay awake until local bedtime. Ice cream breaks help too. If you can, take a swim break. A nice refreshing swim right around 5pm local time when everyone is just about going to plop, will wake you up just enought to get dressed, get dinner, walk around a bit and go to bed as late as you can close to normal bedtime. The next day everyone should be fine, but sleeping the second night is usually more difficult than the first.
Coming home, I try to take a very small nap (1 hour) when we get home and then stay up until bedtime.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Coming home the jet lag is aweful. I live on the west coast, and for days I wake up at 1 or 2 am, wide awake, and it's so hard to get back on schedule. Be prepared for some tiring days when you get home.

Same thing for me, and yet they say it's supposed to happen the other way!

We travel to the UK from the west coast with our children often. What works for us is a red-eye flight, where they usually sleep a couple hours (sadly I'm not so fortunate). We usually arrive mid-morning, check into our place and eat lunch. Then we take a no longer than 1.5 hour nap--it's something about the REM sleep cycle. We then get up and do something outside. We eat meals on local time and try to hold out for bed until about 9. It has worked amazingly well for us. We've never had problems with jet lag going (it's the coming back that's the problem).

 

[zanzibar138]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say have a nap if you need to.

When we went to the US everyone told us to stay awake until bed time. But after a 14 hour overnight flight with not a wink of sleep I just couldn't do it!

As soon as we arrived at our hotel we set the alarm for 2 hours and allowed ourselves a short nap. When the alarm went off we got straight up and went out for lunch. It was no problem staying up until our normal bed time and we were able to enjoy our first day.

We got up at about 7am the next day easily and were never bothered by jetlag for the rest of the trip.

If your flight is landing in the afternoon or evening though that strategy may not work!


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[zanzibar138]

Stupid phone can't work out how to edit my post! I just wanted to add, if you manage to get some sleep on the plane and feel ok when you arrive, don't just nap for the sake of it. If you think you can manage it, by all means stay awake until bed time!


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[SingingMom]

I can never sleep on a plane! Our trip to London and Paris last month we took the redeye from Newark and arrives 2:30 am our time. We just plowed ahead and went to Kensington Palace and stayed up for the welcome dinner and even had a nightcap at a pub!! Did well the rest of the trip. Now, when we got home was totally different! LOL. Took a full week to get back to normal!

 

[CBEB]

Anyone have a strategy for going west to Asia (we're on the ABD Enchanted China trip). So... this would be leaving at night (depart 9:05p) and arriving at night (11:30p). I'm assuming since none of typically sleep well on planes, this will work in our favor?

 

[elaine amj]

We have flown to Asia with our children several times. I've learned to plan to stay awake when we arrive. nowadays, i plan a refreshing dip in the pool a few hours after arrival as this is when we're most likely to lag. We've also done sightseeing, etc on arrival day. The main thing is to get out into the sunlight to help your body adjust.

everyone is different though and my DH typically never fully adjusts during the time we are there. He starts crashing about 8/9pm and hes usually up in the wee hours of the night wandering around.

I just keep us busy during the day so excitement takes over everything else. Also, scheduling naps/breaks into the days are helpful...particularly the first few days.

 

[zanzibar138]

Anyone have a strategy for going west to Asia (we're on the ABD Enchanted China trip). So... this would be leaving at night (depart 9:05p) and arriving at night (11:30p). I'm assuming since none of typically sleep well on planes, this will work in our favor?

Even if you get some sleep on the plane, it's never good quality sleep and you will still be tired when you arrive.

The key is to not allow yourself to sleep in that first day. Set your alarm for about 8am (make sure you allow yourselves at least 6 hours sleep though), and get up when it goes off, no matter how awful you feel The excitement of being in a new country will get you through the day, and the tiredness from travelling will help you get to sleep at a reasonable hour that night.

Being on a tour, it should be pretty easy for you as you will be forced into getting up at a set time most mornings anyway.

 

[abdalums]

I am assuming that you are planning an ABD trip. I am also assuming that you want to have a great trip. Here's my best advice: Arrive a day or two early. Everyone adjusts to jet lag in different ways. Our arrival routine is check-in to our hotel, which sometimes means booking the night before. Then, we usually grab a bite to eat. Get a shower (my husband and I usually get massages too) and go to bed for 2-3 hours. Then we get dressed and get out in the sunshine. We push ourselves to stay up to a reasonable bedtime. The next day we are ready to be tourists. For us, the key is not being a tourist until day two. Some will balk at the idea of "wasting" a day when they could be exploring. Try to keep in mind that you are paying top dollar for your adventure and you don't want to be dragging the first day. I always felt sorry for the kids of well meaning parents who drag their exhausted zombie children through WDW. Nobody enjoys the trip. The last thing I want is a Zombie European Vacation

 

[CBEB]

The key is to not allow yourself to sleep in that first day. Set your alarm for about 8am (make sure you allow yourselves at least 6 hours sleep though), and get up when it goes off, no matter how awful you feel The excitement of being in a new country will get you through the day, and the tiredness from travelling will help you get to sleep at a reasonable hour that night.

Thanks, this sounds like a good plan! I probably wouldn't have set an alarm, but this makes total sense to me to do so.

Here's my best advice: Arrive a day or two early. Everyone adjusts to jet lag in different ways.

I agree with you - we are arriving a day early. Our ABD tour doesn't "officially" begin until the following evening (welcome dinner). I know we need a bit of recovery time for this trip over there and want to be as on-schedule as possible when our ABD tour starts!