you're going on vacation ,when do you ideally want to set off?

[Spinneret]

early morning about 8am

 

[MrsPete]

Depends upon the length of our drive or the flight time, but I want to leave in the morning -- as early as is reasonable. The sooner we get started, the sooner we arrive and our vacation begins.

My friend and her husband have a disconnect on this topic: She feels as I do -- your vacation arrives once you get to your destination /settle in. Vacation begins once the drive is behind you. Her husband feels that vacation starts when you wake up on travel day -- he wants to get up, make a big pancake breakfast, start the drive leisurely without a lot of concern for what time you'll arrive at the destination.

 

[PalmettoPath]

As early as possible, no matter how we're going. We aim for flights at 6:30 a.m. and sometimes leave at 4:30 a.m. for long drives. For overseas flights, we usually have no choice as most leave locally in the early evening and go overnight.

 

[MsChristy12]

Depends on where we are going but usually morning flights, but not the 6am flights, those are a tad too early for us. I don't wanna be at the airport already when the lounges aren't even open yet! Except Delta sky club, thank god a lot of usually open around 5am. We will do red-eye as well if it's coast to coast/international.

 

[amcnj]

I prefer early starts. My last flight the check-in and security was slow till the airport started waking up more, and additional employees started their workday. My long drives usually began around 2 am.

 

[Meriweather]

Depends on where and mode of travel.....flying to FL, morning since it takes some time and we have a time change.
Driving to DLR we leave about 7 am

 

[tvguy]

The end of the day activities for the first day and method of travel determine when we leave. Everything is "back timed" from that.
If we are going to Disneyland by car, which is a 5 1/2 hour, no reason to leave before 9 am because we can't get into our hotel room before 3 pm, so if we allow 30 minutes for lunch and leg stretching breaks, we should be able to get into our room when we arrive.
If we going to Disneyland by plane which is an hour flight we might leave at 11 am, get to Los Angeles by noon, get a rental car, drop our bags off at the hotel at 1 pm, and be in the parks by 1:30 pm, but only if we have enough days admission to burn up one day's admission for a half day.

 

[disneychrista]

Depends where I am going and how long it takes to get there and what the plan is when we get there and if I am doing anything along the way. My goal is usually to arrive around lunchtime, stop at a local brewery.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

If driving instead of flying... before the sun comes up!

If flying, probably 10 or 11 am.

 

[MsChristy12]

because we can't get into our hotel room before 3 pm, so if we allow 30 minutes for lunch and leg stretching breaks, we should be able to get into our room when we arrive.

Do you always wait until actual check-in time to check in? Or the place you stay always have very strict check-in times?

 

[tvguy]

Do you always wait until actual check-in time to check in? Or the place you stay always have very strict check-in times?

Well, to be honest, most times all the other things that determine that we won't be at the hotel until check in time or later.
We did a road trip in April and drove most days until 4 pm, and the hotels we stayed at....five of them.....all Holiday Inn Expresses all have 3 pm check in.
When we visit my son and his family, we travel down on Friday, get to the hotel about 4 pm because my son and DIL work until 5 pm, so no point in being their earlier.
My daughter spent two weeks in May in Germany, and paid extra for early check in, assuming it would be sometime after noon. Turns out regular check in is 4 pm and early check in is 3 pm, but they felt sorry for her and had a room for her by 1 pm, but she got the impression the many hotels in Germany really don't treat early check in the same way it might be treated at a resort in the U.S. for example.