Early AM arrival in Europe—Never again!

Toby, why didn't you just book it for the day before? That's what a lot of people here do, and then they're able to get in when they first arrive.

It wasn’t available. Also lodging in Ireland is expensive, over $200/night.

We almost always arrive early morning. When we are staying in hotels, we either leave the luggage or more often than not, we book the room for the night before.

When staying in apartments, I check with the owner before I book to see if we a leave our luggage there even though the cleaners will be there. So far they have always accommodated us. Worst case, leave the stuff in the car and go wander on foot or park in front of a place to get breakfast where you a keep an eye on the car.

If I take a nap on arrival day it messes me up for the rest of the trip.

Our early morning arrival in Dublin a decade ago changed how we travel. We always book accommodations for the night prior, explaining to our host that we will be arriving early the next morning. It’s worth the expense.

This is a key reason that many years ago I gave up on early arrivals in Europe. For me it would end up that I was landing around midnight Mountain time and having to function/stay awake for most of the day with almost no sleep.

I now look for late evening departures from Denver that with a connection in Europe will get me to my destination late evenings which works for a quick dinner and then to bed.

As a flier from the west coast with limited direct flights, this is almost always the option unless I'm willing to overnight in an east coast city on the way. Press ahead, do your best, get a good night sleep. Enjoy your trip.

Like CL, this is often my only option. I have sometimes been able to check in early. I have sometimes been able to book for the night before. I have sometimes been able to book an airport sleeping pod for a few hours. I have sometimes been able to drop off my luggage and tour around for a few hours. I have sometimes gone somewhere to have lunch. I have sometimes done some combination of the above.

I have never sat and waited to check in for more than an hour, fortunately. I agree that doesn't seem pleasant.

I hope you have a great time in Ireland, anyhow.

Back in the day I would land at 7:00 AM, shower at the Admiral's Club and be at my first meeting at 9:00 AM. Those days are long gone. As is traveling in a premium class on the company's dollar.

I'm now considering the fly to NYC or Boston and take one of the daytime flights to London. Then, night in London or connection on to the continent. Anyone else using this approach?

Another West Coast flier. Early morning arrivals are our reality. I have reserved hotel room for the night before a few times and that helps. Otherwise, just keep moving. I think OP’s challenge is that an apartment really can’t be ready early when it was rented the night before.

I am sure that things will seem a bit brighter in just a few hours.

My best departure options are in the 5-6pm or 10pm hours with arrival in the 6-7am or 10-11am hours. Early arrival doesn't bother me one way or the other, but if there were anything that I were to be annoyed by, it is how hotels have moved from traditional 1-2pm check-in times pushed back to 3-4pm.

Instead of waiting around, I use that block of time between landing and hotel check-in to take a train & travel out to where I'll actually start my trip, eventually working my way to my departure city. In the past, I've landed at Heathrow and immediately gone on to Chichester or Ironbridge, and last year I landed at Berlin and immediately headed to Prague. By the time I get to my actual destination, it's time for check-in.

This was born out of experience. On my first trip to Europe, I landed in Dublin with an early morning arrival well before check-in at Trinity College accommodations. I spent hours fighting the urge to nod off for a nap right there in the student commons area while waiting for my room. I changed up after that.

It seems you tried to book the night before and wasn't available. And I understand how it is to travel in a budget conscious way.
I would probably had waited in the airport for a few hours as I usually travel alone. Glad you got some company to commiserate with.

I fly from the West too but I haven't arrived at 7A in years. The last 2 trips my Delta flights left from Seattle around 615-645P arriving around Noon or 1P. Much easier to navigate.

I agree with using the night before strategy. I'd certainly need to do that if I were coming in at 7A no matter what the cost! I do understand your unit not being available though.

Our flight arrives in London at 6 am and check in is at 4 pm. There is no way that I am going to power through for 10 hours. The cost of the extra night hotel was too high to justify 10 hours there. I booked a a nice day hotel close by for 1/3 the price where we can shower, get some rest and then check in to our hotel at 4 pm.

Typically if we're flying US-EU we aim for a non-stop departing between 21:00-23:00 ET...landing approximately 13:00-15:00 Berlin-time...arrive at hotel an hour later and usually able to check-in but if not we simply leave luggage in the hotel locked storage room. In either case we grab our daypacks and stay out until after supper. Quickest way we've found to overcome jet-lag.

The increasing problem has become that despite the 9-hour flight duration that departs at roughly our customary bedtime we almost never manage to fall/stay asleep the entire flight. Rarely do we arrive on more than 5-6 hours of sleep (pharmaceutical sleep aids are not an option for us).

Mary has the best solution. If you can't book your lodging for the night prior to arrival, book a day room at a hotel. It's generally under $100.

I usually shoot for a mid-morning/noon arrival, and plan my first night, in a hotel, where they can keep the bags until the room is ready. Early morning arrivals are not terrible, but they do make for a very long first day. Even with a mid day arrival, I don't "crash", I prefer to keep active.

But more so, I watch the return flight time, nothing before 9 AM, prefer closer to noon and a direct flight. Have seen way too many people on here try to save a few bucks taking the early morning flights, then try to figure out how to get to the airport before public transport is running, or wasting most of a last day in Europe staying at an airport hotel.

I'm now considering the fly to NYC or Boston and take one of the daytime flights to London. Then, night in London or connection on to the continent. Anyone else using this approach?

@JKH, This is my only approach. Even though I live less than an hour from Logan Airport Boston, I stay at the airport, walkable to my terminal, the night before, so I'd do that where ever I lived. It's a 7:30 AM flight. This is how I always get to Europe. Day flights are a game changer. I stay at a Heathrow hotel and then move on. No suffering involved! It's a perk of being retired and having the time to really enjoy my sleep.

Mary, that is a good idea. I never thought about that. That makes a lot of sense, especially if you can't book your place for the night before, and if it is really expensive.

Although I will say that I usually just power through. Once I check in at the hotel, I might rest for a little bit, but I'm usually okay in the morning and until around 3 p.m., and that's when I start dragging a bit. That said, I don't really get jet lag heading east; I just get sleep-deprived, so once I take a short nap, I'm usually okay until I can get back to bed that evening.