Travel Questions

Try to get as much sleep as you can by blocking out light (eye shades) and noise (cancelling headphones, ear plugs, etc. Everyone responds to jet lag differently (it's age dependent and based on the characteristics of your flight) and swears by their own method. I would never take medication or have alcohol, for example, as it makes me really groggy and messes up my sleep even more.

Here are the best tips I found. The article gives you some info on what to expect roughly by the number of timezones you cross in your flight:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/02/jet-lag-hacks-tips_n_5232811.html

I have the new passport so I can't comment on the non-chip ones. I am assuming there should be no problem, as you are well within the expiration date.

Great article, thank you.

If you don't normally take sleeping aids at home, I wouldn't start just before a tour. Try going to sleep at home a little earlier than usual for several night, set your watch to local time as soon as you get on the plane.

I traveled last summer with my son, who has a chip in his passport. Mine does not. Wasn't a problem at all!

As the above poster mentioned... frequent travelers have usually developed their own routine based on trial and error. What works for me may not work for you. But since you asked...

I take a prescription sleep med on the flight, the same one I've used before and know exactly how it will effect me (if you go this route, don't use the flight as your trial run!). Not so much to avoid jet lag, but to pass the time on the flight. I usually expect the first day upon arrival to be a wash-out. I sometimes take a short nap, but it depends on what time the plane touches down in Europe. I don't plan anything too aggressive on the first day, go to bed early and sleep slightly late. This leaves me in good enough shape to more or less feel normal by day two.

The first time I did not have any jet lag on the arrival day of an overnight flight was last year to Yorkshire Dales. Two flights. First from Boston was at 10:30 PM. I've spent years trying to sleep on the plane to no avail. This time I said I wasn't going to bother so I just read, watched movie, etc. I had no jet lag all day and was finally forced to go to bed at 10:30 PM because everyone else did. And I slept all night, a rarity. The other thing I did differently and opposite to 'rules' was I slept late the morning of my flight to about 10:30 AM. So my new guidelines: sleep late on the day of the overnight flight and don't try to sleep on the plane. I'm trying it again soon and will see if it was a fluke or not. (I had a gap of years when I took only day flights because I had such a problem with eastbound international flights, so I'm comparing a younger body to an older body, fyi.) Wray

Another question: My son, who is 17, is traveling with us. I am divorced from his father and we now have different last names. I have sole custody and a notarized divorce decree which states that. I have had to produce proof of sole custody once or twice when we've gone to Canada. Has anyone experienced having to prove custody while traveling in Europe?

Hi,

As pointed out above dealing with jet lag, sleeping on the flight varies from person to person. I would suggest checking with the doc on taking any sort of sleeping aid. If I am going to fall asleep and stay asleep on the plane, I do it without sleeping aids. It just varies. On some flights I get only 3.5 to 4 hrs, on others more than seven hours, which is great. Arriving in the morning is what I find works best after a non-stop flight of ten plus hours to adjust to local time.

salor,

As the others have mentioned people use a variety of methods to deal with jet lag, often determined by trial & error. You didn't say which city you're departing from, but if it's on the west coast you'll be travelling across more time zones than those on the east coast. I live on the west coast and jet lag has always affected me. I've never had much luck sleeping on planes for a variety of reasons and I don't like to use "pharmaceutical helpers" for that. I usually select an aisle seat as I like to be able to get up to use the WC or stretch my legs, so there's no way I'd be able to sleep through the entire flight. The usual suggestion in the guidebooks is to get lots of sunshine and fresh air on arrival day and then head for bed early. In my case, that only seems to be marginally effective and I often have to take a power nap.

Regarding the Passports, you shouldn't have any issues with non-chipped Passports. I don't believe my Passport has a chip, so they just swipe it through the reader and I've never had any issues when arriving anywhere in Europe.

I would definitely recommend packing along the notarized letter stating that you have legal custody of your son, as European authorities may ask for it also.

I don't know how medications affect you, but we are both prone to motion sickness and usually buy the non-drowsy bonine to help. this time we decided to try the regular dramamine instead, hoping it would help make us sleep. We never felt groggy or sleepy, but both of us slept more than we ever have on a plane. Just a thought in case you need the motion sickness medicine anyway.

I have attended numerous RS travel classes over the years and in one of them the presenter cautioned about taking any medicine that might make you go to sleep and get to a mental state where if presented with an emergency, you might not be able to respond as needed. Since that time I have not taken any sleep inducing medicine when flying even though I take one half of an over-the-counter sleeping pill every night in Hawaii since I go to bed at 7:30 which the tourists are still out partying. My doctor is aware of my doing this and while not approving, had found no reason physically for me to stop. For many years now, when flying from Seattle to Europe, non-stop, I am able to cat-nap but no really restful sleep. Everyone is different in their ways of trying to avoid jet-lag and I found out years ago, after trying the most recommended ways with no success, that I go to bed when arriving for a couple of hours while my wife goes out on a walk. Works fine for me. My passport does not have a chip and I had no problem using it in Europe last year. Leaving again in less than a month and I would certainly report back if I have any problems with it. My debit card does not have a chip but worked fine in Greece last year. Suppose I should be asking for a replacement card with a chip. Happy travels.

Are you sure you leave at 6.00 a.m. and arrive a day later at 8.30 a.m. ? If that's your schedule, you must have a stop-over somewhere.

I've tried 2 herbal-y type things that help me with sleep. I have found they are also helpful to allow sleep in an urban hotel with some street noise to which I am unaccustomed. I carry with me Bach's Sleep Remedy (drops not spray or lozenge) and a lozenge called Moon Drops. I do not believe either have melatonin, but look at ingredients if you have any sensitivities. I find these at both the natural food store and at the regular grocery store in the natural food section.

I usually have a 24+ hour time frame leaving from my small airport in N. Idaho, with a couple of layovers along the way. The good thing is that by the time you get on the International leg of your journey you will be pretty pooped. If you can go without caffeine on your travel day, do so as it may help you to rest more on the overnight flight.

Have a wonderful, wonderful time on your RS tour!

Like Chani, the time for the flight stuck out with me, it looks like you have at least one (possibly more) stopovers along the way.

With that in mind, getting sleep or using a sleep aid can be tricky. Ideally, you arrive in Germany rested and alert. Usually that's too much to expect, so as rested and alert as possible is a good goal.

All of us have some techniques to manage jet lag. Two that I always use:

Adjusting my bed time leading up to the trip. First try adjusting your bed time and getting up by an hour. If you get that down, try for another hour. The more you can adjust your day prior to the trip, the less adjustment Germany's time zone will be.

I always set my clock to local time at the destination when I get to the departure airport. From then on I think only in local time at the destination - in terms of meals and sleep times - and don't allow myself to think about what time it is "at home". It's easier to sleep on the flight when you know it's 11 pm at your destination than thinking it's only 6 pm at home.

I've used and not used sleep aids with various degrees of success. The biggest thing to avoid is being groggy from the sleep aid when you need to be awake. You need to take it, at least, eight hours before you arrive in Germany. With your connections, that could be a problem, you may not have a long enough flight leg to avoid grogginess at either a stop over (bad) or your destination (worst). If that's the case, skip the sleep aid, use a combination of a blind fold, ear-plugs or ear phones with soft music and telling yourself it's bedtime and you need sleep. Don't even look at the entertainment choices on the flight over.

Don't worry at all about the passport. A valid passport is still valid regardless of what changes they make during the ten years you hold it. Your next passport will have a chip (or whatever the current requirement is then) but yours is still fine until it expires.

Yes, we leave our airport on the west coast at 6:00 a.m. and have a layover on the east coast while waiting for another family member to join us on the overseas flight. It will be a very long journey, but well worth it. We appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions. Safe and happy travels to all!