Fatigue the first days of tour

If it took you 3 days to acclimate before, I would arrive at least 3 days prior to your trip. I learned the hard way that jet lag hits you harder the older you get! You may also be more active on a tour than you are at home, so a little (or a lot) of pre-trip prep may help). Walk 3-5 miles a day, in the shoes you plan to bring on the tour, carrying your day bag.

Yeah, it's called jet lag. The more time you take to adjust, the less tired you will be. I remember our first tour, we came three day early, and saw the people who arrived the day of the tour start to fall asleep in their dinner plates at the first night's dinner.

Excellent suggestions, thanks!

Yes, I will be the first of a chorus encouraging you to get there several days or more ahead of the tour. Flying to Europe is not cheap, so we like to make the most of it by spending time pre-tour in either the departure city or one nearby. We work through jet lag and have some less scheduled time before we join the group. This also gives us a buffer if our flights are delayed, so we don't miss the tour start.

We always book with at least two days pad before the start of an event/tour/etc. Not only do we get time to acclimate, but there pad days come in handy when flights get delayed, connections missed, baggage delayed, etc.

Great suggestions, thanks. My last two tours I've gone off to other cities after the Rick Steves tour. I may reverse that and do the tour last. Either way, things have to change to make my tour more enjoyable. Thanks for the great ideas.

I agree with all my forum cohorts. I like to arrive several days to a week early. Or more! Yes to doing your city visit before your tour! I’d look at the days of the week the tour starts. Some tours go every couple of days, some go twice a week, some less. One start day may work better for you.

My next tour is in a few weeks and I’m going to try the Timeshifter app. You get one free Round Trip then you have to pay so I’ll see if their plan for sleeping and getting daylight work. This trip is short and I’m arriving in Scotland 3 days before the tour starts. It also gives you a plan for returning home to work your circadian rhythm back to your home time zone.

There are various schools of thought on how to get past jet lag - I believe in having your arrival day consist of lots of walking around outdoors, and making yourself stay awake until a reasonable bedtime in your new time zone.

Yes, jet lag is tough and very real. I asked the Forum about a scientifically-based book for jet lag, the thread below shows some interesting ideas, including 1) what sort of plane you fly that would lessen the effects,
2) TimeShifter app which some people are using, & 3) blue light reducing glasses to wear on the flight to help emulate the night time where I'm headed. https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Light-Blocking-Glasses-Anti-Fatigue/dp/B07JNYMHFW.

Maybe some ideas here... scroll down a ways. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/books-movies/looking-for-an-up-to-date-scientific-book-about-jet-lag.

I found what @MarkCW said about wide-body planes interesting,

the newer wide-body (planes) with their carbon fiber elements may be conducive to reducing the effects of the time shift, due to higher humidity levels and higher cabin pressure. That would mean looking for transcontinental flights on a 787 or A350, as opposed to a 777 or 767 or A330.

I always arrive a few days early. This trip I arrive in Paris and stay 2 nights just for jet lag. I'll stay outside as much of the day as possible and have no museums, etc. scheduled-just walking around being there. Then off to Chartres on Fri and tour doesn't start ' til Sunday evening. I expect by the time of the tour I will be over jet lag and relaxed and full of energy for my tour.

When we went on tours to Asia, we were advised to travel there three days to a week ahead due to jet lag. We always have done this. When you go to Europe to join a tour I would go two full days ahead to minimize the effects of jet lag.

And of course, West Coast folks coming to Europe will have greater jet lag go overcome than those from the East Coast will have.

I’ve noticed that the number of flights to reach the destination will affect how tired I am at arrival and the next day. If you had connecting flights vs. a non-stop flight, those can add to it. Last year I had Spokane (Idaho)-to-Seattle-to-Amsterdam-to-Milan flights, and I was a zombie sitting in the sun at Milan trying to acclimate.

If you’re wanting to keep expenses down, look at Booking.com or similar for a cheaper hotel for your jet lag days before your tour begins. I like fun, quirky hotels, but my priority those first two nights is a quiet location. And it’s fun to have experienced two neighborhoods when you switch over to your RS hotel.

Jean...I think that is an excellent point. Plus for you and me, we've got a good 45-60 minute drive to the Spokane Airport!

Having done the similar route to Milan last year (except transiting thru CDG) wow, I was beat by the arrival in Milan.

Plus for you and me, we've got a good 45-60 minute drive to the Spokane Airport!

Much better than Edmonds to SEA and having to go through security there, vs GEG

Just because you have an easier commute, doesn't mean you have to rub salt into the wound. :-)

Hahaha....sorry Joe! I tend to think you folks on the West side have it easier and no, all you've got is a lot more traffic, lol!! Sorry! You can come over and fly out of Spokane any time your heart desires!

@Joe32F, we lived in the Seattle area for 30 years, moving in 2019 to Idaho. Should I tell you how short the Starbucks line is at the Spokane airport, too? ; ). But, that last SeaTac-toSpokane leg during an international trip is the payback for our short lines.

I agree with others' comments re arriving 1-2 days before a tour begins. I'll throw out one other factor: when I did the Barcelona/Madrid tour in 2019, I found it the most tiring of the 5 RS tours I've done. I attribute that to:
a. so much city walking on pavement
b. because it was a short tour, there wasn't a totally free "vacation from your vacation" day
c. no bus time to nap/decompress

In summary, a combination of arriving 1-2 days before the tour and going on a tour that's not so fast paced may solve your problem.

I'm also going to try the Timeshifter app in about a month to plan ahead to avoid jet lag to and from my Eastern Europe tour. I will report back here to let you know how it goes and if it helped me. Thank you again to those who recommended this.

@Jill…I’m currently in Scotland on a fairly short trip so gave the Timeshifter a try. I felt it worked very well for adjusting to European time. Of course I’ve just done the front half of the trip so will post after I return home on the whole thing. I was pretty careful about following it’s suggestions as closely as possible. I’ve had no fuzzy headedness and no need to nap at 3PM which was the issue last Spring. Good luck!

That does it.....I'm also going to try the Timeshifter app.
The older we have gotten, the more jet lag gets to us on our first day or two of our trip.
It's really bad; this has to end.

tsull325, I will just confirm the advice you're already gotten, to arrive early for any tour. Three days ahead of time has worked for us. It gives you time to get over jet lag, but also time to walk around the first town/city on your tour. This is a good time to go to any museum, cathedral or sight that will not be covered on your tour.
Keeping my fingers crossed that the Timeshifter app is a game-changer for us.

Some really great advice from my lead question starting this thread. I'm going to use as many tips as I can and I'm looking forward to another Rick Steves tour next year, but being more rested and ready. Thanks everyone!

I think it took longer to acclimate not just because you arrived the day of but because once tours get started it’s go-go-go. If you arrive at least 1 day ahead you can hopefully get one good nights sleep which will help you feel more rested before you hit the pavement running.

Everyone is different in how long it takes them to get over jet lag. One woman on my last tour arrived the day of the tour (not recommended even without jet lag issues) and said she was just fine! I don't get a good night's sleep for 5-7 days, so I arrive well in advance and plan activities for that time that are flexible and not too taxing.

While I have not done an RS tour, traveling from the west coast as well, my approach is to depart - when possible - early afternoon and arrive early afternoon; or depart morning and arrive morning (such as between 9am-11am). Reason being to allow a good amount of time to stay up as late as possible (goal between 8pm-10pm) upon arrival. While it is difficult and found it to be a little more expensive ($100-$400 in flights) to get my preferences it has worked pretty well, aside from being a zombie the day of arrival and staying up that day. Waking up the next morning has gone relatively well and we are good to go. May be something to consider if planning to arrive the day before your tour starts.
Also worth noting our most recent trip flying in was on an A350 as mentioned by another above, although we didn't book based on the aircraft, perhaps that may have had an impact..
I do know I will never arrive at night again! Did that my first trip and it took me days to acclimate.