1st day jet lag

[LINDAE3213]

Arriving to LHR london  630 am on a thursday from NJ USA ....assuming 2 hours to get luggage / immigration then probably another 2 hours to find Tube..get oyster card / catch train to Holborn near hotel to drop luggage.  That's about 10:30 am...brain will be fuzzy...trying to do things 1st day but not overload day due to jet lag.  We might be fine...might be zombies...suggestions, tips, ideas on managing jet lag....sleep on plane, drink water,  push through....what else?  I get cranky when tired so need to prepare...

Nephew list includes British museum /covent garden so was thinking to stay close to hotel with these until check in time then if desperate take a short nap and then push on for london eye.  Best meal idea near british museum /covent garden for lunch?  Thanks

[TMLAalum]

Nephew might have less recovery time from jet lag given his age. 

But some suggestions to recover from it are:

*See if your hotel permits early check in. We paid a small fee to do that in Berlin at a Mercure hotel. And we found an Ibis hotel in Fontainebleau FR with a noon check in!

*Take the HoHo bus for a circuit to doze as needed. For 2nd time around use it to hop off at the British Museum, etc.

[Thejuggler]

We are all different but for me the number one is sleep.  I am however someone who can fall asleep almost as soon as the wheels leave the ground and wake up many hours later!

Noise cancelling headphones are also a must have.  I never use inflight entertainment, preferring my own phone with downloads.  Podcasts or audio book work for me as they send me to sleep.

 

If that isn't possible for you then battle through, get to the hotel, have a couple of hours sleep, shower, refresh, walk and food with a few drinks. Early to bed first night.

[AbsolutSki]

We started waking up progressively earlier about 3 days before our non-stop flight to Amsterdam which arrived at 7am local time (1am home time).  The day of the flight we woke up at 3:30am.  Boarded the flight ~6pm and slept 2-hour stretches on the way over.  We were able to check into our hotel early ~10am and took a quick nap.  We were up by 1pm and started sightseeing around Amsterdam and even took a canal cruise.  By the next day we were fully on local time.  Minimal to no jet lag.

[LINDAE3213]

I'm 56   nephew 28   we are off the day we fly  our flight ex newark is 6 pm.  Was considering a dose of zquill pm as soon as we board to knock me out a bit to snore my way over on the flight...it is what i do now at home when i am tossing and turning at midnight.  I am a morning person by nature and get up 5 am daily.  

Will look into hotel early check in request too.  Thanks for all the suggestions.  

I did book us in business class or premium plus economy as united calls it..nephew is 6 foot 3 and easily 300 lbs so we need the space....we chose these seats on a california flight husband and i took and it does make a difference to have that extra room on long flights.

[Globaliser]

20 minutes ago, LINDAE3213 said:

I did book us in business class or premium plus economy as united calls it.

 

No, "Premium Plus" is not business class. It's only premium economy, which is economy with a bit of extra width and a bit of extra legroom. Nice to have, but far from being business class.

 

Also, "Economy Plus" is different again - that is just standard economy with a bit of extra legroom.

 

Most hotels will let you leave your bags with them if you arrive before your room is ready, so that you can go out straight away without having to wait to get into your room.

[Island2Dweller]

3 hours ago, LINDAE3213 said:

get oyster card

Oyster was innovative when it was introduced two decades ago, but it is now "old tech".  It still works, but it is no longer the most used payment method in London.  A contactless (wave pay) bank card or smartwatch / smartphone is all you need, and cheaper because it avoids the non-refundable £7 that oyster costs.

You mentioned "find tube" but depending on the precise location of your hotel, the new Elizabeth line may be better.  Slightly more expensive but much quicker, much bigger and more comfortable carriages.  And air conditioned.

[fruitmachine]

Daylight is the best thing to hep reset your body clock - not just on your eyes, but on your skin as well.  Maximise the amount you get, especially in the morning when you first arrive.

[LINDAE3213]

2 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

No, "Premium Plus" is not business class. It's only premium economy, which is economy with a bit of extra width and a bit of extra legroom. Nice to have, but far from being business class.

 

Also, "Economy Plus" is different again - that is just standard economy with a bit of extra legroom.

 

Most hotels will let you leave your bags with them if you arrive before your room is ready, so that you can go out straight away without having to wait to get into your room.

We call it business class to differentiate from the sleeper seat 1st class option available...on united i dont think there even is a business class option.  But the 2 2 2 seating option is great.  

[LINDAE3213]

2 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

Oyster was innovative when it was introduced two decades ago, but it is now "old tech".  It still works, but it is no longer the most used payment method in London.  A contactless (wave pay) bank card or smartwatch / smartphone is all you need, and cheaper because it avoids the non-refundable £7 that oyster costs.

You mentioned "find tube" but depending on the precise location of your hotel, the new Elizabeth line may be better.  Slightly more expensive but much quicker, much bigger and more comfortable carriages.  And air conditioned.

I say find tube because i don't know which terminal we arrive in at LHR  after we get luggage / clear immigration etc...have not figured the transit out yet..we need Holborn station.   And not keen on smartcard usage...i'm old school...the oyster card will get a magnet upon return home and get stuck on fridge as a souvenir  

[Thejuggler]

28 minutes ago, LINDAE3213 said:

.have not figured the transit out yet..we need Holborn station.   And not keen on smartcard usage...i'm old school...the oyster card will get a magnet upon return home and get stuck on fridge as a souvenir  

Elizabeth Line service to Tottenham Court Road (far quicker than the traditional tube), then a black taxi to your hotel.  Its not far to Holborn, but with luggage its not worth changing tube lines to Central Line at Tottenham Court Road.

 

Its only a short distance to Holborn so a taxi won't be much,  Holborn is an old station and isn't step free so you would need to carry luggage up stairs to the exit tube and you will still probably have a walk to the hotel.  

[CruiserBruce]

6 hours ago, LINDAE3213 said:

We call it business class to differentiate from the sleeper seat 1st class option available...on united i dont think there even is a business class option.  But the 2 2 2 seating option is great.  

No, United no longer has First Class...many airlines don't any more. Even when they did, both First and Business had lie flat seats.

 

Today, United has Business class (brand name "Polaris")with lie flat seats on international flights. As mentioned previously,  Premium Plus is a wider seat, greater recline, better food. But it is not Business class, and it is not lie flat seating. 

 

 

[Harters]

12 hours ago, LINDAE3213 said:

ideas on managing jet lag

It's just awful. Nothing works with any great success.

 

Our first visit to the States was in 1980 and we've visited a goodly number of times since then. I cannot sleep on planes so that and the time difference means I am always wrecked when I get back to the UK. It takes me perhaps three days to get back to some semblance of normality and, always, feeling I need another holiday to recover. And it's got steadily worse as I've got older. Our last trip was to join the ship for a transatlantic cruise back to Europe. So, no jet lag issues with that but I doubt whether I want to visit the States again on a trip that involves flying back home. 

[johnboy036]

8 hours ago, LINDAE3213 said:

the oyster card will get a magnet upon return home and get stuck on fridge as a souvenir  

You can reload and use your oyster card again the next time you visit London so you don't have to purchase a new one. I'm using my oyster card for the third time this summer.

[LINDAE3213]

14 minutes ago, johnboy036 said:

You can reload and use your oyster card again the next time you visit London so you don't have to purchase a new one. I'm using my oyster card for the third time this summer.

I saw online you can refund some value before leaving..if less then 10 pounds.   I'd rather not have credit card in hand when traveling....and at this point not even sure I will have phone service.  Have to reach out to Verizon about the international usage and cost.   I am used to not using my phone while traveling...mostly cruises to caribbean or staying on Caribbean islands like Aruba....I prefer vacations without phones.

[Island2Dweller]

5 hours ago, LINDAE3213 said:

I saw online you can refund some value before leaving

Yes, you can get a refund on the cash balance, but you don't get the £7 that it costs to purchase the card back.

(After 12 months, that £7 becomes available as travel credit, but not before).

 

[LINDAE3213]

I saw a visitor oyster card that gets mailed to house but it has a 5 pound fee plus mailing costs..no clue what that cost would be from uk to nj but don't think it would be any more special.

[TMLAalum]

11 hours ago, LINDAE3213 said:

I saw online you can refund some value before leaving..if less then 10 pounds.   I'd rather not have credit card in hand when traveling....and at this point not even sure I will have phone service.  Have to reach out to Verizon about the international usage and cost.   I am used to not using my phone while traveling...mostly cruises to caribbean or staying on Caribbean islands like Aruba....I prefer vacations without phones.

 Perhaps your nephew could load the necessary apps on his cell phone. 

Last summer I switched from AT&T to T-mobile which has free data and texting in Europe. One advantage was with the United app downloaded we were informed of any delays, etc. Another benefit was using Google Maps to find our way back to our VRBO when we got lost in Paris.

 

[mrgabriel]

I go over to London for relatively quick trips (4-5 days) fairly frequently, so there's no time for jet lag. This is what works for me:

• Book a seat where I can sleep and not be bothered. That doesn't have to be first class, it can be extra legroom or the bulkhead
• Starting several days in advance, I start shifting my time clock by an hour a day. There's a 7-hour time difference between where I live and London so I start the time change about 5 days in advance. The night before the flight, I may be going to bed at 7 PM and getting up at 2 AM.
• Pack a good pillow (I use a TRTL), a blanket, sleeping mask, noise cancelling headphones, and an inflatable food rest. Unless I've managed to snag cheap lie flat seats (hahaha) in which case I don't need any of these things. I always wear something that is comfortable for sleeping.
• Right after the flight takes off, I get myself ready to sleep and take half a sleeping pill. (My doctor knows I do this). Then I go to sleep. I don't have a drink or stay awake for the food because that can push out sleep time by a couple of hours. Sleep.

 

Most of the time I will get a good 5-6 hours of sleep which makes the first day so much easier. I've rarely been able to get early check-in so instead drop off my luggage and go out. As someone else said, get out in the sunlight and move around. Don't sit somewhere because you'll fall asleep and only make jet lag last longer.

[LINDAE3213]

Great tips!  Thanks.

[Globaliser]

12 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

(After 12 months, that £7 becomes available as travel credit, but not before).

 

Do you have a source for that? The TfL website baldly says only that "If you got your card on or after 4 September 2022, the fee is non-refundable".

[Island2Dweller]

Indeed, you're correct.  They've changed the rules again.  It used to be that the purchase charge became credit after a year.  But now the £7 for a new card is now is never refundable.

All the more reason to do as most folk in London do and use a bank card / phone or watch instead, rather than buy an oyster.

Additionally, oyster is valid to fewer destinations than card/watch/phone.

[Joanne G.]

On 6/5/2024 at 7:27 PM, LINDAE3213 said:

. . . .  I'd rather not have credit card in hand when traveling....

I used to feel like that.  I bought a visitor Oyster card for a land vacation in London in 2022.  I reloaded it a couple times during that trip, and I reloaded it again during 2 pre-cruise visits in 2023.  Last month on a pre-cruise visit, I used the remaining balance and then started using a credit card (one with no foreign transaction fees).    So much easier!  No trying to guess how much to load on the card given the variable rates for Tube rides.  I don't know why I resisted using a credit card for so long.  

 

As for turning the card into a souvenir magnet after your trip, I'll say London souvenir shops have all kinds of magnets to choose from LOL.  I have one that's a replica of the Abbey Road street sign. 😁  But I did find a use for my Oyster card - it worked in the slot by the cabin door on my ship where I was supposed to put my key card in order to keep the electricity functioning in the cabin.

 

Regarding jet lag, what works for me is to simply power through the arrival day, regardless of the fact that I barely sleep at all on planes.  I resist the urge to nap, and instead I get out and do something, get some exercise and fresh air, go easy on coffee and alcohol, have an early dinner, and then go to bed as close to normal bedtime local time as possible.  Excitement and adrenalin help keep me going.  When I follow this routine, I am fine the next day.   A nap on arrival day just prolongs a messed-up sleep/wake schedule for me. 

 

Jet lag for me is much worse upon arriving home.  I have no solution for that except to accept that it will take me several days to get back on a normal sleep/wake schedule.   

[SoloAlaska]

I bring a “blanket” usually just a nice big shawl and dress comfy so I can sleep. My mom has short legs so she uses a foot hammock on long flights. I’m not sure what difference it makes but I also wear compression socks on long haul flights. 
 

The biggest thing for me is I have to avoid napping when I arrive. I don’t check in early to a hotel because then I’d be tempted to crawl into bed. When I flew to Rome for my last cruise I feel slept 4pm after a long day of flying and it messed me up. My last flight to Europe I went to bed at 8:30 and had no jet lag at all.

 

In December I’m flying into Gatwick, spending the day in London and considering going to Southampton for the night. It will be a long day but I’ll make it work.

 

Oh and age doesn’t have that much to do with susceptibility to jet lag. My mom never gets jet lagged it seems. She also doesn’t need 8 hours of sleep like I do. She is the one pushing me to stay awake as late as possible after we fly internationally on business.

[fruitmachine]

7 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

I also wear compression socks on long haul flights.

+1 for the compression socks.  They help prevent DVT and my experience is that I feel much better on arrival, even after a UK to NZ length journey.