Keeping Time in Mind

For many travelers, planning a vacation can be overwhelming whether or not it’s your first or fiftieth time doing so. This is partially due to the amount of time and effort that goes into planning travel. The bulk of preparation is normally spent researching the travel destination, accommodations, transportation to and within the destination, restaurants and things to do once there. With these things in mind, it’s easy to forget what I consider to be two of the most important things when planning a vacation, which are the following:

• Time Zone Changes

• Length of Travel

Time Zone Changes

One thing to consider when traveling to another country outside of your own, is the possibility of a time zone change. Pretend you’re currently living in San Diego, California and you’re planning to travel to Tokyo, Japan. California operates on Pacific Standard Time (GMT -8) and Japan on Japan Standard Time (GMT +9). This means that Japan is 17 hours ahead of California. Because of the difference in time, one can expect to experience jet lag when traveling to Japan from California. Do NOT let this discourage your travel, but rather keep this in mind so that you can properly determine your dates of travel in order to allow yourself time to adjust to the time zone once there and to readjust to your normal time zone upon your return.

To combat this issue, when selecting my flight itinerary, I aim to select flights that will allow me to arrive at the final destination at night if the time zone is more than 5 hours ahead of my current time zone. I have found that by doing this, I am able to quickly adjust. Once I arrive to my accommodation, I’m able to shower and prepare for bed. The following morning, I’m able to get up and seize the day for the most part. Should the time zone be more than 5 hours behind my current time zone, then I aim to select flights that will allow me to arrive at the destination in the morning. In this case, I try to carry out the day as I normally do, avoiding sleep at all costs.

Length of Travel

Another thing to consider when planning travel is the overall length of travel. In speaking of “length of travel,” I’m not just referring to your dates of travel, but I’m also referring to the total flight time as well. Again, let’s pretend you’re traveling from San Diego, California to Tokyo, Japan. You only have 7 days available to make the trip happen. Taking into consideration the time zone change and flight time, this will decrease the actual amount of time you’ll spend in Japan. So how much time will I actually have, Marnise? I’m glad you asked!

Let’s say your travel dates are February 16-February 22. If you’re lucky to catch a non-stop flight from San Diego to Tokyo, you’re looking at 12 hours of flight time. If not, then you’re looking at 14-25 hours of travel time depending on the itinerary you select. With this, you have to consider that you’ll more than likely arrive in Japan on February 17 even though your travel will start on February 16. Again, this is due to the time change. If you follow my suggestion and opt for a flight that will allow you to arrive at night, let’s consider February 17 a day of the past. In actuality, you’ll only have February 18-21 to explore Japan since on February 22, this will also be a travel day. In total, 3 out of 7 days are spent travelling.

Please don’t allow this to discourage your travel. Four days in another country is more than enough time to explore. I have spent as few as 3 days in different countries and those have been some of the most memorable trips ever. I only wish to share with you the things I failed to consider initially when planning an international trip so that you won’t make the same mistake when planning.

Now that you are aware of these things, “Keep Time in Mind!”