Doesn’t make sense does it?  On a normal work day, I dread having to get out of bed, but when  I travel I can’t help but get up early!  Surely I should be chilling out and having a lay in?!  I will even research sunset and sunrise times in the destination so I can make optimum use of the daylight hours!  There are several reasons why this is part of my travel routine and why it should be in everyone else’s too!

Sunrises

I often think that sunrises are more special than sunsets.  The majority of people are usually awake to see the sun go down, but I love the feeling of thinking ‘wow how comes I’m the only one witnessing this?!’

Safety as a Solo Traveller

I’d rather wander round by myself in the day light than what I would at night time.  In Jamaica I worked out I could go for a run on the beach before breakfast, as it got light early.  In Barcelona, I had breakfast while it was dark so as soon as it was light I could go out and explore!  I feel the chances of being pick pocketed are a lot slimmer when there are less people, if someone was standing THAT close to me on an empty street, I’m gonna know something is up.  In a crowd, people bump into you all the time.

Photography

Getting up early = no random people getting in the way and spoiling photos!!  Here are some examples…late in the day is on the left, early in the morning is on the right!

Attractions are less crowded

This one ties in with the photography aspect too.  As I’ve got older (ha! I’m not even 30 yet!) I now have a hatred of crowds.  Being first in line is always good!  I like being able to walk around without the feeling of being rushed.  If I want to read a display board, I want to be able to see it without looking over someone’s shoulder.  Theme parks are like a military operation, work out which ride will have the longest queue, if you’re first in line there’s no waiting, you may even be able to get a second go before they build up too much!  At the beach?  Sun loungers are always available early in the morning!  (However, leaving towels on loungers to reserve them, drives me insane, I like to sit and read when the beach is peaceful and quiet and all you can hear is the sea).  My favourite way to see a city is by Segway.  I LOVE the early Sunday morning tours.  There are no people to get in the way and you can whizz around without a care in the world.

It’s relaxing

Removing the hustle and bustle and noise, I feel I can enjoy a destination a lot more.  It’s also kinda nice watching everything ‘wake up’!

Does anyone else enjoy waking up early when they travel?