When traveling, if you have flexibility with your time, would you prefer to not rush in the morning and arrive whenever, or wake up extra early, get out the door and arrive early but tired?

I’d rather wake up early and get there early. This makes it hard for me to travel with my friend who is never in a hurry. She will say let’s leave at 10 and maybe around 1:00, she’ll show up. Very annoying.

I’m more like your friend, @chyna. I wouldn’t say 10 and arrive at 1, but I would say “let’s shoot for 12.” If you agreed, I would go for that. Anything earlier than noon is stressful for me. Not that I’m not up early, but just to do everything and get out is tough. Also on days when I’m traveling, I start doing stuff in the house – changing cat litter, maybe taking out one last load of laundry, etc.

I prefer not to have to rush out early either. It makes me more nervous when I have to.

Arrive early but not necessarily tired by trying to get enough sleep earlier than usual before leaving.

It takes me a long time to fully wake up so I like to start that process early. I don’t drink coffee, tea or anything with caffeine in it. I’m very sensitive to caffeine. Never touched alcohol, tobacco or any other recreational drug.

I always choose getting up early and getting to destination or back home so I have as much of the day for me.
I am about to return from a biz trip and both end were a 3am alarm. drive to airport, TSA Pre, flight at 6am. Arrival westbound was at 9:30am and eastbound will be 11:30am. each has 1 stop.

I much prefer not rushing, and I hate waking up at o’dark hundred, hours before my usual time to get out of bed. When I have to wake up in the wee wee hours I barely sleep all night worrying about oversleeping. It’s counterproductive.

I can’t prepare everything the night before. I have hair stuff and other toiletries to pack.

If I’m driving and parking at the airport I would consider a park and stay at the airport so I’m right there for an early flight.

I am a morning person, I prefer the morning stuff.

From are 25 to about 45, we did a lot of traveling and always had that go, go, go mentality. Get up early, hit the ground running, see as much as we could, then return to the hotel late at night exhausted — only to do it again the next day.

Now, almost 10 years later, I’m ready to try a more leisurely style of traveling.

It depends on the specifics, but I tend to prefer a more relaxed pace.

What @Zaku said. But if I gotta…. sigh.

I usually take the earliest flight because of the discount, but I sleep on the plane.
When driving, I pack the night before, then sleep in until 10, leave at noon. In hotels, I always sleep in and request late checkout. The most important part of my vacation is resting, not seeing stuff.

My best naps, in a hotel, are from 10am-4pm.
If there is nothing pressing, like a funeral, then I like sleeping in.

I like getting delivery at the hotel. I usually order won ton soup or pizza.

I just returned from Colorado and the flight was a little too late, even though as I said above I don’t like early morning. I think I’m getting too old to be tired in coach class; it’s so uncomfortable. A shorter flight I would have been ok, but after the 3 hour mark I was getting miserable.

I hate flying and the schedule issue is one. We’d be in Las Vegas right now except for the illness of our host. To go, a one o’clock plane neant leaving the house at 9 which meant waking up around 6. This was to arrive at dinner time. Leaving, to return home, would have been very early today to arrive at the home airport 10 pm, which is a school night so any later wouldn’t have been good. It almost would have been easier to fly home red-eye Saturday night, except if we wanted to see a show Saturday night it would have been almost impossible because we’d have to arrive at the airport hours early to check in and go through security. I so much prefer to drive, and the car becomes a big closet and we leave when we want.

I hate getting up.
When I was a teen and my family checked us into a hotel, the next morning they’d all go to breakfast and leave me sleeping under the bathroom sink, or wherever they had parked me and go to breakfast without me. (5 people, 2 beds, two younger sisters left me the odd man out to sleep on the floor somewhere. But Mom always brought a sleeping bag for me. Good mom!)
I just had to trust that they’d come back!

I like to get up and go early so I can have more time to enjoy my destination. It’s never a rush because we pack up the night before, and rarely are we tired because we give ourselves enough time to sleep the night before. The only thing I need to do when I wake up is use the restroom and get dressed. We stop at our local coffee spot to grab coffee and scones and then we’re on the road.