Jet Lag from the East Coast

Hi Again,

I%26#39;m trying to put together a rough itinerary for my upcoming trip (14 days!) and I%26#39;m wondering about how jet lagged I can expect to feel the first couple of days. Should I plan any activities (plane rides, hiking) the first couple of days or just plan on relaxing by the ocean?

I%26#39;m coming from the East Coast, leaving at 9am, and arriving in Kauai at 6:oopm.

Jet Lag from the East Coast

You might want to put off the most strenuous activities one day, but you aren%26#39;t going to feel that bad. Just try to stay up as long as you can the first night and you%26#39;ll change over to Kauai time pretty quickly. We usually spend the second day having a leisurely breakfast out, then stocking up the condo or house, a little relax on the beach, etc. The next day, we are ready to go.

It%26#39;s coming back home that is the real bummer! I usually feel like a zombie for three or four days.

Jet Lag from the East Coast

For me I am fine going no jetlag just up early every morning because of time difference but the coming back is another story I am a waste for at least 2 to 3 days.

I figure it%26#39;s because I am so excited about being there and so bummed to be leaving.

Marie

Same here... first day was a little rough but we got up earlier than everyone else so beat the crowds to the beach.

Coming home... LOL I am still a wreck. Can%26#39;t wait for this weekend, I plan to hibernate.

I hit the ground running on arrival. Usually run out of gas early evening of second day. Otherwise fine. Going west is easy. Eastbound is difficult.

Going home, do the best you can to rest on the plane. A Mai Tai or two is an excellent non-prescription medication to assist in getting some sleep.

We like to take advantage of the time difference the first couple of days. We naturally wake up early so we do early tours and such. We find we get up early every day to watch the sun rise and get a early start. Evenings we go to bed early since Kauai is not exactly nightlife central. We don%26#39;t really feel jet lag until we head home and back to work. Time difference or regret that vacation is over? You decide!

Same-o, same-o....but, as visitors, we just came from the west coast, and acclimated to HST on kauai almost immediately.

First day we did take it pretty easy, treat ourselves to breakfast at joes on the green, after a nice hike past the hyatt, along the makawehi cliffs, and back to poipu kai..

Then head to our favorite activity ladies, Gina or Leslie at Brenneckes, to set up our pre planned paying adventures, drive over to the Beach House and make reservations for sunset for our last night.

Reast of the day was beaching it and snorkeling.

Then walk back to the condo for a short swim in the fresh water swimming pool.

After all that, we would open our complimentary bottle of wine, and bbq.

Sleep would come fairly early, about 8:30 or 9:00..and we would be all refreshed, early, for the next day.

Then , the rest of the days were normal adventures, and exploring all over the island.

Like the others, it would take me two or three days to get back on pacific time, in Orange County, Ca., I was a zombie, and all messed up.

Actually, put three days leeway in there before going back to flying.

So, I think your fun light will be glowing just fine when you are here.....back in NC, afterwards , might be a bit different story.

What is interesting, is that now as residents, and flying back to the mainland, we fly the AA red eye, and get some sleep on he palne and arrive at 5 am..

Then, take care of basics, and head off to visit freinds, and crash fairly early...with not a much of a problem with jet lag, as when we were visitors.

Have a marvelous kauai visit, you should do pretty well on the garden island end of the vacation.

Denny

Denny

We usually choose to just hit a beach on our first day and avoid anything that involves much activity or driving. Like the others mentioned we tend to wake up really early for at least the first week which actually is pretty nice.

On the return trip we take some Tylenol PM just before we board our red-eye flight and end up sleeping quite a bit through the night. We usually feel pretty good for the first day or two back home but then it catches up with us and we%26#39;re pretty tired for several days.

Coming from Mich. We were pretty tired the first couple of days. But there was no better way to get back to normal than relaxing on the beach and enjoying the beautiful ocean. Being there for two weeks was great though. We didn%26#39;t feel like we were going to miss out on to much taking it easy the first few days. You are going to love it there.

KDgardens

Thanks so much for all the input. I planned an extra couple of days off of work after returning home to adjust to the zombie-ness or to cry my eyes out that vacation was over, whichever way you like to put it.

I%26#39;m stoked I%26#39;ll be bushy-tailed for the time on the islands. Coming home I%26#39;ll muddle through somehow.

We flew from Boston on a two-leg flight. We had no problems at all adjusting to Kauai time. We planned our ';must get up early'; activities for the first couple of days - including the trip from the Northshore to Waimea, and our morning helicopter tour. Of the 17 in our party, no one complained of jet lag during the trip. I did use a little trick that has worked well for me on other trips. I wear two watches for a few days before leaving, one set to the time zone at my destination, and one to ';home time';. May be pure bunk, but it helps me look forward to my ';vacation time'; and seems to make the transition easier.

But .... as noted, the return was like slammming back to earth. We returned very early on a Sunday, after the redeye from CA (during which very little sleep was possible). Following a hearty breakfast - we slept for a good chunk of the day. Return to work on Monday was tough. It%26#39;s now Thursday evening and the brain fog is still present, and getting up is still a challenge.

Hard to say if it%26#39;s all jetlag or just plain after-trip let-down.