Let’s be real: waking up before the sun feels unnatural. It goes against everything your bed, your blanket, and your soul stand for. But when it comes to travel, those god-awful early morning departures? They’re secretly the MVPs of the whole trip.
Yes, dragging your suitcase down the hallway at 4:37 AM makes you question every decision you’ve ever made, including why you didn’t just become a staycation enthusiast. But once you're past the blurry eyes, questionable coffee, and silent judgment of fellow travelers, something magical happens.
Traveling in the early morning… just works.
First of all, the airport is eerily calm. It’s like the adult version of a secret club. Everyone’s too tired to yell, sigh dramatically, or cut in line at Starbucks. Even TSA agents are still nursing their first coffee and barely have the energy to raise an eyebrow at your toothpaste tube.
The lines? Practically nonexistent. You glide through security like a VIP—if VIPs wore sweatpants and carried neck pillows the size of small ponies.
The flights themselves? Glorious. Morning flights are statistically less delayed, because even air traffic gets cranky as the day goes on. Your plane is fresh off a good night’s sleep (well, as fresh as an airplane gets), and your pilot is likely still optimistic about life.
Meanwhile, afternoon flights are just trying to survive. They’ve seen things.
But the real joy of early travel? The people.
Or, more specifically, the lack of them.
No hordes of frantic travelers playing bumper carts with their luggage. No kid kicking the back of your seat while holding a juice box like a weapon. No one trying to fit a cello, a fishing rod, and what appears to be a collapsible yurt into the overhead bin.
In the morning, it’s mostly business travelers (who are professionally quiet), retirees (who’ve been up since 4 AM anyway), and fellow introverts who just want to get there in peace.
And let’s not forget: you gain TIME. You land in a new city and still have most of the day to explore, get lost, argue over GPS directions, and eat something wildly overpriced at a museum café. All because you bit the bullet and woke up when raccoons were still roaming.
Now, is it all perfect? Of course not.
You will question reality while brushing your teeth in the dark. You will forget something. You will briefly consider whether a travel lifestyle is worth it at all. But then… you’ll see that sun rising over the tarmac. You'll get a whole row to yourself. You'll hear the sweet, sweet sound of “on-time departure.”
And suddenly, early morning travel feels like a life hack reserved for the brave, the bold, and the bleary-eyed.
So next time you're planning a trip, embrace the ungodly wake-up call. Pack snacks, wear elastic-waist everything, and pretend you're on a spy mission. Because nothing feels cooler than landing before lunch.
Even if you still have pillow lines on your face.
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