How to Spend the Waiting Hours Before Check-in

Waiting to get checked – in at your reservation can be an unpleasant experience. Unless of course, you give some thought to how you are going to spend the waiting hours.

Imagine you arrive at 5 a.m. at your destination but check-in isn’t until 3 p.m. What do you do during those hours? A vacationer wants to maximize those long hours in between to have a memorable travel experience, right? If you are like me, you can’t wait to see interesting places in the new city.

But wait, you have luggage that can hinder getting around easily, and need to secure it before getting started. Usually, the hotel can secure your luggage. What if it is a distance you aren’t ready for yet and you’d much rather get started exploring?
Having access to secure locker facilities with a PIN is great.

Bravo! Luggage storage problems are solved!

So, how to make the most of these long waiting hours before check-in?

Here are a few thoughts.

Plan to join a free walking tour around the time you travel

These walking tours are a great way to connect with like-minded adventurers and possibly build life-long friendships. They also offer opportunities to enjoy the scenery, connect with locals, and learn some culture and interesting facts about the city. We travel to learn, don’t we? A solo trek is fine too if there isn’t a walking tour on your travel date. You get to go at your own pace.

A mini cycling expedition

Daydream you are on a mini-cycling expedition cycling through cyclists’ paradise and go cycling if it is a bike-friendly city. Feeling the wind in your face traversing stunning surroundings and landscape, with all manner of stimulating sights, can be truly exhilarating and so freeing.

Book a Spa session

Visit a spa for some relaxation and stress relief. Sitting in a hot tub improves blood flow.  Some spas have a lounge space and a dining area. The Korean spa experience is on my list of things to do. “Muscles so relaxed that they feel like pudding”?
Now that’s something to look forward to.

The window-shopper’s haven

Hanging out at shopping malls, looking through shop windows is a fun way to spend time and make lasting memories and if there’s a farmers’ market, that’d be pretty awesome too. Imagine all that freshness. Grab something for a picnic at the beach, a park, or a garden.

Concluding thoughts on how to spend the waiting hours before check-in.

Time flies when we are having fun doesn’t it?
So, I hope you are inspired to make memories with all that time you have and not make my mistake of not planning properly a while back. Oh, wait! Was it due to my trust issues at the time rather than a lack of planning? Hmm! No surprise there, I had an incredibly boring wait time before check-in.

If you must sit through the waiting hours, perhaps, take a book along. Or just skip that long wait altogether. Book your accommodation the night before. You won’t be spending the night but are certain to have your room in the morning. Just let the hotel know you won’t be checking in until morning. You may even be able to negotiate a good deal by doing so.

By the way, waiting for anything isn’t the easiest thing to do. Thankfully, the best things in life are worth the wait. Don’t you agree?