Why I Explore the World as an Early Riser

When I was younger, I was never a big late-night partier. I didn’t particularly love going out to the clubs, or bars. Contrarily, I am a big introvert (despite what my loud voice and excitable nature might exude). When I’m travelling, I love meeting people, but I also like to have my own private space. I never really grew a fondness for staying in hostels. Everyone seemed to enjoy being up at all hours of the night when I just wanted to get some shut-eye. I always enjoyed an early morning walk on the beach over a night out on the town. This made me feel so othered as a young adult. I thought, “am I missing out on something?” 

I think that there is always a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) for any seasoned traveller. You want to experience everything a town or city has to offer. When you feel like you didn’t get to participate in something, you feel like you not only let the city down but yourself down as well. I remember well listening to stories from my friends of their late-night escapades. I would scan Instagram feeling jealous of those “cool” people thriving in the nightlife. They were out late at the bars or dancing on rooftop pubs having the time of their lives. I really thought, “maybe I need to change things up a bit?” 

One morning, on Magnetic Island, in Queensland Australia, I awoke with the sun beaming in through our hostel window. The morning light shining right into my tired eyes. The iron bunkbeds creaked with the sound of people moving around in their sleep above me. I tried to lie in, in the hopes that maybe I could stay out late with everyone else the next day. But the thin sheets which I raised over my head did nothing to block out the income rays. I decided to just accept defeat and get up.

I dragged my feet as silently as I could out the door. Quietly closing it behind me so my fellow bedmates could sleep in. The morning dew was still wet on the ground when I walked out the door, but the warm sun was heating up the air all around me already. I snuck into the communal kitchen and filled up my coffee thermos. With hot brew in hand I headed out to the beach.

Magnetic Island is already a pretty tranquil place, but it seemed to be almost deserted in the early morning. The tourist shops and restaurants wouldn’t be open for hours. They also serviced late-night vacationers. With no one else out here, it felt like my own private island.

A gorgeous white horse was gracing in the distance. I stopped and watched it trot up and down its paddy for a few minutes, as it was my only companion. A few koalas stirred in the tree above me. I smiled up at their adorable little faces. It seemed like all the animals were coming out to greet me as I walked. Like I was some “Snow White” character in an Australian fairytale.

I made my way to the beach and sat on the wet but warm sand. I looked out and watched as the sun rose in the distance. Casting its reflection against the still waters. I walked along the hiking trail to Alma Bay, a beautiful hour-long walk that was normally filled with tourists. But in the dawn of the morning, I had it all to myself. I sat in the bay for another hour, sipping my coffee and taking in this private moment. It felt like that scene was made just for me. And all those years ago, sitting on that beach, I made a strong realization. I understood that being an early riser, I wasn’t missing out, I was just having a different experience. One not superior to the other, but one that was also worthy.

Despite being in that minority, especially as a younger person, I realized how many advantages there were to early morning explorations. And I never looked back. I never saw those other people’s late-night antics as something I missed out on, rather just a choice. They were also missing out. I got to see a myriad of amazing things I would never get to do on the other side of the clock. And that was something to be proud of. Not to be ashamed of or feel like I needed to change.

I made that realization more than ten years ago, and still to this day, I LOVE being the one who gets up before the sun. Whenever I visit a new city, no matter who I’m with and if they feel like joining me or not, I always wake up at the crack of dawn and explore the city as it begins to wake. It’s a ritual I never miss. So, what have I found are the best advantages of being an early morning traveller?

It’s Better for Jetlag

Waking up with the sun is a great way to help beat jetlag. It’s essential to expose yourself to the natural morning light to change your inner clock to the new time zone. While it might be challenging to get up when you just wanna sleep, the best way to cure that is to force yourself to get up and get moving! Exercise, even just walking around, helps get the blood circulation going and will help reset your sleep cycle.

Sunrise

Sunrise, I find to be far superior to sunset. Maybe not visually but experientially. I have always chased the sunrise in every country I visit. Nine times out of ten, I am the only one looking at it. No one seems to like getting up at 5 am to walk a mile to a lookout point (since the public transit isn’t yet running). But I sure do. That little trek to get there on the power of my legs alone makes the entire thing feel all the more incredible! Watching the sunrise with a cup of coffee is my ideal way to start the day. 

At sunset, these same viewpoints are often much busier as more people are already out and about. Some people might argue that sunsets are far prettier. While sunset is more colourful, this is mainly because the sky is full of pollutants and wind-borne particles. These particles create a scattering effect that casts light across a greater region of the sky. This creates a more dynamic range of colour. Sunrise, on the other hand, is “cleaner” and therefore the colours are a little purer. More authentic. 

COFFEE!

Speaking of coffee…I LOVE coffee! I would rather drink ten cups of coffee than one cocktail. Being an early riser means you have so much more time in the day to explore the myriad of coffee shops all over the city! The last time I was in Lisbon, I spent an entire morning exploring as many different cafes as I could. Trying all their different brews and beans. Are a caffeine lover like me? In that case, there is nothing better than exploring a new city with a latte, cappuccino, or plain ol’ brewed coffee in hand. Many cafes close by midday as their chief patron is only there to get their morning cup o’ Joe. Later risers who don’t make it out the door until the afternoon miss out on all these fantastic concoctions.

Cities Before Tourism

Tourists, as a general rule, are late risers except. The sole exception is when they’re trying to make it to busy tourist attractions early in the day. I have found that early mornings are a great way to see the city before tourists overtake it. This is especially important in big cities like Venice, Paris and Rome. I loved reading and pouring through Sarah’s post about Paris Before Tourists. She gets to see Paris at the crack of dawn on her early morning walk to work. It’s absolutely incredible. Such a contrast seeing those iconic streets and buildings silently standing in the sunlight before their beautiful facades are blocked by the faces of travellers clamouring to take a picture. 

Early Access to Tourist Attractions

More times than not, popular tourist attractions will get busier and busier as the day wears on. Almost every blog post or guide book will advise you to “arrive early.” If you’re already an early riser, getting in line or heading down to that destination first thing in the morning won’t feel like as much of an inconvenience. When we visited Sintra and the famous Pena Palace, our early arrival was the difference between feeling like we could really explore the palace for ourselves and feeling like we were a bunch of sardines crammed inside a tin.

Breakfast Around the World

Anyone who wakes up late in the day misses out on breakfast. Many people say that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. Whether this is true or not, I love discovering what different countries take on this important meal is. In Mexico City, I would chase down the tamale sellers who only appeared in the early mornings. In Japan, a fresh piece of fish and miso soup was served up in our Ryokans as the best way to start the day. Breakfast in Stockholm in the winter was filled with warm saffron pastries straight from the over. I can’t imagine these cities without tasting the memories of my perfect first meals of the day.

Enjoy a Siesta

I actually love napping. I quick power nap is an excellent way of restoring all your energy after waking up at 5 am. Learning to enjoy an afternoon nap, or siesta, was something I got into after my first trip to Spain. I used to be that person who liked to “go-go-go” intensely. I looked at any form of sleep as something which took time away from exploring. But a short siesta has HUGE health benefits. They are known to decrease stress and lower your chance of heart disease by 30%! This is how so many Spanish people can eat all those fatty foods and still live a long and healthy life.

While in Barcelona, I would return home to my incredibly beautiful apartments and take a quick nap under the afternoon sun. It was the best way to relieve any fatigue. It also helped me get up and face the rest of the day with a renewed vigour! Now, this is something I try to schedule into most of my days whenever I’m travelling.

Flea Markets

If you have your heart set on a visiting a flea market and are a keen antiquer, early mornings are the ideal time to get the best selection. As the gates open or blankets go down, avid collectors are the first to nab the one-of-a-kind items. To be amongst them, and get your hands on some unusual things, waking up early is essential.

Farmers Market

Farmers Markets are another thing that is always only open during the beginning of the day. And the best produce is often cleared out before people have had their first coffee. Trendy food items, which have been made famous on Instagram, are gone in an instant! But if you’re like me, and there early enough, you’ll be one of the lucky few to get your hands on them!

It Feels Easier to Fit In

As mentioned before, most tourists tend to get a late start on the day. So waking up early in the morning makes you feel more like a local. People will often even start conversations with me in their native language. They think I’m a new neighbour only to discover I’m just visiting. They are always so friendly and happy to start up a dialogue. These early morning conversations have often resulted in some of the best recommendations in my travels. Since they’re not overrun with other tourists, its more comfortable for them to feel like they can talk to me one-on-one as we both sit and sip a cup of coffee.

Any Downsides?

• Waking up in the morning can have its downsides. You might be bored. Most attractions and sights don’t open that early. If you’ve gotten up at 5 am to catch the sunrise, you might find yourself needing to kill a lot of time between then and 10 am. As that is when most big attractions open. If you’re not great at finding ways to occupy your time without something specific to do, you might find this problematic. I usually spend this downtime enjoying people watching at a cafe. I find a seat outside, edit some photos or go through the plans for the rest of the day. It’s also a perfect time of day to wander around and take pictures of the city as it’s much less crowded.

• It’s cold. The mornings are usually much colder than the rest of the day. So just layer up, and you’ll be fine. I sometimes come back to the hotel, my mid-morning, to change if I felt like I needed to shed a few layers.

• You do miss out on late night magic. I know that I have more than once wished I had stayed out late as I listen to an exciting story about a fantastic night out at so-and-so bar. And it’s true, after dinner, I’m usually ready to head back to the hotel and don’t have much energy to stay out and dance the night away. But it’s all about balance. While most morning for me might be spent waking up at 5 am and heading out the door, I always allow myself to let the experience take me where it takes me. If I’m really enjoying myself and have the energy to stay out, I stay out. That is where those naps really come in handy!

I’m sure there are just as many advantages for night owls, but I wanted to make this post for any other early birds who feel like they might be missing out like or that there was something wrong with them for loving being an early morning traveller. It took me too long to embrace this part of my personality and especially in the travel community I feel like it’s rather obscure. My hope is that other early risers can see this side of themselves as a positive quality and not negative. Or maybe this post will encourage some later risers to give this way of living a try when they’re travelling and discover something new!

Let me know if you’re an early riser or night owl and what you like best about that side of travelling!

Happy Travels, Adventurers!