Being Mindful of Daylight Saving Time when Traveling Eliminates Stress and Missed Transportation
When planning late fall or spring vacations, consider the end or beginning of Daylight Saving Time.
Daylight Saving Time varies by country. There is not one universal date when all the clocks change around the world, and travelers have to be particularly careful when scheduling transportation on these days.
In 2014, Daylight Saving Time ends in most European countries on October 26 and in the United States on November 2. The southern hemisphere is opposite and more varied – it ends in January in Fiji, February in Brazil, March in Australia, and April in Chile.
You can find a complete, alphabetical list of the dates countries of the world start and end Daylight Saving Time here.
Locals forget about the time change as easily as we might at home. When pre-booking airport shuttles or other time-sensitive transportation, be sure to remind them of the imminent time change. It’s probably worth finding the correct words in the local language before booking, to be sure you’re understood.
One of my rare travel near-mishaps occurred in Paris on the day they returned to standard time. Normally, I take the train to/from the airport, but thanks to a twisted ankle and mass transit disruptions at the tail end of a strike I figured it was smarter to book the shuttle the apartment rental company recommended. The person spoke English, but maybe didn’t understand my comment that the clocks were changing overnight and they should remind the driver of the time change. My French is OK but not enough to convey this – I probably should have looked up the sentence online and made it clearer when I booked.
Of course the shuttle never arrived, and I no longer had the keys to access the apartment to call. I ended up limping to the nearest cab stand – which wasn’t that close – to splurge for a cab to the airport.
Speaking of time – it’s always a good idea to check the clock in your hotel room. Especially when arriving soon after the clocks change to and from Daylight Saving Time.
Being proactive prevents a lot of potential problems on the road. The stress, fees and hassles associated with missed flights, trains and buses make it worth taking advance steps to insure smoother travel. And, it’s a great idea to always have a Plan B.