Overnight or Dawn Departures: Timing a Long Route Sensibly

The case for leaving before dawn

A departure at half past four or five in the morning is the single most effective thing you can do to shorten a long journey from London. The M25 is genuinely free-flowing, the radial motorways are quiet, and the first two hours are covered at a pace that is simply not available later in the day. On a route to the north or the west, that can be worth an hour against a mid-morning start.

It also changes the arrival rather than simply the journey. Getting to Manchester or Bristol before the working day begins means you arrive able to do something with the day, rather than arriving into an afternoon that is already half gone. For business travel that is often the whole point, and it is why very early departures are more common on long routes than most people expect.

The costs of a very early start

Nothing is free. An early departure means an early alarm, and it means the chauffeur has positioned the night before or started even earlier. Alertness in the first hour of a very early start is a real consideration for both of you, and it is one reason breaks are planned rather than skipped. Where the passenger intends to sleep for the first part of the journey, saying so lets the cabin be set up for it.

• Quiet roads and materially faster progress in the first two hours
• Arrival before the working day rather than into the middle of it
• An early start for the chauffeur, arranged in advance
• A planned break to manage alertness rather than pressing through

Genuinely overnight departures

Leaving at eleven at night or midnight is a different proposition again. The roads are emptier still, but overnight roadworks are at their most extensive, lane closures are common on the major corridors, and services are quieter. It suits some journeys, particularly early ferry or flight departures from a distant port, but it is not automatically faster than a dawn start and it is harder on the driver.

The arrival end of the equation

Departure timing has to be judged against what happens on arrival. Hotels rarely release rooms before mid-afternoon, so arriving at eight in the morning may mean several hours with nowhere to go. Offices, venues and private houses have their own constraints. The best departure time is the one that puts you at the destination when the destination is ready for you, which is not always as early as possible.

Setting the time with us

In practice this is a short conversation. Tell us when you need to be somewhere and what happens when you get there, and a departure time can be proposed that reflects both the road and the destination. If the difference between two options is significant, you will be told what each one means in practice rather than simply given a time.

Plan your chauffeur journey

London Chauffeurs provides itinerary-led private travel for airport transfers, executive travel, private aviation, events and long-distance UK journeys. Availability and pricing are confirmed for the requested itinerary.

Frequently asked questions