Whether it’s the busy city streets of Joburg, animals calling throughout the night, or a loud neighbor, missing sleep in a noisy hotel room is a sure-fire way to spoil your vacation.
To ensure you are rested to get the most out of your vacation days in Africa,here are some tips on how to get great sleep in a noisy hotel.
No matter if you brought ear plugs or not, sometimes they just don’t cut it, so while you should definitely bring them, there are plenty of other things you can do to get a great night’s sleep.
The first thing you should do is make sure the hotel room itself is as quiet as possible.
Before you check in, try to get a room that isn’t facing the street and off the ground floor away from heavier foot traffic.
You should also ask to see the room first if you are a light sleeper, and make sure it isn’t right next to an elevator or an ice machine.
A good rule of thumb is the farther away from where people will be walking through, the better.
Once your settled in your room and ready for bed, putting a towel at the bottom of your door will help to muffle any sound.
Also be sure to check all of the windows and make sure they are fully closed, then draw the blinds in for greater sound dampening.
Headphones or a background radio is often better for falling a sleep than wearing earbuds, as they provide a constant white noise that is just enough to block out any random noises.
The air conditioner can also serve as good white noise, just be sure not to freeze yourself out of your room.
If you happen to have a noisy neighbor, don’t be scared to call and complain, especially if its after hours — you paid for the hotel, too.
Barring all these options, taking some melatonin or having a nightcap at the hotel bar is often just enough to get you through any noise.
