Trip advice: Advantages of starting early

Most of my trips are weekend ones- I’ll have the compulsion to start and end it between friday evening and Monday early morning. When a self drive rental is involved, rent has to be paid on a 24 hour basis, hence I’ll have to plan a 48 hours trip making the most of limited time.
I often plan the itinerary such that we start real early- 3 or 4 Am in the morning or even previous night. I feel there’re lots of advantages in starting early for a road trip, though sometimes I get resistance like “Only 150kms no? we’ll start at 6.30am” or “who’ll get up at 4am on a Saturday?”
But then, below are the advantages of starting early:

• Get out of city super fast, due to less traffic during early morning hours
• Reach breakfast hotels early-less crowd and better service
• Reach destinations early-enjoy it when the crowd is minimal
• Better bargaining abilities with the local vendors (Play the BoNi… card)
• Chances of getting scenic sunrise shots on the highway if you get out of city before sunrise
• Less rush at toll gates
• At some toll gates, multiple entry tickets are valid till midnight. Make the most of it if you’re planning to return same day.
• Ability to visit lesser known locations around your primary destination (you can’t think of anything else if you arrive late)
• Buffer time in case of flat tyre, road blocks or other issues on the way
• You might miss morning only activity if you arrive late (for example, Opening Ceremony in Ramoji film city)
• At some destinations, parking fee attendants wouldn’t have come to duty that early. You get to save on parking fee
• Open place activities (like climbing a hill) are comfortable to do early morning. By noon when the sun is hot, the same task will be more demanding

Above: File Photo of an early morning Sunrise photography, enroute to chitradurga
Some disadvantages:

• If you’ve not had enough sleep, early morning driving can be risky. Even if you’re fully awake and alert, additional caution is needed as other drivers might be sleepy
• Some destinations open only at 9 or 10AM and nothing can be done if you reach early-better  research and planning is needed in this regard (while places like Zoo/museum might open only after 9AM, places like viewpoints, temples, waterfalls might be accessible all the time. One needs to plan well to make the most of time
• Some destinations won’t be at their best in the morning (for example, Dakshina Chitra on ECR will be buzzing with activity only in the afternoon)
• If you’re low on fuel, most of the fuel stations won’t be open before 6 AM. Similarly roadside help (mechanical/for directions/eatables etc) may not be much
• Starting early will be a challenge when family and kids are involved

Do add if you can think of some points

Related: Life saving skills from movies * Self Drive Car Rentals *