What Is SunSeat and How Does Sit In Shade Help You Pick a Shady Seat?

Updated

SunSeat is the idea of choosing a seat that keeps you out of direct sun for as much of a trip as possible. Sit In Shade (sitinshade.com) is a planning tool built around that idea: you give it a date, time, duration, and timezone, and it uses that information to work out where the sun will be along your route so you can compare seat options before you board. It is a planning aid, not a guarantee — real shade depends on the vehicle, window tint, and how the light actually falls inside.

How Sit In Shade turns your trip into a seat recommendation

The tool's job is to connect three things: when you are traveling, where you are traveling, and how long the trip lasts. From the date and time it can estimate the sun's position in the sky; from your location and route it can estimate which side of the vehicle the sun will be on as you move.

The page presents a single form with these fields:

  • Date
  • Time
  • Estimate Duration and Duration
  • Use Current Time
  • Use Current Location
  • Timezone — a full list from (UTC-12:00) through (UTC+13:00)
  • Submit

Once submitted, the result is meant to help you judge which seats stay shaded and which sit in the sun — the basis for comparing a window seat on one side against a window seat on the other.

What you actually provide

You do not need an account or a saved profile based on the page. You fill in the trip details directly:

  1. Pick a date and time — either type them in or use Use Current Time if you are planning around departure right now.
  2. Set your location — enter it, or use Use Current Location to let the tool take it from your device.
  3. Choose the timezone that matches the trip, since the sun's position depends on local time. The dropdown covers offsets from UTC-12:00 to UTC+13:00, including half- and quarter-hour zones such as (UTC+05:30) and (UTC+05:45).
  4. Enter the duration so the tool knows how long the sun exposure window is.
  5. Submit to generate the result.

The page also offers Add To Homescreen, which saves it as a shortcut on your device for repeat use.

How the result helps you compare seats

The output is a way to reason about seat choice rather than a fixed answer. On a bus, train, or plane:

  • If the sun is on the left side of travel for most of the trip, seats on the right are the better bet.
  • If the sun crosses from one side to the other as the route bends or the day advances, no single seat stays shaded the whole way — the tool helps you see which side is exposed for longer.
  • On a plane, the same logic applies to which side of the cabin faces the sun, though the effect is filtered through the window and cabin.

This is why the route and duration matter as much as the time: a short trip may sit entirely in one sun condition, while a long one can shift.

Limits to keep in mind

Sit In Shade estimates sun exposure from date, time, timezone, and route. It cannot see inside your vehicle. Actual shade varies with:

  • Vehicle type — a bus with large windows behaves differently from a train or a plane.
  • Window tint and curtains — heavy tint or a drawn shade changes the real exposure.
  • Seat position within the row — aisle versus window, and how far back you sit.
  • Weather and cloud cover, which the tool does not account for.

Treat the recommendation as a strong starting point for choosing a side or a seat, then adjust for what you find on board.