Not all landscape photography is done close to sunrise or sunset, but both feature in a lot of shots. This is not just to take shots of the event itself but also for the low angle of the light.
Therefore a useful bit of software is
http://photoephemeris.com/
It is free for PCs and Macs and shows the times and directions of sunrise and sunset anywhere and is very handy for planning shots.
If you are going to an area you don't know the OS map is very useful. The 1:50000 series has loads of details to help spotting potentially good places.
While many landscape shots are just grabbed at the moment, landscape photography often involves a lot of planning and as is determined by the weather, check out the forecast.
If the forecast is for continuous heavy rain at the end of the day then a chance of a good sunset is very low.
As some of the most dramatic landscape shots include dramatic weather, what looks like a great shot now could change within minutes so you need to leave yourself enough time and be prepared to wait for the shot.
A lot of landscape photography involves waiting for the right light which sometimes, probably often, does not happen and I have seen a really foul looking day end suddenly with a good sunset and what looks like a great sunset disappear behind a bank of cloud, such is the frustration of landscape photography.
Probably most landscape shots are taken with a wide angle lens, however don't restrict yourself to a WA. I have taken landscape shots at focal lengths from 18mm to 300mm.
A kit lens should not be dismissed for landscapes. Many kit lenses are not at all bad and as large DoF is wanted the lens will be stopped down and probably at an f stop where the resolution is good.
A tripod is not essential but is useful. It makes using the low shutter speed that a large f number will require a lot easier, but you have to be prepared to carry it.
Sunsets and sunrises can have a very large dynamic range. To stop blowing highlights or totally black dark areas an ND grad filter is useful or take a number of shots at different exposures and blending them with software.
One of the dangers of landscape photography is being overwhelmed by the scene before you. It is very easy to get a shot of what appeared to you to be an impressive mountain but it ends up looking little insignificant pimple with a vast empty foreground; I have done it many times. A good shot still needs good composition, the rule of thirds is not a bad place to start and think about how the eye will be drawn into the photo.
Have fun
Dave
