Many people subscribe to the idea that in order to make an international trip worth the effort of a long flight, it has to last two or more weeks. Nothing could be further from the truth. Long Flights = Long Holidays. Really? Read on and learn more about mine (and some other people’s) experiences.
I am technically talking about trips that take a minimum of eight hours.
A survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of AIG Travel in 2023 , revealed that many find that the implications of preparing long international flights are worth the efforts, with nearly a third saying international trips are more fun than domestic trips (29%).
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According to the research, more than half of Americans who travel internationally require “recovery time” when they first get there (58%). About 2,000 Americans who have traveled abroad within the past five years looked at how they prepare for their excursions and found that coming back home isn’t any easier, as the average person spends four days in “recovery mode” after the trip ends. On average, respondents begin preparing 15 days before an international trip. More than half said they “physically prepare” themselves by practicing their steps or going to the doctor beforehand (58%). Other popular ways people prepare for international travel are by making copies of important documents (37%), arranging to have cell phone service (29%) and purchasing travel insurance (30%).
We are of course all different. Some people have the flexibility to stay in one place for many months at a time while others (most of the working people) may only have the budget and the time off from work for a five-day trip.
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Read also: Travel Light – the Scandinavian Way
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People were asked about long and short trips at reddit.com and here are some of the answers:
“For me it all depends on the price of the flight. I would go pretty much anywhere for a short amount of time if the ticket was really affordable. Every time I have time off I look at the furthest place I can go for $600 or less. I’m in Canada by the way. But realistically for a place that’s an 8-10 hour flight away, I would hope I got three full days in to actually do something”.
“I did a 4 days 3 nights trip to South Korea from Sydney which took almost a day to fly there and that’s still worth every bucks. I did not get to explore everything but it was a relaxing holidays that I would do it again even if it’s the same duration. I’d say any duration will do, unless you rush things and did not enjoy it”.
“For me, heading out from the states, 7 days minimum for Europe and at least 20 days for Asia. The least amount of time I’ve spent in Asia was 3 weeks and it felt pretty short”.
In a later article I’ll tell you how I got necessary time off work using weekdays plus a few vacation days to spend just five days in another continent. If you include both weekend you could make it nine days. Once I spent a ‘long weekend’ in China.
Do not be afraid to push past the norms when it comes to traveling. You may find that all you have learned about travel may not always work to the best of your advantage.
Long Flights = Long Holidays. Really? Written by Tor Kjolberg
Feature image (on top): Freepik.