A Week In Australia

I think it depends.
Do you like airports and flying?
Have you flown long haul before and the jet lag has been ok?
Do you love travelling so much that the jet lag doesn't really matter (this is my experience)?
Can you afford lots of holidays or would this blow you budget for ages?
Do you really want to go to Sydney specifically, or just Australia?
If yes to those, go for it.
If you don't like flying and you've had bad jet lag before, maybe don't
If it's just Australia you want to go to, the direct flight to Perth is what you want. WA is beautiful.
With the time difference it's basically 2 days travel to get to Sydney. So you'd only have 5 days there.

I've done it in 8 days, it was brilliant. I took melatonin which helped and just went to bed early. For me it was a week or never so I went for it and made the most of it 😀

Agreed Sydney is a bit “meh” compared to other places in Oz. I would fly all that way for a week I. Sydney! When I went it took 5 days to break the jet lag.

The Timeshifter app is amazing , you start prepping a few days before you fly and you have virtually no jet lag

If that’s your only option for going- go for it!
I’m long haul cabin crew and have been taking my kids away with me for 2/3 nights on my working trips since they were 5/6 years old.
The other school mums used to think I was mad when I said they were coming with me to South Africa etc for 4 days, but we always had a brilliant time even through the tiredness!!

oooh, I would go for longer if you can because that distance/time for jet lag will be awful. I did a 5 day work trip once, it was WEEKS before I was back on Uk time properly

Australian here and pissing myself at some of these replies!

Overall the consensus seems pretty spot-on though. It's a long way and a lot of money for a week.

I'm at the very south of the country and would love to visit my dear friend in Cumbria. I wouldn't consider it for less than 2 weeks.

But then I love long haul and have flown 14-16 hours too many times to count. Economy too!

I did a week in Australia, absolutely no problem at all. I only stayed in Sydney though and that was plenty plenty time to explore.

My friend is cabin crew and recently spent just 24 hours there 🤪

You'd be mad. The jet lag would eat up the first 5 days.

It’s not really about the long flight. It’s the jet lag. It has to be experienced to fully understand it. I speak as someone who has done that trip too many times to mention.

I've done NYC for 3 nights and Thailand for a week but even I wouldn't do Australia for just a week.

If you have flown long haul (12 hours plus) previously and know that you cope well with jet lag and if you're flying business then for sure - otherwise I'd wait till you can spend 2 weeks there. I've done it for 5 days for a friend's wedding (as others have said there is no direct flight to Sydney yet, BA flight stops in Singapore and you have to get off the plane). I don't get jet lag and can cope well with minimal sleep for a few days so for me it was fine but for a normal holiday it's not worth the two days lost in travel time unless you're getting the deal of the century on airfares or have a specific reason to only go for a week.

Doable but not fun. I did it for wedding. Wouldn't do it again.

Sounds miserable to me, but I loathe flying and avoid it at all costs. Even just flying across the Atlantic is enough to make me feel wiped out for a day. Personally, I wouldn't fly that far if I wasn't staying a decent chunk of time.

Everything @backinthebox says - she knows what she's talking about.

It sounds as though you've not done long haul at all @MelainesLaugh And I don't count 7-8 hours UK-NYC or the equivalent as long haul. That's a nice easy flight.

I do this trip relatively frequently, and I'm hard core about jet lag. But you need to be realistic. It sounds like you've not done long haul before. To get to Sydney you generally need to change planes - the non-stop flight is to Perth, as far as I know, and then it's another 6 hours to the east coast.

You can doze, and I do, but it's hard to get more than about 2-3 hours of continuous sleep at any time, unless you have a flat bed in Business or First.

And even if you get enough sleep, there is the slightly woozy vertigo that jetlag causes because of the 9 hour time difference.

I don't do Australia for less than 2 weeks.

I’m a Kiwi and have done NZ-UK/Europe multiple times and NZ-NYC twice in the last year for 7 days on the ground (which is 17 hours direct flight).

7 days on the ground is perfectly possible, 10 would be better. I find it takes about 3 to shake off the jet lag. I’ve taken small kids to Europe for 2 weeks and it’s been fine. Ideally come in summer so you get more time in the sun to acclimatise and be realistic with your plans - e.g. in NYC i generally take it easy in the morning as NZ is 4 hours behind (actually 18 hours ahead the next day 😂)

with UK/Europe I actually find it easier to acclimatise as days and nights are totally reversed so you just have to adapt.

If I was doing a week in Sydney I’d do a few days out at Bondi to stay by the beach and chill, great beach and nice restaurants & cafes , then a few days more centrally.

I mean, it's doable, but think of it in terms of a Sydney city break rather than a trip to Australia if that makes sense.

Did 8 weeks, wish it had been 6 months. Fantastic country for a road trip 😀

I'd only do it if I was visiting someone specific in Sydney. If it's to see Australia then it's too far to for such a short period of time. My view might be slightly clouded but I spent 3 weeks in Australia and Sydney was my least favourite part!

We enjoyed Perth much more than Sydney, we had about a week in each, then two weeks in New Zealand which was great.

Crikey - one week is not a practical option. Flown to Oz several times - a week wouldn't be enough to make the journey worthwhile.

It’s not about whether you sleep on the plane, it’s about being unable to sleep properly at night the whole time you’re there. You’ll be waking up before the sun and nodding off early in the evening, it takes about a week to adjust to the time zone. But if you don’t plan to be out late all week it might be ok for you!

Not the same but this story always amazed me. A old client of mine married an Australian man who had kids back in Oz but they married and lived in London.

She used long weekend every other weekend and fly to Sydney every other weekend!

She said after the first few times she nailed the jet lag. Knew exactly what time to eat / sleep and said it worked great for her.

Anyway separate to your situation.. I think it depends on the situation. If you are someone for whom sleep is really essential then maybe not. I'm not one of those people so would probably do it in your situation- 10 days even better but get the flight times right and you could have a great week.