A Week In Australia

Do you realise how huge Australia is? You'd get to see the city you arrive in and that's about it unless the countryside ("bush") is interesting. Lots of it's not. Lots of the cities are not really worth visiting either IMO.

You wont even be able to take it in properly with the jet lag. it would be pointless, i also wouldnt even say 2 weeks.. you need 3 at the least

I once went to Australia for a week. I cope very well with tiredness and have been on a lot of long-haul and demanding destinations, but I was absolutely knocked out by early evening for the entire time I was there. I could not keep by eyes open past 8-9pm and would sleep a full night.

That being said, I had a fabulous time during the day and would do it again.

With 23 hours on the plane and no change I could easily use that to sleep. Which would, hopefully, then have me refreshed
Have you ever been on a long haul flight? Most people don't come off the plane refreshed.

I have to admit I found Sydney exciting. But I like cities generally. We saw Sydney, Brisbane and parts of Queensland and Melbourne (staying with friends for the last two) and Tasmania.

Spent 4 weeks in Australia in August, 23 hours via Singapore, took me 5 days to recover and that was with 2 complete rest days at friends house before even I'd starting sightseeing. I'm 58 so maybe it's worse being older. I'd never consider going to Oz for a week. My friend who emigrated to Sydney 25 years ago and has done the flight several times has only done a 2 weeker once to the UK and it was awful.

Sydney is pretty much like any other city so I wouldn't fly for a full day to go and visit it when you could do a 3 hour flight and visit a city much closer.
You won't 'see' Australia by visiting 1 city.

I did it last year for a week, went to speak at a conference. Would definitely not do it in economy though. I flew business on the way out and still felt like I'd died when I landed in Perth.

I was fine the next morning and was up and out at the wildlife park by 10am, had to be early to get a slot to hold a koala!

Coming home the jetlag was hard, but a couple of days sorted it.

Go for it.
Can definitely be done. People fly this route as their job!
Obviously there are pros and cons to it, but if it's something you want to do and this is your best chance, don't put it off.
My aunt often visited from Aus for a week, sometimes less!
I find hydration is key on long haul!

I took an overnight flight to Japan (17h) and I was feeling like death for at least 5 days. Flying back was much easier as it often is. But no, I would aim for at least two weeks to get the most of it.

Guess it depends entirely on you! How do you cope with jet lag? How would you fare if for some reason you didn't get the rest on the plane that you're banking on etc.

I did it in 2016. Flew into Melbourne, drove the great ocean road to Adelaide then flew back from there a week later. It was amazing and I recovered quickly. I'd have loved more time but that was all I had and I made the most of it. I remember getting off the plane and feeling oddly seasick!! Not quite sure what that was about. But I was in my 20's. I think I'd struggle more now.

@MelainesLaugh If you want to do it, do it. It will be hard and or horrible but them’s the breaks.

However, Australia starts in Perth. It’s closer and it’s only the one flight.

The weather is certainly better and we have plenty of things you can do here for a week. https://visitwa.com.au/

I’ve made frequents trips to Australia and unless it was for a specific event i.e. a weeding a week just isn’t enough. As others have said the only non stop flight is to Perth, Sydney is a stop over when you have to get off the plane - nightmare !

Every time I have gone to Australia I have had to write the first 24 /36 hours off due to jet lag / fatigue.

Once you get to Australia everything is a large distance apart - so if you want to go outside the Sydney area it can take a day to get anywhere ( think having to get a flight , drive 100’s miles ). So a week will feel like you haven’t even scratched the surface and then the trip back home will mess up your body clock again.

A week to Australia would effectively mean 2 days travel, day one jet lag - so that’s 3 days gone of your week already !

Qantas / BA does a 17hr direct flight to Perth Australia - I prefer this to a stop over because you eat and then have a proper night but I only recommend it for a week if you can afford business class. My family (including parents in mid-70s) do this flight in economy.

I've been to Australia 3 times and wouldn't consider less than 2 weeks. It's very tiring getting there but coming back is 10 times worse. Do you have to go straight back to work on your return? What sort of job do you do? Kits long way and a very big country.

Also OP there is no such thing as a UK to Sydney flight that is non stop. Sorry.

Qantas do one direct to Perth but it's an 6 hour flight from Perth.

On environmental grounds it's ludicrous to use all that carbon for a week. Wait until you have time to go properly. Fewer flights for longer holidays is more sustainable than multiple short trips.

You'll be perfectly fine on the flight going, but the jetlag on the way back to the UK is hellish. I've been 5 times, shortest trip was 2 weeks and that definitely wasn't enough, 3 weeks minimum for me

I've flown to Australia multiple times over the years - never have I ever woken up feeling refreshed the next day - I always feel like death warmed up and don't have the energy to do anything except maybe shower and go back to bed 😂

The problem is jet lag hits everyone differently and if it hits OP badly, she'll have spent thousands of pounds to feel like shit for a week.

I wouldn’t do it. It’s not just the flight length and whether or not you are able to sleep on the 20 hour plus flight, but the fact that with the time difference, you have to reverse day and night when you arrive.

In fact it’s often better not to sleep much on the flight as you tend to adjust faster - but that said, even if you do get the right amount of sleep on arrival you can still feel rubbish for several days due to body clock being out of synch in other respects.

We always go for min of 3 weeks (including flights). I echo PP that Sydney is just another large city, Australia is an amazing country but you really need to go and see more of it than just the cities.

In a frequent flier between UK and Sydney/NZ. It's perfectly doable as long as you are disciplined.

Sleep as much as you can on the flight but don't stress if not. If you travel Emirates they pay for a hotel at DXB if your connection is over 10 hours so that is an option to break it up but will reduce time spent in Aus.

On arrival stay awake until 9pm. Sleep the best sleep ever and wake up ready to go the next day.

FWIW, there are no BA direct non-stop flights to Sydney from the U.K. So don’t make your decision based on that. They stop in Singapore for a couple of hours where you have to get off the plane and wait in the airport. I am crew on the fleet which flies this route and their would be a riot if we did not get 2 nights off in Singapore each way! Certainly you could not pay me or my colleagues enough to sit on an aircraft for 23hrs without getting off.

Speaking from experience, Sydney for a week is one of those journeys I made once because I had to for a family occasion, but would not do again unless for another wedding or funeral. It’s not a fun journey, and even as someone used to dealing with jet lag it messes with your body. If you feel a burning desire to visit Australia that you cannot stop thinking, and are happy with the idea you will be visiting all the sights feeling like shit, fill your boots. I know when we went, we tried to cram some sightseeing in, and we basically had to go from place to place waiting for my husband to get up off the floor. He laid down on the floor at Sydney Opera House, the aquarium, the Botanical Gardens. He couldn’t come to the zoo because he couldn’t get out of bed.

We flew in Club when we went, that was bad enough - I wouldn’t want to be sitting upright for 23 hours!

Also just to flag those 'direct' London the Sydney BA flights have a stop to refuel in Singapore where you have to get off for an hour - I did them in December and in June - unless it's been updated in the last 12 weeks!
Straight to Perth though!

The jet leg will be a killer

Regular visitor to Australia. You need two weeks minimum for your body to recalibrate and actually enjoy it. I can't sleep the first week despite being exhausted, awake from around 1am for hours then it gradually subsides. I do three flights though to get to my final destination but this time I stayed in Brisbane and it was just as bad!
I can't imagine how you would feel when you got back to the UK either. Guess it depends on age too as I find it harder as I age, I'm 55. It was easier in my 30's.