A Week In Australia

[MelainesLaugh]

I’ve always wanted to go to Australia, and I’ve recently been looking at British Airways Flights and Holidays. They do direct flights to Sydney now and it got me wondering whether a weeks holiday would be feasible.

With 23 hours on the plane and no change I could easily use that to sleep. Which would, hopefully, then have me refreshed to spend the days in Sydney before doing the same on the way back.

AIBU to consider this or is it an absolutely ridiculous idea.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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 🤪

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

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.

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

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!!

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

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.

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 😀

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 travelled to NZ last year and experienced extreme exhaustion on the day I arrived (had to go to bed at 7.30) but had NO jet lag. I was amazed as most of my family who do this trip go for days of exhaustion. It's the luck of the draw I guess.

I did Sydney for a week a few years back. Two weeks is nicer but a week is very doable.

Can I just ask all you seasoned travellers what airline you choose? I'm looking at Qatar or Etihad.

Emirates every single time (they code share with quantas) and you go via Dubai on an Emirates a380.

I have never ever felt anything remotely like refreshed after getting off a flight to Australia, and I woudn't want to fly there for less than 3 weeks for pleasure, 2 at a push.

If you can't go for longer, I'd pick somewhere that's not as brutal travel/jetlag wise and save Australia for when you've got more time.

They're £500 more pp which is too much for 4 of us annoyingly.

Choice depends where you are going and where you are leaving from. Also flight times, stop overs and prices. The airline is of little consequence and I say that as a regular ultra long haul traveler.

Everything being equal is choose Emirates as I've got the highest FF status and their lounges are great.

I think it massively depends on how good you are at sleeping on planes. I can doze off for maybe 30 minutes at a time, but usually no more than that. Then the time not only MASSIVELY drags but you arrive (and get home) completely exhausted. 😬