Is a week-long trip to Asia worth the jet lag?
The brutal jet lag and long travel time make short trips difficult to justify for some, while others feel the experience is still worth it if flights are direct. Spending less than 10 days on a long-haul journey often leaves travelers worried about wasting precious time recovering from fatigue instead of enjoying the destination.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1extending the trip duration to 10 days or moreDid this help you?
- 2choosing closer destinations like EuropeDid this help you?
- 3Looking for alternative destinations in Central or South America like Costa Rica or Colombia that offer a similar exploratory vibe with shorter flights.Did this help you?
- 4Taking Amtrak trains or looking for airline flash sales to BuffaloDid this help you?
- 5Riding regular long-distance busesDid this help you?
- 6Booking a guided day tourDid this help you?
- 7Considering closer destinations like South America instead of AsiaDid this help you?
- 8Comparing flight durations and costs to alternative destinationsDid this help you?
- 9Changing flights for a feeDid this help you?
- 10Accepting an exhausting itinerary to salvage pre-paid and non-refundable bookingsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Personally I don’t go to Asia for less than 10 days. For me, the jetlag is too brutal for only a weeklong trip.”source ↗
“It’s just more the distance for a short time but I think it’s worth it. Life is short!”source ↗
“Yes it’s the short time I’m worried about. We can maybe add one day and have 7 full days. And at least it’s direct!”source ↗
“as much as I enjoyed that side of the world, my body can’t handle 30 hours of travel :(”source ↗
“I’ve been to Phuket twice & it’s my favorite place in the world, but unfortunately travel time is so tiring.”source ↗
“Considered Bali but again travel time is too much (30+ hours).”source ↗
“I’m visiting New York City and considering a trip to Niagara Falls on the US side. I’m trying to find the best balance between cost, travel time, and actually having enough time to enjoy the falls.”source ↗
“My main concern with the one-day tour is that it looks like I would leave before the evening fireworks, which seems like a big part of the experience.”source ↗
“Also everyone says 10 days isnt enough but I never get this much time off because of my job…”source ↗
Where this came up
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