There’s no perfect number of days for a first overseas trip, but there is a sensible place to start. As a rough guide, allow about a week if you’re going somewhere close to home to relax, 10 to 14 days for a medium-length flight, and three weeks or more if you’re flying to the other side of the world.
Darren and I have been working this out since our very first trip together: 15 days in the US in 1998. We spent time in Anaheim and Los Angeles, then drove to Las Vegas, Death Valley, Zion, the Grand Canyon, San Francisco and Yosemite. Looking back, it was a good length. We got a lot done, it never felt too packed, and we were bright-eyed and thrilled just to be away together.
Here’s what we weigh up every time we decide how long to go for, so you can choose a trip length that feels manageable and worth the journey.
At a Glance
Close to home, relaxing
About a week
Medium-length flight
10-14 days
Other side of the world
Three weeks or more
Worried about homesickness
Two weeks or less
Count the days on the ground, not the days away
The number of days you’re away isn’t the number of days you get to enjoy. Flights, transits and jet lag all take their share, and the further you go, the bigger that share gets.
Our trip to Paris and Amsterdam is a good example. It was two weeks door to door: a day flying over, five full days in Paris, a day getting from Paris to Amsterdam, five full days in Amsterdam, then the trip home. Flying west to Europe, the clocks go back and you seem to gain time; flying home, they go forward again and you lose most of a day. Two weeks away gave us 10 full days on the ground.
To be honest, that was pushing it. The only reason we did Europe in two weeks was that we used Qantas points to fly with Emirates: business class from Brisbane to Dubai, then first class into Paris. A lie-flat bed and a shower on the plane meant we arrived refreshed. If we hadn’t been able to fly that way, we wouldn’t have gone that far for so little time.
Where we live in Australia, almost everywhere is a long flight, so we use a simple rule. If we have two weeks or less, we stay in the Asia Pacific region. A week exploring Singapore, with about eight hours’ flying each way, was one of our quick trips. If we have more than two weeks, we look further afield to Europe, Africa and the Americas. Getting to Reykjavik once took us about 35 hours in transit, and that’s not something you want to do for a week.
Wherever home is for you, the same idea works: the longer the flight, the more days you need on the ground to make it worthwhile.
Good to Know
Jet lag doesn’t clear overnight. As a rough rule of thumb, allow about a day for each hour of time difference, and expect flying east to be harder than flying west. The Better Health Channel’s jet lag guide has more on why.
Lisa’s Tip
We try to land in the late afternoon or early evening. We go straight to the hotel, grab something to eat if we need it, have a shower and go to bed. The next morning we get up at a normal local time and get on with whatever we’d planned. For the next couple of nights we might go to bed a bit earlier, but that’s it.
How much leave you can take (and how to stretch it)
For most people, the real limit on trip length is how much time they can get away from work. Darren still works, and he’s lucky to get a good amount of leave, but we always plan around public holidays and the weekends either side of them.
One year, Anzac Day fell in the same week as Easter here in Australia. Between Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day and two weekends, we had 10 days in Thailand and used only three days of annual leave.
Before you lock in dates, check the public holidays where you live and see whether a few days of leave could turn a long weekend into a proper trip.
The kind of trip changes the answer
A week at a resort reasonably close to home can be all you need. There’s very little travel time to lose, and the point is to slow down, not to see everything.
Moving between cities is different. Every move costs part of a day, and there’s always more to see than you expect. We had two weeks in Japan and covered Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, with day trips and an overnight stay in Koyasan. We packed a lot into three days in Kyoto and skipped a planned day trip to Nara because we were enjoying Kyoto so much. Two weeks was an introduction to Japan, not the whole story, and we’re already looking at when we can get back there.
Leaving some slack in the plan is part of getting the length right. If every day is full, there’s no room to stay longer somewhere you love. (We explain how we keep it loose in How Much Should You Plan?)
When we mix a busy trip with a relaxing one, we put the relaxing part at the end so we come home rested. After Sri Lanka, for example, we spent five days at a resort in the Maldives. Darren often says he needs a holiday after one of my trips, so we now build in slower days as a matter of course.
If you’re still deciding what sort of trip you want, Beach, City, Culture or Adventure: What Kind of Trip Suits You? and What Kind of Traveller Are You? can help you work it out.
Budget, and why a longer trip can be better value
A longer trip costs more in accommodation, food and activities, but the flights cost much the same whether you stay one week or three. On a long-haul trip the airfare can be a big part of the total, so a few extra days spread that cost further.
If the budget won’t stretch to the length you’d like, a closer destination can give you more days on the ground for the same money. We explain how we put money aside for trips in How to Save for a Holiday.
Homesickness and what you leave behind
We’ve never had a trip that felt too long. We do miss our dogs, though. For years that meant both our girls, Jazz and Indy. Since we lost Indy, it’s Jazz waiting for us at home. Knowing she’s well looked after while we’re away makes it much easier to enjoy the trip. Her boarding resort sends us photo updates while we’re away, so we can see she’s happy.
If you think you might get homesick, keep your first trip to two weeks or less. Work, family, pets and other commitments at home all play a part, and you can always go longer next time, once you know how being away feels for you.
When you go matters too
If your trip depends on the weather, give yourself more days. We spent two weeks in the Arctic Circle and saw the northern lights only once, because it was overcast, snowing or raining most nights. We met people who had come for three days and didn’t see them at all.
Some seasons are also worth avoiding for certain trips. If you’re planning a relaxing island week in tropical North Queensland or the South Pacific, check the cyclone season first: it runs from November to April, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Putting it together
Here’s where we’d start, before adjusting for your own leave, budget and timing.
| Your trip | Starting point | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Relaxing at a resort, short flight | About a week | Little travel time to lose and nothing to rush |
| Touring a region, medium-length flight | 10-14 days | Time to settle in and move between a few places |
| Other side of the world | Three weeks or more | Long flights and jet lag take days at each end |
| Worried about homesickness | Two weeks or less | You can always go longer next time |
If a friend asked us how long their first trip should be, we’d tell them it depends on them: how much time they can get off work, what they can spend, what time of year it is, and what they want out of the trip. Start with the table, then adjust for those four things.
Your first trip doesn’t have to cover everything. Pick a length that lets you enjoy where you are, not one that has you rushing to the next place. If you haven’t settled on where to go yet, start with How to Choose Your First Overseas Destination.
Until next time… keep wandering.
Last updated: 22 October 2026. Jet lag guidance and cyclone seasons checked October 2026.
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