16 hours is fine IMO. Long stopovers also increase the cost significantly don't they as you have to buy separate tickets for each leg? Last month we flew BA to HK, 8 hour stopover and then on to Perth, then Darwin to Singapore, 10 hour stopover and then on to London. No need to do an overnight stop or multiple days unless you have time to burn or really want to go and see the place.
We also flew Manilla to Qatar to London with a 2 hour break and that was almost better than stopping. Means you get to location ASAP and do the flying in one chunk (I'd prefer a single 20 hour plane journey to a stopover though - if they existed).
OP also consider leaving London in the evening. If you work near a major airport/in London it's very useful. Just leave work and go to the airport, on the plane and you're there. It also means you don't waste a day travelling.
To minimise jet lag I always find getting the late flight (say 10PM) and adjusting your clock as soon as you are on the plane to the destination time then stay awake and sleep as you would if you were in Sydney. IIRC (for Perth) that meant stay awake until 4am and then sleep for a few hours, getting off at HK and wandering around, getting back on the plane and seeping straight away for a few hours and then arriving in Perth at 6am, then wander round all day and sleep at 10pm. Gets rid of all the jet lag usually as you've had 2 "days" to get over it - if you don't sleep well on the plane then you end up knackered anyway and reset your body clock for the first full day in OZ.
I feel sorry for you if you have to apply over a year ahead to take a 10-14 day holiday! Where I work you can normally ask a couple of months in advance for a 3 week holiday and they'll say yes.
So in summary, get the cheapest one stop ticket, perhaps with a reasonable stopover of 8-12 hours if it's an interesting stopover location and as soon as you get on the plane start thinking destination time.
Last edited:
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
