How far would you go for five nights?

[krz1211]

We are trying to celebrate a lot of milestones next March (10 year anniversary & both turning 40!), but can only get away for 5, maybe 6 nights total. How far are you willing to go, as in hours of travel, for such a short vacation. Are we crazy to try to go to Europe or Hawaii? We've been to both, but usually for 10 day trips!
Hit me with your suggestions for amazing spots in 5 days!

[goldengirlz]

I go to the East Coast (from California) for two to three night trips fairly often so a six- or seven-hour flight seems reasonable to me, especially if you can fly direct.

In that window, you could do most of Western Europe and Central or even South America. H and I just back from a four night trip to Colombia and LOVED it.

My answer would also depend somewhat on the flight options from your home airport — whether or not you’d need to connect.

[smock]

We're doing five nights in Hawaii (from the West coast), since that's how long we could convince the grandparents to watch our kids! I'd definitely consider a 6-ish hour flight, especially if you can get a non-stop. Also consider the time difference, though, because more than about three hours might be difficult. I think it's a good length for a beach trip but maybe not a trip with a bunch of museums/city sightseeing/etc.

[ribollita]

I’ve gone to Sydney and to Bangkok for a few nights each on separate trips and totally worth it! So, pretty far.

[chimera]

We've done Europe, usually just one larger city, from the East Coast for long weekends if we find deals on direct flights. Iceland you can hit most of the highlights in that amount of time and it is a shorter flight.

ETA I missed the march part - I’d go somewhere warm like Aruba or Costa Rica

[rupertpenny]

I'd definitely go to Europe or Hawaii for that long from North America. Maybe Japan or Korea too, but probably not anywhere else in Asia.

[scout8]

I wouldn't want to go much more than 6 hours. I might go a little farther if I was going to Central or South American where I wouldn't have to deal with jet lag on top of the long flight.

[mrsukyankee]

I've done long weekends to the States from London several times over the years so I'd say yes to Europe, especially if you can get a direct flight.

[pandorica]

We're going to the azores for five nights next month, the flight is only ~5 hours. We've also considered going to the UK for an even shorter time frame. I think 5 nights is plenty to get away some place fun!

[krz1211]

Thanks all! I agree with you all, unfortunately, I can't get anywhere in 6 hours:( Live on the gulf coast (central time zone) and have to layover to go anywhere.

[goldengirlz]

I would definitely consider Central and South America then — Costa Rica, Belize, Colombia, Panama, Peru.

But I just remembered that I’m going to the UK for six nights from California and that’s ... what? A 10-hour flight?

I wouldn’t think of it in terms of flight time but whether you can see everything you want to see in a short time. For instance, Ireland is a fairly close destination but my favorite part was driving around the countryside and you need time for that.

But you could probably do Iceland or Portugal in that amount of time. Maybe Scotland? Definitely Hawaii if you stick to one island.

[wildrice]

I wouldn't want to go somewhere super expensive or that took an entire day of travel to get to. I'd rather invest my $1000 plane tickets in a place I can get more time, KWIM?

I think you can play around a lot with flight times to minimize losing a day, though. Can you fly somewhere overnight a night early? Or have a 5am flight so you get to your destination mid afternoon and still have some time to do something? Or leave in the evening on your way back? Those are all things I've done to stretch my time.

From the gulf coast I think something in Central America would be nice. I went to Costa Rica in March and it was a fantastic trip. You won't get to see everything in 5 days, but you can see a lot.

Depending on flight times, I think Europe would be fine too. I am not 100% sure how long it would take for you to get there (or to Hawaii, but I think Hawaii might be longer from there?). I would not try to pack in multiple countries in Europe in 5 days (since you'll lose some time to flying) but if there is one country in particular you'd love to see, I think I'd consider it if the price was right!

[emilyinchile]

I'd be more concerned about the time difference than the flight time necessarily. That's assuming you can get an overnight flight and then sleep on that overnight flight so that you're maximizing your time actually in the destination. So given where you live, I would also be looking at Central/S America to cut down on the jet lag. A 5-7 hour time difference which is what you'd be dealing with if you went to Europe or Hawaii would affect my enjoyment of such a short trip, but if you adapt more easily then go for it.

FWIW, I've done 4 nights in CA from Santiago, and it was tiring but fine even with 15 hours of travel (9 overnight, then DFW-SFO in the morning) because the time difference was only 3 hours.

[GilliC]

I’ve done 15 hours for 3 nights (2 days, and I had a good time, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I generally don’t have issues with jet lag, but that much travel in a short time is exhausting. I was fine while I was there, but when I got home I was completely worn out.

For a 5-night trip, I would definitely do a 7-9 hour direct flight, and I’d probably consider a 12-15 hour connecting trip. But I’m not sure I’d do more than 16 hours gate-to-gate for that amount of time.

[mich1]

5 days in March, I’d be inclined to go south. Mexico or Central America. Maybe Columbia, depending upon where you are flying from.

[dcrunnergirl52]

We did five nights in Hawaii from the East Coast with 3 kids (ages 6, 6, and 3) and it was great. It was all we could afford to do at the time, so we went with it. So, I'd say it's definitely doable for you and your DH.

[erbear]

I'd do up to a 6-7 hour flight. It just can't be a whole day there and back for that amount of time.  I would do early morning there and late night back though to maximize time

[seabitch]

5-6 hours via flight would be my max. Same as previous poster, I would go early in the morning, and return in the evening of the last day to maximize.

I would head to the Caribbean, more specifically the Virgin Islands in March. The recovery is coming along nicely.