With many overseas destinations opening up and muscle memory for long-haul flights a distant recollection, it’s time to consider the merits of a stopover enroute to your final destination.

But first, a lesson in the various hauls of flight.

A short haul flight is up to 3 hours. You jump on, watch a movie, eat a meal and you are there. Awesome!

A medium haul flight has a 3-to-6-hour duration. Do the above, then do it again. Less awesome but not long enough for the static electricity in the aircraft to make your hair stand on end. (Does anyone else get that too or is it just me?)

A long-haul flight is 6 to 12 hours. Do the above, add a couple of hours of sleep, walk laps of the aisles in the aircraft, read a book, use the complimentary moisturizer in the toilets for your super dry face, talk to people you wouldn’t ordinarily talk to on a short-haul flight, resign yourself to your hair standing on end, and then you’re there! Totally not awesome, but you made it – well done.

An ultra-long-haul flight has a duration of over 12 hours. Singapore Airlines currently has the world’s longest, non-stop commercial flight from Singapore to New York at almost 19 hours and Qantas is planning ultra-long-hauls in the not-too-distant future. I call dibs on travelling in the pointy end of the aircraft for this one!

A voracious international traveller myself, I have some hard and fast rules that I have occasionally gone “meh” to, at my own peril, and feel this is a great time to reiterate them and attempt to force them upon others.

Rule #1 Always have a stopover on a long-haul flight. If time is not of the essence and you want to arrive at your final destination alert and ready to rock, rather than rumble, then do this. Not only is it a healthier option (horizontal sleeping, exercise, food that doesn’t come in a box), a stopover gives you two trips for the price of one and a “taster” of a destination that you just might get back to on the merits of that stopover! Give yourself a 48-hour window and kick jetlag to the curb!

Rule #2 Always book an airport transfer prior to arrival. Do this and you can avoid arriving at a dark, spooky, mist (or maybe pollution) shrouded local bus depot at 2am in downtown New Delhi (yep, speaking from experience and stupidity!) Nothing says “You’ve arrived!” more than seeing your name held up on a bit of cardboard at the arrival hall of a foreign city. After a long flight, a friendly face, no urgent need to change money at the airport because you booked and paid already (but you do have a little of the local currency that you bought back home to drop the dude a tip, right?)

Rule #3 When you arrive at your destination, live in their time zone. If you have been flying all night and arrive at 5am, have breakfast, go sight-seeing and go to bed at bed time. I cannot reiterate this one enough. The sleep fairy will throw pixie dust in your eyes but resist at all costs! Jetlag is an insidious little creature. Those boffins who know such stuff say jetlag can last for a few days, or for some, up to a week. That’s valuable holiday real estate!

So, before you launch, contact the travel professionals (that’s us!) and we will help you find a flight that suits your personal preferences and share our insider knowledge on all things travel.