Keep Transit Times in Mind

Jan 19, 2012 by Joel

If there is one thing that I have had a challenge with in my past travels it is the time it takes to travel. Travel time seems to be the one thing that I have always under estimated, and it often leaves me with not really enough time in some places.

This has really come to the forefront of my mind while planning my trip to Europe. It seems that if you are not careful in your planning, the travel between destinations can quickly become and all day event. Often to save but a few dollars.

Long Haul Flights

This is one area that I never get mixed up on. A Long Haul flight really does become one or more days in your calendar when planning your travels, if not two days. The trip from Brisbane to London, is one of these times, leaving early one day and arriving late the next day.

I have yet to manage making the mistake of trying to do to much on the same day as a Long Haul flight, at least not to my own doing. The only issue has been when the airline connection was to close, however this is the fault of the airline making the booking to close.

Short Haul & Domestic Flights

This is another case altogether for me, I find myself often in the position of seeing a good portion of time disappear due to travel on these flights. One of the worst cases was my flight from Las Vegas to Seattle last year in August. It is a flight that should take less then 3 hours in the air, with security, check-in and such at the airports no more then 5 hours total. Well due to some poor planning I left my Las Vegas hotel to go to the airport about 9am and it was not until after 6pm I was checking into my Seattle hotel. At nine hours that is almost double the time for a direct flight, all because I had a connection from San Francisco.

If I can find a direct flight for a journey I will generally take it. While this is not always possible the time can definitely add up when you have a connecting flight with 3 or 4 hours between connections. It suddenly turns a half day of travel into a full day of travel.

Train or Short Haul Flight

This is the biggest question I have been asking myself in my time booking for Europe this year. Do I take the train to see the countryside, or a flight to save on time. The answer to this question very quickly landed with the choice of flying.

While there are times that I am happy to take a train, because it is part of the plan, or if it will actually save time (eg London to Paris the train can be quicker). There are also times where the train can be a lot more expensive, and a lot more time consuming. For example London to Vienna is almost 18 hours, while the total flight time is just 3 hours. No surprisingly the train is about double the price of flying as well. While it may be true you get to see a lot more of the countryside from the train, is it really worth that much extra travel time and expense.

The Choice Is Yours

Obviously everyone has different tastes in everything some people will not fly no matter what the saving, so you have to accept the added travel time. While at the same time others may enjoy the more relaxed pace and environment of train travel. I mean I have chosen the slower option before, when I returned from Vancouver to Australia. I choose to take a 26 day cruise rather then a 13 hour flight, it suited me at the time.

I am of the firm belief that travel is all about the destination and not so much about how you get there. At times I am happy to pay extra to get somewhere quicker, or in the case of the cruise take longer to get to the final destination because I get to visit so many other wonderful destinations along the way.

Remember the time that travel takes and I think you will find that your travel is much more fulfilling.