Pausanias

The longest trip we have ever done is nine weeks. Yes, nine weeks. We stayed two nights in Singapore, then flew to Melbourne and drove the coast road to the Twelve Opossums, then we flew to Christchurch and drove NZ for three weeks, ending in Auckland where we caught an expedition cruise ship, Orion, which sailed up to Norfolk Island, Isle of Pines, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and ended in Cairns, from where we flew to Singapore for a last night and then home. Phew!!!!

blueline7

Well I would love to go 9 weeks, or 3 weeks, heck, even 1 week, but with travel time 1 week turns into 9-10 days, and that is unfortunatly too long for me to be away with a young family and/or work commitments, at least these days.

So, my most recent trip, I was compelled to do one night in Bangkok, one night in Hong Kong, 2 nights in Delhi, and one night in Paro. It was either that, or not being able to see my favorite places for some time. Surprisingly, with smooth airport transfers and good flight times, and just wanted to get a taste of my favorite places, it was reasonably satisfactory, given the alternative. But when I have had more time, I have found that 3 days in once city was plenty for me, and 5 nights in a resort was also plenty for me. Then again, with unlimited time and funds, I am one guy who swears that he would have no problem whatsoever, living on a desert isle indefinitly - provided it was an Aman.

aa213bb

I'd reckon we travel around 3 months out of the year - maybe 3.5 or 4 if one throws in long weekends.

- Travel for 13 weeks? Great! No problem

- Live out of a suitcase on a multi-week/country road-trip? Sure! I love it!

- Lounge on a beach with a steady stream of alcoholic beverages coming my way? Why, thank you, I will!

- Spend more than 3-4 nights in a city, or 4-5 nights at a resort? No, nein, nyet, non, no way Jose, FOH, etc

Like bhrubin, I need stimulation. I can relax with the best of them, just looking at the water, and I can walk 20+ miles in a day exploring a city, but regardless of where I am, after a few days my imagination is already captured by what's next.

offerendum

Totally different. An one night stay can be fine and dometimew it can't be too long. For a resort it's normally between 4 and 8 nights. I guess I'm one of the persons who like to change hotels/ experience as many as possible But last time I tend to extend time of my stays....

Kagehitokiri

if off-menu or not remote, food not a problem

same for me. and booking last minute for low occupancy, good weather, etc.

i'd also check out early if i felt appropriate, not much discussion of that here.

well said. sometimes 1 night can be for transit

also well said. im probably strange, id be ok with not having home/homebase
(though some on this forum and FlyerTalk move [homes] every few months)

i could also tolerate lesser beach at Laucala and less facilities at North Island
there are a lot of properties even smaller than amans, ive enjoyed several

agree, and i don't care about unused bedrooms, i only care about true space
(zero comparison between lux resort single family home and even big suite)
although ive also accepted gerbil room with no problem, for certain property

for me # 1 was type of property (at beach)
e.g., Laucala, Necker, amanpulo, hualalai
then # 2 oceanfront, not sun/beach/water
many others big on scuba, watersports, etc

top properties are usually as rare as they are because their goal is not profits

KatW

Interesting responses. If it is a resort vacation, especially at the beach, I have yet to reach my maximum length of stay. Which I expect means I have never exoerienced too much vegging out time.

Cities require quite a lot of energy and organization so, unless we are staying for a specific event, a week is minimum. Except for LA which enjoy sften and will by down for specifict events, philharmonic, opera, exhibition. Prefer to stay at The Beverly Hills Hotel.

Kagehitokiri

[besides boredom] i think one complexity can be different types of properties. i would imagine you may have a maximum for places like grand wailea. even with luxury properties, the vast majority are not like Laucala, La Casa Que Canta, Las Alamandas, etc. but those are exactly the types of properties which attract some of us, as we avoid monstrous big box hotels, especially for resorts and outside of cities.

for me: oceanfront, remote, few rooms can factor into a tranquil, relaxing, disconnected feel. some of it is quantifiable, some of it is not.

Pausanias talks about doing small ships, but even those are bigger than i would prefer.

edit - heh. i wonder if the Breakers Palm Beach could be as good for kids.

KatW

I will never go to Grand Wailea again but the kids loved it.

damaxer91

I never really last more than 3-4 nights at the same place. Even if I travel somewhere remote like the Maldives or Seychelles, I like to check out a couple of properties in the course of a week.

The exception to that is when I'm traveling with my kids and its tough to move around so we tend to stay at the same resort for 7-14 nights.

damaxer91

Well Said! ^^^

Musken

If it is a luxury hotel, I like to stay 3-5 nights. Less than three is too short as I do not feel that I can properly experience everything, relax and feel at home. I also like to unpack everything, not living out of a suitcase. However, if I have to eat all meal at the hotel and there are not many things to see or do nearby, I get bored. Half a day at the beach or by the pool and the rest out and about for sightseeing, shopping and exploring is perfect. A whole day at the beach, at least if it is the rule rather than the exception, makes me feel that all days are the same and go too quickly.

In the past when our son was younger, we used to stay up to two weeks in one hotel. That was good back then as long as there was enough variation in restaurants in hotel or nearby, but would not do that anymore. Nowadays we would do 3-4 hotels in two weeks and sometimes even more if we want to experience a certain area/sight. If we stay just one night, we go for a cheaper hotel and do not unpack etc. But after a coupld of such one night stays, we will then go to somewhere extra nice and stay a bit longer.

DetailsIM

For my wife and I it's a factor of money and time. I am 3 years into my career (CPA) so don't have a ton of disposable income. As for time, my wife gets 3 weeks a year and I get a bit more (American work force!).

We are headed to Japan this coming January and are still debating on how we want to do the trip. Arrive and do 2 nights in Tokyo then head to Kyoto or Osaka for 3 then head back to Japan for the remaining 4? Do we keep budget at $500 or so a night or splurge at Aman Tokyo since it's not like we will be heading back to Japan soon after.

We look forward to the days where time and and money aren't factors.

Our friends bust our chops about us staying at the pricier hotels. "If you stayed at a lower level you could do more trips or days". True. But to us it wouldn't be the same.

FlyerEC

In my younger days , I have done what blueline7 just did .

But these days , somewhat more like aa213bb .

Just did 6 weeks in May / June and looking to potentially 8 / 9 weeks next March / April

But lounge at an Aman bale with fresh coconuts instead - bliss , too early in the morning / day ..
We can easily do more than a week here but walking less , usually some injuries sustained on a previous trip

Thankfully on our Welsh portion for our trip in 2 weeks , it will be no overnighters unlike some this year for " transit " and repacking .

Now also sorting our Kyoto ( meals ) & Nemu in November

In response to lb8001 ' s post below , thankfully our housekeeper gets along with our pets & takes good care while we are away . Possibly even for longer walks for ones needing walks , so garden remains in decent shape and the gardeners are happy too
We manage our missing them ..
Others have even volunteered to walk , etcetera , that's what happens when they , the pets , are so adorable !

lb8001

Very enjoyable thread - and responses. No one mentioned what, for me, is the gating factor to how long any trip will be - my pets. Regardless of where I'm going and how much I'm looking forward to it, I am never gone more than 10 days total. Usually it's a week - my TA now understands this and luckily I like flying and always fly premium because that's part of the trip/fun. But - like a couple here have said - i have a pretty short attention span. Most of my trips involve diving or some sort of animal/wildlife encounters, so I try to focus each day on how awesome it is to be where I am/see and do what I'm doing and be waited on in a luxurious setting. Because the list of places to go remains long, I have never left any place, no matter how much I enjoyed it, feeling like I needed to stay longer.

MikeFromTokyo

I am a longer than average stayer I suspect. For a city hotel, I usually need at least four nights to fully enjoy, but can stay for two weeks or more.

For beach resorts, one week is my minimum, but similarly I can easily want to stay for 10+ nights.

I avoid fast paced travel whenever I have a choice.

And, I do miss my cat, although it does help that I have family who can take care of him when I travel.