Have you traveled on 24 hrs of flights?

HoneyNut

HoneyNut

Well-known Member
Location
Maryland
I heard from the Safari company I had made a deposit with right before Covid, they wanted to know if I was vaccinated yet.

So, now I'm thinking of heading to Africa this summer (assuming no horrid new mutant Covid arises). The flights would total 24 hours. I feel so old (just 65 yrs but feel 165), I am not sure how I will do with such long flights. I am not a good sleeper on planes, might see if doctor would give me sleeping pills.

My original plan was to be in Africa for a 10-day two-country (Kenya-Tanzania) safari, but their email said most people are sticking to one country to avoid needing yet another covid test to cross the borders. So now I'm considering a 5 day one-country safari. But it seems kind of nuts to travel such long flights back and forth for just 5 days. OTOH, I bet I would be glad to get home anyway.

Has anyone here taken such long series of flights? Have you tried breaking the trip half-way to stay overnight and get good sleep? I'd rather just keep going to my destination, if it doesn't kill me to go that long without real sleep.
 

HoneyNut said:
I heard from the Safari company I had made a deposit with right before Covid, they wanted to know if I was vaccinated yet.

So, now I'm thinking of heading to Africa this summer (assuming no horrid new mutant Covid arises). The flights would total 24 hours. I feel so old (just 65 yrs but feel 165), I am not sure how I will do with such long flights. I am not a good sleeper on planes, might see if doctor would give me sleeping pills.

My original plan was to be in Africa for a 10-day two-country (Kenya-Tanzania) safari, but their email said most people are sticking to one country to avoid needing yet another covid test to cross the borders. So now I'm considering a 5 day one-country safari. But it seems kind of nuts to travel such long flights back and forth for just 5 days. OTOH, I bet I would be glad to get home anyway.

Has anyone here taken such long series of flights? Have you tried breaking the trip half-way to stay overnight and get good sleep? I'd rather just keep going to my destination, if it doesn't kill me to go that long without real sleep.
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24 hr. flights is a killer. The one time I made an overnight stay to break things up, I felt a whole lot better.
 
Could you add a few days in the destination country prior to the 5 day safari? 24 hours is a long time for such a short trip.

Usually breaking the trip in two makes a significant cost difference. Sometimes onsite airport hotels have a room that can be rented for a few hours or a rest area where you can shower, if your layover is just a few hours.
 

I have, but I was much younger.

San Francisco to Hawaii to Japan to Manilla, and then took a bus to Subic Bay.

Since this trip was a last minute requirement of the Navy, I had to take at least three shots to be able to travel the next day. Oddly enough, it did not wipe me out, but that last 6 hours on a local bus was a killer. My layovers were all a lot longer than expected, particularly in Narita, Japan.

I was a fairy durable rascal back then. There is no way that I could do it now.

@HoneyNut if that is a straight through shot, I think that you could do it, especially if you get into Kenya a day early so that you can catch some sleep. It is the long layovers that get to me these days.
 
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The longest I've been on a single flight was about 12 hours to London to hook up with another flight. Back then, a little over 20 years ago, I traveled a lot and slept like a baby on planes. But then I re-injured my back. I don't think I could spend more than a couple of hours on a plane now.

Anyway, I agree @HoneyNut, 5 days isn't a long enough stay. That would feel like what you'd call a whirlwind trip - added stress, rushed, disappointing.
 
Is that a total of 24 hours on airplanes or a total of 24 hours before taking off on the first airplane and landing on the last airplane with some layover time at some airports?

I would say if going on a safari is one of your bucket list items then the 24 hours on a plane would be worth it. Otherwise you might consider something else or as people suggested get there in legs stopping at other places along the way.
 
If we're talking length of travel (changing planes, time between flights, etc), then I've been on a few 36-hour journeys. Every trip to and from Turkey was that long.

The trip to India ended up being 2 1/2 days in transit on the way over, all of that time spent on planes or in airports, sleeping on the floor.

The longest non-stop flight I've been on, I think was 9 hours. Felt like 48.
 
I flew 28 hours to Singapore, but that was in 1990. I had no problems, until I got home, then the old jet lag kicked in, which is normal.

I have flown as a pilot for 33 years. Many of my flights were non stop coast to coast. After 2-3 years of this, I became immune to jet lag. My body accepted my lifestyle as normalcy. Getting jet lag, especially on long haul flights west to east is normal.

I always wanted to go to Africa, but could never convince my wife to go with me. Risking jet lag for such a trip is well worth the risk.
Have a great time.
 
The longest flight I've been on was when I went to Thailand in the mid-60's. The flight left California, flew to Hawaii for a brief refueling stop, then continued on to Bangkok. I think we were on that plane for at least 18 hours, and between that, and the time change, it was a couple of days before my "internal clock" returned to normal.
 
HoneyNut,
ms gamboolgal and I flew dozens of times to/from Texas/Africa over 18 year as I worked the oilfield for megaoil corp.

I did month on month off ( 28 X 28 ) for 5 years and then we lived there as permanent residents for 13 years and only went home 1 to 3 times per year.

It is a tiring flight(s) and transit. Depending on Layovers and Connections - the total transit time was between 30 to 42 hours.

I imagine that you will have at least one Connection in Europe and then fly on down to your final destination.

Jet Lag heading East was/is brutal - and it never got easier even after years of flights.

If you can get at Least Comfort Plus seating - we would recommend that. Business Class is usually 2 to 3 X as much monies $$ as Comfort Plus so it is a significant cost increase. But Business Class is much better w/o a doubt.

It's a tuff flight - no matter what you do.

For ms gamboolgal and I, we have no desire to ever get another Stamp in our passports again....but that's just us.

We do know several folks who have done Safari's - both photography and hunting - in addition to sight seeing and they all have loved the experience.

All the best and please post a Trip Report with beaucoup pictures when you get back home.

gamboolman.....
 
If you or anyone should take a long haul flight of 5 hours or more, I would suggest a few things.
1. Drink plenty of water
2. Move about, if the seatbelt sign has been turned off walk up and down the aisle or just wiggle your toes and do stretching in your seat
3. Eat light, but eat something
4. Take a laptop or tablet or a crossword puzzle book (use your mind)
Enjoy your flight
 
jujube said:
If we're talking length of travel (changing planes, time between flights, etc), then I've been on a few 36-hour journeys. Every trip to and from Turkey was that long.
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My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read this.. completely forgetting for a minute that you're in the USA..:D

Just 3 1/2 hours from London to Turkey ..we've been many times
 
hollydolly said:
My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read this.. completely forgetting for a minute that you're in the USA..:D

Just 3 1/2 hours from London to Turkey ..we've been many times
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Well, back then, it was Istanbul to Frankfort, change planes, Frankfort to London, change planes, London to New York, change planes, New York to Chicago, change planes, and then, ahhhhhh, the flight home. And then reverse it a couple of weeks later. All of this with an infant or a baby or a toddler. Thank goodness for "the kindness of strangers".
 
My longest was in 1960 flying California to Hawaii to Wake Island to Tokyo in an Airforce C-97 prop plane.
 
Flying for 33 years, I have flown over 10,000,000 miles. I often wished that I would have been rewarded with frequent flyer miles.
 

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