Travel Hints

Tips for long-haul Travellers to Australia 
 
 
 
If you have not ever experienced a long-haul flight between northern and southern hemispheres of the globe, you may find these tips from regular travellers us
eful.
Minimising the effects of jet lag:
·                If you are travelling from UK and Europe to Australia, plan to arrive early evening and aim to have a regular night’s sleep. This helps get over jet lag more quickly.
·                If travelling from USA via Los Angeles, for e.g., aim to arrive in the morning.
·                On your departure from, adjust your watch to destination time and sleep for one leg of the flight that coincides with local time. For example, if you leave on the 12:30 pm Qantas flight from London, plan to sleep for 6-8 hours between London and Hong Kong. Stay awake between Hong Kong and Melbourne. The flight arrives at 8 pm in Melbourne.
·                Take a shower at the transit lounge of your stopover point. You’ll feel a million dollars after it.
·                On the first day of arrival, get outside and walk in the sunshine as much as possible for the whole day.
·                Allow two days to adjust your body clock to local time. Some people take longer. It can feel like a ‘waking dream’.
 
Making yourself comfortable during the flight:
·                If you can afford it, travel premium economy or business class. It’s worth it for the extra space and chance to lie down to sleep!
·                If you travel economy, some seats are more comfortable than others. For example, near the back of the plane, the seat configuration changes to less seats and more space. It’s bumpier but the extra space can be worth it! A window seat generally gives you a bit more undisturbed space, but you do have to step over your neighbours to get out. If you don’t like being near crying babies, note that people travelling with infants are seated at the front of each section behind the bulkhead.
·                Dress in loose fitting, dark coloured clothing for the flight. Wear ‘airline socks’ to minimise swelling due to fluid retention and help prevent risk of deep vein thrombosis.
·                Take on board with you: a set of noise-cancelling ear plugs, eye shades, saline nasal spray
·                Eat little, drink lots of water, imbibe little alcohol. The atmosphere of an aeroplane is very dehydrating.