This was published 1 year ago
The simple, expensive mistake every traveller makes
By Brook Sabin
Brook Sabin and partner Radha Engling heading over to the Maldives – the return journey wasn’t as fun.Credit: Brook Sabin/Stuff
You probably know the feeling: it's your first day back at work from a long-haul trip. Your body is physically in the office, but it's 2am where you've just come from, and you're bone-tired to the point it's painful to blink.
A year ago, when you first booked the holiday, you maximised leave by spending every day you could overseas. Fast-forward to the end of your break, and your boss is expecting you back full of beans – but the only beans you need are the caffeinated ones.
I'm a travel reporter; I should be a guru when it comes to travel tips. But I've spent years getting travel 101 wrong. I jam my trip right against work and have always come to regret it. This time, I've had enough.
Kuredu Island in the Maldives.Credit: Brook Sabin/Stuff
I've just come back from a dream trip to the Maldives. Many people think it's the domain of the rich and the famous, but I stayed at a resort that was $370 a night, including all meals for two people each day.
You won't find many (if any) hotels in New Zealand that would offer three buffets and accommodation on a beautiful island for less than $400 a night - so I thought it was a great deal. (The resort is called Kuredu - for those wondering)
I had the time of my life, chowing through 42 buffets and more than 25 snorkel trips where we saw everything from sharks to manta ray.
The Maldives isn’t as expensive as many think.Credit: Brook Sabin/Stuff
Then, reality struck on the way home, 36,000 feet in the air somewhere over Darwin. The journey back was about 26 hours in total, and I'd land home about 6pm and report for work the very next morning at 8am. Why did I do that to myself?
Holidays are meant to be a time when you recharge. But on the entire journey home I got just over two-and-a-half hours of sleep, according to my sleep tracking watch.
I started back at working feeling like I needed a holiday: what an idiot. I've discovered using every single day of leave to be overseas and leaving no buffer before work is a bit like that feeling of eating a bucket of KFC on an empty stomach. You look forward to it; but have deep regret afterward.
This isn't the first time. Once, I went back to work so jet-lagged I put my wallet in the staff fridge. Another time (in my old job as a TV reporter) I was so tired, I couldn't say the word "Māori" live on air, and kept stumbling over it like a broken record, much to my embarrassment.
But if fatigue isn't enough to make me change my ways, surely saving some cash is. If I'd come back three days earlier from my latest trip, I could have saved $1110 in accommodation. Given the skyrocketing cost of airfares and holidays, I could have really done with this.
So the next time you're thinking of booking that dream long-haul trip, don't go thinking about the bucket of chicken. Think of that feeling afterward. Give yourself a few days' grace at the end. Less is more, and after not following my own advice countless times, I think this simple tip really is the trick to having the best holiday.
What do you think? Do you take a few days off after a long-haul trip before heading back to work or jump straight back into it?
See also: The countries where having an Australian passport is a disadvantage
Sign up for the Traveller newsletter
The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.