Feeling some guilt over not visiting my family (3.5-4 hour plane ride) over the holidays, and i'm thinking of taking LO for a short visit in January. I'm thinking of a 5-6 day trip, but do you think that's too short?
How short of a trip are you willing you take to visit family (with a toddler)?
eggplant / 11824 posts
We fly down to NC (about 2.5hrs) for the weekend to visit family. Fly down Friday evening, back Sunday.
honeydew / 7444 posts
@yoursilverlining: @autumnlove: Oh wow! The flight will cost $650 so i find short trips a bit painful.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
I found that 3 nights 4 days is perfect. I'd do 2 nights 3 days too. 
honeydew / 7444 posts
@ALV91711: DH wanted me to stay for 2 weeks. I think i would lose my mind. I wish flights in Canada were as cheap as the US! 
pomegranate / 3383 posts
We did a 4-night trip (same as yours) for Thanksgiving. We flew with points though so it made the cost much easier to swallow. You should mention that it's a 2-hour time difference (because I think that plays a big factor too)!!
pomelo / 5621 posts
@Freckles: 2 weeks would be a bit much. It is unfair how much they charge to fly within the country. I could go to Vegas for less than if we both fly home.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
@Freckles: 3 days. Fly in on a Friday, fly out on Sunday. I would prefer to fly out Monday but if I had to get back for work, the first scenario would do.
honeydew / 7444 posts
@Sammyfab: I think i may have to fly with points this time around. Ugh, the power of guilt!
pineapple / 12566 posts
Visiting my dad is a transatlantic flight, plus 2-3 hour interior flight + 2 hours in the car. When we go, it's for at least two weeks.
Visiting my inlaws is a 2hr flight + 2ish hour drive. The shortest trip we would do for them is 4 days.
bananas / 9899 posts
It takes 5.5 hours to drive to where my parents live and when we go we often only stay 2-3 days!
honeydew / 7091 posts
When I fly to visit my parents (3.5 hour flight), I try to stay Friday night through the next Sunday morning, so a little over a week. My tickets are only $350 or so, and I feel the pressure to stay as looong as possible - I can't even imagine a $650 plane ticket!!
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
One night, but that usually isn't a stretch since I normally stay 2 or 3 nights max.
pear / 1799 posts
The shortest we've done was 4 days. It was way too short (I felt like we were busy the entire time).
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Come to think of it, I haven't done less than 2 weeks since my son was born.
persimmon / 1379 posts
We once spent $1300 each to fly our family home for xmas for four days. I am still bitter about that!
This year we are paying $1100 each (3 tickets again, thankfully our littlest doesn't get a seat yet!), for 7 days and I somehow feel like it is worth it. But the $1000 for a rental car for that week is killing me!
coconut / 8861 posts
5-6 is a pretty lengthy trip especially for flying. I've limited the trip duration we have at the inlaws. 5-6 days tops. MIL wanted both DH and myself to take 5 days of PTO each plus a weekend to visit them with LO. I found that to be too demanding of a young family with two working parents and an LO to manage.
When we had the maternity leave fiasco, she wanted to stay here 11 days which I see as unreasonable for a guest to stay. I think Benjamin Franklin said it best about guests: "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.”
pomegranate / 3983 posts
4-5 days is the shortest for me. I feel like I need to be in a place twice as long as the time I'm spending traveling there to make the flight worthwhile (with the kids).
hostess / eggplant / 11068 posts
@Freckles: To me 5-6 days for you to come visit your family doesn't seem *that* short to me. I suppose 5-6 days is a good minimum?
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
@Freckles: It depends on how long the flight is. I've flown home (5-6 hr) for 5-6 days. Though flights are usually cheaper if I stay one week.
pomegranate / 3383 posts
@Freckles: I don't think you'll regret the trip. There was a recent seat sale (last week)...maybe there will be another one soon? And if you don't have to rent a car or pay for a hotel then it's not so bad in the long run :happy:.
We are flying home for Christmas for 12 days and tickets would have been $1200 each if we hadn't used points! I think taxes alone are more than half (which we do pay for)...ugh! I wish flights within the country were cheap like they are in the US!
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