DIRECT vs STOPOVER

IS IT ABOUT THE JOURNEY OR THE DESTINATION?

Several months ago my parents asked me to research the best flights to Europe- and I was quite surprised to hear my Dad wanted the most direct route possible. "Let's get it all over and done with in one fell swoop" declared my Dad stoically. Meanwhile Mum's look said it all- "book us overnight in a nice hotel OR ELSE"  - needless to say: a fancy hotel stopover in Dubai it was!

My husband I faced the same dilemma (can you even call it that?) with our latest trip to the USA. We normally fly direct both ways, but this time I thought about that sinking feeling I always get on the way home from big trips. I needed a holiday to finish off my holiday <----------- ok, can you even take me seriously saying those words?  I just wanted to break it up and have one last thing to look forward to. So we booked with Fiji Airlines and had 3 nights in Fiji on the way home. I have to say---it was the best decision we made the whole trip (salted caramel cheesecake being a very close second). We felt so unbelievable when we got home to Sydney- I guess that's what swimming, sunshine and late sleep ins do- who would have thought?!  We had none of the horrible jetlag we normally have doing long haul- we felt refreshed and slipped back into our timezone straight away (with a tan- so win/win if you ask me).

Whenever we were in the US and had moments of "ohhhh this holiday is going WAY too fast, we only have a few days left!"-----we always came back to the same cheery line----- "WE ALWAYS HAVE FIJI!".  And boy, did those words sound good when you are about to face a long haul flight back to reality.

It also became a running joke because we overused it so much. Whenever anything awkward happened, we would pull this line out to make ourselves feel better. A classic example: the time my shoe fell off an elevated Disneyland ride, infront of an imax screen, past 2 rows of people and landed with a thud. Or even the time my husband walked in on a lady onboard the plane, sitting on the toilet- because apparently she didn't realise there was a lock.  Don't worry- "WE ALWAYS HAVE FIJI!" - yep, you get the drift. It was definitely overused.

Which brings me to the question- do you rather just get to your destination ASAP, or do you prefer stopovers? Or is it purely based on the most economical fare?

SIDE NOTE: Did you know Emirates Airlines cover expenses for some guests when having long wait times in between their flights?  Accommodation, meals, ground transportation and visa costs are just some of the perks flying with them (conditions do apply). If that's not an incentive to stopover, I don't know what is. See link below for more details!

http://www.emirates.com/au/english/plan_book/essential_information/dubai-connect/dubai-connect.aspx