We have a rule... you have to stay someplace longer than it takes you to get there. I don't care if part of the drive is scenic... if you are driving three days you need to be at your destination for three days. If flying, we want even more onsite time... if we can only take a week off, we now prefer to be on site 4 days. Two days to get there if traveling East, and one day to return.
But to travel by air cheaply often means fewer direct flights. Our trip to Helsinki is powered by using miles, so we were a bit at the mercy of our airline, and Susann watched the options like a hawk before we latched on to Finland as a contender... but the travel time is going to be a killer.
And as much as I hate layovers, a 3-4 hour layover is better than a 1 hour layover that puts you at the mercy of a delayed flight or longer than expected security or passport control. So with three legs and long layovers, we are facing 1 hour to get to the first airport 2-3 hours at the first airport (you are usually told to be at the airport 3 hours before an International flight) 3 hours to get to Detroit 4 hours layover in Detroit 8 hours to get to Amsterdam 4 hours layover in Amsterdam 2.5 hours to get to Helsinki 1 hour to get to the Hotel 25 hours travel time, then add on the 8 hour time change...
...so we leave like 4:00am Thursday and get to the hotel about 3:00pm local time Friday.
The good news? Start looking at the Travelblitztips feed on Facebook Friday for some pictures!