Unexpected Trips From Across The World That Will Leave You Jet Lag Free

Time zones are a tricky thing. You can travel halfway across the world and find practically no time change to speak of, but other trips can be just a few hours’ flight time and still have a huge gap when it comes to what time it is. The thing is, in order to avoid the dreaded jet lag, you need the time difference between your origin and destination to be as minimal as possible. Luckily, and thanks to the strangeness of time zones, that doesn’t mean you can’t travel somewhere far and exotic!

There are many trips you can take from major cities around the world that will bless you with minimal time difference (less than three hours) and still hit you with a major change of scenery.

From Los Angeles for example, if you travel to anywhere in Hawaii, the flight will take you around six hours with a time change of only two hours. This is a very easy adjustment even for inexperienced travellers and you will be enjoying a tropical paradise far from the highways of LA to boot!

For a more drastic example, consider a trip from Los Angeles to New Zealand or Fiji. The flights to either country will take at least 12 hours depending on exactly where you are headed and the time difference is a whopping 21 hours. Crazy, right? Not really! Because while this may seem extreme, remember that there are only 24 hours in a day, so actually in terms of your body adjusting, this is really only a three-hour time change! Easy!

From New York, a couple of good options to avoid the lag are Toronto and Vancouver. The flights last around two and six hours respectively. New York and Toronto are in the same time zone so there are zero issues there, whereas Vancouver is back just three hours from EST, which is also super-manageable.

If you are travelling from London, Moscow is a fantastic choice. It’s less than a four-hour flight and the time difference is just three hours. You can experience an entirely different culture for as short as a weekend with minimal damage to your sleep cycle.

An even more surprising option is London to South Africa. Although this flight is 11 hours-plus depending on the city you’re visiting, the time difference is a mere two hours! The fact that this is the case is just further proof of how strange time zones are!

London to Iceland is another great trip to make. Flying to the capital city of Reykjavik takes around three hours and there will be no time difference to speak of.

There are also some excellent routes from Paris for those who want to globe-trot from there. Flying from Paris to Dubai for example takes around six hours and 40 minutes and will leave you just three hours in time debt.

Similarly, Paris to St Petersburg is just a three-hour-plus flight with a time difference of only two hours. Perhaps most incredibly, you can fly from Paris to Nairobi in just over eight hours with a time difference of only two hours!

Anyone not booking yet? We didn’t think so.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.