Let’s be honest – a lot of us don’t do “just one place” very well. Give us two weeks off and we’ll try to conquer three countries, four cities, and a beach stop thrown in for “rest” (translation: eating our own weight in gelato). Sound familiar? Multi centre holidays are the overachievers of the travel world: part jet-set, part road trip, part choose-your-own-adventure novel. But while the promise of hopping from Italy to India to Bali sounds very Eat, Pray, Love in theory, the planning stage can feel more like Panic, Google, Repeat – especially if you’re new to the multi centre holidays game.

That’s where we come in. Our travel pros here at Netflights happen to be a bunch of whizz kids when it comes to untangling your ambitious holiday plans – you know, the ones you’ve always dreamed of doing but have been too nervous to book. A chinwag with one of them will have you going from churning in self-doubt to cheers-ing on the plane with a glass of bubbly.

But if you’ve got a few queries before you’re ready to have a chat, we’ve gone and rounded up the most common, most head-scratching, most “is this a stupid question?” questions UK travellers have when booking multicentre holidays – and we’re answering ’em. You’ll have multi centre mojo in no time.

Is it a fancy marketing term? A secret club only well-travelled folks know about? Is it like Centre Parcs… but international?

Multi centre holidays are exactly what they sound like: a single trip that includes two or more destinations. You might have heard them go by the name of ‘twin centres’ too. Instead of unpacking your suitcase in one spot and settling in for the week, you’re hopping around – city to city, island to island, or even country to country – all under one itinerary. Begin in buzzing Bangkok, then fly to Chiang Mai for temples and elephants, and finish off on the beaches of Phuket sipping coconuts under palm trees. Hit New York for the skyscrapers and Broadway, head west to Vegas for lights and late nights, then unwind in L.A. or San Diego (we’ll tell you more of our fave combos in a sec.)

Think of it as the tapas of travel: a little bit of this, a little bit of that. It’s a bit like backpacking, except not really like backpacking at all. 12-person dorms? Dodgy overnight buses? Not on our watch.

There’s a whole bunch of reasons why people choose to go for multi centre holidays.

Some people just use them as a (way more fun) way to stretch their legs and break up a long flight. Those who are visiting family for a few weeks in India will often tie in a stopover in cities like Dubai. Another mega popular stopover choice to break up long journeys is a short stay in Singapore on the way to Australia.

But it’s not always about just stretching the legs – for a lot of people, especially when they’re travelling long haul, it makes sense to make the most of the distance they’ve travelled by chucking in another destination while they’re out there. They don’t want to sit in economy for that long just to lie on one beach for seven days (unless it’s a beach in the Maldives, in which case, carry on).

Have a chat with one of our travel pros today

Some want to return to a country they’ve been to before, but they’d like to throw in something new just to mix it up a little bit – popular multi-centre holidays for those who are returning to Thailand are to tie in a trip to Singapore or Hong Kong too.

And then there’s the curious, the indecisive, the “but we’re so close to it!” types, where one-stop holidays can feel a bit… limiting. For them, variety is the spice of life, and multi centre holidays are the chameleons of the travel world – couples like a little city love story followed by a private pool on an island. Families love Disney, national parks and a beach break to recover from it all. Solo adventurers love flexibility and freedom, but still a fancy having a soft bed and a solid plan.

There’s no one size fits all answer here – it depends on what you have in mind for your multi centre holiday. But there are some rough guidelines you can follow to help plan out your trip.

City and beach

Generally speaking, if you’re looking to do a city and beach combo, we always recommend 3 to 4 nights in the city, followed by 7 to 8 nights by the beach – but this all depends on your budget. You can always scale it back to 2 nights in the city, and 3 to 4 by the beach if you’re looking to spend a little less. But if you opt for shorter stays in each destination, make sure you pick them wisely – there’s nothing worse than leaving a place wishing you could stay just a little bit longer. They didn’t build Rome in a day, and you ain’t seeing all of it in one day, either!

Stopovers

If you’re just after a fun stopover somewhere on your way to somewhere else, then we reckon 1 to 2 nights is the sweet spot. Cities like Doha, Dubai, and Singapore are all great for this sort of itinerary – they all shine bright in quick bursts, and are the perfect refreshers for ultra long-haul journeys like flying to New Zealand or Australia.

But, really, the most important thing to consider is what sort of travellers you are – if you’re a slow soaker-upper, taking your time to absorb everything around you, then definitely factor in extra time to really enjoy where you are. If you prefer quicker bites out of a buzzing city, then don’t stick around too long or you’ll get itchy feet about getting to the next spot on your trip.

This all depends on your airline, your transfer types, and your packing ambitions.

Airlines

Let’s start with the first one: your airline. Always check your baggage allowances before you fly! Don’t assume that one set of rules for one airline will match those of another, they often don’t. And for some airlines, they even have different baggage allowances for different destinations – our travel pros know all of the niggly bits of travel that you might miss, so booking with them can mean the difference between not getting caught out and a big fat bill at the airport. If you want to double check your airline’s baggage polices, you can always head to our handy Help Hub.

Transfers

Now, the second thing to consider: transfer types. If you’re using trains or buses (or boats!) to transfer instead of flying, then generally speaking you can take as much you want – within reason, of course. Weight limitations don’t usually apply for these modes of transport. But if you opt to go with some internal flights (if staying within one country) or even international flights (if you’re travelling, say, from Dubai to Phuket), then you’ll definitely need to pay attention to differing baggage policies between airlines. You might fly out of the UK with a mega juicy baggage allowance, only to realise that on your next flight (especially on smaller, regional airlines when flying internally) you have way less allowance.

But there is a way around this: Where we can, we’ll always recommend booking a through ticket – this is where your whole journey falls under just one ticket, even if there’s more than one destination. For example, if you’re heading to Sydney but want to stop off in Singapore along the way, we’d book you one ticket from your chosen departure airport to Sydney, with a layover via Singapore. Both legs would fall under the same baggage allowance, even if you break up your journey in Singapore and catch another flight down to Sydney a few days later. The extra good news is that this can often work out cheaper than buying separate tickets for each leg too!

Packing

Thirdly: your packing ambitions. Now, just because you have loads of baggage allowance, doesn’t necessarily mean you should use all of it. With multi centre holidays, the key part of it is that you’ll be moving around and that luggage ain’t moving itself. This is especially true if you’re transferring from one destination to another via bus, boat, or train. Less luggage = easier transfers, less stress, and more room for souvenirs (or wine, let’s be honest).

Internal flights are included in most of our multi centre holidays, but in the case that they’re not we always make it super clear at the booking stage. Where they’re not included, it’s usually because the multi centre holiday you’re booking is best enjoyed as a road trip – we call these Fly Drive holidays – or even as a motorhome holiday, where it’s alllll about the journey, baby. Think dreamy drives along the Great Ocean Road in Australia or clocking up the miles on a long jaunt across Route 66 from Chicago to LA.

In the case of Fly Drive multi centre holidays (where you fly into a destination, pick up a car and make your leisurely way to your departure destination), we’ll usually include car hire in the cost, as well as accommodation too. If car hire isn’t included in a certain package, we’ll always make it clear and you can always add it on when booking too.

When it comes to motorhome holidays, you bring your hotel room with you on the road. Our motorhome multi-centre holidays always include return flights and motorhome rental with brands like Cruise America and Cruise Canada. Where other fees – usually drop off, campsite and environment fees which are paid locally – aren’t included in the package we’ll always let you know.

John’s Desert Dunes and Downtown Dubai

Dubai Desert (2 nights)  → Dubai (3 nights)

“Recently, I got to combine the incredible tranquility of the Dubai desert with the full-on thrill of the city in one trip. We stayed at the 5* Bab Al Shams, a unique low‑rise, fort‑style resort about an hour from city where we could experience the natural beauty of the desert around us (and one seriously incredible sunset) – think low rolling hills and steep ridged giants, dotted with ghaf trees, acacia, and desert foxes if you’re lucky. Bab Al Shams is great if you want to experience the desert without going full Bedouin. It’s the kind of place that offers stargazing, falconry, and guided nature walks…as well as a desert-edge infinity pool.

Next, we headed to the 5* Atlantis, the Palm in the heart of Dubai, which gave us an amazing contrast with the bustling modern allure of the city. You’ll be based on the Palm, right next door to Aquaventure Waterpark – the biggest in the world, by the way – where you’ll get free access as a guest of Atlantis. There’s plenty of public transport to get you around the city, so you can go straight from shopping in the souks to gawking at skyscrapers like the Burj Khalifa.” – John, Destination Executive (and dune bashing pro)

Don’t

 Forget suncream! The serious factor 50 stuff! The desert can get very hot during the day – well, it’s a desert!

Do

Pencil in a desert drive to properly explore the dunes and spot the UAE’s most impressive wildlife, the Arabian Oryx and Gazelle.

Find your own desert dream

Luke’s West Coast and Hawaiian Wonders

Las Vegas (2 nights) → Hawaii (5 nights) → San Francisco (2 nights)

“For our honeymoon, my wife and I did an epic trip (one of the best weeks of my life) which included Las Vegas, island hopping in Hawaii and a trip to San Francisco on the way back. Told you – epic. We started with 3 nights in Vegas at Aria in a Panoramic Tower Suite living the absolute high life. We ticked a Vegas pool party off our bucket list and did a Grand Canyon helicopter ride too – Champagne Afternoon Tea in the canyon? Incredible.

From there, we flew to Honolulu on the island of Oahu and spent 4 nights in Waikiki (known for its unbelievable beaches). Whilst  we were here we also visited the amazing Kualoa Ranch (you might recognise it from teeny tiny films like Jurassic Park, Pearl Harbor, Jumanji…). After Oahu, we then flew to the island of Maui and spent another 4 nights there – this was my favourite part of the trip. We rented a car, watched the famous sunrise over the Haleakala Volcano, drove the Hana Highway, experienced a luau on the beach – all the big hits.

Hawaii was hard to beat but San Francisco had a solid go at it – we stayed here for 3 nights on the way back and loved it. We visited Alcatraz, did some shopping, biked over the Golden Gate Bridge (another bucket list moment), saw the famous sea lions, and even ate clam chowder out of their incredible sourdough bowls.” – Luke, Head of Sales and Customer Services (and full on foodie)

Don’t 

Miss an opportunity to visit Hawaii if you get the chance – my favourite place I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to a lot.

Do

Plan, plan, plan! But also…don’t over plan. Make sense?! I’m a big planner but I also know not to plan in too much – the trick is to always have some wiggle room for chilling or for a hidden gem you discover while you’re out there.

Find your own West Coast wonders 

Charlotte’s Thai Takeover

Bangkok (3 nights) → Koh Samui (4 nights) → Krabi (4 nights)→ Phi Phi Island (3 nights) → Phuket (5 nights)

“We started our trip in Bangkok with a 3 night stay at the Hotel Rembrandt, a great budget hotel with a lovely little pool and Italian restaurant. In the evening they have a Happy Hour in the lobby bar with a piano player and lovely cocktails (at a really decent price!). Plus we were right by both a BTS SkyTrain and MRT station (they’re Bangkok’s two metro systems).

We loved the floating markets, but we especially loved the Maeklong Railway Market – it’s a crazy experience as the whole market packs up each time a train comes through as it’s right on the line itself. We visited the Grand Palace (it really is very grand), zipped around in tuktuks every chance we got (the best form of transport, but hold on tight!), and spent ages in the MBK shopping mall – it’s HUGE and has everything you ever needed in your entire life, with over 2000 stores across a whopping 8 floors! Bangkok was a culture shock when we first arrived and we thought wouldn’t like it, but after a couple of days we started to love the lively atmosphere everywhere.

After Bangkok we flew with Bangkok Airways to Koh Samui where the airport is an experience in itself – one of the prettiest airports (yes, it turns out airports can be pretty) I’ve ever been to. We spent 4 nights here at the Anantara Lawana Koh Samui – the price was amazing given the standard of the hotel (we splurged a bit more for our plunge pool with a cool little swing in it – defo worth the upgrade). Whilst here we visited Fisherman’s Village for their famous night market and went to Bo Phut for a cocktail on the beach as there’s loads of little bars here with beans bags on the sand for you to chill on.

From there we headed to Krabi for 4 nights at the Dusit Thani Krabi, a lovely mid-range hotel. We experienced the Emerald Pool and Blue Lagoon, two amazing swimming spots, the Hot Springs Waterfall, and the Tiger Cave Temple – it’s a bit of a climb (1260 steps!) but the view is worth it. It’s also worth wandering off the beaten track in Krabi – we got talking to a couple who told us to take a torch and go for a wander down a dark track to the beach (we were suspicious too), and ended up at the cutest little row of hidden restaurants and bars on the beach!

We took a longboat and a speed boat to spend 3 nights on Phi Phi Island (incredible) before heading to Phuket for 5 nights at Banyan Tree Laguna Phuket and Amari Phuket – I would definitely recommend a split stay in Phuket as you can enjoy both the quiet and the more party side of the island. We got to visit the famous ‘James Bond Island’ while we were here to get that iconic snap in front of the big rock!” – Charlotte, Sales Team Manager (and tuktuk lover)

Don’t

Hang about when it comes to booking certain activities – we really wanted to visit Elephant Hills but it was sold out by the time we got round to it! One for next time!

Do

Make full use of 7-Eleven whilst you’re here to save on more expensive hotel food and drink – they’re everywhere and do all sorts of stuff at dirt cheap prices.

Find your own Thailand trip 

Ready? It’s time to meet your multi centre