Hi! We have a 17-day trip out of the country this spring. I’m wondering if I might have better lucking finding a sitter if I split into 2 separate stays?
I haven’t posted the dates yet because it’s such a long trip, and I wonder how best to manage.
Any pointers are much appreciated!
Thank you,
Stacey
Post moderated - month date removed
Hello @ChicagoGracie and it’s nice to see you back on the Forum. 
I don’t think you will have any problems at all finding a sitter for 17 days, there are many sitters who would prefer this length of sit, I certainly wouldn’t consider 17 days a long sit by any means.
Many of us prefer longer sits, I’ve done 4-6 week sits. I would go ahead and post.
Ok that’s great to know!
You shouldn’t have any trouble finding a sitter for 17 days, best advice is get dates posted as soon as you can.
17 days is not s long sit! The longest we have done so far was 6 weeks and the shortest- a weekend- and we’ve done everything inbetween! It depends on what the sitter is looking for at that moment. There will always be someone happy to sit for 17 days! E.g we have a sit Spain in June for 3 weeks and we just did a Christmas sit in Singapore for 3 weeks. I doubt we’d have accepted either for a shorter period because of the travel costs.
On the contrary- in the UK- we have a car and love to travel around the English countryside- so generally we take shorter sits there because none are far apart and it gives variety!
Absolutely not. We love long sits and are currently spending 3 months on our current one. In fact I normally don’t look for anything less than 2 weeks.
I wouldn’t think you’d have any trouble getting a sitter for that length of time.
Some of us sitters actually prefer slightly longer ones. I very much do because it gives me time to really get settled in and form a proper bond with the animals I’m taking care of as well as get to know the local area properly.
With shorter sits, I’ve barely unloaded my suitcase and then it feels like I’ve got to get packing again so I don’t tend to do so many shorter stints these days for that reason.
Anyway, I hope you secure a brilliant sitter. Very best of luck to you!
As others have stated, 17 days is not considered to be a long sit. Splitting dates brings with it all sorts of added complications and can make it much more difficult for your pets to settle with different people coming and going. Definitely list it as one sit.
Hi - how’s Oz? Just cleaning for my next sitter! off to Naples, Florida on Thurs. love to you both x
@ChicagoGracie
As a HO - 17 days is definitely not too long, I’ve had more applications for 2/3 week sits than shorter ones. Good luck, plenty of great advice on here👍
Hi @Jo27 - We arrived in Melbourne last week and are loving it so far! Have a great time in Florida. We are booked to be in Brighton again all August so hopefully will be able to meet up again xx
17 days would be pretty normal for us. 7 weeks is our longest to date and in general we don’t do sits that are less than 10 days. I think one sitter will be fine. It’s also added hassle for you and them to do the handover mid sit and less comfortable for the pets too 
I prefer longer sits in order not to jump around. I just finished a 2 month sit which was " purrfect" now on to two " back to back " 2 week sits in Vermont with a bit of a break in between.
Echoing others partially that 17 days is a fine length sit
Tons of us like that sort of length since it doesnt mean a quick bounce in and bouce back out… i know i do! Nor is it especially long compared to other ones.
But, if youre concerned an other optiom is to place it as two sits back to back, but with a note in text that the two can be done as one combined one. The risk of that is some folks may have filters on that make them miss shorter sits.
I’ve applied to ones lined up like that for the same person or ones they have that have only a few days between the two siits and put in my application that I’d be happy to do both.
So, you can put it as the full 17 days which is a totally great length sit that folls often like. Or you can cut it into two and arrange it so you can accept two people or one, depending on who applies.
For a 17 day sit id suggest just putting it up as a single sit since thats truly not long. For example, while im up for the right short ones, if i aim for a minimum of 14 days. So, as others said, lots of us out here.
But if you ever do need a long sit you may consider the second option where you may be able to get 2 sitters back to back or 1 full-through.
17 days is a great length and I would NOT split it. I would only split much longer sits. For example, currently a home owner in Sweden is advertising a six-month sit and I will be travelling in the Nordic countries during this time but I don’t want to be stuck in one place for too long. On the other hand, many sitters, especially fully nomadic ones like me, are always looking for long-term sits, but during a six-month period, they may want to take a weekend or a week off at some stage. So, that would be a reasonable situation for a split. But anything shorter than a month, no.
I doubt you’ll have a problem. Seventeen days isn’t that long. I usually prefer a longer sits. I prefer 2- 3 week sits when I can get them.
I also think that you will not have any problems. We go every year for more than 3 months and until now we always found people that were interested. Good luck!
Thankfully you are all right and we already have our stay booked with a lovely couple. Thank you for taking the time to comment on my post. <3
Hi @ChicagoGracie. I’ve done month, 3 week and 2 week sits. Pleased you found someone!