In the travel game, two things are very important – time and money. The same way you make sure to get the most bang for your buck, you want to make sure you get the most trip for your time. Having a 9-5 or other responsibilities means that your getaways are limited to just a handful of PTO days per year. Figuring out how to stretch these days into several epic vacations can be tough, but definitely not impossible.
No matter how near or far you’re planning to travel, one thing is for sure, you want to spend as much time as possible in paradise. After all, you didn’t make all those sacrifices to not reap the rewards, right? If you’ve been racking your brain trying to figure out how to travel more, we’ve got three tips that can help you level up, maximize your PTO time and see more world.
Weekend Getaways Are Your Friend
One of the best ways to get more for less when it comes to PTO is by embracing long weekends. Plan mini getaways around the “free” days you already get off of work. For example, if July 4th falls on a Friday and your company has this day off, plan to leave for vacation Wednesday and return home either Sunday or Monday. This way you only use 2 or 3 days out of your PTO, but with the holiday and weekend, you get a 5 or 6-day vacation.
Be Flexible
Vacations don’t always have to start on a Friday and end on a Sunday. Weekends, especially holiday weekends, are typically peak times for flights which means you could end up paying more to leave on a Friday than you would leaving on a Tuesday. Same goes for returns, most people are trying to get home on Sundays for work on Monday, so why not come home on Monday or Tuesday instead? Flexibility like this works great for holidays that may fall in the middle of the week. You’re also more likely to find cheaper direct flights to your destination on off-peak days, meaning you get to spend more time in paradise.
Don’t Always Take The Deal
One of the downsides to those flight deals you see all over the internet is that often times they come with multiple (sometimes long!) layovers. If you’re short on time, taking a flight deal with two extended layovers that gets you to your destination a day later than normal simply because it’s cheapest, might not be the best way to utilize your time. Where possible, limit the number of layovers you have and/or how long your layover is. Take the shortest route possible for the best price. It might not be the cheapest option, but you’ll get to spend more time exploring the sites, instead of your layover airport.
