How to Maximize Travel While Working

Use our realistic Guide to plan your next travel adventure while working full time.

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An average American worker gets 10 to 15 vacation days per year. The data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It has been consistent for most of the past decade.

10 to 15 days is not a lot for a vacation. But there are a few ways to optimize these vacation days for travel.

This Guide explores how you can maximize travel while working full time.

Trips to Take While Working

It is tempting to take a longer vacation. It could help you unwind in the short term. But as soon as you return, you have to deal with the consequences.

You have to sort through a larger backlog of emails and messages. And, more importantly, you would have used most of your vacation days in just one or two trips.

Instead, it is better to spread out the trips through the year. To do so, you need to be strategic about the trips you take. You need to learn more about vacation days, public holidays, and weekends.

A combination of different trip types helps you make the most of your travel while working a 9-to-5 job. Your goal should be to travel more during the whole year, not during one month or quarter.

This Guide will discuss how you can combine day, weekend, road, and international trips to maximize travel.

Day Trip

No matter where you live, there are always sights within reach. You can choose from house museums, state parks, scenic drives, national monuments and parks.

Day trips require the least amount of preparation. They work best during the weekends. You can also take a day trip when visiting friends or family.

Day trips do not require vacation days. All you need to do is find what sights brings you joy. You could then take a day trip to see them as soon as you decide on the sights.

You might want to just hope in a car and drive to your nearest state park. In the end, why waste precious weekend time researching and planning?

This approach could backfire if something goes wrong. Parks near large cities attract crowds. Many of them started requiring reservations. Just look at Mount Evans near Denver, CO or Pedernales Falls near Austin, TX.

You might not get into these parks if you have not planned your visit beforehand. And your trip might be a disaster if you have not picked any backup sights.

Do not let your traveling spree ruin your trip. Spend a few minutes getting ready. It will save you time to check the park website and recent reviews before your trip. This way you will get the most from your day trip.

Weekend Trip

The next trip type will bring you further away from the homestead. It is ideal for the long weekends. You can get an adventure packed weekend at a cost of just one vacation day.

It could also be another way to save on vacation days and airfare. Tag a weekend trip to the tail end of a business trip. Just check that your employer is ok with it.

There is one key to a successful weekend trip. You need to pick a destination that is close to the sights. Make sure that you can comfortably, quickly, and cheaply reach this destination.

You would not want to spend half the weekend getting somewhere. In this case, you would need to start a return journey as soon as you reach the sights.

A 4-hour direct flight or a 6-hour one-way drive is a good threshold. This travel duration ensures that you still have time to enjoy your destination.

Denver, CO checks a few of these boxes for most travelers.

• This city is next to the geographical center of the country in Lebanon, KS.
• It has a major airport. You can find cheap flights to Denver from the West Coast, Southwest, Midwest, and even East Coast.
• It is the 19th largest city in the US. You can choose from plenty of places to stay and dine.

You could visit the city museums, like the Molly Brown House. But you do not have to stay in Denver during the entire weekend. In fact, the best weekend trips will take you outside of the city.

You can reach the scenic trails of Rocky Mountain in just 1.5 hours. Mount Evans is also about the same distance from Denver.

You can even catch a concert at the Red Rock Amphitheater if your dates work out.

Road Trip

Some of the most beautiful parks and sights are often in remote areas. You cannot use public transport to reach them. A rental car is usually one of the few ways to get to these sights.

A great road trip starts in a major city or an airline hub. This way, you can save on airfare and a car rental. Hubs have many flights and cars. So, you have better chances to find an option that works for you.

Thanks to a road trip, you get the freedom to explore the sights along the way. You can even make the drive itself an experience. Just pick a scenic highway.

A road trip is a great option for a longer weekend trip. You can add a few days on either side of the long weekend. This will allow you to get the best return on your vacation days.

Let’s take a look at Arches National Park as a road trip destination.

This park is 4 to 5 hours away from both Salt Lake City, UT and Denver, CO. You could fly to Canyonlands Field Airport next to Moab. But you will have to accept few and pricey flights with a layover.

If you try to visit Arches on a weekend, you would need to skip other sights in the area. But Canyonlands and Colorado National Monument are well worth your time.

Instead, you could fly into one of the hubs, like Denver or Salt Lake City. You could then explore Arches and other sights in the region on a 4-day road trip.

Trips Abroad

A trip abroad is the best way to learn about different cultures and make unforgettable memories. But such trips are more expensive than domestic travel. It will also take you longer to reach your destination.

As a result, you would need at least a full week to maximize your time in a different country. This is a high price to pay if you have few vacation days.

But there are ways to make trips abroad work even in this case. You need to fly out on Friday evening and return on the following Sunday. This way, you will get a 9-day trip while using only 5 vacation days.

There is another benefit to a trip abroad. Airfare to some destinations outside of the US does not increase above the usual level during major US holidays. This is true during holidays like Thanksgiving.

You need to make long weekends and holidays work in your favor. If you travel abroad during such weeks, you can more than double your return. Your “cost” will remain at 3 to 4 vacation days.

You can start with easier to reach destinations. Look into Cancun in Mexico or Calgary in Canada. After a trip to these places, you could venture further across the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans.

You will likely see more tourists and potential traps in these popular destinations. But the flights are shorter and cheaper. And you can find information about major sights more easily.

Take a look at Chichen Itza in Mexico. This site is about halfway between Cancun and Merida. You could make either city your hub for exploration. There are a few other Mayan sites in the area.

• This is your chance to visit Uxmal and Edzna from Merida.
• Or you could drive to Tulum and Coba from Cancun.

House Sitting

House sitting or digital nomading are somewhat new travel options for working adults. There are great ways to explore a place like a local over a longer period.

These options are not yet available to everyone. They involve some conditions. Namely, you need a job that allows remote work for at least some time during the year. You should also have an option to work from another state, territory, or country.

If your job checks these boxes, you are halfway there. Ask your friends or family members if they happen to be traveling soon. If they need someone to watch over their place, you are in luck again.

In a way, you will help them out while traveling. But you also will get a few things in return. You can explore the sights in the evenings or on weekends. And you will save on a place to stay.

Takeaways: Maximize Travel While Working

It is not easy to travel while working full time. Most workers in the United States get at most 2-3 weeks of vacation time every year.

There is no magic recipe when it comes to maximizing your travel time. But it is best to choose a few shorter trips instead of one long journey.

Here are a few tips to follow to make the most of traveling while working.

• Choose a combination of day, weekend, and international trips.
• Get on the road, in your own or a rental car.
• Check national and state holidays. You will know when to travel and when to avoid crowds.
• Plan early. This way you can pay less for flights, lodging, and car rentals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Safe realist travels!