For many people, frequent travel can seem like a far-away fantasy. How can you possibly have the time to see the world with a full-time job, kids, and other adult responsibilities? Is it possible to travel more when you’re on a tight budget? In this post, I’ll give my top 10 tips for how to travel more often — specifically, how to prioritize travel and shift your mindset. One way or another, it is possible to make it work and tick off all the sights you’ve been wanting to see for ages.
⇉ Quick trips: From long layovers to weekend getaways, get inspired with some short vacation ideas!
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. When you purchase through links on my site, I may make a small commission (at no extra cost to you!).
How do people travel so much?
With the rise of travel blogs and social media, sometimes it seems like everyone and their mother is quitting their jobs to become digital nomads. They post pictures from coffee shops in Bali or Dubrovnik and claim that you too can live their amazing dream life. All you have to do is sell all of your belongings, move away from your friends and family, and purchase their course (on sale now for just $500!).
Although it might sound tempting, leaving everything to travel full-time just isn’t plausible for most people. Nor is it necessary! I’m here to tell you that you can travel:
- While working a full-time job
- With young kids
- On a tight budget
- Around a busy schedule
It all boils down to prioritization. If you prioritize travel and make a few sacrifices in other areas, it’ll become easier to achieve your travel goals!
How to make time to travel more
Max out your vacation and PTO days
This one seems obvious, but the statistics behind it are actually pretty unfortunate. In the USA, 55% of workers in one study reported that they didn’t use all of their paid vacation days. Let me repeat — more than half of the people surveyed said that they’re not taking all of their hard-earned, paid days off.
Our society clearly has a problem with work-life balance if we’re not taking advantage of paid days off. Compared to other developed nations around the world, US workers barely get any days off as is (there’s no mandatory annual leave). If you’re lucky enough to have an employer that gives you paid vacation days, don’t leave them on the table. Use all of the days off you’re entitled to!
Why don’t people use all their vacation days?
There are several reasons why a worker wouldn’t want to take all of their allocated vacation time.
- They want to be perceived as someone that is dedicated to their job
- Guilt for leaving your coworkers to pick up their slack
- Not wanting to fall behind on deadlines and projects
In any case, these ideas are causing the USA to become the “no vacation nation.”
Benefits of taking frequent vacations
- An increase in mental well-being (relaxation, mindfulness, sustained productivity)
- Improvement in physical health
- A readiness to tackle responsibilities once you’re back at work
By using all of your vacation days, you’re setting yourself up for success when you return to work. Being a happy and healthy employee benefits everyone!
Take advantage of long weekends
A long weekend is the perfect chance to maximize the time you have to travel. Say you have Monday off of work because it’s a public holiday. If you leave after work on Friday and come back on Monday night, that gives you three solid days to explore. That’s more than enough time to get a feel for most places!
Although long-term travel to one destination is often praised, it’s not necessary for every place you visit. Some places (especially smaller towns) can be done in a single day. Be strategic with the destinations you choose to visit over long weekends — small to mid-sized cities within a few hours driving or flying time are often your best bet.
First flight out, last flight in
To really maximize your time, red-eye flights are going to be your best friend (especially for destinations that are farther away).
Red-eye (or overnight) flights give you more flexibility and save tons of travel time during your waking hours (especially if you’re traveling from west to east). Flying from San Francisco to New York, for example, takes about five hours. Add in the three-hour time change and that’s eight hours you’re losing during the day if you don’t take the red-eye!
This strategy is only useful if you’re able to sleep during the flight. Otherwise, you’ll end up having to take a nap once you get to your destination. Here are some tips that I find useful to sleep on red-eyes.
How to sleep on a red-eye flight
- Use ear plugs, noise-canceling headphones, and an eye mask to block out sights and sounds.
- Bring your own blanket and wear comfortable, warm clothes — planes get cold!
- Find a travel pillow that works for you.
- If all else fails, have a glass of wine and pop a melatonin gummy.
⇉ A Flight Attendant’s Guide to Long-Haul Flight Essentials
Say “yes” more often
Did your friend invite you on an impromptu weekend trip away? Is your boss asking for volunteers to go on a business trip next week? Did you get an email for error-fare plane tickets that are just too good to pass up? Give an enthusiastic YES!
Like most things in life, you’ll rarely find a “perfect” time to travel. There’s always some excuse you could give yourself for why you shouldn’t do the things you want to do — you’re too busy, or you haven’t planned your itinerary enough, or or or. Ignore that little nagging voice in your head and just go for it. Worst case, you’ll have a bit of extra work to do when you get home. Best case, you’ve just had an amazing time exploring a new place that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
How to afford to travel more
Prioritize savings for travel
A lot of the time, saving money for travel is as easy as shifting your mindset.
Think about the things you’re spending your disposable income on. Do you buy a coffee every day? Are you spending money on clothes or shoes that you’re not even wearing? Take a look at your bank statements for a month and figure out where you can cut back. Ask yourself if the physical things you’re buying are actually bringing you joy.
That designer bag could have been a round-trip flight to Fiji. A week’s worth of daily Frappuccinos is enough to be a night at a budget hotel. Reframe your purchases as things you could be spending your money on instead.
For me, it helps to have a separate savings account dedicated to travel. Add money to it every week — treat it like a bill that you have to pay. It doesn’t have to be a massive amount. Even five or ten dollars every week adds up and can turn into a tidy sum at the end of the year.
Jump on last-minute travel deals
Many of the major travel booking sites offer last-minute deals on hotels, flights, and tours. It often pays to sign up for any alerts that these companies offer. That way, you’ll be able to snap up any insane deals as soon as they pop up.
Travel to budget-friendly destinations
By choosing cheaper places to visit, you’ll be able to stretch your money further. Although places like Iceland and Dubai are great, they’re not exactly easy on the wallet. Try planning more of your trips to classic backpacker destinations. You don’t necessarily have to travel like a backpacker (although it would help!), but you’ll save money regardless.
Cheaper places to travel:
- Southeast Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia
- Central America: Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador
- Europe: Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria
Visit your friends and family
Do you have friends or family that live in different places around the world? Take this opportunity to visit them! If you’re lucky, they’ll let you stay with them, which eliminates the need to pay for accommodation. As always, make sure that you’re being respectful of their home and their time. Don’t expect them to go out of their way to show you around or to play tour guide. (But if they want to, that’s just an added bonus!)
Take advantage of credit card rewards
Using credit card rewards to pay for travel (also known as travel hacking) is a massive and complex subject. Here are the steps people take, simplified:
- Apply for travel credit cards with sign-up bonuses
- Spend enough money on the card to receive a sign-up bonus
- Rinse and repeat until you have a lot of points
- Use your points to pay for flights and hotels
While travel hacking can be a great way to earn points by spending money you’d spend anyway, you need to be very responsible and pay off your cards on time. The interest you’d pay on just one monthly balance that rolled over would cancel out any benefits you receive.
Take a look through the 10x Travel website for more information!
Take shorter trips/day trips
Besides costing less money, shorter trips are also great for those without much time. With a well-planned itinerary, you can take advantage of short trips and still see a lot of the places you’re visiting.
Day trips are also great because you don’t need to spend money on accommodation, which is one of the most expensive parts of traveling. Look around your area for destinations you can reach in under a few hours. By leaving early in the morning, you can usually squeeze in between 8-12 hours of exploration time in a new place.
Appreciate the art of the staycation
If you’re really strapped for cash, you can still get the experience of traveling without spending so much money.
Try looking at your hometown from a tourist’s point of view: What would they want to see? Are there any museums or art galleries that you haven’t gotten around to visiting? How about some local restaurants or cafes? Take a day and experience your own town as if you were visiting somewhere else. Make an itinerary, snap some photographs, and try appreciating the area with a fresh set of eyes.
You don’t need to travel halfway around the world to have an enlightening experience. All you really need is curiosity and open-mindedness.
Get a job that requires travel
If you’re looking for a major life change, try looking for jobs that require frequent travel. You’ll be able to travel while getting paid — the ultimate goal for any travel lover!
Jobs that allow for frequent travel:
- Pilot/Flight attendant
- Travel agent
- Cruise ship worker
- Au pair
- Teaching English abroad
- Travel blogger
Additionally, try looking at jobs in the tourism industry — they may not require travel, but they’re travel-adjacent and often offer flexible schedules and hefty discounts.
⇉ How I Fly For Free (An Explanation of Flight Attendant Travel Benefits)
Thanks for reading this post! Hopefully it’s provided some inspiration to shift your mindset and open up opportunities for travel.
xoxo Niki
