Studies reported that those who take more vacations are happier than those who don’t. Don’t believe me? Just look at yourself (as well as your brother, sister, mom, husband or wife) after having returned from a vacation. That being said, making the most out of your vacation time is paramount. But for many (including you and the old me), it is often difficult to take a vacation because of the stress of daily life, work, school, and everything else that requires our attention. Ultimately, the goal is to build and live a life that you don’t need a vacation from: one where you love the work you do, you enjoy time with your family, and you earn a living that is consistent with what you seek.
But while you’re working on creating that life, here are my 8 best tips to make the most out of your vacation time right here, right now.
Table of Contents
1. Don’t overschedule
If you’re traveling to Paris, you could want to see the Eiffel Tower. And the Chateau de Versaille. And the Champs Elysees. And perhaps the Musee de Louvre as well? Who knows. The thing is, we tend to want to see everything that is labeled as a “must-see” tourist attraction in every city we offer. But in reality, even the mere fact of being in a different city and eating a different local food is already pretty amazing and unique. So don’t fall in the trap of hunting down all the tourist attractions. Make the most out of your vacation time by prioritizing what YOU want to do.
2. Plan around the holidays
Holidays are a great time to travel, for many people. For this reason, it is also the time when you’re least likely to get more time off to travel! But if you manage to get extra days by using my genius tips for more travel time this year, plan your vacation around the holidays. Whether it is the Easter weekend in the Caribbean or Christmas Holidays in Canada, you would get at least 2-3 days added to your travel time just because of the holiday season.
3. Go on short, frequent trips
This is one of my favourite tips to get more time off to travel, and to make the most out of my vacation time. When you get out of town frequently, you get to recharge and reinvigorate yourself. You feel like you don’t have to wait til the end of the year to experience a true vacation. A seasonal escape or quick getaway gives you the fresh of breath air you truly need. Plus, when you go on short frequent trips, you don’t feel a lot of pressure even if you end up not traveling at the end of the year. Looking for short weekend trip ideas? You could visit your own city or a neighbor town, head over to another country within your region, or simply have a staycation at one of the spots you have always wanted to visit where you live!
4. Extend your weekends
This is also one of the tricks I used pretty often. For instance, on the weekends I am not on call, I put in a request for vacation time (2-3 days) which I add to the said-weekend. This means I get to be away on Friday afternoon, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I would then return to work on Thursday, feeling refreshed, happier and ready to give my best to my colleagues, friends, family and patients.
5. Add vacation days to business trips
Why should you travel to Croatia (hint: one of the shooting destinations for Games of Thrones) and leave just the day after? Or go all the way to Egypt for a work summit and not even take time to see the Pyramids? It is true that for the conferences I have visited, there is usually some time allocated for sightseeing (an afternoon in a 3-day conference). But when I know that I would be traveling for a conference, I put in my vacation request (just for a few days, let’s say 2-3) and I extend my stay. You never know when you would be fortunate enough to return to a place you once visited. So make the most out of your vacation time, and enjoy while you still can.
6. Pick smart flights
When I pick my flights, arrival time at my destination is critical. My go-to-rule is always to maximize my time. That being said, if I pick a flight that arrives early in the morning, I could either:
- Sleep when I arrive and do some sightseeing in the afternoon/evening, or
- Start sightseeing right away and rest for the rest of the day.
If I pick a flight that arrives late at night, this is a no brainer: off to bed I go. In the morning, I feel refreshed to make the most out of my vacation time.
Cost and the duration of layovers are important when booking your flight, and so is time. Based on what you choose to prioritize, book your flights smartly, and you will be able to make the most out of your vacation time. Here is a smart flight guide that I also usually use to score cheap flights when traveling!
7. Explore your own city
Charity begins at home. So does love. So does happiness. So犀利士 does traveling! Often times, we tend to be more excited to visit other countries than our own. I have been guilty of this, and I am actively working to correct it. So on weekends when you have nothing major planned, take a day trip and be a tourist in your own city! Find out why tourists come to your country, and go and visit those spots too. My life in Dominica has taught me to recognize and appreciate beauty anywhere I am. And if I can’t see beauty somewhere, I need to change the way I look at it. I am not saying that everywhere I go is perfect. I am simply saying that it is crucial to take time to find out what makes each place we visit beautiful and unique…
8. Start planning your vacation early
“Most” of us have a dream place we would love to visit some day. For me, it was Australia. Now that I have ticked that off, I dream of visiting Japan. Sometimes, I think about what I would do when my feet will land on the Japanese soil. I picture myself wearing a kimono, posing under a cherry blossom tree. I can already feel the taste of sake in my mouth, and I know I would struggle to eat with chopsticks. My trip to Japan is not near, but there are other places I would love to go to, at the end of this year. So if you’re like me, start looking at flight prices, accommodation options and “thing to do in…”wherever you plan to go this year. Find out how much it would cost you to travel there for 5 days/ one week, etc. And if you feel like you would need more money, snatch my expert tips to get more money to travel. But whatever you do, start today.
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