In my opinion, there are two types of travelers - the ones that vacation to relax, sleep in, and take their time in one location for a long period (we will call these people loungers), and then those who travel quickly, sleep minimally, and want to do/see everything (we will call these the maximizers). Both have their pros and cons, but I am absolutely a maximizer when it comes to traveling. When I travel, I have long days, short nights, and it usually means for a lot of walking. Let’s talk about 4 easy steps that will help you maximize and make the most of your next trip.
#1 – Maximize your time
I’m extremely fortunate to have 23 days of vacation every year (28 days starting next year – WOOT WOOT!), but that has definitely not always been the case. When I started with my company, I had 5 days of vacation for the entire year. I got really good at maximizing this time by taking weekend trips and working my vacation around days off and holidays. A lot of people have 5 days of vacation and just see this as 1 week off – I see it as 5 separate 3-day weekend trips. Granted, not all trips can be done in a 3-day weekend, but there are a lot that can! Take the earliest flight on Friday and come back Sunday night. This gives you (at least) 2 whole days at your location – you can do a ton of things in 2 days if you plan and organize efficiently. I know what you’re thinking, “but it’s going to be rough going back to work on Monday” and this is true, but think about that feeling at work Monday telling everyone, “Yeah, I just went to San Francisco over the weekend and got back in last night”. I absolutely love that feeling (haha)! I mean, who really remembers how tired they were “that one time”, but I can guarantee you’ll remember your weekend trip where you had a brand-new experience eating great food and seeing the sights. Another tip is to plan your vacation around a holiday. If you have July 4th off, try to plan 1 or 2 vacation days around it for a quick trip or (if you’re lucky) you’ll have a holiday off like Memorial Day where you can plan a 4-day weekend getaway. Be prepared to spend a little more money on these holiday flights, however road trips would be a great second option to maximize time and not spend too much cash.
Take away - While these quick weekend trips may leave you exhausted for a day or two, they will allow you to experience much more than you ever expected.
#2 – Plan, plan plan!
When I first started traveling, I would plan my trips out to the hour with an extensive itinerary. I loved knowing that we’d do all of the things on my list, because I spent a ton of time planning. I researched hours of operation for the location, travel distance and times between destinations, and scheduled accordingly. My friends and family HATED IT! After a while, I got more laxed in my planning and they got more appreciative of my planning ‘skills’. So how do you find this happy medium? It’s all about research and prioritizing. Once you know where you’re going, start reading blogs, find “top things to do” lists, and write down the places that sound interesting to you. Write them down on a piece of paper, in your phone’s notes, or pin them on Google Maps (this is what I do). I used to write down all of the things I wanted to do in my phone’s notes, but there are some downsides to just creating a list. I found lists lead you back to creating an agenda/itinerary (which is what I’m trying to move away from), and a list doesn’t show you how far each location is from one another. In Google Maps (I use the iPhone app), you can easily search for the business name and it’ll give you their hours, address, and website for additional details. From there, I’ll save the locations that I would like to visit by selecting it, selecting save, and adding to or creating a list for that trip. For example, if I’m going to San Francisco, my Google Maps might look something like this:
I have looked up places I want to eat, breweries I want to check out, some hiking spots, and landmarks I have to see. If you start using Google Maps as religiously as I do, when a friend mentions a favorite spot from their recent trip, you can always add it to your map with a brief note to remind you why you saved it for the future.
Once you have your map full of places to check out and things to do, start considering which places are most important. If you are going to San Francisco, you might set your priorities to see the Golden Gate Bridge, the Painted Ladies, and Pier 39. Now you know where you HAVE to go (your baked cake), the other places on your list are just icing. Plan to allot a decent amount of time at your "must do's" because if you end up loving one of them, you can stay longer and not have to rush to your following destination. Understand that if you are using this approach, there is a high chance that you will not see ALL of the places on your map, but at least you are prepared to fill any downtime if you have any. I don’t know how many times I’ve been on a trip where everyone was sitting there like “ok … where to next?”. You don’t want a large lull in your trip, that’s the beauty of having a semi-baked plan, because you always have a “next up” location.
Take away – Organize and plan, but don’t set an itinerary.
#3 – Visit multiple cities
Did you know the distance from Dallas to Houston is the same distance from Paris to London? Texas (my home) is huge and I’m used to driving semi-long distances regularly. I now take the train to work, but my normal commute from Fort Worth to Dallas would generally take me 3 hours round-trip each day. My point is, driving 1-3 hours has become no biggie for me. I keep that mindset when I’m traveling. If there is a really cool location I’d like to checkout within 3 hours of a big city, I’m going to make an effort to drive out there. Take Denver for example, Denver is a beautiful city with a ton of things to do (I love it there). Because I love it so much, I’ve been to Denver probably a dozen times over the years and I’ve been to most of the places I’ve wanted to visit. Last August, we went to Denver for my birthday and drove through the Rocky Mountain National Park (which I had never done).
This was one of the most beautiful drives I’ve taken and it took roughly 4 hours of total drive time from Denver and back. In the past, I’ve also made it a point to check out the cities of Golden, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Boulder which are not far, but not within Denver city limits. The pros of traveling this way are obviously that you get to do and see more, but the cons are you have to have transportation (generally a rental car) and you may be spending a chunk of your trip on the road. My rule of thumb is to ensure I’m not driving more than 3-4 hours in a single day and to hit the road early in the morning, so I still have the whole day ahead of me. You definitely don’t want to start a road trip in the afternoon because your day slips away from you really quick.
Another option of checking out multiple cities is for you to fly in to one city and out of another! If you’re taking a vacation to Seattle (for example), you may want to fly into Seattle for a couple of days, drive down to Portland for a day or 2, and fly out of Portland. Similarly, you can drive up North to Vancouver from Seattle – both Portland and Vancouver are roughly a 3-hour drive from Seattle. Checking out multiple cities may not always be in the cards for your trip, but keep an open mind as it could lead to more experiences and maximizing a trip, especially if you’re flying cross-country or internationally. International flights generally range from $500-$1500, so it may be in your best interest to check out multiple cities or countries in your time abroad to maximize on both time and your bank account.
Take away – If you have the time (no more than 3-4 hours travel time in a day) research and plan to travel to other cities nearby.
#4 – Maximize your spending
If you’re balling on a budget (like me), how in the world will you be able to use every vacation day traveling? The three main things that make a trip expensive are transportation, food/drinks, and lodging – so let’s talk about them.
Transportation
Flights can definitely be expensive. I talk more about ways to find a cheap flight on my post “Booking a flight and what to expect at the airport” that discusses some initial tips and tricks, but if flying is out of the picture, you should consider a road trip. Find a city or state park that you have not been to within a 6-7 hour drive and start doing some research. Look, I understand Tulsa is no Vegas or Miami, but after doing some research, I was surprised at all of the neat places we were able to check out while in Tulsa and it was only 4 and a half hours away from Fort Worth. We had an amazing time and didn’t spend any more money than we normally would going out with friends in town. Also, there are a lot of benefits to inviting friends and family along with you – including conversation, others to help drive, and splitting your overall cost. If you are flying somewhere and need to book a rental car, I’d recommend using Priceline as they seem to be the cheapest place I’ve found.
Food/Drink
Another expense that can sneak up on you pretty quickly is food and drink. I love checking out restaurants and breweries, but I still try to minimize my food and drink spending. One obvious way to save money is to skip a meal – we sometimes skip breakfast and opt for a “brunch” to knock out both breakfast and lunch. Another option is to share an entrée with someone else to split the cost, this is also a good option if you want to “try everything” as your group can all share a bit of their meal. If your lodging has a kitchen, it may be cheaper to go grocery shopping and cook a meal or two yourself. For drinking, water should be the obvious choice at restaurants, but if you’re going to a brewery, they generally have tasters or flights where you can try some of the beers without having to buy a bunch of pints.
Lodging
Hotels can be tricky because nice ones are expensive and cheap ones are usually disgusting. So how do you find the right one? First off, think outside of the box and consider if a hotel is even the right option for you. If you’re going with a group of people, multiple hotel rooms can get pricy, even for a lower end hotel. For groups of 4+, I’d always recommend looking at the AirBnB options.
If you haven’t stayed at an AirBnB and are a bit concerned about staying in someone else’s house, you shouldn’t be! AirBnB does a great job of checking the legitimacy of a place, plus you can read reviews from actual guests to ensure it’s the right place for you. For AirBnB stays, you can search a location for certain dates, filter out how many rooms or beds you need, and I always filter “entire home” to ensure you have the whole place to yourself (or your group).
If an AirBnB is not in your cards or if you are traveling with just a couple of people, you need to price around for your hotel. I use Priceline to find a hotel because you can choose “express deals” for a particular area and hotel star rating for a lower price – the only kick is that you don’t know the hotel name until you book, but that’s the gamble for a better deal. The minimum star rating that I’ll book is a 3-star hotel, which are generally pretty nice. Other apps or sites to use include booking.com, Kayak, hotels.com, and Expedia. Spend a little time going through each to find your favorite and the best deals!
Take away – Traveling doesn't have to be expensive! If you use some of these tips, it can save you money that can be used in the future.
The Wrap-Up
If you are like me and want to see and do EVERYTHING (yes, legitimately everything), you may need to consider how you maximize your travel. This may mean you get a little less sleep or do a lot more walking/driving from place to place, but it’s absolutely worth it in the end when you have the experiences and pictures to share with friends and family.
Do you have any tips on maximizing your travels? Add it to the comments or send me a message, I’d love to hear them!
