Working full-time can sometimes feel like an obstacle, preventing you from travelling as much as you’d like to. However, there are ways you can squeeze in more trips and travel more often. Here are some of the best ways to travel more when you have a full-time job.
Use public holidays
To start with whenever there is a public/bank holiday, then you should use this to either go on a short break or a longer trip. By using public holidays as part of your travel plans you will end up using less of your annual holiday(vacation) allowance. Countries around the world have different public holidays and if you are UK-based then check out the official dates here.
Go on shorter trips such as 3-4 days
Consider taking shorter breaks throughout the year, such as taking a Monday or Friday off and having a 3-4 day long weekend. City break type trips are a fantastic way to travel more when you have a full-time job.
Go somewhere local
As well as flying somewhere and going far, how about going somewhere a bit closer to home. Such as to a nearby national park, the coast, the mountains, another city in your country or other interesting spots (depending on your location of course). It can be easy to think of travel as only going somewhere abroad, whilst your home country may be full of wonderful places to visit, or even hidden gems.
Buy extra vacation days
Full-time jobs often provide a certain number of holiday/vacation days each year. This can vary a lot depending on the country you live in and your employer. If you’re finding the allowance isn’t enough and you want to travel more, then see if it’s possible to buy more holiday. This often involves paying the equivalent of your day rate for extra days. It does mean less money, but you may as a result get to travel more and experience new destinations (or simply get a break).
Use overtime and time in lieu
Not applicable for all employers, but sometimes it’s possible to get time in lieu for extra hours worked such as overtime. This can be a great way to get extra days throughout the year that you can then use to travel more. If this is an option for you, then just remember to not burn yourself out, and always think about your health and sanity first.
Go on a sabbatical
A sabbatical involves taking a break from your job such as for 3-6 months, sometimes even a year, and then once the agreed time is up you can return back to your job. Not all companies offer this and it can often only be available after working for the company for a certain number of years. If your company does offer this though then a sabbatical is a perfect way to travel when working full time (or rather take a nice long break).
Stay longer during a work trip
If you have the kind of full-time job where you have to go away on business, then consider extending your trip while you are there. Such as adding a day or two on either side of the trip. You will probably have to pay for the extra days accommodation, but most decent companies should be happy to adjust the flights to make this work (as they are paying for your return flights anyway).
Summary
These are some of our top suggestions on how you could travel more if you’re working full time with a limited holiday allowance. Try some of these so as to explore the world more and to see new destinations.
