How to travel more with a full-time job

Do you often daydream of travelling more, but stuck doing a 9-5 job? We often daydream at our desk of being on a golden sandy beach, with the sea lapping at the shores, or exploring ancient ruins and new cities. We do understand your struggles.

We hold down a full-time job, but we are still able to follow our dreams and travel as much as possible.

so, there is light at the end of the tunnel. With some planning and being creative, it is possible to see more of the world, without sacrificing your job.

In this guide, we will share some helpful tips on how to travel more with a full-time job.

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Struggles of taking holiday while working full time

Are you trapped in a company that gives you the minimum holiday allowance possible, yet you dream of travelling?

I am quite lucky as I work for a large international company within the motor insurance sector and I get 28 days holiday a year, plus I can buy 5 additional days to top my allowance to over 30+ days a year.

But Shams on the other hand only gets 20 days holiday a year. Yet we try and fit in a trip around our busy schedule for at least once a month. Whether that’s a staycation for a weekend, or heading back to Shams home country for 3 weeks.

But how do we manage to travel more around our full-time jobs?

The truth is, it’s all about being smart and intentional with our time off.

We plan ahead and maximise public holidays and consider other alternatives to holidays away.

By making the most of long weekends, strategically using our annual leave, or taking a staycation that’s close to home, this allows us to feed our wanderlust without it affecting our careers.

We are sure you are wanting to do the same thing, so let’s break down each step, so you stretch your holidays and travel more around your full-time jobs.

Take short trips and maximise weekends

You can travel more around your full time job, by maximising your weekends and taking short trips.

Weekend getaways

How we travel more, is by maximising our weekend and by taking shorter trips.

A weekend trip can be just as refreshing as a longer holiday, if done right. A mini trip can break up the monotony of your work routine AND you won’t need to dip into your annual leave.

For a short weekend away, choose to leave Friday evening and return on Sunday evening. This way you are not sacrificing your holiday allowance, yet you’re still able to get away.

Choose a destination that’s only a couple hours flight away, that way you’re not wasting precious time travelling and you’ll have more time exploring.

If you do plan to return on Monday, this means you can squeeze in an extra night, maximising your trip without using up too much of your precious annual leave.

Some great weekend getaway ideas, could include nearby cities or nature spots that’s just a few hours from your home.

Living in the UK, gives us the opportunity to explore more of the UK and some cities in Europe, such as Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Madrid and even the Canary Islands.

If you live in the USA for example, you could visit cities such as New York City, Nashville, Chicago, Las Vegas, LA, or national parks, that’s a couple of hours away.

By keeping it simple, choosing destinations that are within easy reach and focus on activities that relax and excite you, will only heighten the experience of travel.

Leopard walking in front of us on safari in Sri Lanka

Strategic holiday use

Be strategic with your holiday use and spread this out over the year.

Consider one big holiday for around two weeks and then two short weeks away and utilise weekends.

Or you could spread two weeks out over the year and the remaining days to take long weekends

A long weekend could be transformed into a four or five-day holiday, all by simply using a few extra days of holiday allowance. This gives plenty of time to explore a new destination, with plenty of holiday allowance for later in the year.

Consider planning your trips around bank or public holidays. This will also stretch your holiday allowance. For example, in the UK, we have a long weekend over Easter. But by booking a few additional days off around this period, you could have over one week off and you’ve only used two or three additional days.

Although travelling during periods of holiday such as Easter or Christmas can be very expensive, you’ll need to think whether your prepared to compromise over holiday and price.

As budget travellers, we would always recommend avoiding peak season or holiday periods to avoid the increase price. But you need to decide what is right for you.

Choose destinations closer to home

Don’t underestimate the value of a staycation. Whether that’s a day trip from your home town, or a short weekend trip only a couple of hours away. This will still be a refreshing break from your normal routine and full-time job.

Consider smaller cities or rural spots, national parks, etc. As an example, you could head to the beautiful Cotswolds for a long weekend and visit the different quaint villages, visit major cities, such as New York City, or Los Angeles. The options are endless depending on where you’re based.

You’ll be surprised how easy it is to travel more around you full time job, when you plan smartly around your work schedule. And you won’t be sacrificing your job or responsibilities.

Work remotely

Are you lucky enough to work remotely? If you are, use this time to turn your regular holiday into an extended stay, without impacting your work responsibilities.

Could you imagine one week you’ll be enjoying a beach location and the next you could be sitting in a cozy cafe working on a new project.

This is our dream, of being able to just pack up our full-time jobs and just hit the road. And this is something we are working on, so you never know, we could be sharing the same table at a cafe while working.

Many destinations around the world offer co-working spaces, where you can pick up reliable internet connection and space to work. This will give you the opportunity to work and travel.

If you are not currently working remotely, is there opportunity to work remotely? Can you ask your manager to see what opportunities are available.

The opportunity to work remotely could be possible, but without asking, you’ll never know.

Take advantage where possible of remote work opportunities, so you can travel more often, stay longer in places you love and create that balance between your career and travel.

Stay inspired

To follow your dreams of travelling more around your full-time job, you should create a travel goals list. This will keep you motivated and you’ll have something to look forward to.

At the beginning of each year, create an achievable list or bucket list of destinations you want to visit in that year.

Then plan these destinations throughout the year.

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By setting travel goals, you’ll find yourself actively seeking ways to fit these trips into your schedule.

As a couple who hold down full-time jobs, we know how difficult it can be to balance work and travel.

But with a little creativity and planning, it is possible.

We have managed to travel to eight countries together and we look to visit more countries in Europe over the coming years.

How do we fit travel in around our jobs?

Simple, we will book one long holiday for about two weeks to Sri Lanka and then maybe a week in a European country and the remaining days spread out over the year for long weekends.

As you’ll see we are making the most of the opportunities available, setting goals and utilising shorter trips to maximise our travel.

Conclusion

Finding the time to travel when you work full-time is definitely a challenge, but it is possible.

What is required to travel more around your job? Just a little planning, creativity and flexibility, which we all can do, to turn our travel dreams into reality.

Start by planning short weekends, to destinations only a few hours from your home, before planning long weekends and mini breaks.

If you aren’t working remotely ask if this is a possibility, as this could be a game-changer to how you travel.

The key is to make travel part of your lifestyle, set goals and stay inspired.

We have managed to find the right balance between travel, work and life commitments and if we can do it, so can you.

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