Maximize Your Vacation Time by Reducing Travel Time
Most people think that maximizing your PTO is the only way to travel more without quitting your job, but there’s actually a ton of smaller hacks that can add up as well. One of my favorite ways to make the most of your PTO and maximize your vacation time is to optimize your transit time.
This is part 2 of a 4 part series on learning how to travel with a full time job via travel saving hacks.
Reducing Transit Time to Travel More with a Full Time Job
The greatest investment of time in traveling is usually the commuting time – the time you spend in a plane or car getting to your destination. Therefore, the best way to make the most of your PTO (once you’ve maximized the number of days you can take) is to reduce this transit time.
Find Exciting Destinations Near Home
One way I recommend doing this is by finding unique destinations near you.
The closer the destinations are to you, the more time you get to spend in the place itself. I know it seems like going to places closer to home might not be as exciting, but I have recently found amazing gems near my hometown. Plus, I’ve gotten to enjoy them more because I have more time in the place itself.
Here’s a full list of flights that are 4 hours and shorter from major cities in the US. See what’s close to you that you might not have realized before. It’s a full list, both international AND domestic… don’t sleep on the US, it has more than you think!
Book Direct Flights
Another way to optimize for flight time is to reduce the time that layovers eat up. While layovers can be nice to stretch your legs, they extend your journey by a significant amount of time. When you can, fly direct. It can make flights longer, but it can shave off hours of travel time!
Consider Road Trips: Picking Destinations Closer to Home
Don’t sleep on road trips either. People always think you have to fly to have a good time, but a road trip can even be fun for a long weekend!
Conclusion
All in all, if you’re invested in traveling more, you’ll find that it’s not always the farthest and most exotic place that’ll make a great trip. There’s tons that goes into it, and you’ll be able to travel more for less if you leverage these time hacking skills. Whether it’s finding a place closer to home or paying a little extra for the direct flights, time hacking will help you make the most of your trips.
This is part 2 of my time hacking series. If you want to see part 3 about streamlining your booking process, see here.
If you’d like to see my other hacks, check out the series here.
