There are 365 days in a year and 52 weekends. When you think of the year like this, it’s actually a lot of time. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be thinking it’s a lot of time to travel!
But how often does your time slip between your fingers and you’ve wasted entire weekends doing nothing?
You had good intentions for the weekend but you were so tired on Friday night that went home at 8pm to a takeaway and a bottle of wine. You spend Saturday running errands and a quick trip to the shops. You ‘pop to the pub’ (famous last words) for a quick drink and then, before you know it, it’s 2am and you’re stumbling home with a kebab. You spend most of Sunday feeling tired and hungover as you watch box set after box set until it gets dark. And then it’s 11pm and it’s time for bed and your weekend is over before it’s even begun.
Sound familiar?
Well, here are 5 tips for anyone who would like to travel more in 2015.
1. Prioritise travel
If you really want to travel more, you need to make travel a priority and stop making excuses.
A big night out will probably set you back $100 or more. You can easily get a return flight to hundreds of destinations for $100. I know which I’d rather spend my money on!
Stop using the ‘I can’t afford it’ excuse and make travel a priority. You won’t regret it.
The same applies to the ‘I don’t have time’ excuse. It’s not about having time, it’s about making time.
2. Start planning ASAP
Get yourself a good old-fashioned calendar and start plotting birthdays, weddings and important events that you absolutely can’t miss. Work around these unmissable dates and schedule in your monthly holiday. Do it now before anything crops up or before you know it your weekends will be booked up.
3. Who will you travel with?
Don’t rely on just one person to be your travel buddy, even if it’s your BFF or your partner.
Mix up your trips between holidays with your partner, you friends, your family, solo trips and maybe even groups you’re not that close to. My yoga class takes a yearly holiday together and I know other sports clubs often do the same. It’s a fun way to get to know new people and have a completely new experience.
I often find it’s difficult to arrange spontaneous trips with my friends these days as we all have plans and commitments. But if I said, ‘Who wants to come to Orlando for 3 days in July? $90 for flights and $50 for a hotel, let’s book it now!’ they’re all keen to get onboard.
Yep, sometimes you’ll need to be the organizer if you really want to travel more.
4. Book your flights ASAP
The earlier you book your flights, the cheaper they are.
There was once a time when last-minute flights were a bargain but those days are long gone. It’s all about the organization in 2015.
I like to book as many flights as I can at the beginning of the year. This gives me lots of look forward to and something to do with those long, dark evenings in January.
Set yourself a big budget and dig deep into your savings account. It’s a big investment now but you’ll thank yourself for spending the money now so you can travel more throughout the year. Consider getting a credit card to book some flights and then collect air miles which can go towards other flights.
If you book your flights now, you’ll have no excuses not to travel later in the year. You’ll HAVE to save a little bit of spending money and you’ll HAVE to make time.
5. Make the most of what you have on your doorstep
Let’s be realistic here; some months you won’t have the time or money for a full weekend away so start making the most of what you have close to home.
I live in Florida so I’ve recently started travelling in and around Florida. I’ve stayed on houseboats, spent the weekend in a beach resort, and a beautiful hotel next to a lake. All of these places were around 1-2 hours drive from home so we’re there by 7pm on a Friday evening but feel like we’re a million miles from home.
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