Vacations are fun – we all know that. We love dipping our feet in the waters during a hot summer, or cozying up in a bed in the winter. We love looking up private jet rental cost and planning the ultimate luxury vacations we would take if money was no concern. We like touring around beautiful and dazzling destinations, and even eating great food. We love these things, that is, when we do these over a long week or a pre-planned vacation. What if we suddenly get a vacation, though? Isn’t that a bummer? Well, not really. You can make the most out of a short vacation! Whether you choose a city break or you head to a tucked away creekside cabin, you can really make some memories when you travel. From documenting with blogs and photographs to just immersing yourself in the experience, you deserve the best possible experience. Here’s how!
Emergency travel funds can save the day. You might read in a lot of money advice articles that you should always have emergency funds with you. After all, we may never know when some emergencies will arrive. And that’s true. However, if you have spare funds outside your emergency funds, you might want to invest in an emergency travel fund. This allows you to not feel as guilty when having spontaneous short vacations. Here’s how you can use this to your advantage:
If possible, try to allot a particular portion of your salary into an emergency travel fund. This way, you’ll have the means to spend money without compromising your current budget and your current savings. You likely won’t be in a short vacation every day, so having emergency travel funds can come in handy should you come up to a similar situation. Practicality helps, and this is a trend a lot of travelers observe. In fact, around 55-percent of travelers worldwide are more determined to save money in their travels, and this means being smarter with their options.
Aside from saving actual money, try to take advantage of “free” coupons and discount promos you can get with ride sharing apps and other services. Don’t haphazardly use these promos, as you can take advantage of these when you’re in the mood for a vacation. These can be in the form of airline miles, discounts from ride sharing apps, or even free meals from fast food surveys and points.
Always take note of your location’s popularity. You might end up being in a place that’s either popular or not-so-popular with tourists. However, you’ll be surprised with the possibilities of being able to get an awesome tour regardless of your location. Remember, your location has spots to offer – it’s just that, it’s hard to appreciate them on the get-go if you’re on a limited time frame. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate them at all. With this in mind, you can actually consider the following:
Develop a habit of constantly checking out just how popular your current location is. Wherever you are, regardless if you’re on vacation, try to make yourself aware if there are
any nearby tourist spots or locations where you live or staying. That way, if you do get in the mood of having a short vacation, you won’t have to panic just finding a place to go. This is a trend a lot of people follow – in fact, Google
research states flights and hotels are booked around three (3) months in advance of actual trips. This is because of growing demand on researching everything about a vacation first. This might not be useful for short vacations, but you at least know apps are out there to help you out in a hurry because of sheer demand.
Try to join communities geared towards travel, and try to check out what they post as travel locations. You’ll likely stumble upon a tourist destination close to where you’re currently at, so you might want to take note of this location as something to visit eventually. Being constantly “on the loop” allows you to stay on top of your travel game when you suddenly find yourself in a vacation. The less panic you experience, the more you can enjoy the trip.
Try as much as possible to have lodgings near city centers. If possible, try to always have your lodgings near city centers. These might be a bit more expensive than usual, but this might be worth the while if you’re having a short vacation. The logic here is that there’s likely a ton of “hubs” or locations with multiple establishments near city centers. This goes for museums and other notable places as well. The closer you are to the proximity of city centers, the likely you’re able to travel to a lot of places in quick notice.
Make it a habit to position your location near city centers, especially when lodging. This allows you to always be near places of interest or tourist locations without having to worry about your commute or travel costs. This might mean your lodgings can be expensive, but this also helps you be nearer important locations like supermarkets, police stations, and hospitals.
Instead of city centers, you can also try to have lodgings near tourist locations. Travel apps and navigation apps can make this easy for you, as a ton of them offer options for you to check out hotels and lodgings but at the same time check nearby tourist locations. Even if you don’t get to check out these tourist attractions, the fact that you positioned yourself near these places gives you the opportunity to always check them out when you have the time.
Develop a mood for spontaneity. Another way to enjoy a short vacation is to slowly develop the attitude to enjoy one. Just because a vacation is short doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. And part of fully enjoying such a short experience is to develop the mindset for spontaneity. You won’t be sure what you can do at any given day, so if you have the time to do something you’ve never tried before, you might want to do it now.
Try to develop a mental state that lets you stay open for spontaneity. This isn’t easy to do, especially for those who aren’t into “sudden” vacations. However, try to do activities on-the-spot and see what makes these activities fun compared to when you plan for them. Understanding and appreciating why people like spontaneous activities can make you
prepared to appreciate them should you have short vacations as well.
If you’re an American Airlines employee, or if you have work that involves a lot of travel, you might be bummed to be stuck in a good place but not have the time to tour around. Don’t think of it this way. Whenever you have the chance to walk around, try savoring in the moment and getting into your system just how breathtaking these places are. You can slowly take note of interesting things you find to check out for when you actually have vacation days.
Try to list activities you want to do for spontaneous occasions in the first place. Do you prefer trying out new food, or trying out new activities? Are you okay with road trips, or do you like walking? Knowing what you want to do when you’re spontaneous opens up a ton of opportunities for you to enjoy a short vacation.
Build relationships with locals. When we say relationships, we don’t mean “as a couple.” Another way to enjoy a short vacation is to enjoy it with a local in the place. This is especially if you don’t know a lot about the place. Eating with a group of locals can give you an authentic experience, especially when it comes to exploring new places and trying out new food.
If you’re part of a travel community online, try to ask for tips where to eat and meet new locals. Or maybe you can ask to eat with local members of the community as well. This gives you a ton of room to meet locals in the area and have them share their experiences with you. Some of them might even help you get a quick tour or visit in some locations as well.
Remember, when meeting any of these people, ensure you do so in a public place or somewhere you can access police or people of authority immediately. When meeting with strangers, always let a relative know where you are and what you’re doing – especially take note of places you visit, plate numbers of cars, and don’t get drunk. Meeting with locals can be fun, but it’s better to be safe as well. Take a friend or two, if you do plan to be locals.
Short Vacations Can Be Fun!
With the above tips, hopefully we’ve been able to help you find out ways on how to enjoy short vacations. They might not be “the best” vacations, but they’re vacations nonetheless. And considering how hectic and busy today’s times are, we should make use of all the time and vacation days we get. Remember, it’s not about how long vacation days are, it’s how you make use of the time you have in order to maximize having fun!
