8 ways to travel with a full time job

Rice fields -Ubud, Bali

Full disclosure, I, like most people, struggle to find time to travel. Organising an adventure while working full-time and having such a small amount of annual leave can make the task almost seem impossible. But, dear travellers, I am here to tell you it CAN be done. If I were to leave my travel plans in the hands of the gods I would never leave my couch. With some clever organising and a few travel hacks, you can organise those epic trips whilst keeping your job and simultaneously becoming the envy of your colleagues because of all your rad adventures. Read on!

1. Chose your timing wisely I sit down at the beginning of each year with my personal calendar, my work calendar and my partners calendar and find the best dates that will suit everyone. This keeps your boss happy as you have given them plenty of notice, you aren’t fighting over the ‘best travel dates’  with your colleagues and you aren’t taking leave in the middle of your company’s ‘busy period’ so you can have a guilt free trip! Also, we have a lot of public holidays here in Australia, so try to organise your travel to coincide with these and save a day or two of annual leave.

2. Prioritise travel This may sound selfish but in order to travel you need to make it a priority, otherwise work, commitments and day-to-day life will swamp you and the year will have gone by and you haven’t made any plans. Also, it is worth mentioning that sometimes you will need to make sacrifices. It is almost impossible that the dates you chose will work for everyone, so your trip might fall on your brother’s birthday, or will be at the same time as your family’s annual rissole making competition (this happens!). You can’t keep everyone happy, but explain to your loved ones your situation (much.travel   no.time) and maybe bring them back an epic gift from your travels to help soothe their pain 😉

3. Redefine your expectations of travel Not all travel has to be a month-long trip to the other side of the planet. Use your long weekends wisely by organising short stays and mini-vacations nearby. This is much easier for anyone living in Europe or the UK as they are just a short plane ride from so many exciting destinations, but this can definitely be done by us Aussies too. Live in Sydney? Maybe pop to Melbourne for the weekend, or head on a road trip into the country, hit up that friend who moved away and spend the weekend exploring their town. These mini-vacations will satisfy your wanderlust until your next exotic trip, but they are also cheaper and use up less of your valuable annual leave hours and are a great way to get to know your own country.

4. Be prepared to rough it a little When you are short on annual leave, a few days lost on poorly planned travel can make all the difference. If you are prepared to rough it a little you can shave a few extra work days off your itinerary. Red eye flights, sleeper trains and overnight coach trips can save you valuable travel time, instead of spending your day in transit, you can sleep your way through it and have an extra day at your destination. Perhaps invest in some sleeping tablets if you aren’t the best sleeper-in-transit.

Me – Ephesus – Turkey

5. Be a professional planner Check and triple check your itinerary. Have a 6 hour stop-over that you really don’t need? Look around for a more direct flight, it may not be cheaper but it will get you to your destination faster. Also, organising your flight to leave last thing on a friday and returning last thing on a Sunday will allow you to make the most of weekends and not take extra leave for in-transit days.

6. Get creative with your leave hours Someone wise once told me if you don’t ask, the answer is always no. When I booked my 10 day trip to Turkey, I only had 8 days of leave. I was so anxious but as I had already booked it, it was too late, I worked up all the courage I had and asked my boss for the unpaid leave, they didn’t care at all! Moral of the story is, have a chat with your boss or HR department, let them know your love for travel and come up with creative ways to help you get the time you need for the trip. For example, if allowed, stock up on flex/overtime to contribute to your leave balance, make the most of a working-remotely arrangement or simply ask for unpaid leave.

7. Already travel for work? Make the most of it! If your work requires you to travel already, lucky you! You can organise your next trip (for leisure) to coincide with your trip (for work). Is work paying for you to head to a conference in Singapore? Simply tack on your leave allocation after the work is done and have yourself a holiday! Work has already paid for your ticket over there so you are saving money as well as leave time.

8. Plan, plan, plan and take action It’s all well and good to say “I’m going to travel to Paris one day” but it’s not getting you any closer to croissants at the Eiffel tower. Regardless if your trip is 2 weeks or two years away, start planning. Get together your itinerary, a hit-list of local attractions and activities, your packing list, hell, even who will look after your dog/plants while you are away. Get all your information together, then commit! One of my favourite sayings is to start is to do so planning your trip will get you closer to your goals, and help you get through the working working week, because you know the wheels are already in motion for your next big adventure.

What are your thoughts on travelling as a full-time worker? Leave your tips in the comments below 🙂