Not all vacations are long sojourns to far-off lands. With a little bit of planning, you can have a great time even if all you’ve got is an extra day off work due to a public holiday. If you’re thinking about making a quick weekend trip, keep the following tips in mind to get the most out of it:
– Go somewhere close. It may be tempting to try to get some distance, but your hours are particularly precious on a weekend trip, so you should spend as few of them as possible traveling. In general, try to limit yourself to three hours of travel time, regardless of your method of transportation.
– Stay near the action. On longer trips, you can sometimes save money by staying a little farther away from major tourist attractions. But if you’ve only got a day or two to see someplace, you’ll want to be able to pack in as much as possible. Staying close to the attractions you most want to see will help you find time to see more of them.
– Prioritize. You may not have time to see everything you’d like to on a weekend trip, so make a list of the attractions you’d most like to visit, then plot them out on a map. Plan your route between the attractions, then figure out which ones are most important to you so that if you run short on time, you’ll know what to leave for another visit.
– Fly direct. If you’re going to fly to your destination, don’t book a flight with a layover. Doing so can very quickly eat up your time. You may end up spending too much time in transit and not enough time enjoying your destination.
– Don’t wait. Weekends in general, and holiday weekends in particular, are busy times for travel and lodging. Make sure you don’t get edged out of the best flights and lodging by planning well in advance.