How to Travel While Working Full Time

Yes, it is possible to travel when you work full time. Your trips will be a little different because you are dependent on weekends, national holidays, and paid time off, but they will still be worth it. When you travel while working full time, you want to save money where you can but you also need to fit the trip into a shorter time span. Follow this guide for tips to allow you to travel with a full time job and how to find the balance between saving money and saving time.

Make Time to Travel

The most important thing is to make time to travel. First, always take your PTO! You deserve it, and the company will function without you for a week or two. Next, take advantage of your weekends, especially those rare three day weekends. The weekend getaway guides are a perfect place to start planning trips that are possible to do in a weekend. If you are looking to take a longer trip, leverage your company holidays and combine them with PTO. For example, Thanksgiving is the best time to travel internationally. You get two holidays and only need to use 3 PTO days to add up to nine total travel days (including the weekends). Flights during Thanksgiving can often be cheaper internationally than within the United States. We flew to Beijing during Thanksgiving last year from PHX for $410, which was about the same price as flying to Boston or Atlanta to see our families (sorry mom and dad).

Teach yourself to sleep on red eyes. Drink that glass of wine. Bring your embarrassing eye mask. Do whatever you have to do to make the most of red eyes. This can allow you to do a three day trip in just two days especially when you are traveling across the US.

Take Advantage of the Travel Benefits Your Job Provides

Many companies offer travel benefits such as rental car deals, lower hotel prices, hotel status, or airline status. Make sure to check your travel benefits through your job and take advantage of them, as they could save you a lot of money and make traveling easier. Always book your work trips with your own travel rewards credit card instead of a corporate card so you can take advantage of the points for your leisure travel.

Choose Your Destination

For longer trips look at the quick guides to help you decide where you want to go. Choose your top few options, then look out for flight deals to those destinations to save money. For weekend trips, road trips are always a great option! Are there any national parks within six hours drive from you? State parks? Beaches? Mountains? The easiest traveling is exploring your own backyard!

Find the Right Flight

Use google flights to search for the cheapest dates to travel to your destination. How much more are you willing to pay in order to fly nonstop or with less connections? I recommend paying more for a nonstop flight if you are able to. You get there faster and reduce risks of missing a flight or losing a suitcase. Take a look at our guide for how to find cheap flights for more information.

Book Your Accommodation

When booking accommodation always prioritize the location. The closer you are to the main attractions, the faster you can visit the places you want to see. In order to save money find the cheapest hotel that you can handle by checking hotels or guesthouses from lowest price first and stoping once you find the hotel that you feel comfortable with, always making sure there are good reviews and ratings. Continue to this article to see the best sites for booking your stay.

Plan Your Activities

Getaway Compass guides are intended for people who have limited time and are also trying not to spend too much money. You can utilize the itineraries and guides to help you plan your activities so they fit into your available time. The biggest regret you will have is cutting things out of your trip because they might cost too much. You already spent the money on the flight and accommodation, now make sure you can see what you went there to see!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links for products and services I recommend. At no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.