Updated: 02/20/20 | February 20th, 2020
Time. There just never seems to be enough of it. Somehow it’s already April and I’ve been living in Paris for over a month now.
Time moves too fast (and every year it seems to just move faster).
When it comes to obstacles to travel, time is one of the most common problems people email me about. (Not having enough money is usually the first problem)
Now, I won’t pretend that people with 9-to-5 jobs can travel like I do. My travel lifestyle suits my needs. It’s not for everybody. I’m lucky enough to have found a way to make a living while being my own boss and to have turned something I love into a career.
However, just because extended travel is out of your reach or your company only gives you two weeks off per year doesn’t mean you can’t still travel. I know it seems like you just don’t have the time, but you do.
There are many ways to travel when you’re “time-starved.”
Let’s say you work 50 weeks a year and get two weeks of vacation. (Not American? Then you probably get a lot more and you should consider yourself lucky!) Counting your vacation time and every weekend brings the total number of days per year you can travel to 114 (104 weekend days plus the 10 working days in your two-week vacation).
That’s a lot of time to travel!
Throw in three-day weekends and holidays, and we can add even more days to our total. While they’re not all continuous, that’s still a lot of days to play with. With some clever skills, they can be used to get on the road quite often.
Let’s think about that for a second: 114+ days of free time per year. That’s close to four months of potential travel time per year! Four months! You could break up areas in sections, sit by the beach, or see so much of your region that you literally could write the guidebook on it!
When we say we don’t have the time to travel, usually that means we haven’t made it a priority.
It’s like when I say I don’t have the time to go to the gym. I have plenty of time to go to the gym; I’m just spending it elsewhere. When looking at it this way, our busy schedule becomes a lot more open.
Flip the script and switch the frame.
I find that most people associate “travel” with a long-term, big, expensive trip and thus discount all the short-term methods of travel. When people think “I want to travel,” they envision a two-week vacation, a cruise, or some long, multi-month journey.
I used to think the same way too.
It’s just how the travel industry tells us we need to travel. The industry’s marketing machine tells us that travel often means a trip where we spend lots of money. And if you hear something enough, you believe it. We internalize that idea and never consider other options.
It’s why Jessica is never going to Ireland and Bob will always be a hater. They don’t think about all the small ways one can satiate the travel bug when time is not on your side. But there are plenty.
5 Ways to Travel When You Have No Time
Here are some tips and suggestions to help you make the most out of your travel time:
1. Weekend Getaways
Spend a weekend somewhere you have never been. Two days isn’t a lot of time, but it’s still enough to explore a city, town, or camp in a national park close to you. From my home in NYC, I have a lot of weekend options: Atlantic City, Fire Island, the Hamptons, the Berkshires, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC!
I bet you have plenty of options too! Try to incorporate more weekend trips away. A couple of days somewhere is still better than no days anywhere.
2. Go Somewhere Close
Only have a week? Don’t travel halfway around the world, wasting tons of time getting to your destination. Go somewhere a short distance away. Live in Miami so Fiji’s too far? Head to Central America!
Are you in Sydney, so America’s too far? Go halfway and stop in Hawaii or visit New Zealand or a Pacific island nation!
Do you reside in Europe? Well, hell, 90% of the continent is a three-hour flight away!
Stay close and you’ll need less time to do what you want.
Additionally, the best flight deals you can find are often for destinations close to you.
3. Be a Local Tourist
I don’t think people are tourists in their own city often enough. How often do you visit the museums, explore new areas in your town, or see the major attractions of your city? I know New Yorkers who have never been to the Met, Bostonians who have never walked the Freedom Trail, and Amsterdamers who have never wandered through the Red Light District.
Take the weekend, move out of the house and into a cheap place to stay, and be a tourist. I love playing a tourist in my own city because it helps you learn and understand where you come from. (Just make sure you book accommodation so you’re not staying at home. If you sleep at home you’ll fall into your old habits and end up never seeing anything!)
4. Visit Your Neighbors
To follow the previous point, if you feel awkward exploring your own city, simply head over one or two towns. Wander around a place where you won’t bump into people you know! Use the sharing economy to fit right into the local culture.
It may not be as “exotic” as a trip abroad but you’ll learn about your own backyard, meet new people, and have a great time — you just need to keep an open mind!
5. Maximize Your Time
Don’t try to see everything under the sun. You’ll never be able to see it all. You’ll run around too much. I field a lot of emails from people who want to see half of Europe in two weeks or want to conquer all of South America in a month. When you think that is how you have to travel and try to cram everything in, it’s easy to get burdened by your itinerary.
You look at all those destinations, get overwhelmed, realize there is not enough time, give up, and hold off until you do “have the time.”
I get that you don’t have a lot of vacation time and want to see as much as you can, but don’t! Sticking to just one or two places suddenly opens up a lot of time and opportunity! Even with my open schedule, I still can’t see everything I want. I stopped trying long ago. In travel, less is more.
You may not have months to travel, but that doesn’t mean you can’t travel at all. There are a plethora of ways to get out and see the world without having to be a nomad like me.
Telling yourself you don’t have time is just an excuse.
You do have the time; the problem is you probably aren’t thinking of how to spend that time beyond the typical “two-week vacation.”
So the next time you think “I don’t have the time,” think instead of all the places nearby you could explore. Yes, you’ll have errands to run and things that require your attention. But by using your time productively, prioritizing travel, and thinking outside the box, you’ll find you do have time to explore the world.
Travel is about exploration, and that exploration can happen anywhere for any length of time.
We just need to make it a priority.
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Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
- World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
- Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
- Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage)
Need to book your trip?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. The are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.
Audrey
I can’t agree more with “less is more” for planning a vacation. We used to have friends visit us in Prague who were hitting 4 cities in 10 days and were absolutely exhausted by the time they went home. Resist the urge to try and see every big city/sight in the vicinity and just enjoy relaxing in a couple of places.
Gillian
‘Turtle Travel’…I love it!! The biggest thing I learned in our year away is that I always pack too much in. Now? All I want to do is go to one place and really see it, really learn it, really feel it. Do I really know that much more about Thailand b/c I saw every inch of it? Or would I have had a deeper experience just staying in one place? Next time…I stay in one place.
NomadicMatt
That’s great to hear!
Susan
Great tips, Matt! I totally agree about not biting off more than you can chew. It’s the worst to look back on your short vacation and realize that you spent most of it in transit. That part is always hard for me because I try to fit everything in, but it’s not always the way to go.
NomadicMatt
I hope you practiced these tips on your recent honeymoon!
Jenny
Great tips. Too many first-time travelers try to see everything in just a few days moving place to place without breath. Go slow. Soak in the culture. That’s when you get the best most rewarding experiences… plus it’s much cheaper.
NomadicMatt
For me the slow travel point is one I can never tell people enough.
Deej
I used to be a “cram everything into a short time” kind of traveler, and over time I’ve changed my approach. In the beginning, I used to think I’d never return to the places I was visiting, so I had no choice. What I’m learning is that because of my passion for travel, I return more than I think. 6 years ago I had never been to Paris…now I’ve been 3 times. There’s plenty of time….use it to your advantage…
NomadicMatt
Less is more for sure!!!
Lori Henry
Great advice. I love the, ‘It’s your trip, not Lonely Planet’s.” People always ask my advice for trip planning suggestions and I give them my recommendations, but then say that they’ll find the things they want to do and see when they get there and talk to people. Travelling time is so precious- these are great tips for making the most out of it!
Turner
Rushing is the worst thing you can do (next to wearing cargo shorts with white socks). Maybe it is because I am getting older, or maybe it because I am getting a bit more lazy, or maybe it is just because I do no research a head of time and find out everything last minute – but I think one should travel like you treat a lady – take your time, enjoy the moment, and when a problem occurs – just nod your head and hand over you wallet as it will be much easier and a more enjoyable experience.
Ryan
Excellent post, Matt! I really enjoyed reading this as it mirrored my own travel philosophy. Like many beginner travellers, I used to plan ambitious itineraries that attempted to cram everything I could into the short time I had to travel. It didn’t take long to learn from my mistakes and take things at a more relaxed pace like you suggested. I always caution people on this when they ask for travel advice as well. I personally feel that it’s much better to know one place well than to visit several places without actually experiencing them.
NomadicMatt
Thanks so much for the comment!
Lee W
I noticed there were two kinds of vacations I take. The sit and relax vacation and the see things and do things vacation. I used to wear a badge of honor when I told people about all the things I did in a one week trip, but that’s when I also say I need a vacation from my vacation. I still can’t help myself sometimes, but I have to admit that staying in one place for a week and getting to know it will make you want to return all the more instead of saying “been there, done that”. I’m going to travel like a turtle on my next trip. Thanks Matt.
Jillian P
Awesome post, Matt! I really resonated with this, but I’ve certainly learned the hard way a few times. Spending time transitioning between locations is also so exhausting and I nearly always forget until I have to do it all over again. It’s definitely caused me to just want to nap instead of going out to explore, which is the opposite of trying to pack a lot in!
Some of the best experiences I’ve had have been when I spent 10 days in Paris or 2 months in Taiwan. In both instances I really felt like I was LIVING somewhere, not just visiting, which is so much more rewarding.
I’d suggest this post to anyone traveling – long or short term!
Thanks again,
Jillian
alison
The first time I went overseas, I took my adult daughters, and we were gone for 12 days. It was enough. It was like “a taste of Great Britain and Ireland” and we learned so much and started planning our next thing. We were exhausted when the 12 days was up, so at least if you’re starting out, don’t make it too long.
Mara
Fantastic read!! With 4 young children, a husband who works a lot and an extended family who lives in another state, we tend to spend our extended “vacation” visiting family. This leaves us no time to travel elsewhere. On the other hand we love to explore and take full advantage of being a “tourist” of Southern California. Never thought of it as travel but I love how you stated it “Travel is about exploration, and that exploration can happen anywhere for any length of time.” This might be my new favorite quote since that really sums up travel for my family at this point in time in our lives. Thank you for helping me look at our weekend adventures from a different perspective.
Sig
I work a 9 to 5, and while I’m lucky to have a job that’s remote (I can work anywhere), I’ve been with my company for a long time, so new I have 4 weeks of vacation and 2 weeks of PTO time for a combined 6 weeks of time off a year. However, I have been there when I only had 2 weeks a year and I maximized it by taking vacation when there are set corporate holidays and the like.
When I only had two weeks a year, I’d use 5 or 4 actual vacation days but the weekends extended my vacation. Even if using 5 vacation days, it can easily turn into a full 7-8 days, or 9 if throwing in a holiday. That still leaves 5 to 6 actual vacation days to play with.
Even today, since my job is flexible, I’d take a red eye to the East Coast like D.C. or NY, “work” a day on Friday, take Monday off, and I used only one personal day. Fly out Thursday night, fly back Monday, work on Tuesday – done! I can plan these little trip two to three times a year, and not even touch the bulk of vacation days.
I’m headed to Paris next month for 5 days but off a total of 9. In July, I’m taking a full 2 weeks (10 days) for Costa Rica but a total of 16 days with weekends. I still have time off and looking where to go for a week in October. With the holidays quickly coming around, it all starts over in January.
Ray
Best travel advice I ever got was to leverage work trips to my advantage.
My job allows me to travel anywhere from 1 – 4 times/year. Since my flights are covered by my employer, I normally fly in the weekend before to check out whatever city I need to be at for work during the following week.
This technique has allowed me to see quite a bit of the United States over the past 10 years.
tom
You stole thoughts from my mind 🙂
These were things I keep telling people. When they saw my posts…common question I face is..where do you get all the time.
Im from Kerala ,India. Waking up 2 hours early..touring with ur bike..taking it to islands..roam around and see how it functions is quite a thing to see…and u ll find some strange flowers…birds and stuff which you will ignore in busy schedule..
I take one day trips..like 3 hrs train to Varkkala beach..do snorkeling and free dive till 6pm..Try out new dishes..n back by 11pm..makes me.feel.like I had a loooong trip…
guess its experiences makes it large..not how many things you saw..max places u been..
Nice article…keep up good work!!
Darwin
Taking vacation is often good for your business. It can improve your performance and build your employees’confidence.
Shawn Michael Hartwell
This is just the article I needed at this point in my life! Since I’m currently unemployed and looking for work the task of fitting travel into future employment seemed daunting. “There is just no way I could possibly afford to travel outside of 2 or 3 weeks of vacation per year!” was the thought running through my head.
I might not be able to visit Cuba, Iceland, The United Kingdom or The Nederlands, but there are tons of reasonably priced east-coast destinations in the United States. Orlando, Flordia is constantly under $300CAD and so is New York City or Boston.
There is room for travel when you make it a priority and stop spending time, energy and money on things irrelevant to travel. If you’re going to be at home on the weekend watching television there is no reason you couldn’t be relaxing on a beach in Flordia(or whatever destination you choose.)