10 tips on how to travel while working a full-time job

Are you hopelessly going through travel blogs and wondering how to travel the world without quitting your full time job? This week, I’ve gathered 10 kick-ass tips from travel bloggers with full-time jobs to see how they manage to work and travel at the same time - all during their limited vacation. As you know, I’m a firm believer that you don’t have to quit your job to discover the world, you can do it one vacation at a time!

Of course, for those of you who work remotely, you might find that travelling is easier since you can work from anywhere, however, you still have deadlines and a tight schedule so maybe you will want to follow these travel tips and these easy steps also!

Because your next adventure starts by taking your days off! Check out more tips like these in my plan from the office section!

1. Spend your overtime hours

Melanie, I'm a 3D animation producer. Living in Montreal (Canada)

I work full time as an animation producer. The animation field has a lot of work fluctuations; during peak moments, I’m required to do a lot of overtime. This is not entirely bad because I take advantage of this overtime to collect bank hours and use them when things get calmer. These banked hours can be exchanged for vacation days later during the year. I like to either wait until I have a few days accumulated and marry them with my 3 weeks paid vacation or I take a few 3 day weekends here are there. These accumulated hours are great to do shorter trips.

You can follow me here!

2. Get that Deal! 

Danielle from The Thought Card is a Senior Grants Specialist. Living in Bridgeport (USA)

I travel while working full-time by always following the flight deal. These not only allow you to save money but you can more trips! 

While most people have a destination in mind, request time off at work and then think about how much a trip will cost (in that order), I do the opposite. 

Here's how I plan trips - I figure out how much I’m willing to spend, map out the weeks that I can possibly take off work and then I patiently wait for flight deals that fit my budget and schedule. Fare alert sites like Thrifty Traveler Premium have been key in my flight deal search. 

I also have benchmarks for how much I’m willing to spend to travel to different regions of the world (like no more than $375 for flights to Europe) so when I find a flight deal, all I have to worry about is if it's appropriate to take time off or not. 

As of March 2018, I’ve travelled to Dublin (Ireland), Chicago, Oslo (Norway) and San Francisco while working full-time. Most of these trips have been short trips and weekend getaways! 

You can see what she is up to on her Facebook

3. Use your weekends wisely

• Diamond from Ink For Miles, an English Teacher currently living in Chuncheon (South Korea)

I am a shiny, brand-new ex-pat in South Korea who teaches a band of middle school lovelies’ five-days out of the week. I don’t get many long weekends and my vacation time is limited but yet I still travel often. How? Korea isn’t a very big country. I can get from Seoul to Busan in three hours on the train and I use this to my advantage. When I get off work on a Friday, I just hop in a taxi, head to the train station and set off for my next adventure. I have all day Saturday to explore and then Sunday morning I head back home and I’m usually sitting pretty in my apartment around lunchtime. Travelling doesn’t have to be two-, three-, and four-month long trips. Sometimes it can be a fun little day trip with a few friends to a place you’ve never been before. 

Need travel inspiration? Follow her Pinterest boards! 

• Ridima from Little Joys and More, Research Program Manager in a non-profit organization, living in Geneva (Switzerland)

This is true that 9 to 5 job limits the spur of the vacation, but I still ensure to make the maximum use of my weekends and annual leaves. I generally book a flight late Friday night and return late Sunday night/ early Monday morning, so I could have two full days to explore the place. I generally cover small towns and smaller cities over a weekend break. I save my annual leaves for experiencing an elaborate road trip or discovering a few hallmark destinations in a country or countries. It promises more flexibility in terms of planning the travel itinerary and gives me ample space to adapt to the culture and food of the place.

Fulled your wanderlust with her insta

• Valerie from Maple Leopard is a Reading Intervention Instructor in an elementary school living in Seattle (USA)

I started blogging over 3 years ago. In addition to running a blog, I work an almost full-time day job.  Some may think it is impossible to travel much with this kind of scenario. When I first started blogging over 3 years ago, I did not travel much. Usually, I would do one week of summer travel with my family, and sometimes I would fly somewhere solo on spring break for a week.

Over the past two years, I have managed to travel more often. I still have the same job and same hours. How do I do it? I travel over long weekends, and sometimes take off an extra day or two. I also have the summers off. Although I'd like to travel all summer, my budget does not allow me to travel all summer long..meh, lol! Anyway, I do try to travel an additional week or two in the summer with a friend. If you travel with a friend, it cuts down on the expense.

Sharing the expenses with a friend has allowed me to travel more often. Also, I always travel on a budget- which also helps with being able to do it more often.

Follow her stylish Instagram

4. Manage your Paid Time Off (PTO)

• Kiyoko from Footsteps of a Dreamer, is an Associate Security Analyst living in a small, rural town in the USA

Travelling while having a full-time job can definitely be tough at times, but I think the key really is just planning. While I am lucky enough to get more Paid Time Off (PTO) than most, I'm still very conscious of that set number. I keep a running tally of my PTO on a sticky note at my desk to help me keep track of what I've requested off and how much PTO I have left.

 I've also been at my job for over a year now, which means that I have a pretty good idea of what my workload is like over the year. I know that fall is our busy season and that getting off would be hard, so I aim for trips in the spring when things are a little bit slower at work.

 When I do decide that I'm going to take PTO, I try to maximize the opportunity. I do a lot of long weekend trips, so I'll take off Friday, Monday, or both depending on the trip. I'll also try and combine it with holidays when the company closes. Chances are, the attractions I'm visiting will be busier than normal, but that's a fact I'm willing to accept.

Need travel inspiration? Follow her on Pinterest

• Anna from Would be Traveller is a Marketing for a travel company, living in Reading (England)

I actually find my full-time job a blessing rather than a hindrance to my travels. After all, how could I afford to travel so much if I didn't have a job?! For me, the main concern is making sure I have enough annual leave to travel, but I've learnt to be very smart with it! Here's how... At the start of each year, I use a spreadsheet to work how many days of annual leave I have, as well as how many national holidays I have too. Then, I allocate a certain number of days off I'm allowed per month. This makes sure I have an even spread throughout the year so I don't exhaust myself by working too hard! The biggest tip I have is to use national holidays and weekends to your advantage. For example, why not go away on a long weekend rather than a full week's holiday? It might mean you can squeeze in even more breaks this year!

Follow her adventures here insta

5. Travel during long weekends (aka use the public holidays)

• Daniela from The Lost Romanian is a Sales Deal Desk currently Living in London (England)

I usually divide my annual leave into two parts – long trips and short trips. The long trips are for two weeks, somewhere far. In between them, I take short trips of 3-4 days, city breaks in the UK or other countries in Europe. I make sure to use the weekends and bank holidays, they are free goodies!

I also try to start my travel in the evening, after work. Some would say it’s a waste of money, as you get there late at night and have to pay for accommodation. I say it’s “buying” time because the next day I’m rested and have the whole day to explore.

Tag along her travels with her Facebook page

• Christine from And The Story Goes is a Community Engagement Coordinator (for a nonprofit) Living in Los Angeles (USA)

To get the most out of my vacation time, I’ll pair it with my work’s observed holidays (days off). Some companies won’t allow this, but if they do, it is great! By taking the Friday off before a three-day weekend, you’ll have much more time to go somewhere new. To make the most of my time off, I’ll book my flight for Thursday night which means I have three full days at my destination (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, returning on Monday). Travelling during nationwide holidays (like Memorial Day or the 4th of July) will cost a little more than normal, but if you plan in advance and travel somewhere less popular (or out of the states), the difference isn’t much.

You can see what she is up to on her insta

6. Travel during work Off-season

Stella from Her Brave Soul is a Corporate Finance Officer living in San Jose (Philippines)

In my company, we follow the No Work No Pay Rule since our mandatory vacation credits are bought back at the end of the fiscal year. This gives me the liberty to file for at least a week-long trip in and outside of the country. I am lucky enough that whenever the farming industry is in off-peak season, I can file a vacation leave for as long as I want. The busiest months of the year is February- May and October- December so as long as I plan my travels outside those months, I can go wherever I want. Of course, this means that I should not leave behind a huge workload on my assistant. Although I am not usually bothered whenever I am travelling, I always check on my team to see if they are performing under minimal supervision. So far, I have never been gone for more than three weeks so it is still manageable. Somehow, I feel that it makes up for my 9-5 and Monday- Sunday work schedule whenever I am back home.

Follow her travel stories on her insta

The tips below are from me (Mel) again!

7. Extend your business trips

Whether you are going on a business trip or your partner is, use this time to travel! This is the concept of Bleisure. If you are the one going on a work trip, ask for 2 or 3 extra days for traveling. This will give you enough time to travel around. If you cannot take extra time, you can take a few hours off to do the highlights and feel the atmosphere of the place.

If you are following your partner then, this is the best way to lower the cost of travel! After all, transport and hotels are paid for by the company and you only need to take a small number of days and you will be on your way to visiting a new city. I have done this several times, I have followed the hubby to London, Johannesburg and Frankfurt. Trust me on this travel advice ;)

8. Work remotely or do a workcation

If this horrible pandemic has taught us something is that most offices can do remote work. This means that you can choose to work from anywhere. Are you wishing you could escape the dreadful North American winters? Then, head south or you can choose to go to Europe which gives you plenty of possibilities to do endless small trips for a fraction of the price. If you are working remotely, you need to keep in mind the time zones or if legally you can work abroad if you are planning to go for a few months per year. I will also advise telling your company, they might have restrictions for remote workers. I’ve successfully managed to work from Costa Rica in Central America and Cape Verde in Africa.

9. Get a Red-Eye Flight

While working full-time, reducing or using your travel time wisely will be important to get the most out of your vacation. This is why you should consider booking red-eyes instead of daytime flights. This will give you a ton of time and can visit a destination farther away. However, beware that you will be a little tired, if you can pull it off then this will be a win for you!

10. Negociate more vacation

Have you ever wanted more vacation time? Well, I have a secret for you! Negotiate more time when you are starting a new job or during your yearly evaluation. I have successfully negotiated 3 more weeks in the decade that I have been working. In Canada, we have 2 weeks of vacation and I have 5 weeks of vacation which allows me to travel more!

Remember that balancing time at work with personaltime is crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

So what are you waiting for to book your next flight following these travel tips? Did these help you to travel while working full time?

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