4 Ways to Make Travel a Bigger Part of Your Life

There are so many good reasons to travel more and you know we are advocates for it! Do you have the urge to get away more frequently but aren’t sure how to make it a reality? You don’t need to be splashing hard cash every time you want an escape, or go through all the hoops to make sure every single responsibility is met before going on a trip.

Even when we were working our corporate jobs full-time, nothing could stop us from making travel a huge part of our lives. I had 3-4 weeks of paid vacation, which was amazing! We made the absolute most we could with that time off. But getting out and experiencing new parts of our world was pretty much a weekly occurrence. We were weekend warriors and absolutely loved it! Even through the winters, we would explore new places within 3 hours of our home, and get back in time for dinner.

If travel is something you want more of in your life, there are ways to make it happen! We’ve gone all the way to make travel our career, but there’s no need to go big or go home. Start with small steps like the four ways I have outlined in this post!

1. Start Building a Savings Nest Egg

Travelling can definitely be expensive and add up quickly. It doesn’t always have to be, but one thing I always say is to never take on debt for travel. That is my number one no-no! It should always be a bonus, not something you will need to pay off later. Start saving a little amount each month to dedicate to current and future travels, big or small.

We’ve managed to go on long-term trips, like our five months in Asia this past year, completely funded by our savings. We saved and saved in our early 20’s and it has paid off. We made some hard cutbacks that is not for everyone. But it was worth it!

Start by making a bucket list of destinations and getting a good idea of how much it will cost to visit each place. It’s a great opportunity to prioritize the places and destinations that are less expensive, or strategize in how you would like to travel. For example, discovering your own or neighbouring country via a road trip is one of the most incredible and humbling experiences. Especially when you can find ways to sleep and cook in your own vehicle!

Start saving up your money and formulating a travel budget that you can dip into when it’s time for you to jetset to your next destination.

2. Find a Job That Has You Travelling More

If travel is a major passion of yours, one option is to find a new or different job that has you travelling more for work. This is ultimately what we did! We created a new job for ourselves so that we could make travel a priority and do what we absolutely love, which is capturing the world and sharing it with others.

We’ve met people all over the world who’ve centred their career on the ability to travel constantly, exploring the globe while being employed and working anywhere they choose. Graphic and website designers, marketing representatives, chefs, you name it!

One of my best friends has also become a travel nurse, and picked up some incredible contracts in different parts of Canada and other countries. If you have gone down the path of becoming an RN and are considering becoming a travel nurse, you could allow various RN travel nurse jobs to take you to new places and experience living in other parts of the world without paying out of pocket for the expenses. Whatever your expertise, there is always a way to turn your career into a main method for travelling the globe!

3. Schedule Vacation Time Off from Work

As much as travel-focused careers are amazing, you can’t get out and explore if you’re always working. Therefore, you need to make it a point to take time off from work. Set your boundaries from the get-go and understand your workplace’s policies surrounding taking time off.

It’s important that you plan ahead and use your vacation days. They are there for a reason and if you don’t use them, you lose them! If you have limited PTO (paid time off), you can always try to negotiate with your employers to increase your vacation days while taking a cut out of your paycheque. It’s not for everyone, but at my old firm, we had the option to purchase an additional week of vacation while taking a small cut from our salary throughout the year. It was 100% worth it!

Be proactive and start planning out at the beginning of the year where you want to go, for how long and what weeks you want to take off. Your employers will be grateful for the early heads up and this way you’ll be the one putting in your time-off request ahead of your colleagues, getting first pick on very sought-after vacation times.

The same goes for those of you who are self-employed. Set those boundaries with your clients and let them know in advance which dates you’re off limits and won’t be able to get back to them!

So, what do you do during your scheduled vacation? Basically, anything you would enjoy in any location you love. If you love visiting Indonesia and have always wanted to try sailing, you can consider sailing in Indonesia as your perfect activity during your scheduled vacation. That is also why the first point about building a savings nest also matters so much. Because it allows you to dedicate enough funds for your planned or scheduled vacation. Knowing what you want to do in advance also helps you determine how much time you will need to save money for your scheduled vacation. 

4. Take Shorter Trips More Often

If you want to make travel a bigger part of your life then consider taking shorter trips more often. Just as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, it can be as simple as jumping in your car and getting away on a road trip in your own backyard. Some of our fondest memories was experiencing our own beloved province of Alberta, wild ice skating or visiting hidden gem waterfalls that aren’t on most people’s radar.

You don’t always have to hop on an airplane when you want to travel or do something fun. Another idea is to plan a staycation right in your own area and spend an overnight at a local hotel. We love being tourists in our own city and experiencing a bit of a pamper at one of Calgary’s finest. It still feels like a weekend getaway!