How to Travel with Limited Time Off

A question Teddy and I are often asked is, “How do you travel so much?” What I really think people mean to ask isn’t how we travel so much, but how they can do it too. So if you’re looking for how to add more adventure into your life with limited time off, here’s some tips.

Step 1 – Map Out Your Circle for Adventure

If you have limited time off, you are likely not able to spend a lot of time traveling by car or plane to get somewhere. The best thing to do is to look at a map like Google and to look at the places that are within about a 3 hour drive from you. Anything within that 3 hour radius is what we’ll call your “circle for adventure”.

More than 3 hours may not be ideal for a weekend trip, but 3 hours or less can be doable for a one or two night trip over a weekend. For areas that are closer to 1-2 hours, you may even find that a day trip could easily be done.

Example – We live in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area, so for us the 3 hour circle can take us north toward the NY border, west just shy of Pittsburgh, south past Baltimore and DC, and east toward NY, Atlantic City, and Ocean City, Maryland. This is our adventure circle. We’re lucky in that we can get to a few states within 3 hours. That’s not the case for everyone, but for the most part within 3 hours of where you live, there’s opportunity for adventure if you look for it! 

Step 2 – Pick Your Adventures

Now that you have laid our your circle for adventure, start to look at what’s within that circle. Depending on your interests, you can search things like parks, historical sites, coffee shops, restaurants and museums. I’ve listed a few options below but look for things that appeal to you.

• State Parks & Forests
• National Monuments, Parks, Forest
• Historic Sites
• Cities
• Small Towns
• County or Local Parks
• Breweries and Wineries 
• Museums and Galleries
• Bookstores or Shops
• Coffee Shops & Restaurants
• County or State Festivals and Events

Example – We like visiting small towns, parks, various hiking, bookstores, antique shops, coffee shops and local events so most of the things on this list fit our interests. Teddy and I started a “Bucket List” in the Notes app on our phone when we started dating that we add to based on categories. We have lists of hikes, restaurants, antique stores, towns, and other things we want to do on the list. Over time, when someone recommends something for us to do or we pass by a restaurant in locally we’d like to try, we put it on our list and try to include the town or area it’s in.

Step 3 – Make a List

Now that you have some options of places to go, start to make a list. I recommend one you could keep on your phone so you always have your adventure list with you. You could categorize it by type of place or you could categorize them by distance from your or area.

Example – I shared the general list we started in the example above. Over time though, we realized that grouping things by location and distance away from us makes more sense. So now, we may list a few state parks or hikes in an area along with 1-2 coffee shops and a few restaurants we’d like to try along with any shops or historic sites in the area. This way we know that when we make our way out to that area, we already have some things planned we can do. I still do this in the Notes app on a shared note for the two of us and I pin it to the top of my notes so it’s easy to find.

Step 4 – Determine an Adventure Rhythm

Determine for yourself or with your partner or family what comittment you’re willing to make for these adventures. Maybe you’d like to do a weekend trip once a quarter with your partner or maybe you’d like to do a solo day trip once a month on the third Saturday of the month. Or maybe your entire family including the kids want to try to do a weekend trip once a quarter or twice a year. Determine a rhythm that gets you excited but is also realistic for your season of life.

Example – For Teddy and I, a conversation we had early on in dating was talking about our shared values and hopes for traveling. We both share a love of adventure and for us, prioritizing a rhythm of adventure is important. Initially, our focus was to take a weekend trip at least once a quarter. Then we transitioned into trying to add two road trips a year from long weekend to full week. Over time, and since we purchased our camper, we try to do at least one camping weekend a month during camping season and then at least one day trip a month to get out and go hiking and explore. Your rhythms like ours will also likely change over time. Our rhythms have changed since we had our dogs and since we’ve purchased our camper and have been adjusted again as we’ve prioritized more hiking and visiting state parks.

Step 5 – Plan it Out

You have your circle of adventure. You determined where you want to go. You listed out various options and determined your adventure rhythm. Now is the part where you actually schedule it.

Look back at your list and consider your rhythm. What distance is realistic to travel for the timeframe you decided? What is open during that season or is there a best time of year? Are there a few things in the area that you could do at once like a historic site, a brewery, and a shop you’d like to visit?

Example – For January of this year, Teddy and I planned on setting aside each Saturday to do various day trips. We wanted to try to go to at least 2 State Parks during the month and then hike in some other areas. We referenced our list of the travel time to various state parks from us, and picked out a few options for we could do throughout the month. We also bookmarked the hikes on AllTrails and found some restaurants, coffee shops, and antique shops we could visit along the way. On Sundays when we plan for the upcoming week, we pick out what we will likely want to do that weekend and where we want to visit. While the planning in advance can take some time, once you have it done, it makes picking out what you want to do that week or that month a lot easier.

And there you have it. If you’re looking for ways to spend more time adventuring or traveling but are limited on your time off, try to maximize the weekends or regular days off that are already in your schedule. If you don’t have two days side by side, then plan out day trips within an hour or two from your home. Making your own adventure doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Starting within your own circle of adventure and go from there!