Contents
This post will share how I maximise my annual leave to ensure I can take solo trips monthly.
One of the reasons why I started this blog was to document how I’m able to travel frequently with a full-time job. I work 40 hours a week and run four blogs as a side hustle. While I don’t necessarily have any responsibilities, I’ve learned how to maximise my time effectively over the years. Before I got this job in January, my previous job was on a zero-hour casual contract. So I could decide to take a week off and travel with no issues. I preferred it because I didn’t have to struggle with the school holidays, bank holidays and weekends. I could travel on a random Tuesday morning or evening with the cheapest flight I could find.
Getting a full-time job came with its challenge. I now had to work around my 28 days annual leave entitlement and weekends to maximise it to the fullest. So far, I’ve visited nine countries this year by being flexible and calculated, and I still have trips planned for the rest of the year.
Now, these tips might not necessarily work for you. I’m just giving you an insight on how you can solo travel on a budget with a full-time job. Do not let your job dictate your life. It would be best if you learned to have an entire life outside your job. I know it is easier said than done. But once you start to prioritise travel, everything will fall into place.
Here Are 5 Tips On Getting The Most Of Your Annual Leave Entitlement For Solo Trips
Now, before someone asks, our wages in the UK are not that great. So if you feel you don’t have enough left over for your salary for solo travel, get a side hustle to fund your trips. Yes, I have my day job, and on the days I’m not working or travelling, I’m working on my blogs which make enough money for a cheap European city break every month. So, look for a side hustle you can do that doesn’t require too much energy from you, save up your earnings and budget it for travel. You’ll be surprised at how far a £100-150 can go.
Take Advantage Of Your Weekends For Quick City Breaks.
It goes without saying that if you have a fixed Monday to Friday schedule, you need to take advantage of your weekends. I had training for two months, so I had a fixed schedule. I only had weekends to travel, which I wasn’t a fan of because it was more expensive than weekdays. But after my training and my rota became a lot more flexible, I could work on the weekends and travel on the weekdays I had off.
Yes, weekend trips are usually more expensive, but if you are flexible about location and buy your flights ahead, you’ll get great deals. Use Skyscanner to find weekend trips or plug your dates into any airline’s websites and find the cheapest location. I love Ryanair‘s flight finder for this. Throw away your bucket lists; for now, go anywhere that is cheap.
Extend Bank Holidays.
Another tip I’ve found super handy is to book annual leave before or after a bank holiday to extend it. So for a bank holiday weekend which starts on a Friday, either book Monday to Thursday off for a 7-day holiday for the price of 4. Either that or extend your holiday from Monday to Friday, so you have eight days off for the price of 5. For the latter, just be prepared for queues at the airport because many people are now learning how to extend their bank holidays.
It might seem like it requires some mental maths, but I promise it is so worth it in the end. Just remember that if you’re using this route, make sure you’re requesting it from your manager in advance.
For Flexible Rotas, book extra days with your days off.
As much as I love having my weekends off, I honestly don’t mind working if it means getting cheaper flights during the week.
- For my trip to Porto in March, I had Friday and Saturday off, so I flew out on Thursday evening after work to return Saturday afternoon to prepare for work on Sunday. Cost – £29.98 return.
- For Montpelier in April, I had Tuesday off, so I took Wednesday and Thursday from my annual leave. So I flew out Tuesday afternoon and returned Thursday evening for work on Friday. Cost – £33.98 return.
- In May, for Amsterdam and Berlin, I had Friday and Saturday off, so I flew out Tuesday evening and took Wednesday and Thursday from my annual leave. I returned Saturday evening to prepare for work on Sunday. Cost – £44.65 return.
It probably also helps that I can get a 15 minutes Uber from my house to the airport when I’m running late. But on the days when I have enough time to spare, I take the train to save money. Obviously, these trips could be cheaper if I stuck to Monday to Thursday. With this method, I can travel for a few days every month.
Take extended weekly or monthly time off.
If you can’t be bothered with the mental maths of having to calculate your days off and annual leave entitlement, you could take a whole month off at a time. Many people have backpacked around Europe in one month, so you have plenty of time. But if you’re anything like me, you could pick one country to travel around for one month. Italy is a great place to start. Then during the year, you could take quick weekend trips when the wanderlust kicks in. Whichever way you prefer to plan it, make sure you’re travelling.
If you still can’t cope, get a remote job.
If you’re anything like me constantly itching and planning to travel full-time, a remote job might be your best option. Find a job that is fully remote and will allow you to work anywhere in the world. This way, you can spend your days working and your evenings exploring. You also get to hop from one country to another depending on how you’re feeling. Honestly, it is the ultimate dream.
Finally
I hope these tips have helped you rethink how to use your annual leave entitlement especially if solo travel is important to you. Trust me, you don’t need to have tons of money, you just need to be flexible and open-minded. before you know it, you’re hitting 10 – 12 countries a year.