Paid vacation is precious, and you can’t always take time off to travel the world. There are the weekends, but how can you cram seeing a whole new city into the space between a Friday evening and a Sunday night? Simple. Yonderbound gives you 19 city travel hacks to make the most of your weekend break, from choosing the perfect place, what to pack (or not), how to travel more efficiently and how cover everything you want to do when you arrive. Get out there and own your weekend city trip!
Preparation
- Selecting your destination: for a weekend break, three hours of flight time is really the maximum you should consider. Don’t forget you need to factor in your journey to and from the airport
- Accommodation: As you’re only staying two nights, it might be worth paying more to be in a central location near to the attractions you want to see
- Check a reliable source of information on your destination, such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the Bureau of Consular Affairs, to see if there’s anything you need to be aware of before you get there
Packing
- Pack light! It’s only three days, two nights. You shouldn’t really need checked-in luggage, and this also saves you time waiting at the baggage carousel
- Check the local weather reports to make sure that you pack appropriate clothing. No need for sandals for a December weekend in Budapest
- Make copies of your important documents such as your passport and hotel reservations, in case you should lose them on the road
- A great city travel hack is to download a map to orientate yourself before getting there, and to check where your hotel is relation to your top destinations and major transport links
Travelling
- Check your flight status approximately 6 hours before your scheduled departure. Don’t let yourself in for a nasty shock upon arrival at the airport
- Check in online to save queuing at the airport
- Don’t wear too many items that you would need to remove in a security check, such as belts, coats or carry loose change in your pockets. This should smooth your passage through security.
- As your flight comes in to land, make sure you have all your gear to hand to be able to quickly disembark the plane
Destination
- Plan your journey from the airport to your hotel to avoid getting lost or waiting for taxis
- Don’t unpack your bags too much in the hotel, it only makes repacking more time consuming
- Use the concierge as a source of knowledge for city travel, local events and bookings. If you never ask, you’ll never know!
- On the Saturday, plan to do any activities that are further away from your hotel and do anything that may be shut on a Sunday, such as museums or shops
- Meals need the least planning of any aspect of your weekend: follow what smells good or try the local street food to get a flavour of the local culture
- Stay hydrated- bring your own water bottle to avoid buying drinks or going to cafés
- If you have an early check-out time on the Sunday, bear in mind that you may have to carry your bags with you between leaving the hotel and going to the airport. Plan to do relaxed activities that involve less walking
- Sleep on the plane! Bring your neck pillow, roll up a jacket for lower back support and bring an eye mask or baseball cap to dim the lighting
Don’t let a lack of vacation time stop you from getting away and seeing the world! Sure, you might not be able to do everything you want, but going to a new place for a weekend is better than never at all. So plan effectively, travel lightly and use these city travel hacks to make the most of your weekend!
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