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Things all real working girls do: Travel w/ real world constraints, vacation days edition

If you’d believe all of the fashun bloggers out there, real working girls have unlimited budgets and vacation days which allow them to take 3 week vacations to Europe mere weeks after spending a fabulous week vacationing in Miami.  While we’re super jealous of that lifestyle, it’s not realistic for those of us stuck in economy with traditional jobs and limited vacation days.  So… how do real working girls make the most of limited vacation days and airline experiences that resemble cattle calls?  Well pull up an uncomfortable airport chair, put down your copy of Tatler (because we know we’re not the only ones who pick up this British staple at the airport newsstand), adjust your leggings, and listen up because we’re about to share some of our favorite tips on how to maximize vacation days.

  
With Labor Day on the horizon, this seems like a great time to discuss how to maximize vacation days by using holidays to your advantage.  Before we launch into that discussion, we first recognize that (1) traveling on the big holiday weekends (Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, etc.) can really really SUCK; (2) we work at a bank so we get a lot of the more minor federal holidays that others may not get (we absolutely use this to our advantage); and (3) our company’s vacation policy is very generous but we recognize that’s not the case for all real working girls. However, we stand by our advice. 

Typically, we don’t partake in long haul travel over the summer holidays, especially Labor Day because it's expensive and a hassle. Typically, it’s more of a holiday spent mooching off family with lake houses soaking up the last bits of summer.  However, this year Katie 1 and her husband are traveling to the Bay Area to attend a friend’s wedding (speaking of weddings, check this space later for our guide to decoding wedding dress codes!)  While they typically wouldn’t turn a wedding weekend into a vacation, because her in-laws live in the Bay Area, Katie 1 and her husband are extending their trip a bit.  Which brings us to the point of this post.  How do we maximize vacation time by using holidays and time zone differences to our advantage?  Well, in this case, Katie 1 and her husband are flying out after work on Thursday and returning on Tuesday afternoon.  With the differences in time zones, they will have 4 full days of vacation while only using one vacation day.  We understand this isn’t a super unusual use of vacation time, but hang on …. this same concept can be used for longer trips as well.  For example, Katie 1 has used those freebie days when traveling to Europe to take a 10 day vacation while only using 5 vacation days.  How does she accomplish this witchcraft? She leaves straight from work on Thursday for an overnight flight returning the following Sunday taking advantage of the 6 hour time difference to recover from jet lag.  This way, she is able to use 2 weekends and a Monday holiday.  Her favorite holiday to utilize this technique? Columbus Day which is perhaps the most underrated holiday for travel, especially for travel to Europe.  Why? First, it’s not a holiday that most of the workforce gets off so less people are traveling.  Second, it’s in early October, i.e. shoulder season for European travel and things are cheaper and less crowded.  Third, the weather is still pretty lovely in early October (not unbearably hot or cold) so there are no packing concerns.  

Other tips? If you travel for work (and your company allows it), use work travel as a jumping off point for vacation travel. Traveling for a conference to a place that doesn't suck? Don't have to take time off to travel for said conference? Flexibility on the days you can fly on the company's dime? If it's a Tuesday - Thursday conference, consider taking off Friday and flying back on Sunday or Monday to give yourself a nice little mini-break.  

We realize this is a long post, so here's the bulleted version of vacation time travel tips:
  • Long weekends are your friend when trying to maximize limited vacation days; 
  • Utilizing shoulder season holidays like Columbus Day along w/ weekends can maximize your vacation time (especially to Europe) and allow you to capitalize on cheaper prices and smaller crowds.  

Any other tips we should know about?  Please share in the comments!  
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