When you think of travel bloggers or anyone who seems to have a particularly exotic social media account, it’s easy to assume that they have no need to ever know the day of the week or no one bed to go back to at night. Of course, there are many adventurers who choose the nomad life, but what about those who, you know, work full time and want to see an elephant or climb the occasional palm tree? We want it all. Here’s how you can do it…

Weekends and Bank Holidays are your new best friend

We often become obsessed with places the other side of the world and forget that there are people the other side of the world who travel to get to where we are. Ok, so London doesn’t have elephants or palm trees (sob) but it does have its own places of interest. Make the most of your weekends and bank holidays with road trips and long weekends exploring new areas. Granted, bank holidays are the best friend you love and hate, as they so kindly provide that extra freedom but at the same time, all hotels and flights triple in price. Very distressing. This is where I find Air BnB can be a saviour. Just be sure to book months in advance to score the best deals.

Travel at Christmas and Easter

Travelling over the Christmas break is how I managed to explore Thailand in three weeks. Economise on the holiday you already have and add two more weeks onto your time away from work and you can stretch out a longer-haul backpacking trip. In this case, plan your trip to ensure the best time-saving processes are in place, for example, I found it beneficial to take flights where possible over trains. When you’re ‘fast travelling’ you’re not in the group of people lounging in linen trousers with a cool beer nodding in unison about how life is about ‘the journey’. You, my friend, are amongst those who have a watch and itinerary in hand, and that’s ok.

Buy back holiday days

It’s one of life’s great frustrations that while travellers can escape the constraints of time, they can often find themselves cash-strapped while full-time workers can watch their bank balance rise with no real time to invest any of it in travel. This is where buying holiday back can help aid your wanderlust as a full-time worker. Many jobs will allow you to deduct your salary for a few extra days holiday. If you’re passionate about travelling while working a full-time role with limited holiday; this could be the solution that enables extras trips to be taken throughout the year or an extension on a longer-term travelling adventure. With only 20 or so holiday days a year, buying back holiday is a simple solution to seeing more of the world while working full time.

Work remotely

Negotiating with your boss regarding the option of working remotely (from home or elsewhere) means you are less bound to one location. If you can work remotely a few days a week you can work from wherever you choose, enabling greater travelling reign. You can extend on weekend trips and catch flights with greater ease. This is dependent on your field of work, and of course your role. Another option is volunteering your availability to travel for work meaning that you can explore new locations as a part of your full-time job. If remote working doesn’t enable the long-term flexibility you need or isn’t an option for your field, why not opt for a sabbatical?

Take a sabbatical

If you decide that fast travel isn’t quite reaching your wanderlust inch, liaise with your boss and see if it’s possible to arrange a sabbatical, whereby you take a leave of absence from work. This will give you the freedom to travel for a longer period of time, and you can be content in the knowledge you can return to your job after your travels. It’s important to strike a balance in life and invest in different goals and interests. A sabbatical enables you to invest time in ‘slow travel’ without having to be a gap year student or nomad.

Do you have any other ways in which to squeeze travel in around a full-time career? Leave your thoughts in the comments…