The average person takes 1-3 vacations a year.
The rest of the year, you could be sitting in your house waiting another year for your next big vacation.
Instead, you can be out doing smaller trips that cost less.
Smaller trips are a way to travel more.
Two of the smaller types of trips that help me travel more for less are overnight road trips and domestic short flights.
This blog is meant to help you travel more without spending a lot of money.
Why should you not be jetting off on your next adventure if money is not an object?
I will write a post about why I keep my road trips to overnight stays to travel more, and be able to do bigger trips later.
My priority long-term is seeing as much of the world as possible, i.e. international travel.
I think everyone should prioritize international travel, and wrote a post about it here.
If you are not careful, you could be spending as much on a domestic trip as an international one.
I don’t want to do that.
The domestic weekend flight is another way to travel more for less.
When done correctly, this will leave you with more points or money for bigger international trips.
You will be able to travel more.
What is the domestic weekend flight anyway?
The domestic weekend flight is where you take a flight for a couple days, usually two to three days.
Usually, most people would do this on a weekend.
They would leave on a Friday, and return on a Sunday.
These are popular during holidays like the Fourth of July, where people can have a three day weekend.
You don’t have to wait until Memorial Day, Labor Day, or other 3 day weekend holidays.
You can do these any weekend.
Though you can have more than 2 days in a city, more days will increase your cost.
My mom had knee surgery recently, so my plans are thrown off a little.
Here are some of the weekend domestic flights I want to take though:
- Chicago
- New York
- Washington, D.C.
- Los Angelas
- Orlando
- Las Vegas
Again, two days is enough for me, but if you like more, you can take a Monday off.
Whether two or three days, just keep in mind that you have costs like hotels each night.
I would rather keep my domestic weekend flights short, and later add more stamps in my passport.
A lot of U.S. cities can be seen in two days again.
Again, if you are not careful, you could spend more on a domestic trip than an international one.
What this would look like in practice?
Here is an example of what this would look like in practice.
I will use Chicago as an example.
It is one of my favorite U.S. cities, and I have been there enough times.
You would arrive to Chicago on a Friday, late afternoon or evening (assuming you had to work).
This will give you enough time to check into your hotel.
If you can get there late afternoon instead of evening, then that would be better.
If you arrived late afternoon, you could have time to enjoy some sights.
The next morning, you would wake up early and hit more of the sites on Saturday with a full day.
You would get to pick the breakfast spot, or get free hotel breakfast.
You would have another evening out.
Next, you would have Sunday morning or afternoon.
On Sunday late afternoon or evening, you would get a flight home.
Here is a sample itinerary below:
Sample Itinerary Chicago
Friday, Day 1 Itinerary: (arrive afternoon) 5-6 p.m.
- Check into hotel
- Take a brief walk around the downtown area (assumes central location)
- Maybe check out an attraction on your list
Evening
- Dinner
- Evening Activity like a comedy club
Saturday, Day 2, Morning: 8 a.m. -12 p.m.
- Breakfast at hotel or top breakfast spot
- Morning activity, Sites Like Navy Pier, Hancock Center, Sears Tower, Magnificent Mile
Saturday, Afternoon 12-2
- Rest in hotel for a while
- Lunch: Eat Chicago pizza or Chicago hot dog
Saturday, Late afternoon: 3-6
- Late afternoon activities like Chicago River/Lake Tours, Museums like Art Institute, Millennium Park & Bean
Saturday, Evening: 7-midnight
- Rest in hotel again
- Try popular restaurant like Girl And The Goat
- Evening Activity
Day 3: Sunday, Morning 8 a.m.-12 p.m.
- Breakfast at hotel or other
- Morning Activities like any not gotten to
- Checkout
Sunday, Afternoon
- Any other activity not done
How to Save Money On Flights?
If you want this to work well, you will need to save money on flights.
You can choose to use points, or find a discount.
If using points, I suggest getting 5000 mile award specials on U.S. airlines.
You will need to use the search calendars on Delta, American, or United.
If using cash, here are ways to save money.
- Use discount airlines like Frontier, Breeze, and Spirit
- If you live outside a major city, consider driving to and parking at your nearest major airport (will be paying around $150 instead of $350 by flying out of Nashville myself)
- Choose the destination by the sale
Don’t forget hotel promotions
Hotels will be part of the equation too.
Take advantage of hotel promotions like the current promotion for Hilton hotels that gives you as many as 3 times the points.
In addition to taking advantage of promotions, here are ways to save money on hotels
- Use points or points+cash
- Book farther from the city center
- Consider alternatives to hotels
My Current Situation & My Mom’s Knee Surgery
I have had some serious changes to make with my mom recovering from knee surgery.
Originally, I had planned to do weekend domestic flights this summer frequently.
The new Breeze Airways is coming to my city for $39 each way.
I also have miles with Delta and American Airlines for a free flight.
I had planned to use my miles to go to New York City as soon as possible.
The summer plan was to fly, or take a road trip every week.
We got the news in June that my mom needed knee surgery immediately,
I am her only daughter.
So, plans have been scratched.
In any case, the plan is to still travel every week, whether by road trip or domestic weekend flights as soon as possible.
Summary
Nothing wrong with taking a week long trip to New York City or Los Angelas.
However, a lot of places in the United Stares can be seen on a weekend (even New York City and L.A.).
Then, you can have more money for bigger international trips.
This will help you put more stamps in your passport.
I suggest people prioritize international travel as usual.
Again, most people only take 1-3 big vacations a year.
In between these you can be doing smaller trips like the domestic weekend flight.
This is just a suggestion.
If you still prefer longer domestic trips, that is up to you.
Weekend domestic flights are just another tactic to travel more for less.
They also allow you to fly more.
Your travel dreams are about you, so feel free to use strategies you like, and ditch ones you don’t.
Again, if you are not careful, you can spend as much on a domestic trip as an international one.
That is not what I want to do again.
Remember this blog is about encouraging you to travel more without spending a lot of money.
Who would not travel more if money were no object?
At Travel Points 101, we want you jetting off to your next adventure.
Do you do weekend domestic flights outside of holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day?
As usual, if this post was helpful, share it on social media below.
