How to Travel More Without Quitting Your Job: Mastering the 48–72 Hour Trip

Let’s clear something up real quick: you do not need a two-week PTO-approved escape to travel well. I have multiple jobs y’all, I work more than most lol.

I love posting about a place and then, before all my videos even finish uploading, I’m already back at home looking at my dog like nothing happened. Get in, make memories, and get out.

I literally specialize in leaving on a Friday and returning on a Monday. This isn’t theory. This is experience. I’ve done it domestically, internationally, solo, repeatedly. I know what I’m talking about because I’ve lived it. So read along if you want to join the party and do more than post about the idea of joining.

The Power of the 48–72 Hour Reset

Short trips force clarity. There’s no room for overplanning or overpacking.

Instead, you:

• Pick one neighborhood, one vibe, one priority

• Travel lighter — physically and mentally

• Spend less while still getting the feeling of being away

Two or three nights is more than enough time to disconnect if you plan correctly. I’ve left work on a Friday, landed somewhere new that same night, and been back at my desk Monday morning feeling like I actually took a vacation.

That’s the goal.

Long Weekends Are the Real Cheat Code

If you’re not building trips around long holidays, you’re leaving opportunities on the table.

Here’s how to stretch time without touching PTO:

• Fly out Friday night or late Friday afternoon

• Return late Sunday night or early Monday

• Plan around federal holidays that already give you a day off

And if you do want to use PTO? Stacking just one day before or after a holiday can turn a weekend into a 4–5 day trip easily. I will post a follow up blog with how to do this specifically.

The difference between people who travel often and people who don’t usually isn’t time — it’s planning.

Road Trips: The No-PTO Travel Hack

Road trips are one of the easiest ways to travel without using PTO at all. Especially for those who don’t like the airport (I think you’re crazy but I get it not everybody likes flying)

Trips within four hours are ideal:

• You can leave after work

• No TSA, no baggage rules

• You control the pace

• It still feels like a reset

Four hours is far enough to feel different and close enough to not feel exhausting. Some of my most refreshing 48–72 hour trips have been road trips to nearby cities, coastal towns, or nature-forward destinations.

They count. Fully.

How to Make a Short Trip Feel Like a Real Vacation

Short trips don’t need to be packed to be powerful.

For 48–72 hour travel:

• Pick one main activity per day

• Stay somewhere central

• Don’t overschedule

• Protect your arrival and departure energy

You don’t need to do everything.

You just need to enjoy something.

And if someone tells you weekend trips don’t count, that’s usually coming from someone who isn’t going anywhere.

You don’t need more PTO.

You need a better strategy.

And that’s not a vibe — that’s experience.