Last updated on July 13th, 2025
Day and weekend trips are often underestimated, but they are a great way to explore new places. Depending on where you are in the world and what access you have to public transport, you may easily be able to hop on a train or a plane, where you can travel to a new location in under 3 hours to spend the day.
Day trips are an excellent way to boost your happiness and reduce your stress. After a long week at work, it can bring you a lot of joy and excitement to travel, even just for a short trip. If not, you may be waiting a very long time to use your limited vacation allowance at work to book a trip. With day trips or even short weekend trips, you can explore new places and see more of the world without being confined to your work holiday.
Traveling provides anyone with so many benefits that are hard to ignore. For example, it can improve your confidence, make new and fun memories, increase social interactions, learn about new people and cultures, and much more. Not to mention the pure joy you will experience from the trips.
They may be a little stressful at first, as you learn to navigate the traveling and itinerary setting for short but packed trips. You need to learn to live with minimal items, prioritize activities, and be flexible. But if you continue to see it through, you will find it easy and that you crave it more and more.
To help you on your journey, here are some top tips to plan an epic day or short weekend trip.
#1 Conduct research and choose your location
Research is going to be key to a good day or weekend trip. You want to consider what your interests are, so you know which destinations are going to be suitable for you and will have the kind of activities you enjoy doing, for example, hiking, swimming, museums, art galleries, cities, etc.
#2 Consider the travel time to your location
You must maximize the time you have in your location, so you always want to consider the time it is going to take to travel and weigh it up with how much time you will have that day to explore. The travel time might be a little longer if you are staying overnight as opposed to doing a day trip. Look at all your transportation options. In some cases, driving might be the best option, but you will need to consider the traffic. Alternatively, you may be able to get a boat, train, or plane to your location. Make sure it is worthwhile for you.
#3 Carefully plan activities
As you are very limited on time, it is a good idea to carefully plan all your activities so that they are close in proximity. Try to always plan each trip where you can stay in one area for the duration of your stay. This means activities, food, accommodation, and transportation. Ideally, you’d like to be able to travel by foot or taxi from your travel to your accommodation, and the same for all of your activities.
#4 Learn to pack minimally
Going on a day trip or a short weekend holiday will mean you have to pack a very small amount of items. This may vary depending on your activities, for example, you may want to pack swim gear and towels, hiking boots, skiing equipment, etc.
It is therefore important that you consider firstly, how easy they are to carry around with you and how much extra it might cost you, for example, if you are going to get on a short 2-hour flight. In this case, you want to just take hand luggage to make it more worthwhile.
Secondly, you need to consider what you will do with your luggage if you have a late check-in time and an early check-out time, or if you are only going on a day trip. Conduct some research on the location you plan to visit, and see if there is a luggage storage option for you to securely store your items while you head off and explore. This can put you at ease and give you one less thing to think about. You can then more freely go and explore your destination and enjoy your trip.
#5 Prioritise your activities accordingly
Depending on how you like to spend your time, you may choose to plan your trip very specifically or leave it to choice.
If you like to plan your trips, then this can come in very handy, but you are going to have to learn how to prioritize and adapt. With a short trip, you want to pack in as much as you can, while also balancing your energy levels as you don’t want to burn yourself out and not be able to enjoy the second half. Identify what activities you really want to do and create a realistic schedule around these, including travel time and time to eat.
If you don’t like to plan your trips, it can be helpful to do a little research and at the very least, create a list of activities you want to do and how much time they will take. This means you can go in flexibly, but not waste any time on the trip trying to research and find something to do at the last minute.
Use Google Maps to look at what kind of activities are located near each other, as well as transportation options and food to eat. This can help you plan your route and make the most of the area you are in.
Make sure you leave a little room to rest or for spontaneity. Don’t plan too much into your day.
Going on a day trip or a weekend trip is an excellent way to spend your spare time and get more out of life. Traveling is such a wonderful experience, and this can make it more accessible for those with full-time responsibilities without taking too much time out.