How To Plan A Weekend Getaway

I love to travel.  In fact, if I had it my way, I would throw all of my things into storage, buckle my dog into my jeep and hit the road with no end in sight.

Only.... I'm too much of a home-body to do that not to mention it doesn't fit the luxury lifestyle of Bentley.  So instead, I settle for weeks away in foreign countries and weekends away in sparkling cities.

Odds are if you're here, you're interested in my process of planning a mini-weekend getaway.  

Here's why I love them and what they're good for:

• When you don't have much time to spare

• If you're needing a quick recharge or escape

• When you find a little extra money post monthly budgeting 

• If you're wanderlust is strong but your travel experience is limited 

A weekend getaway can be anything from a road-trip to the next town over or a plane ride to the big apple.  It all depends on how you fill out the formula below.  I'm going to break down exactly how I plan a mini-vacay away and furthermore, fill it in with the trip I most recently took to NYC! 

1. Timeline 

How much time do you have? (Nights/Days) 

How we did New York: we had 2 nights and 3 days to spare. 

What dates can you make it work? (Get Specific Now)

How we did New York: We had March 14th - March 16th 

This is the first step to manifesting your weekend getaway, and the start of bringing it to life.

2. Budget 

How much do you have to spend on this getaway?

Main things to keep in mind:

• Accommodations 

• Transportation

• Food 

• Activities 

Our New York Budget: 

• Accommodations: Airbnb $128.82 x2 nights + Cleaning Fee = $412.06 // $206 each 

• Transportation: Roundtrip Flight: $500     Uber + Taxi + Subway Budget: $150 

• Food Budget: $20 breakfast + $20 lunch // $50 dinner = $180 total (I rounded to $200) 

• Activities: We mainly went sight-seeing, mapping out places before hand and saving money! 

Total: $1056

This is just a break-down of how I did New York, but given your budget, you can tweak around these numbers and find out where to cut corners to make it work (i.e. finding hotel deals, drive instead of fly, find a place you can get groceries to cook, etc.)

3. Book the trip 

Once you know where you want to go and how much you have to spend, it's time to book flights, hotels/airbnbs, and pack up the car and get on your way.   I always do so in this order: hotel/airbnb, flight, activities that require booking before hand, any reservations at potentially busy restaurants.

After that's out of the way, I'll start drafting up an itinerary and some mood-board inspiration.  

I'll surf through Pinterest, WeHeartIt or Instagram for ideas of photos, outfits, and things to bring along with drafting up a packing checklist so there isn't anything I forget.

4.  Itinerary 

Alright, now you're getting away.... but how do you make the most of your short time there?

I like to have a ~lose~ itinerary so I don't waste time.  There's a fine balance between having a schedule and filling it up too much, so this is the sweet spot for weekend getaways I find works best for me.

DATE:

Breakfast:

Morning:

Lunch:

Afternoon:

Dinner:

Night:

For reference, ours looked something like this:

MARCH 14th 

Afternoon: ARRIVE + check into Airbnb 

Activity: Times Square 

Dinner: Restaurant @ Times Square 

MARCH 15th 

Morning: 

~7am Uber to Dumbo, Brooklyn 

~9am Brooklyn Bridge 

Brunch: The Butcher's Daughter 19 Kenmare St, New York, NY 10012, USA

Afternoon: 

Explore Soho + Shopping 

Rooftop Afternoon Snack + Drink 

Grand Central Station 

Dinner: UpThai We researched a place close to our Airbnb that we were craving 

Night: 

Lots of energy -- explore Central Park 

No Energy -- Snuggle up and watch a movie 

MARCH 16th 

Breakfast: Delivered 

Pack up Suitcases 

Head to Airport 

So, whether you're planning a weekend getaway yourself or were mildly curious as to how we did ours, you officially know the breakdown to which I map out mini-destination trips.  

In terms of drafting up some future potential 24 hour trips, where should I go next?

- Chicago

- Paris

- Miami

- Montreal

- Seattle

- LA

- Houston

- Vegas

Never stop exploring!

Love you to Neptune and back,

K