For the past three years working as a travel nurse, I have had the same routine. Work a contract for six months, and then take a month off for either a stay-cation or go somewhere exotic.
More times than not, your hospital will extend you to 6 months. Within those 6 months, enjoy yourself, but nickel and dime your every move while you’re working so you can indulge on your month off.
Planning a Month-Long Vacation
How to save
For example, instead of eating out all the time, I would buy $80 worth of groceries that would last me one to two weeks. Whether through Airbnb or a friend, I would rent rooms instead of getting an expensive studio to save extra cash.
I lived way below my means, still enjoying myself but putting plenty aside from that I could utilize in the future. When you make a lot of money traveling, it is easy to blow through. I encourage you to save just a little bit, and I promise you it will go a long way.
In the process of saving
I would be mapping out a rough sketch of where I wanted to go during my time off. For example, several trips I took included gallivanting throughout Europe and Southeast Asia for 2-3 weeks at a time. My friend and I would have somewhat of an idea where we wanted to go, book tickets to a country, and hop from place to place. If you’re not as adventurous as we are, contact a travel agent or a friend who has gone to the places you want to, and ask for recommendations.
We work hard as travel nurses, and there is no reason why we cannot treat ourselves to a month’s vacation away from it all! Work hard but then go ahead and play a little harder!
We hope these tips for planning a month-long vacation have helped. Here are a few more articles with tips for your vacations and extended vacations: How to Plan for a Month-Long Vacation, Canadian Vacation Travel Tips for Travel Nurses: Great Places to Visit, and The 7 Best European Countries for Travel Nurses to Seek Jobs in and Travel Around.
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