Tips on planning a hassle-free weekend getaway

Taking a weekend trip away should help you to de-stress and escape from your busy week of work. However, planning the perfect trip away involves organising lots of different things to ensure your holiday goes smoothly. But there’s no need to let planning related stress get in the way of your relaxation. By following these simple steps, you can make your holiday run as smoothly as possible, ensuring the perfect getaway.

Make sure to have everything you want to do planned

To make sure you don’t miss out on any highlights while on your trip, do some research on your destination ahead of time to find out what you definitely want to factor into your itinerary. This could be a site of cultural or historical significance, an activity for the whole family or a local delicacy that you need to try.

Another key thing to check is whether there are any events happening during your visit. It would be a shame to arrive somewhere in the middle of a huge festival, only to miss out on the best parts of it because you didn’t know it was happening. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a peaceful and relaxing getaway, there’s nothing worse than encountering a disruptive, noisy event that you’d rather avoid. By looking at the area’s event calendar ahead of time, you can plan your days around what you can’t miss, as well as what you would rather avoid. One of the best ways to find out about these sorts of things is to look on the local town/region tourist board website as there is often a calendar here that you can explore.

Consider taking the train so you can relax on your journey

By taking the train rather than driving for your weekend trip, you can avoid the hassle of route planning, wrong turns, unexpected traffic and the struggle of finding parking once you arrive.

 Travelling via train can also be much more comfortable, especially for the usual designated driver. With the ability to stretch your legs, enjoy the scenery and even catch up on as book or TV series while you travel, your trip can get off to a much more relaxing start.

Even for longer distance weekend trips, travelling by train can save you time compared to air travel too. Forget long security lines, baggage restrictions, waiting around to board the plane and stressing about getting to the airport in the first place. Train travel takes away these extra stresses, as you can hop on board just as your train arrives.

Pack your clothes in advance

To avoid last minute stress, ensure you pack your clothes ahead of time. By packing days in advance, you give yourself time to remember anything that you may have forgotten and buy any extra items you need. This also gets a key task out of the way, leaving you free to plan other aspects of your trip, even doing more research to get you more excited for your weekend away. It may be helpful to write out a packing list, and to have whoever you are travelling with double check it to ensure you haven’t missed anything out.

Make sure to book your getaway at the right time

When you travel will determine your packing list, accommodation options and what sort of activities you’ll be able to do. While it may be difficult to predict UK weather, planning a beach or hiking trip for the summer months will, of course, give you a better chance of pleasant weather. On the other hand, there might be seasonal events and activities that you can only do in certain months or weeks of the year. One top tip is to add potential destinations to your phone’s weather app, so that you can keep an eye on how different the weather is there compared to your hometown.