Taking short holidays or weekenders can be a great way to get the physical and mental refreshment of a normal holiday, without all the expense and planning. From impromptu roadtrips to romantic getaways, there's a type of mini-break for all travellers on a budget, whether you're seeking to party in a different city for a change, or spend some quality time with your S.O.:
- Road trip: with or without an actual destination
- Dirty weekend: where you don't actually leave the hotel room or put pants on
- Spa getaway: spending hours napping and swimming and getting spa treatments
- Romantic weekend away: similar to D.W. but with more cultural pursuits, wine, and possibly diamonds
- Hens and bucks' parties: two or three day versions of the normal, as per The Hangover
- Camping trips: because who can really go camping for more than four days without getting itchy and grumpy
- Mental health break: similar to S.G. but may include shopping and sleep, for sake of mental health
- Winter minibreak: Going from a horrible snowy cold climate to the tropics for a few days' respite
- Sports holidays: Destination oriented sports such as skiing or diving for a long weekend or so
- Last hurrah: Taking a last-minute ticket and having the random adventure you've always dreamed of, before settling down into a monotonous trap of a job/degree/parenthood.
There are a few general principles one must take into consideration when planning a mini-break; any budgetary constraints, visa and passport requirements (for most of the world, a mini-break almost never means going out of the country), timing (long weekends and public holidays are great but also may be heavily booked; see if there would be an off-peak time for you to take off), and your selfish desires, as mini-breaks are not about exploring an exotic part of the world in depth- they're about having fun and recharging the batteries. This is one situation where you don't have to listen to what other people think is worthwhile or cool; if you want to spend a weekend in the city over looking at old bookshops and galleries, so be it. Or if you want to borrow or hire a 4WD to get up to Buttfuckuglynowhere Creek because it has great fishing, go ahead. The real plus of staying within your own country is that you won't feel a need to undertake random activities to get in touch with the local culture and arts- it's already your own and you can spend your time relaxing in whatever way you see fit. The most important consideration is travel time, and this is a principle that can be applied to longer holidays too; you certainly don't want to spend more time in transit than you do at your destination, and my personal rule is to spend seven to ten times as long at a destination as I do in transit; for example, if it takes me six hours return to drive somewhere, I'd want to spend at least two days and one night there.
In terms of cutting down on spending without sacrificing much, there are things you can do for almost any destination close to home. For example, try buying (at least most of) your own food to cut down on expenses- it's not like you'll have to lug around two weeks of groceries, it's just a few days. You can even make this part of the experience of your mini-break by visiting local markets. For transport, you can drive yourself for distances under four hours away; any longer and, especially if you're leaving right after work to make the most of your time, you risk driver fatigue. If you want to go overnight or just don't want to take your car, an excellent value for money option is taking a bus or train. In North America, the U.K. and Australia, Greyhound and Megabus have fares starting at $1 for inter-city services, stopping at limited country destinations on the way. Try Rail Europe for European trains, or Google your local country's service for more information.
To find an accommodation package deal on the cheap, look at socially driven marketing sites; you never know what inspiration you might find. It's also worth checking out online agents and deal aggregators like Wotif and Expedia. Deals can be cheaper if you're booking at the absolute last minute, but use your common sense and don't do this in peak periods. If you really have no idea where you want to go, plug in your desired activity to Google Places and look for destinations a certain distance from your home town- for example, I just put in "spas near melbourne" and it gave me a long list of nice looking places in Hepburn Springs, Daylesford and down the Mornington Peninsula.
I've spoken to a few travel enthusiasts, busy students and professionals all, who have had great mini-break experiences from their bases around the world. The following is a list of their top recommendations for a short holiday near home. In future editions I hope to add to the list, and recommendations by email would be very much appreciated.
Australia:
- Adelaide: A night in wine country, fishing weekend down the Coorong or up to Port Lincoln, renting a hotel for the night in the city, camping in Second Valley, roadtrips to Melbourne (SA Tourism has a dedicated site for mini-breaks)
- Melbourne: Romantic weekends in Daylesford, spa breaks in Hepburn Springs, food and wildlife in Healseville, arts in Lorne, wine tasting in the Yarra Valley
- Sydney: Spa, holistic living and music in Byron Bay, bed and breakfasts in the Blue Mountains, skiing in the Snowy Mountains
- Brisbane: Eco-lodging in the Daintree Rainforest, antiquing in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, adventures at the theme parks and resorts of the Gold Coast
- Perth: staying in a B&B and doing the wildflower trail, swimming with dolphins in Monkey Mia, wine and the coast in Margaret River
- Hobart: Relax in the ancient old-growth forests of the Central Highlands and Derwent Valley, enjoy gourmet food right from the source
- Darwin: Hop over to Bali for less than $200 return, visit the remote yet oh-so-close Tiwi Islands, explore the Kakadu National Park
France:
- Paris: camping near Monet's house in Giverny
Canada:
- Toronto: roadtrips to Montreal, camping in Algonquin National Park, St. Catherine's and Niagara Falls
- Montreal: overnighter bus trips to New York City, staying in the Old Quarter of Quebec City
USA:
- Los Angeles: Las Vegas benders, Napa Valley wine country weekenders, minibreaks in Mexico from partying in Tijuana to couples' breaks in Puerto Vallarta to luxe getaways in Cabo San Lucas.
U.K:
Everywhere. Seriously. You lucky bastards -_-.
Please help me add to this list of localised getaway ideas by commenting below, and enjoy your next minibreak!
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