Want to go on a vacation but can’t take the time off work? Why not take a short city break over the weekend? Whether it’s a surprise romantic getaway with your partner or a boozy break with friends, a weekend city break can be exciting and affordable with the right amount of planning. Here are seven tips for the perfect weekend city break.
Book Ahead or Book Last Minute?
City hotel prices can be expensive. However, you can often get good deals by booking a long time ahead or booking last minute. This can also get you cheap flight deals.
Be Careful of Expensive Periods
City accommodation and flights to cities can often be expensive in the weeks around Christmas. This is because lots of people are likely to be visiting family during this time as well as visiting Christmas attractions (that said some cities are beautiful during Christmas and could be worth the extra costs). You should also be careful of carnivals and festivals that may result in higher hotel prices due to the competition.
Minimize Time Spent Traveling
It’s likely you’ll want to spend as little time travelling as possible, so that you can spend more time at your destination. This could mean shelling out a little more on direct flights rather than multi-stop flights if you’re travelling by air. Some city airports will have hotels in them such as this Quality Inn at O’ Hare airport. This could further cut out the time spent travelling from the airport to the hotel (staying on city outskirts can be cheaper – but could put hours on your journey in some cities).
Skip Attraction Queues by Pre-Booking Tickets
City attractions can often have large queues. You may be able to book tickets to these attractions ahead that allow you to skip queues. Some cities have multi-attraction passes such as the Venezia Unica that allow you to skip queues to multiple museums and palaces.
Map It Out
To prevent wasting further time finding your way around the city, consider downloading a map beforehand. You may be able to rely on GPS, however if you’re taking a city break abroad you might not want to pay for the extra data, which is why downloading a map could be better. Having a physical map on you could also be handy if your phone dies.
Don’t Let Your Bags Be A Burden
You may have to check out your hotel early on Sunday morning, which could mean dragging your bag around with you all day if your flight isn’t until the evening. Fortunately, some cities have drop-off points for bags, which you can find by using sites like Stasher. This could allow you to explore freely without the burden of your bag.
Save Money on Public Transportation
Some cities also have special travel cards for tourists such as the Sydney My Multi Pass, which could allow you to use trains, buses and ferries cheaply. This is worth booking online before you get to the city. Not all cities will have these discount passes.
When you and your significant other want to escape for the weekend, or you and the girls want to get together for a weekend spa trip, consider what the city weekend getaway can offer. We’re sure with a little planning and these tips you’ll have a great time!
Great article. Thanks