A well-planned weekend getaway has the potential to be the perfect end to a busy, stressful week. The idea of getting a couple of days away from your daily routine without having to use any of your vacation days only makes a short getaway more enticing. However, a short trip can be just as difficult to plan as it is rewarding, unless you know how to plan a weekend trip.

Everything from how far you’ll travel to what you want to do plays a role in how relaxing your weekend travel is. You don’t want to spend hours in a vehicle, since those hours eat away at how much you get to enjoy your trip. You also want to enjoy a nice hotel, which means you can’t be constantly rushing in and out.

A good weekend getaway isn't necessarily the one that packs the most into two or three days. It's the one that gives you enough of a change of scenery to feel like a break without requiring more energy than the trip is supposed to provide.

Keep The Travel Time Reasonable

When planning a weekend getaway, distance matters much more than it does on a vacation. You probably don’t want to fly somewhere for a trip that will only see you spend 36 hours at your destination, so choosing a drivable destination is a good start.

That doesn't mean a longer drive is automatically a bad idea. The journey itself might be part of the appeal if you're traveling through scenic areas or stopping at interesting places along the way. The important question is how much of your available weekend you want to spend getting there and back. For a truly short trip, a destination that's relatively easy to reach can leave you with considerably more time to enjoy being somewhere else.

Choose A Destination That Offers Enough To Do

You don’t want to book a room, drive somewhere, and spend all of your time lying in bed and watching your favorite streaming service. If you were going to do that, you could have stayed home. That means that you want to choose a destination for your weekend getaway that offers plenty of things to do.

If you’re a foodie, you may want to choose a destination with plenty of good restaurants. A thrill seeker may want to spend the weekend at an amusement park, and a nature lover probably wants to go somewhere with plenty of hiking opportunities. Think about what you and anyone traveling with you enjoy most on longer trips, and try to replicate it on a weekend getaway.

Don't Underestimate the Value of Doing Nothing

One of the easiest mistakes to make when planning a weekend getaway is assuming that every hour needs to accomplish something. Sure, you want to make your weekend memorable, but it’s important to remember that you’ll be going back to work on Monday. If you spend every minute between Friday evening and Sunday night trying to do as much as you can, you’ll likely need a weekend getaway to recover from your weekend getaway.

A comfortable hotel, cabin, bed-and-breakfast, resort, or vacation rental can give you somewhere enjoyable to spend an afternoon or evening without requiring another activity. Features such as a good view, outdoor space, a pool, a fireplace, a walkable location, or an especially comfortable room may be more valuable than you expect.

Let The Accommodations Be Part of the Experience

Where you stay may matter more on a weekend getaway than on a typical vacation because you may need to make your accommodations part of your experience. When you’re on a week-long vacation, your hotel room might only serve as a place to sleep, shower, and change clothes before you get back to doing what you want to do. On a weekend trip, you may choose to spend a nice evening sitting by the fireplace in your cabin. You may want to kick back on the balcony of your condo overlooking the ocean, or simply spend some time in a comfortable room reading a good book.

The right choice depends on what kind of break you're looking for. If you plan to spend most of your time exploring, location and convenience may matter most. If the point is to slow down, the accommodations themselves may deserve more attention.

Planning a weekend getaway takes much more than deciding where you want to spend Saturday and Sunday. However, when you make the right choices, your weekend getaway might serve as the perfect recharge that you need for the week ahead.

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