As if you really needed a reason—or do you? Some of us travel for the sheer joy of it, some of us travel because work demands it, and some of us are able to happily blend one with the other (#workation, anyone?) Below we’ve put together a short list of 5 reasons why you need to travel now, hopefully one of them will have you pulling out your suitcase and, perhaps, making sure your passport is up to date.
Because Europe is pretty cheap right now. The strength of the dollar is nearly on par with that of the Euro—meaning you can head overseas and not tap into your retirement accounts. Take Prague, for example. This city is opulent and gorgeous and easy on your bank account, as is Portugal, which offers fabulous food, incredible beaches and very, very good wine. To top it off, flights overseas from main gateway cities are quite inexpensive: think NYC-Oslo for $583, LA-Stockholm for $713 and Chicago-Moscow for $718 or fly the low cost WOWair from Boston to London from just $159!
Because Cuba is getting closer to being “libre.” This amazing Caribbean country is “this” close to setting out the welcome mat. Independent travelers heading that way on “people-to-people” trips (meaning it has to fall into certain categories—though that’s loosening up) still have to buy a ticket on a charter flight, but it won’t be long before they’re available on commercial airlines. Trust us: it’s well worth any hoops you might have to jump through.
Because JetBlue has incredible Business Class. In case you hadn’t heard of it, this low-cost airline is revolutionizing the front of the plane, except they don’t call it Business Class—in JetBlue-speak it’s called Mint. It offers this unique class of super cool amenities, seats, 15” TV screens and really good food from New York to either Los Angeles or San Francisco, and more recently on flights from New York to Barbados and Aruba. Lie-flat seats, a handful of private suites with sliding doors, Birchbox amenities and a seasonal tapas menu belie its “un-premium” prices, meaning tickets are about half the price of American’s business-class tickets on the same routes. Worth checking into!
Because it’s time to drop the phone and iPad. No, seriously: stop living vicariously through your friends’ Facebook pages and get out there and have some fun! Sure, take pics along the way to record your passage through, say Portugal (see above), but snap, post and tuck that thing away in your pack as you breath deep and dive into the experience. Strive to make memories, not just posts.
Because you’re overworked. When was the last time you took a real vacation? All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy—and that’s not just a cliché. If your Paid Time Off (PTO) is just accumulating like crazy, keep in mind all that busyness may not be translating into actual production. Studies have shown taking a vacation is actually good for your career—in fact, getting away made 34% of workers more productive at their jobs and they also felt more positive about their jobs after a break! Not only that, but workers who skipped out on vacations were more likely to get sick, especially with high stress levels playing a part in heart problems like high blood pressure, heart conditions, depression, anxiety and even arthritis.
So what are you waiting for already? Let’s go!
