One of the things I get asked all the time is, “How do you go on so many trips if you have a full-time job?” Planning a vacation during a travel nurse assignment is much easier than people think! My tips below are exactly what I do on a monthly basis to plan my trips and go on adventures despite my busy schedule. Here we go!
1. Put it in your CONTRACT.
You can only plan a trip if you have the dates off in your contract. Period. Sometimes we have friendly coworkers who will switch shifts at the last minute, but you should NOT count on that! Only put money down on a vacation if you are guaranteed the days off.
With that being said, how do you get the days off? I give my recruiter a detailed list of dates I plan to request in a travel nurse contract. She looks over the dates and gives me feedback on whether or not she thinks the hospital will accept them. I’m lucky to have a fantastic recruiter through Aya Healthcare whom I trust, so I appreciate her input! However, you can submit any dates you want, regardless of your recruiter’s approval.
(If you need a great recruiter, I always recommend Pari Constan! Click here for her link!)
Your days off should be explicitly listed in your written contract BEFORE you sign it! If the hospital gives you the runaround and promises to work it out with the scheduler later without having it in your contract, don’t trust them. That is a huge red flag.
2. Plan your trip from Wednesday through Wednesday.
Most inpatient hospital contracts are for three 12-hour shifts per week (3x12s). I’ve discovered that if I can still complete my contracted hours in a week, management is much more willing to work with me on vacation days!
I purposefully schedule my time off for Wednesday through Wednesday, 8 days total. This allows me to work Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before I leave for a trip. I work the night shift, so I plan to be back to work on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the following week!
I usually try to fly home on Wednesday night to adjust my sleep schedule before Thursday night, but I have also flown in last minute before a shift. Be careful doing that! Wednesdays are one of the cheapest travel days, so you may as well head home for cheap and not push it too close. 🙂
For example, I took time off in February 2023 to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans. In my current contract extension, I requested time off from Wednesday, February 15th – Wednesday, February 22nd. I will work Thursday night, February 23rd, and I didn’t lose a dime in wages! Since I didn’t miss any required shifts, management had no problem with my days off. I’ve done this at least 10 times with no issues!
You can submit new vacation dates every time you start a new contract or extend an existing one.
Note: Some hospital contracts sign for four 12-hour shifts (4x12s). In that case, you would only be able to take off Thursday-Tuesday if you still plan to work your required shifts.
3. Be ready to jump back in!
This one is vital to making vacationing feasible during contracts. I once worked 5 nightshifts in a row and then flew out of state the morning after my last shift. The trip was fantastic, but I came in hot before my next shift to find….dirty scrubs. No food in my house. Missing sneakers and work badge. It was horrible! I didn’t set myself up for success, and I will never make that mistake again.
Since then, I always ensure that I have at least one pair of clean scrubs ready to go when I get home. I leave my name badge on my nightstand, NOT in my travel luggage, and I have backup frozen meals in my freezer for emergencies!
“Coming in hot,” or getting back into town the same day that I work a night shift, has actually become manageable when I do this. Prep yourself for success!
Following these simple tips has made planning a vacation during contracts easy for me. I love going on adventures and never want to give that up for a job!
If this topic sparks your interest, you might be interested in the following articles:
I was worried that learning a new language as a travel nurse would be too much for me to handle at once. The way I travel nurse requires a lot of planning, forethought, and constant commuting back and forth; when would I find time to practice an entirely new language? After deciding that this was a priority for me, I made the time for daily practice and am starting to realize how many benefits there are to learning this new skill. Here are 3 reasons why learning Spanish gets me excited to travel!
1. Convenience
Speaking the country’s native language makes it way easier to go anywhere!
I frequently think about international destinations and browse through flight costs as I dream about the trips I’ll take someday. Now that I’m beginning to understand conversational Spanish, traveling in a foreign country is already SO much easier!
My Lingoda Spanish classes are teaching me how to navigate an airport, talk to a taxi driver, find restaurant recommendations, and book tourist-y activities with ease.
Knowing that I’ll (eventually) be able to communicate effectively makes traveling to other countries far less intimidating. Spain is on our summer agenda, and Latin America isn’t far behind!
2. Immersion
Diving deep into unfamiliar cultures is the primary reason why I travel.
I want to be completely immersed in new countries. I want to eat local food, go dancing where the locals hang out, explore shops that are authentic to the country, and tour landmarks that are important to the region’s history. By speaking the native language, I will be able to relate to the history and culture of that country much better, and I hope to be more warmly welcomed by the locals!
During my online Spanish classes, sometimes jokes or sayings from a specific country come up in conversation, and I love catching my teachers using them later! That small joy gets me even more excited to immerse myself in cultures other than my own. My goal this year is to emerge from my comfort zone, and trying to speak Spanish with natives is shoving me out of it!
3. Broadening Horizons
“The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” – Aristotle
I am far from being a philosopher, but Aristotle knew what he was talking about! Starting Duolingo was easy, and speaking Spanish felt very attainable. As you might have guessed, there is a LOT that goes into learning a new language! I grow increasingly impressed by bilingual and multilingual people. Someday I would love to be a polyglot!
Bonus: A popular Czech proverb says, “A new language is a new life.”
Diving headfirst into Spanish has me thinking completely differently. People who don’t speak English used to appear less intelligent to me, which is completely unfounded. Now that I am starting to speak Spanish daily, it’s solidifying that there isn’t an intelligence difference at all. In fact, I have a rapidly growing respect for bilingual people! A white girl learning to fluently speak another language sounds impressive superficially, but countless people are learning English in our country every day but don’t gain respect for their efforts.
I firmly believe that we systematically become more compassionate towards others as we break bread with strangers and fumble through conversations in a foreign language.
A team of researchers in Chicago conducted a study in 2015 to test the theory that multilingualism increases empathy and found that early language exposure significantly increased a child’s ability to infer another person’s intentions, even when they themselves did not speak that person’s language. The researchers wrote, “To understand a speaker’s intention, one must take the speaker’s perspective. Multilingual exposure may promote effective communication by enhancing perspective taking.”
By communicating with others in their native language, we force ourselves to see ourselves and our environment from a stranger’s perspective! I think this is a beautiful thing for everyone, especially travel nurses. We are trained to be flexible, quick on our feet, and adapt to new environments on a dime; navigating a new language should be right along our skill set!
I hope these details encourage you in your language-learning journey or inspire you to try it out! To see what educational resources I use, check out the table below! To read why I started learning a new language, click here: “This Is How Travel Nursing Got Me Learning Spanish!”
Resources I Am Currently Using to Learn Spanish
Lingoda – I’m halfway through the Lingoda Sprint challenge as of this post date! Live Zoom classes five days per week.
Duolingo – Daily Spanish exercises and vocabulary drills
Pimsleur – 30 minute audio lessons for when I’m driving or need to be learning Spanish hands-free (great for commutes)
Watching Spanish TV shows on Netflix with English subtitles – Highly recommend “Cable Girls/Las Chicas del Cable”!
Reading children’s books in Spanish – Currently finishing Cuantos de la Selva by Horacio Quiroga
Las Vegas is a party city no matter when you visit, but what can you do during the winter when the weather is too cold for pool parties? Enter: Christmas in Las Vegas! My husband and I spent a weekend in Las Vegas in mid-December for my birthday last year, and we loved their Christmas festivities even more than their notorious pool parties. Here are some of the best holiday festivities in Las Vegas!
(Average Las Vegas Weather in December: High of 67 degrees, low of 20 degrees)
Rooftop Ice Skating
@ The Cosmopolitan
The Cosmopolitan is one of the hottest hotels on the Strip and is renowned for its multiple luxury pools. During the winter months, the hotel transforms its rooftop pool into a snowy wonderland, complete with an ice skating rink! Artificial snow falls every 30 minutes on weekends in December! Skaters can access the ice rink for unlimited time for $30/per person.
For those not wanting to ice skate (or wanting to prolong the experience), the hotel also takes reservations for their rooftop “Chalet” for hot cocktails, festive couches, and a communal fire pit. S’mores kits are available for purchase, and personal fire pits can be reserved in advance on the hotel’s website.
Special events are held on the rooftop throughout the winter, including a tree lighting ceremony, movie night date skate, and a New Year’s Eve party to see fireworks over the Strip!
Colton and I reserved a table at The Chalet when we went, and it was lovely. During our two-hour reservation, we enjoyed the grilled cheese with tomato soup, multiple hot cocktails, and a campfire s’mores kit for two! It was relaxing and warm beside the fire; we would love to return here! I highly suggest that you make reservations as early as possible, especially if you have a large group or children. This was our favorite activity when we spent Christmas in Las Vegas.
Note: New in 2022, the Cosmopolitan has a “cozy, rinkside, casual dining option” called the Overlook Grill! Reservations required.
Admiring Christmas Lights
@ The LINQ Promenade
Along with their centrally-located resort hotel, the LINQ Las Vegas Hotel & Experience owns the “LINQ Promenade,” a street filled with Christmas decor, shops, boutiques, and restaurants!
We found multiple Christmas trees in this area and enjoyed browsing the various shops along the road. The High Roller Observation Wheel towers over the far end of the Promenade, so you try it while you’re there!
After admiring the beautiful decor of the Promenade, we were drawn to the colorful Candy Martini Bar at the center of the street. This huge candy store’s crown jewel is their expansive bar on the second story! Giant candy-topped martinis, sugar shots, vodka-soaked gummies, and endless sweet drinks filled their menu, and I was thrilled to try EVERYTHING!
Check out the pictures below of my favorite drink and some photos of us along the Promenade!
We took a cute video while on the Promenade too! You can find it here. 🙂
Tour the Elaborate Christmas Gardens
@ The Bellagio
The crown jewel of the Strip, the Bellagio Hotel carefully curates a 14,000-square-foot indoor Bellagio Botanical Garden that changes with the seasons. Luckily for us, they go all-out for the Christmas holiday!
This year’s theme is “Gingerbread Dream,” and according to the website, the Garden is filled with towering Christmas trees, sugar-coated gingerbread houses, and polar bears! The Bellagio’s horticulture staff consists of 120 full-time staff members who have created incredible masterpieces throughout the seasons. Previous themes have include floating floral hot air balloons, detailed arrangements of fauna wild animals, and woodland wonderlands! The Gardens rotate as follows:
Holiday (11/19/22 – 1/1/23)
Lunar (1/9/23 – 3/4/23)
Spring (3/13/23 – 5/20/23)
Summer (5/28/23 – 9/17/23)
The Christmas Gardens are indoors and nearby the Bellagio’s famous shops and restaurants. It was nice to be able to stay warm inside for a while on a colder day!
Take Professional Christmas Photos
@ The Strip
One of my favorite suggestions that I give new travelers is to hire a professional photographer when you visit a new place. I usually use Airbnb Experiences to find a local photographer who is experienced with the area and can show us unique views or photoop locations in the area! The photographers usually charge $25-75 per person to take our photos and we spend about 30-60 mins doing so. We get our pictures in less than 24 hours via email. Knowing that we’ll have high-quality keepsakes helps me relax and not take photos of every single thing I see! I highly recommend trying this.
We found a fantastic photographer to take photos of us in Las Vegas and spent over an hour taking pictures along the strip! Click here for her page on Airbnb Experiences. We took photos in front of The Bellagio, The Eiffel Tower replica, the Trevi Fountain at Caesar’s Palace, The Flamingo’s flamingo habit, along the LINQ Promenade, and in front of the Venetian Hotel. A third person was in our booking group, but the photographer gave us plenty of attention and we loved cheering the other girl one while she posed for photos!
BONUS: 3 new “Christmas in Las Vegas” events going on now are below, but we haven’t been to them before!
Sunshine. Ocean breezes. Endless dancing. Strong Cuban coffee. People hope for these things when they’re visiting Miami, and we found all of that plus more! After spending Halloween in Salem, we were lucky enough to travel to Miami, Florida, for another week of vacation in preparation for Jordan’s birthday. Below is our entire itinerary, highlights of our favorite attractions, and detailed reviews on restaurants, areas of town, and excursions out of town that we enjoyed!
Wednesday, Day 1
Having flown from Salem, MA, on the previous day, we slept in today (and every day, in fact). Click here for the Airbnb we stayed at in Downtown Miami! We felt very safe there and would return again. We walked to Honey Uninhibited, voted 2022’s #1 brunch spot in Miami and conveniently located near our Airbnb. Everything we had was great, but the mac-n-cheese truffle bites were uniquely delicious!
After brunch and a few cocktails, we took an Uber to Miami Beach. The city of Miami is on the mainland while Miami Beach is a large manufactured island stretching along the coast parallel to Miami. City buses have a route across the bridge, but no trains or metros go between them, so we chose Uber for efficiency! We had them take us to 1 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, a convenient beach access turnaround for Uber drop-offs/pickups. This was easy, and I’d highly recommend using this spot as a drop-off if you’re visiting Miami Beach! We were close to the beach and lounged on towels in the afternoon sun before heading home via Uber for a nap. Lincoln Road itself is a popular shopping area within South beach.
We went back to Miami Beach that evening to the southernmost point, locally called “South of Fifth.” We had 7 pm reservations at a Greek restaurant called Santorini by Georgios. The service was fantastic, and we got to try multiple Greek dishes and cocktails! Tables were arranged poolside with beautiful lighting, and a gentle ocean breeze made its way through the palm trees as we dined.
Thursday, Day 2
We booked tickets online for Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden for our second day visiting Miami. A beautiful tropical oasis just 30 minutes from downtown Miami, we were pleased to find that the grounds were perfectly maintained. Fairchild has a butterfly house filled with Central and South American butterflies, an expansive misty rainforest, countless waterfalls, giant trees, and walking paths that easily handle strollers. Friendly employees passed us in golf carts and offered occasional suggestions on where to go next. We purchased our tickets for $20/per person at the entrance. Our tickets got us in all day long, and they gave us a map to freely explore the grounds. They also have a café with indoor seating and large windows to look into the butterfly exhibit while you eat! We spent about 2 hours here relaxing and taking photos. Click here for video footage, or scroll below to see photos!
We had a tour booked for the afternoon, so we Ubered back to our Airbnb for lunch before heading to Little Havana, the vibrant Cuban neighborhood next to downtown Miami. We booked this tour via Airbnb Experiences, my favorite place to find unique experiences (thesaurus?) in new cities! When we booked online, we paid $40/per person, and the cost was well worth it. This is a CAN’T MISS when visiting Miami!
Our tour guide, Michael, is deeply invested in the Little Havana community and lives along the main road, Calle Ocho (or 8th Street). He regaled us with Cuban history, the struggles of migration, and the political climate in Little Havana regarding Cuba and immersed us in Miami’s Cuban culture. We enjoyed mojitos on the street, music that made us want to dance our hearts out, and delicious Cuban cafecitos handmade by Michael himself! The area enchanted me, and I would love to take a travel nurse contract here. Click the slideshow below to see pictures from Little Havana! Is visiting Miami on your bucket list yet?!
Inside Domino Park, only for people 55+!
Players posing in Domino Park
Skyler in front of Calle Ocho festival art
Cuban cafecitos made by Michael for our tour, essentially shots of sugar and expresso!
Cubaocho Museum & Dancehall with free salsa lessons, displaying rescued paintings from Cuba
“Abuela Maria” icecream with guava chunks, maria cookies, and cream cheese with guava syrup. From Azucar Ice Cream Shop
Bacardi originated in Cuba! The audio tour for Little Havana has Michael’s voice for this display!
Classic mojito made with dry ice from La Esquina de la Fama’s street window
Michael explaining the traditional process of making Cuban cigars
Skyler and Jordan in front of Comida Cubana, popular restaurant in Little Havana
Friday, Day 3
We took a 45-minute Uber to visit Patch of Heaven, a 20-acre wildlife sanctuary south of Miami protected by a nonprofit organization. Like Fairchild, we were released onto the grounds with a map and permission to explore! This site is filled with historical Asian sculptures, traditional architecture, and the largest koi fish I have ever seen! They also have a butterfly house filled with flowers and beautiful waterfalls. Patch of Heaven hosts weddings and events and self-guided tours like ours, so cabins and wedding areas were spread across the grounds and off-limits to tourists. Tickets were $20/per person when we booked online.
NOTE: Navigating this sanctuary was not easy, and only some of the paths are marked on the map, so be prepared to truly explore and even get a little lost! All paths eventually lead back to the main road, and we met employees working throughout the sanctuary, so you can also ask them for directions.
After Patch of Heaven, we headed back into inner-city Miami to swim at the Venetian Pool, a historic swimming grotto open to the public since 1923. They had caves, a large cascading waterfall, plenty of spots to lounge in the sun, and an on-site café. We paid $16/per person at the entrance and could stay as long as we wanted! This is a perfect spot to cool off for both adults and children.
After a quick nap at our Airbnb, we went to an interactive light-based art exhibit in downtown Miami called Superblue. Visitors are walked through the exhibits by guides, and we purchased our tickets online one week prior for $55/per person. Exhibits included:
An elaborate mirrored room
A room that reminded me of Squid Game
A vast space that changed scenery to allow visitors to interact with it
I made a TikTok to better display that final room; click here to view it!
My favorite area in Superblue was the Massless Clouds exhibit! We had to pay an extra $12/per person at booking to go through this room. Employees prepared us with ponchos, shoe covers, and masks before ushering us into a darkly lit room full of bubble clouds! We were allowed to roam the room, play in the clouds, and take as many photos as we wanted for about 15 minutes. Click here to see the exhibit!
Honestly, going through Superblue was expensive at $67/per person and was not worth the money to me. Go for it if you want to see the interactive rooms and have the dough to spend! If you have multiple children, are on a budget, or are short on time, try one of the other Miami attractions listed on this blog.
Saturday, Day 4
This day was unique because we took a day trip to Key West! We woke up while it was still dark to Uber to a Greyline pickup location by 7:15 am. We were transported in a double-decker bus that had A/C, wifi, and a restroom. Driving along Highway 1 took us from Miami through every single “Key” until we reached the furthest point, Key West! We paid $49/per person for tickets booked online one week in advance. If you’re considering visiting Miami, you can click here for our exact tour.
Our tour guide was friendly, chatty, and extremely helpful. During the drive, our guide gave us an overview of Key West and personally took our bookings for snorkeling tours, parasailing, and trolley tickets. After a scenic 4-hour drive and a quick breakfast stop at McDonald’s, our bus arrived in downtown Key West. Our tour guide had our trolley tickets ready for us on arrival and led us to a trolley stop. The Old Towne Trolley is a hop-on-hop-off system that circulates around Key West all day. It stops at multiple hotels on the island, major attractions, and restaurants downtown. The trolley drivers were our tour guides, sharing history and food suggestions throughout the narrated tour. Jordan and I rode the whole route (90 minutes) around the entire island before getting off downtown to find some lunch.
We found lunch at Sloppy Joe’s, a saloon in downtown Key West that has been open and thriving since Dec 5th, 1933 – the day that Prohibition was repealed! The bar was created by Joe Russell, and his close friend, Ernest Hemingway, was a frequent patron in the saloon’s early days. Sloppy Joe’s actually moved to its current position from a building across the street in 1937. According to their website, “In true Key West fashion, the bar never actually closed during the transition – customers simply picked up their drinks and carried them, along with every piece of furniture in the place, down the block to 201 Duval Street. Service resumed with barely a blink.” Modern Sloppy Joe’s has a long cocktail list, plenty of hot food, and live music all day long. We welcome the open-air, cheerful atmosphere after exploring under the Key West sun!
We met our bus driver at a pre-determined spot in downtown Key West at 5:30 pm and were back at our Airbnb by 10 pm that evening. Overall, we had about 6 hours of free time in Key West. Since the bus ride was so educational and the trolley ride was so relaxing, this was plenty of time for a day trip!
Sunday, Day 5
Today was the event we were visiting Miami for: Jordan’s birthday! We slept in and relaxed before we Ubered to brunch reservations at Nikki Beach, one of the hottest beach clubs in Miami. At $75/per person, we enjoyed fantastic service and an endless buffet of made-to-order breakfast items. The ambiance was perfect, and an ocean breeze kept us cool despite the Miami heat. We drank pina coladas from real coconut cups, soaked in the sunshine, and chatted for two hours before deciding we were too full to eat anymore! While expensive, this place is worth visiting if you’re celebrating or having a night out with friends.
We spent the afternoon at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, a lavish estate located on the northern end of Biscayne Bay. After 3 years of construction, the mansion was completed in 1916 to serve as the winter home for James Deering, a wealthy bachelor from Chicago who hoped that the tropical weather would cure his anemia. The extensive Italian Renaissance gardens were completed in 1922, but unfortunately, James Deering died a few years later in 1925. His two nieces inherited the property and took care of it until 1952, when Miami-Dade County purchased the property. The estate was subsequently opened to the public as a museum. Check out our slideshow of beautiful photos below!
After our late afternoon nap, we went to dinner reservations at The Gramercy, a newer Miami restaurant serving American Brasserie cuisine and displaying the “everlasting style and charm of Manhattan.” An Instagrammer’s dream, this restaurant was dressed to the nines and filled with upbeat dance music! Luckily we could still hear each other over the music, and we spent over 2 hours enjoying the atmosphere. We highly recommend their mac-n-cheese side dish, which comes in little baby pots! The picture is attached below; you’re welcome!
Our entire trip was filled with sunshine, music, and relaxation. I’ve been hooked by the rich culture of Miami and am already planning my next trip back! We had an incredible time visiting Miami!
Before we went to Salem for Halloween, we had no idea what to expect! Did people wear normal costumes in Salem? Group costumes? Gory makeup? Was it kid-friendly? Pinterest and Tiktok helped very little, so I took PLENTY of photos during our trip to Salem to give you a glimpse. Check out the slideshow of our top 10 favorite costumes from Halloween 2022 in Salem, MA!
For more details about our Halloween trip to Salem, MA, click here.
To see our photoshoot costumes from WitchPix professional photo studio, click here.
