In 2024, 73% of Americans said they “desperately needed” a vacation, but 47% said they couldn’t afford to travel.
Fortunately, content creator Taylor Sims stressed that budget constraints shouldn't stop you from going on vacation entirely. Instead of luxury international trips and week-long getaways, she advocated micro-trips.
The woman encouraged micro-trips for people who didn't have the time, money or resources to take long trips.
“I'm not going to lie, one of my goals for next year is to start doing more micro-trips,” Sims shared in a TikTok. “Because for me, I thought traveling wasn't possible because of work or, you know, just because of funds or whatever, but then I started thinking about it.”
“I could literally fly to Cali, go eat pizza on the beach, and then come straight home and I would have had a blast just staying there for a day,” she continued.
Sims urged opinions to use a day or two of PTObook a cheap flight and cheap accommodation and travel more in 2025.
Micro-trips don't have to be expensive or elaborate.
“I was looking for these tickets, y’all, and I’m like, man, the tickets really cost less than a pair of shoes if you’re just going somewhere for a day,” Sims said.
If you don't have a destination in mind, apps like Skyscanner allow travelers to find flights to the cheapest destinations possible – just set the destination to “anywhere”.
For example, if a traveler wanted to leave Los Angeles International Airport in January and didn't care where they were going, they could book a roundtrip trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, or Seattle, in Washington State, for just $36. For $37, they could get to Phoenix, Arizona, and adding another dollar could take them to San Francisco, California.
If the hypothetical traveler wanted to leave the United States, they could go to Canada and back for less than $100, while $128 would get them to and from Puerto Rico.
When it comes to lodging, Sims noted that “there will come a time for luxury travel,” but for now, just get yourself a small hotel room to sleep in. too dilapidated“, she added.
Sims herself has several micro-trips planned for 2025.
“Personally, I want to go to Texas because my friend is having a baby. I want to go see her,” she shared. “And then I want to go to Chicago, just because I have family in Chicago but I've never really been alone as an adult other than And then I want to go to Seattle. And then I want to go to Cali.
Commenters said they too are embracing this style of travel.
“Microtravel works because it allows you to take less time off, which is why I do it,” one TikTok user wrote. “So far I have New York in January (and) Vegas in February.”
“I went to New York for the day and only spent $100,” another commenter explained.
Obviously, traveling doesn't have to be too expensive, especially if you stick to brief trips within the country as Sims plans to do this year.
Sylvia Ojeda is an author with a decade of experience writing novels and screenplays. She covers topics of self-help, relationships, culture and human interest.
