Photo by: Bob Wick

The number of short getaways from any major city in the world is often exhausting. There are packages for air and hotels; packages for car rental and hotels and meals; packages for lift tickets and a time share or cabin; and packages for spa treatments and train fare. There are so many options that it is hard to narrow down.

The first thing you should do is choose where you would like to travel and what you would like to do on your trip. If you want to ski, visit a vineyard, or go to a spa there is probably a tour operator with a good deal waiting for you. Package deals are wildly popular for weekend travelers. You can find flight and hotel packages for 2-5 day trips through nearly every travel agent or airline. Often the prices are at significant discounts than if you booked the trip on your own. Last minute trips are huge selling points for weekend trips. Sign up for last minute deals from any airline, cruise line, or travel booking engine and a week or so before you will get a list of deals if you act fast for the following weekend. Prices can drop by as much as 75 percent.

Suggested Tour Operators

Expedia (http://www.expedia.com)
Expedia is an airfare search engine, package consolidator for hotels and airlines, car rental booker, and much more. Great for last minute deals and for planning all your trip in one place.
Priceline (http://www.priceline.com)
This online travel booking portal is not just good for searching for cheap air fare, but they offer flight and hotel packages as well.
Weekend Warrior Tours (http://www.weekendwarriortours.com)
This East Hampton, New York based tour operator specializes in short weekend getaways to go hiking, rafting, and kayaking, as well as longer trips elsewhere.

Do-it-yourself options

Using a tour operator to organize your weekend trip or short getaway is not absolutely necessary. Most short trips aren’t complicated, don’t require extensive planning, and are easy enough to arrange on your own.

Rather than plan your time off months in advance, many prefer to take spontaneous weekend trips and decide just a few days before. You don’t need to plan well ahead to take a weekend getaway. You can simply get in your car or in a train and go. You can always find a hotel or guest house almost anywhere. If you can’t find a room or prefer a place to sleep closer to nature, you can always set up a tent. While many long hiking or trekking excursions require extensive, planning, equipment, and guides a weekend hiking trip doesn’t require a tour operator in most instances. In two days it is quite difficult to get well off the beaten path. Just be sure you have a good map and compass handy to be safe.

Motorcycle trips, a favorite weekend excursion for many around the world, are often set out without an exact destination in mind. Often a particular region is explored or strip of road, but not knowing where you are going to sleep that night is part of the attraction. A motorcycling trip gives you a taste of freedom, if only for a weekend.

Click here for Preparing for Your Weekend/City Escapes Trip