These are the little rules I’ve developed to make sure a work trip becomes more than airports, hotels and meeting rooms.

Some of my favourite travel memories come from the small wins and personal adventures I’ve had alongside work trips. I’ve run through cities I never thought I’d visit. I’ve bought books from little bookshops around the world. I’ve had my nails done in Seoul. And I’ve made lifelong memories by building personal time around work trips. I couldn’t travel all the way to Lima, Peru, for example, without finding a way to visit Machu Picchu too.

Work travel can be tiring. There are long flights, unfamiliar beds, jet lag, missing the kids, and the feeling of trying to be your most competent professional self at all times around colleagues. But it can also be an incredible opportunity which is eye-opening, exciting, and something I’m truly grateful for. Over the years, I’ve developed a few little rules for myself that mean I rarely come home remembering only the inside of a hotel, the week’s agenda, or the workshops. I try to turn my work trips into mini adventures.

Arrive early & Leave late

This is probably the simplest thing I do. When I have some control over my flights, I try to arrive as early as possible and fly home as late as possible. It gives me time to settle into my new surroundings before work kicks in, and time to disconnect from work and enjoy the location before heading home.

Leaving later also gives me the chance to buy those final presents for my kids or, more importantly, walk to a local bookstore and pick up a book for the flight home. Having a few hours when I have absolutely nowhere I need to be, gives me time to reflect on the work week, unwind, and helps me be more present when I arrive home with my family. Of course, this isn’t always possible. Flight schedules, family, work commitments and cost all matter. But when I have a choice between flying home at 9am or 8pm, I know I’d prefer the later flight.

Give yourself a travel ritual

One of my favourite travel rituals is buying a book and picking up a local bookmark as a souvenir. Whenever I travel somewhere, instead of researching the biggest tourist attractions, I research where I can buy an English book. I find a bookstore, walk there, and if I can find a fancy coffee shop with a cosy corner where I can start reading my new book, even better. This habit is partly because I love books, but I also love having something physical that reminds me of where I’ve been. It gives me a reason to explore, too.

Your thing doesn’t have to be books. Maybe you collect postcards, find the best bakery, visit a local market, look for street art, try a new coffee shop, or buy a Christmas decoration. Having a tiny ritual makes each destination feel like yours.

Experience the city on foot

Running is another way I experience places while traveling. There’s something completely different about seeing a city on foot. My favourite is an early morning run, before the hustle and bustle of the day begins, along a riverbank, through a beautiful park, or beside the sea.

I’ve tried to run in different places I’ve travelled to, but I’ve also come home from trips wishing I’d packed my running shoes. I stayed near Cheonggyecheon in Seoul and somehow never ran it. Looking back, I really wish I’d got up one morning and run 5K along the stream. It’s one of those tiny travel regrets that’s changed how I approach trips now. It doesn’t have to be running. Walk. Hire a bike. Go for a swim. Hike somewhere nearby. Just get out of the hotel.

Do ordinary things somewhere unfamiliar

Not every travel memory has to involve a landmark. Making time to visit a local bakery and try the pastries, or simply checking out the local shops, might be an ordinary thing to do, but it can feel completely different in a new place. There’s something really interesting about doing completely normal things in another country: going to a supermarket, finding a hairdresser, sitting in a café, taking public transport, or browsing a bookshop.

For a little while, you’re not rushing around trying to see Seoul, Frankfurt, Mexico City, or Barcelona. You’re simply there, being present. Those are often the moments that make a place feel real to me.

Sometimes, make the mini adventure a big one

Sometimes, the mini adventure turns into a rather big one. I had a work trip to Lima, Peru. Once I knew I was going, there was one thought I couldn’t shake: I can’t travel all the way to Peru and not visit Machu Picchu.

So I went beforehand with a colleague. It obviously required more planning than finding a bookshop or squeezing in a morning run, but that’s one of the biggest advantages of work travel. If you’re already taking that long-haul flight and you have the time, money, and flexibility to add a few personal days, suddenly somewhere that once felt like a distant bucket-list destination becomes possible. Not every work trip needs to become Machu Picchu. But every so often, look at the map and ask: What could I do while I’m already here?

Know when to stop and rest

There’s another side to all of this that I’ve learned with experience. You don’t need to maximise every hour. Work travel is still work and ensuring you are connected and your best self, the rest can be as busy or relaxing as you need it to be. I once travelled to Mexico City, the whole trip was so overwhelming, and when I arrived, my focus was just on getting into the right headspace to show up for work. Personal plans took a back seat while I rested and became grounded after the long travel. 

Work travel often involves crossing several time zones. Long hours spent on planes. Preparation and being present for meetings, conversations and events. Food and eating habits switch. You sleep badly and often drink more alcohol or coffee than you normally would.

Your body notices.

Drink water. Hydrate. Eat properly. Sleep when you need to. Take a quiet evening in the hotel if that’s what your body is asking for. I’ve learned that there is no prize for coming home completely exhausted because you managed to squeeze seventeen activities around three days of meetings. Sometimes the adventure is Machu Picchu. Sometimes it’s a run before breakfast. Sometimes it’s finding a bookshop and spending an hour wandering around by yourself. And sometimes it’s ordering room service and going to bed.

Make the trip bigger, not busier

I think that’s ultimately what I’ve learned from travelling for work. I’m not trying to turn every work trip into a holiday. I’m simply trying to make sure I experience something about the place work has taken me. One thing. One walk. One book. One meal. One slightly ridiculous detour. One story I wouldn’t have had if I’d flown in, worked, and flown straight home again. Because years later, I don’t want to look back at all the places work took me and remember meeting rooms.

I want to remember the places work took me, and the adventures I found once I got there.

Keep exploring with me

I write about remote work, work travel, leadership, AI, and finding more life around a serious career — from my home base in Málaga and wherever work takes me next.

If that sounds like your kind of life too, follow along with Remote Rachel. There’s plenty more to come.