Many years ago, after having spent a few days in Rio, I had planned to take the bus up north along the coast. However, I met some other travelers in my hostel who were talking about a little island to the south that I'd never heard of, called Ilha Grande. Though it meant that I'd have to skip another city on my itinerary, I invited myself along with these travelers instead. I ended up staying on the island for over a week and changing my journey north entirely. A real slice of Brazilian heaven, Ilha Grande is still amongst my top two or three places I've ever visited, but one I'd never have seen had it not been for a lucky change in plans.

Having that flexibility isn't always easy. Trips are always too short and everyone has their own must-sees or must-dos. Here are some tips on building a bit of wiggle room into your next getaway.

Take a longer trip. Easier said than done, I know. But most rigid schedules come from the fact we simply don't have enough time to do what we'd like. Manoeuvring your holidays over a long weekend so you have twelve days off instead of one week allows for greater opportunity to relax and see something that wasn't on your list. Because while everyone going to Croatia should see Dubrovnik, you may find you like the pace of the islands up the coast more.

Stay in a Hostel. There's no better way to find out about unknown, amazing destinations than to talk to other travelers, and there's no better place to talk to other travelers than in a hostel. Hostels are filled with travelers coming in from every direction, so there's guaranteed to be a tip about a unheard-of place that's great – or a place you were interested in that it turns out isn't so great.

Go To Europe. Locations with lots of nearby highlights and good transport access are ideal for being flexible, and Europe is the best for this. The lack of official borders makes this easy, too. Venice a little too smelly for you? Get on a bus and be in beautiful Ljubljana, Slovenia by lunchtime. Planning to go from Vienna to Munich tomorrow but the forecast calls for rain? Take the train and be in Prague in a couple of hours instead.

Go Into A, Leave Out Of B. This is the most recent step I've added to my vacation planning, and it's probably my favourite. Flying in and out of the same city ensures you have to stay around or come back to somewhere you've already been. Why not fly out of a different city instead? This not only ensures you'll see two different places you find interesting, but the need to get between the cities opens up a lot of options for how you travel. Visiting Eastern Europe last year, I flew into Kiev and out of Bucharest, giving myself two weeks to get between cities. This plan, combined with some good luck, allowed me to hitch a ride into Moldova and then bus into Transylvania, both incredible places I'd likely have missed had I flown out of Kiev, as well.