You’ve got options. Should you fly, take the train, or catch the bus? Or should you consider some other means of transportation? If you’re wondering which option you should choose to travel from A to B and C to D, just pick the happy path.

As I sat in the ferry terminal in Holyhead, Wales, I looked around and laughed thinking “this place is like a homeless shelter…” To my left was someone’s plastic-wrapped, duct-taped luggage and tattered gym bag. To my right was a person laying on the floor in a sleeping bag. The 7 other travellers in sight looked pale and depressed, but I sat happily against a wall with my legs stretched out, laptop on top, with my colourful new suitcase to my side. So, why the dichotomy? Why were they all so miserable-looking while I was laughing and loving life? Besides the obvious difference that I’m probably the only person travelling around the world at the moment, I actually wanted to take the evening bus and 2am ferry. I enjoy the late night quiet time to read, write, and manage my latest photos. It’s peaceful. I embrace having 7.5 hours on a bus, 2 hours at the ferry dock, and 3.5 hours crossing the ocean. That’s a total of 13 distraction-free hours to be really productive, and a 6am arrival time. Sounds horrible, right? I actually like it. I even prefer it. And I like the savings too.

Making your own “happy path” is actually quite simple. Figure out what your comforts and boundaries are, then spend less on the things that don’t matter to you (like getting from A to B at a normal hour) and more on the things that make you happy – maybe a Michelin meal, a boutique hotel, or in my case, a new Patagonia rain coat to kick off a week in Ireland.

Happy travels!