Got canned? Don’t let the pink slip spoil your travel plans — a well planed vacation can be the best time to reassess your life.

For every door that closes, another opens. Or so the saying goes.  While being let go may feel as if that door has been slammed shut in your face — and a huge, double steel-enforced, iron-clad door at that.  Look at the situation this way: the opportunity to finally figure out what it is you truly want to do in life is at your doorstep.

A great way to deal with the uncertainty of being unemployed is to travel or go on a vacation. After all, a vacation can be the best time to recharge our emotional batteries. It affords us the opportunity to temporarily step back from the personal and financial concerns that often accompany a job loss. What more, a trip away from home can initiate the process of self discovery. It can also be a time to reevaluate your career goals, or merely an excuse to learn a new trade or skill. But whatever it is, your sojourn need not break the bank.

Travel Web site Travelandleisure.com has just published a list of the best vacation destinations for the laid off and unemployed. So if you have the means, go ahead — expand your horizons, figure out what you love to do and open a new door.

1. Join the non-profit network Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)

For those looking to live a more ecologically friendly lifestyle, WWOOF is an international exchange program that provides room and board accommodations to volunteers in return for part-time work on an organic farm. If self-sufficient farming is your gig, this is definitely an opportunity worth exploring.

2. Stay for free: House Swap

A “house swap” or “home exchange” is a vacation arrangement where two individuals or families agree to exchange homes while on vacation. For a small fee, Web sites such as www.homelink.org and www.homeexchange.com aggregate listings of those looking to exchange homes and match participants across the world.

3. Set Sail

www.CrewFile.com is a free international database that aggregates job listings for yacht crews and maritime jobs. Through their online database you can search for crew vacancies on an array of ships varying from mega yachts to commercial fishing boats. The best part: you don’t need to know how to sail or even have an experience on the open waters.  Captains and stewards are willing to train the right candidates.

4. Hit the Slopes

Have you ever considered joining a ski patrol or becoming a snowboard instructor? If you’re looking to develop the required skills or simply need class and test prep time to become certified, The Base Camp Group offers world-class instructor training at affordable prices. The program specializes in one-on-one sessions where trainees are shown the fundamentals of technical coaching, prepped for exam certification and are trained in safety and first aid response.

5. Save the world

Worried about the manatees in Gambia? The Earthwatch Institute is an international non-profit organization that focuses their efforts on protecting endangered species and conserving the environment. Ever year nearly 4,000 people volunteer to field research and conservation projects in over 50 countries.

Jeff Gardner - April 6, 2009 - 8:13 am
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