Over the past year, countless Instagram influencers and bloggers have been sharing their experiences while on their “staycations.” They take their followers to the restaurants that they love in their hometowns and to their favorite outdoor places. Though staycations are not a new idea, their popularity has grown recently due to worldwide travel restrictions. Right now, everyone could use time to recharge and to turn off their screens, making staycations an attractive option. So, what exactly is a staycation, and why should you take one?
A staycation is a vacation that you can take without leaving your home! Though it may sound peculiar, staycations do not require travel or a hotel. Instead of traveling to a new destination, you explore new and old attractions around your home. You can even pretend that you’re a tourist exploring your town for the first time. By the end of a staycation, you’ll feel just as rejuvenated as you would on a normal vacation!
Planning ahead is important for any vacation. While creating your itinerary, it’s great to find a mixture of old and new places to explore. For example, on my staycation, I would plan a series of small day trips around my county. Because I am from a smaller town, my itinerary would include visiting a lake near me, tubing down the river, eating breakfast at my favorite restaurant, or going to the zoo. I incorporated some old favorites, like getting pancakes at my favorite restaurant, but I also have the chance to try something new, tubing. You might be surprised by how creative you are!
Here’s a list of places that you might want to visit:
Lake or pond
Hiking trail
New restaurant
Local zoo or aquarium
Botanical garden
Museum
Historical landmarks
Pick-your-own fruit farms
Cute bakery or coffee shop
A place to watch the sunrise or sunset
While planning your staycation, you should also try to minimize distractions ahead of time to ensure that you can have the most enjoyable experience possible. While we are at home and in our normal environments, we might be tempted to answer work emails, check our phones, or go out of our way to do chores. Just as with any vacation, you should prepare ahead so that you can relax. Clean your house, run any errands, and do your laundry ahead of time. With your work out of the way, you might feel a bit more relaxed.
It’s also okay to treat yourself while on your staycation! Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean that you need to cook every meal, and just because you’re not a tourist doesn’t mean that you cannot buy a souvenir. Allow yourself to have fun and try to find things that you truly enjoy. You’ll be saving money on gas, flights, and hotels, so if you want to, use the money you saved on something special or an experience that you will remember.
Staycations can save time by reducing travel time and help you save money by avoiding hotels. With the proper planning, you will still get all of the great benefits and many of the same experiences of a vacation. Whether it’s rediscovering a place or trying a new outdoor activity, staycations effectively help you recharge and save money at the same time. With warm weather around the corner, it’s time to start drafting up your staycation itinerary.
Vocabulary list:
peculiar (adj.) - strange or odd
attraction (n.) - a place that provides recreation, amusement, or leisure activities
rejuvenated (adj.) - given energy back or to feel refreshed
itinerary (n.) - a detailed plan of a trip or journey
series (n.) - a set of events, one after another
minimize (v.) - to reduce the effect of something
distraction (n.) - something that takes your attention away
tempt (v.) - to attract or allure someone to do something, even if it may be bad
errand (n.) - a quick trip to buy something or deliver something
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bridgette Lang is an undergraduate student studying International Relations at Boston University. On campus, she helps run a collegiate Model United Nations Conference and manages finances for BU College Democrats. In her free time, Bridgette enjoys traveling, trying to learn Spanish, and visiting with her friends and family back home in Pennsylvania.