How To Take The Perfect Staycation
With so much uncertainty around the subject of travel, I have a feeling many of us will be looking to take trips closer to home or introducing staycations into our lives. When that time comes, here are some tips to prepare for your perfect staycation!
We have tried to take staycations in the past, only to find ourselves working away on the computer or obsessing over items on our “to do” lists. The trick is to treat your staycation exactly the way you would treat any other vacation.
Table of Contents
How to Take a Staycation
Don’t Cook
This is especially true if you’re taking a staycation in your home and not booking a hotel or Airbnb nearby. I’m not saying you have to eat out for every meal if that’s not your style, but cooking leads to clean up and dishes and one of the best reasons to take a staycation is to get away from your normal routine.
Ordering takeout is a great option. This is actually what we do often on vacations where we travel away from home. I don’t always need to spend an hour or more every meal at a restaurant because that can get exhausting when you’re eating at a restaurant for three meals every day.
Don’t Do Chores
If you’re staying at home, put that to-do list away! I know it’s tempting to start doing all the housework or chores that you don’t have time for during your regular schedule, but resist the urge and go do something fun instead.
Enjoy The Outdoors
Whether you go for a walk, hike, surf or whatever it is you like to do outside, take this time to breathe in fresh air and commune with nature. We don’t do this enough in our busy schedules, so Scott and I make sure we soak up all the vitamin D we can on our time off.
We’ve been using our new ZiZZO bikes to cruise around our neighborhood and ride to the beach. We had been using our rusty beach cruisers for years and recently upgraded thanks to ZiZZO asking us to test out their unique folding bikes. Besides being extremely compact and easy to travel with so you can put them in the trunk of the car, store them in a super small space, or put them in the trunk of an Uber. These bikes even have gears — unlike our beach cruisers!
We have the ZiZZO Via bike, which is their middle of the road bike for riders who want the best of both worlds — a premium bike at an affordable cost. So far we love riding around the neighborhood with these bikes and I can’t wait to take them on a road trip soon!
Treat It Like Any Other Vacation
Just because you are not in a hotel or a new city doesn’t mean you can’t do all the same things you would normally do on vacation. Be spontaneous!
Explore New Places
If you are like us, there are places in your area that you have always said, “I’d like to do that,” but never get around to it. Go to a new restaurant, experience a night picnic in nature or on the beach, or go horseback riding. Heck, you can even take a helicopter tour if they offer it in your area! It might give you a whole new appreciation for the place you live.
Hang Out With Friends
We don’t get to surf with our friends who work on the weekends, so we like to take this time to enjoy somewhat uncrowded surf sessions midweek with friends and spend time hanging out with them in the evenings.
Take Time Away From The Computer (This can be a tough one.)
I think it’s fair to say that most of us spend way too much time in front of a glowing screen. Don’t worry, your computer will still be there when you get back from your staycation!
Don’t Overbook Yourself
Practice the art of slow travel on your staycation. It might be tempting to make lots of plans with friends or book too many tours. Take it slow. Give yourself time to just relax and recharge your batteries.
Don’t Be Afraid To Splurge
If you are anything like us, we tend to feel guilty when we splurge at home. Our mentality is to save so that we can splurge while we are traveling to some exotic destination.
During our staycations, we like to give ourselves a budget that way we don’t feel guilty when we splurge on something out of the ordinary.
My only caution is to know when to stop. It’s tempting to keep spending money like you are on vacation even after your staycation is over.
Have you ever taken a staycation? If so, what are your tips?
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These are great tips! These are also applicable even if you are just at home and you want to de-stress and relax. Temptation to clean and cook is always present but you need to have the urge to fight it and set your mind on vacation mode. 🙂
This one is the hardest for me too: “Take Time Away From The Computer” — but sound advice!
That photo is ridiculously beautiful and would inspire anyone to do what you say if they have a chance of experiencing that serenity! In addition to the obvious one (turn off the computer), I am also guilty of overbooking myself when I have time off. Great tips.
I’ve never actually accomplished this, but it seems like you guys did it right. I remember watching an episode of Married with Children when I was I think ten or so and Al went on a “staycation” every year. He taped off part of the living room and did nothing but what he wanted to do for a whole week. You’re staycation sounds better than his, but it is clever!
Living in Vegas means ultimate awesome place for a staycation. But, also super expensive! Eating out alone for three meals would be pricey … but fantastic!!