Hello all - Has anyone done a "staycation" instead of a vacation? It is when you stay at home instead of taking a vacation and you treat it like a vacation. I have lived in Washington, DC for five years and am considering doing this for my next "vacation." I was a student for 4 of those years, so I guess it doesn't really count - but I feel like I have not really experienced DC and done anything that is deemed "touristy" since I first got to this city (ie: visiting the memorials, going to the Washington Monument, getting a bus tour of DC). For those of you who have done "staycations," do you find that you still spend a lot of money? Sure, I may save money on travel and lodging, since I am essentially staying home - but doing activities and going to fun events to mimic a vacation will still take money.
When I read the title I figured you meant go on a vacation and stay there. I had it all planned out in my head what I was going to say. I wish I could go to Australia and just stay instead of ever coming back I live in a small town right now, its always a staycation unfortunatly
We use to do this all the time with my cousins. Not all of our relatives had money to spare for out of town vacations so we would plan our summer with trips to museums, parks and exhibits. It was a lot of fun and not to mention cheap. It also made our vacations less stressful for our parents financially and logistically since the locations were within the city.
I have never tried a staycation. With children it would become chaoscation. LOL I would rather take them out and keep them busy than stay at home and keep them out of trouble.. LOL I am exaggerating a bit here. I love going on vacations. This is bonding time and I enjoy being with my family and relaxing.. for once I don't have to cook and clean.. I really go all the way and relax when I am on a vacation. Spas and all
Since I live in the nation's capital, there is SO much to do. Free museums, very inexpensive museums, lots of different places to eat and drink without emptying out your wallet. I will check online to see if there's some sort of guide - I'm sure that if there isn't, I can take any old Washington DC tourist guide and personalize it. This is how I feel, too - which is why I am hesitant about using a vacation to stay at home! I like the works - relaxation, quiet, a lot of free time, going out to restaurants... maybe I'm not a "staycation" girl after all!
We are going to do that next summer. We are in need of a real vacation, but we don't have much of a budget to work with. We're thinking of doing a camp thing in our backyard.
Camping is about as close to a staycation as we get. When my kids were little, we would go camping at least once a year. Now that they are older and out of the home, I haven't been camping in a very long time. It is a good way to have a vacation and not spend a ton of money but it is a lot of work when there are young kids involved. Camping out in the back yard should really be much easier! If I were to do a staycation now, I would go see some of the local museums and art galleries that I have not been to yet. After living in the same area for almost 40 years, I have pretty much seen and done all that there is to do around here.
I have done it before. Keep in mind that if you're wanting to do some of those touristy things, then sure, those will cost some money. There are tons of things to do for free, though! And if you're local, then it's not like you have to do everything all in one go either. You could do things every other weekend and have mini-vacations instead that won't break the bank. Check this out: Log In
I LOVE doing staycations! What are the things you normally do on vacation? Just apply them to your staycation. For example, I always like to visit zoos, aquariums, animal sanctuaries, parks, museums, botanic gardens, wineries, hiking trails, etc. So when I do a staycation, I find places like those that I havne't been to and go there. And since I live in the place, I have time to find 2-for-1 coupons or free visit days or other ways to save cash. The key to doing a good staycation? TURN OFF the phone, the Internet, whatever wired devices you have, turn on your answering machine/out-of-office assistants, and really LEAVE for the duration. Tell people you'll be out of town (or just "unavailable") and treat it as if you are. It makes all the difference.
I live in a big city where there are lots of hotels and touristy things to do. I have occasionally saved on travel costs by booking a hotel in the city for a night or maybe two. It's nice because it feels more vacationy than staying at home (hello plush sheets and king sized bed!), but without the hassle of having to figure out directions and getting lost and such.
Me and my husband did a staycation just this year and it was pretty fun we went to the mountains went to concerts and festivals they were having where we live we saved a lot more money than we would of had going out of state and had a nice relaxing time. If i was you and lived in DC i would certainly have a staycation you are in one of the most favorite places to visit. And you can save some money too.
What a great idea! Since I live in DC, there's obviously big tourist times... but otherwise, I can probably get a great deal on a hotel, even one that is usually expensive. As long as there are no events going on in DC (that's when the prices go up, up up), I can probably find something awesome. And I know my city pretty well, but just don't have all of the time I would like to explore and try everything.
It's the same here. Sometimes the difference between booking a hotel during peak tourism season and booking the same hotel during off season is a difference of a couple hundred dollars or more. Out of curiosity, I once asked the price of staying at a hotel a few blocks from Times Square during New Year's season. It was a full two hundred dollar markup for a tiny room.
We have never really been on a "staycation". I think it would be more feasible for us if we lived in a bigger city. Visiting any type of museum, zoo, aquarium, or the like requires at least an hour of car travel, so "staycationing" probably wouldn't work well for us.
I also live in the DC area, we have been here for more than 40 yrs. There is always something to do in the city. If you don't want to stay in DC go to Baltimore it is only 45 minutes up the road. When my girls where small we would go to the concerts in the park during the summer or go to the Harbor concerts. You can live in this area all of your life and not see everything. Things here are expensive so I can't say you are going to save money. I am planning on touring the local winery soon.
I am in favor of "staycations" honestly. I like to travel as much as anyone, but I never really feel like I need it anyway. I can be just as happy chilling at home with my family, bags of groceries, a fun meal, snacks and good movies, shows, conversations and wine. The world has gotten so convenient that staying home has become a luxury as well. I personally prefer it to running around and packing bags and standing in line at airports sometimes.
I live in western CT and I've had staycations at the two casinos here, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. The drive from where I live is between an hour and a half and two hours. If I don't want to drive there are daily charter buses to both casinos daily, twice on weekends. So of course I've saved money on travel staying within the state. Depending on the hotel you stay in however, the cost of 5 day trip to Vegas paying for flight and hotel may be equal or lesser than staying at one of the casino resorts for the same amount of time. I've not stayed overnight more than 2 days. Another place I've staycationed at in CT has been along the beach in West Haven and in Mystic when visiting Mystic Aquarium. I have friends in West Haven and there is more to do out there than in my small town so I've stayed a long weekend and enjoyed the seafood restaurants and shopping at the flea market. Mystic Aquarium was a family trip and we stayed at one of the many very reasonably priced hotels/inns in the area for the weekend. Besides the aquarium the area has shopping outlets and isn't too far from the two casinos.
Staycation is a useless word because vacation does not imply travel. If you take time off from work or study you are on vacation regardless of wheter or not you stay home.
