put up your feet…close to home!
Those four words are synonymous with vacations, especially in the summer. But this summer, avoid that question by cutting the long distance travel and taking a staycation instead!
Most people associate vacations with travel, but you don’t need to go far distances to break from your routine and relax. This summer, stay close to home and help the local economy by experiencing festivals, parks, lakes, sporting events and camping lodges. A staycation is an economical and environmental alternative to a conventional vacation or travel. It’s a vacation spent experiencing the great things that home and close to home provide.
When planning for a staycation, give it a start and end date, so it doesn’t just feel like a couple of days off at home. Coordinate calendars and settle on specific days when the staycation can officially begin. Plan activities ahead of time for each day and be sure to take lots of pictures, as you would on any other vacation!
Here are some staycation ideas:
- Sporting events;
- Camping (backyard camping or at a local lodge, hiking, biking, wilderness viewing areas, national parks);
- Regional amusement parks;
- Family fun centers (i.e. bowling);
- Gardening;
- Home projects (home renovations, arts and crafts);
- Museums, observatories, planetariums;
- Water parks;
- Zoos and aquariums;
- Neighborhood bike tours;
- Backyard barbecues;
- Family games night (e.g. board games, cards);
- City festivals (most city websites have information about festivals going on all year round. For example check out:
http://www.toronto.ca/special_events
http://www.edmonton.com/for-visitors/festival-city.aspx
http://www.halifax.ca/events/index.html
http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/things_to_do/
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/What-To-Do/Events
Especially for adults:
- Walks in local parks or by lakes (combined with a nice dinner);
- Wine-tasting and winery tours;
- Exploring the local bars;
- Community theater and touring Broadway productions;
- Concerts;
- In-town Bed and Breakfasts.
There are many reasons to plan a staycation: saving money, the challenges of travel with children, or the time and stress of packing, airports and driving. You’ll also be reducing your environmental impact by avoiding long distance travel and greenhouse gases emissions.
